Sees historical antecedents of primary prevention in methods of public health, counseling, and psychotherapy. Defines primary prevention as being proactive and aimed predominantly at high-risk groups not yet affected by condition to be prevented. Sees success measured in decline in incidence of condition that is compared with controls. Asserts…

To compensate for an unhealthy food environment, foods high in calories, fat, or sugar could be subjected to special taxes, with costs of healthful foods subsidized. This paper reviews state tax laws, identifying 19 states and cities that levy such taxes. These taxes raise about $1 billion annually. The paper proposes using such revenues to fund…

Presents information from the 2000 Joint Terminology Committee of the American Association for Health Education/American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. This group meets each decade to evaluate current terminology in the field. In 2000, it reviewed 1990 terms, developed a list of criteria as the basis of the review,…

Points out the importance of effective health education to fight against tuberculosis (TB) which is the number one fatal infectious disease around the world. Describes a science curriculum on tuberculosis that includes information on the facts about tuberculosis, a forum on tuberculosis, and evaluation. (Contains 17 references.) (YDS)

Very little effort has been devoted to developing health promotion programs for people with physical, cognitive, and sensory disabilities. Such programs must be developed with full recognition of limitations caused by both the primary and secondary disabilities. The paper describes three major areas of health promotion and their relationship to…

This article describes the autism surveillance activities of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. It considers why surveillance to track prevalence of autistic disorders is needed, how such surveillance is conducted, and the special challenges of autism surveillance. (DB)

Considerable evidence supports the hypothesis that peer relationships influence the growth of problem behavior in youth. Developmental research consistently documents the high levels of covariation between peer and youth deviance, even controlling for selection effects. Ironically, the most common public interventions for deviant youth involve…

The Internet has become a commonly used venue for seeking healthcare information. Young adults search the Internet for health information more than any other group, yet little is known about use patterns among community college students. The authors surveyed a diverse community college to assess students' use of the Internet for health-related…

Purpose: This study assessed the impact of a low cost, multicomponent physical activity intervention for older adults with lower extremity osteoarthritis. Design and Methods: A randomized controlled trial compared the effects of a facility-based multiple-component training program followed by home-based adherence (n = 80) to a wait list control…

Health officials may have an uphill battle in educating Blacks about a disease that's being called a "silent killer," a recent survey shows. Kidney disease is an illness that's become more prevalent, especially in the nation's Black population, but a survey conducted in Jackson, Atlanta, Baltimore and Cleveland shows only 15 percent of those…

Following the events which took place on September 11, 2001, and the anthrax attacks which occurred after that date, US authorities became concerned with the idea that an assault with chemical or biological weapons could take place on American territory or in American ships or planes. A worrisome model for such an assault was the 1995 terrorist…

Tobacco use among youth remains one of our nation's most significant public health problems, and yet available evidence from prevention and cessation person-centered approaches has been mixed. Given these disappointing outcomes, some have recommended more public health approaches, and these include tobacco sales-to-minors and…

There is minimal guidance for efforts to create effective public messages that increase awareness that suicide is preventable. To address this need, several agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Annenberg Foundation convened a workshop consisting of suicide prevention advocates and persons with expertise in public…

Ambroise Tardieu was an outstanding French forensic physician of the 19th century. A century before American physicians discovered child abuse as a pediatric and public health problem, Tardieu studied and described almost all forms of child maltreatment. In his Dictionnaire d'hygiene et de salubrite (Dictionary of hygiene and salubrity, 1862a,…

The following paper provides an overview of public health research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with emphasis on research involving speech, language and hearing disorders. Public health research involves a sequence of activities from disease tracking to disease prevention. Public health focuses on populations and works…