Disease Prevention Initiatives Research Articles

Internet Resources

Most physicians can now access new resource areas by using Internet service providers. There will be a vast amount of coding information in the months to come, much with free access or as a service to members. Following are some Web sites that are good resources of coding and related information, in addition to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).http://www.aap.orgRemember that there are excellent coding resources at the Academy. The Division of Health Care Finance and Practice maintains a FaxBack Coding Hotline. Academy members can call 800/433-9016, ext 4022, and leave their name and fax number and a sheet will be faxed where they can fill out their questions. The answers will come by faxBack service within 1 week. A copy of the fax is available on page 308 of the AAP manual Coding for Pediatrics 2001. To order Coding for Pediatrics, you may call 888/227-1770. In addition to the manual, you also are given the opportunity to subscribe to the AAP coding newsletter, Pediatric Coding Companion. This is a quarterly newsletter that will keep you informed of any changes that happen throughout the year. Another great coding resource is the 2001 Pediatric ICD-9-CM Coding Flip Chart. This unique companion to 2001 ICD-9-CM makes accurate coding fast and easy.http://www.medem.comThe Academy, along with six other physician associations and medical specialty societies, went in on this new Web site to provide reliable medical information.http://www.ama-assn.orgEven nonmembers can access breaking news on the status of the newest evaluation and management guidelines and preview the entire June 2000 draft set. In addition, under the Policies section, there is a wealth of information about compliance issues. To catch the latest on Current Procedural Terminology, Fifth Edition (CPT-5), go to http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/3883.html.An excellent coding resource produced by the AMA is a newsletter called CPT Assistant. To order, call 800/621-8335.http://www.hcfa.govA good way to stay abreast of issues involving compliance, fraud and abuse, new payment policies and rules, and updates to the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale.http://www.brightfutures.orgBright Futures is a national child health promotion and disease prevention initiative. Launched in 1990, the initiative is dedicated to developing educational materials for health and education professionals and families. Some of its material includes the following:http://www.ahima.orgThe American Health Information Management Association is the dynamic professional association that represents more than 40,000 specially educated health information management professionals who work throughout the health care industry. The American Health Information Management Association is developing Coding Assessment and Training Solutions — a Web-based coding educational program for health care organizations.The Society for Clinical Coding is affiliated with AHIMA and can be reached at http://www.SCCoding.org. It was developed to assist coders and other professionals with their work. It provides news about current coding issues and concerns and a mechanism for networking with other professionals. Check out its Web site for the latest on CPT/ICD-9-CM coding issues.http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/The NCHS is the federal government’s principal vital and health statistics agency. Since 1960, the agency has provided a wide variety of data with which to monitor the nation’s health. Since then, the NCHS has received several legislative mandates and authorities. The NCHS is a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Health and Human Services.http://www.aha.orgThe ICD-9-CM is published by the Department of Health and Human Services and maintained by the ICD-9-CM Central Office at the AHA.http://www.aapcnatl.orgThe AAPC is a nonprofit association for health care professionals. At this Web site, you can find information about certification programs, educational curricula, and membership services offered by the AAPC.To order, call 888/227-1770.To order, call 800/621-8335.

Proposal writing for Healthy People 2010: veterinary student authors win Hill's Public Health Awards and DHHS secretary's Awards for Innovations in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.

ince 1982, the United States (US) Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Health Resources Administration, in collaboration with the Federation of Associations of Schools of the Health Professions (FASHP), has sponsored the Secretary’s Award for Innovations in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Writing Competition (Secretary’s Award). This competition illustrates DHHS’s dedication to health promotion and disease prevention initiatives by encouraging new ideas among health professions students throughout the United States. The Secretary’s Award encourages students to propose and/or implement innovative projects stressing health promotion or disease prevention, overarching goals established in Healthy People 2010.1 Before 1998, veterinary medical student participants in the Secretary’s Award competition received only lesser awards of “honorable mention.”2–4 During the 1998/1999 Secretary’s Award competition, however, two proposals from veterinary medical students won second place,5, 6 and one received the third-place award.7 Last year, during the 1999/2000 Secretary’s Award competition, veterinary medical students won two awards: the third-place award in the interdisciplinary competition and the secondplace award in the single discipline competition. Both of the veterinary medical winners of the 1999/2000 Secretary’s Award were previous winners of the Hill’s Public Health Award, a writing competition modeled on the Secretary’s Award but confined to veterinary medical students. This article will discuss the two writing competitions and briefly review the 1999/2000 award-winning proposals submitted by veterinary medical students.

Resources

Most physicians can now access new resource areas by using Internet service providers. There will be a vast amount of coding information in the months to come, much with free access or as a service to members. Below are some Web sites that are good resources of coding and related information in addition to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).http://www.aap.orghttp://www.medem.comThe American Academy of Pediatrics, along with six other physician associations and medical specialty societies, went in on this new Web site to provide reliable medical information.Remember that there are excellent coding resources at the Academy. The Division of Health Care Finance and Practice maintains a FaxBack Coding Hotline. Academy members can call 800/433-9016, ext 6022, and leave their name and fax number and a sheet will be faxed where they can fill out their questions. The answers will come by fax back service within 1 week. A copy of the fax is available on page 275 of the AAP manual Coding for Pediatrics. To order Coding for Pediatrics, you may call 888/227-1770. Another great coding resource is the Pediatric ICD-9-CM Coding Flip Chart.http://www.ama-assn.orgEven nonmembers can access breaking news on the status of the newest evaluation and management guidelines and preview the entire set. In addition, under the Policies section, there is a wealth of information about compliance issues. To catch the latest on Current Procedural Terminology, Fifth Edition (CPT-5) go to: http://www.ama-assn.org/med-sci/cpt/cpt5.htmAn excellent coding resource produced by the AMA is a newsletter called CPT Assistant. To order, call 800/621-8335.http://www.hcfa.govA good way to stay abreast of issues involving compliance, fraud and abuse, new payment policies and rules, and updates to the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale.http://www.brightfutures.orgBright Futures is a national child health promotion and disease prevention initiative. Launched in 1990, the initiative is dedicated to developing educational materials for health and education professionals and families. Some of their material includes the following:http://www.ahima.orgThe AHIMA is the dynamic professional association that represents more than 40,000 specially educated health information management professionals who work throughout the health care industry. AHIMA is developing Coding Assessment and Training Solutions — a Web-based coding educational program for health care organizations.http://www.SCCoding.orgThe Society for Clinical Coding, affiliated with AHIMA, was developed to assist coders and other professionals with their work. It provides news about current coding issues and concerns and a mechanism for networking with other professionals. Check out their Web site for the latest on CPT/ICD-9-CM coding issues.http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/The NCHS is the Federal Government’s principal vital and health statistics agency. Since 1960, the agency has provided a wide variety of data with which to monitor the nation’s health. Since then, NCHS has received several legislative mandates and authorities. NCHS is a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Health and Human Services.http://www.aha.orgThe ICD-9-CM is published by the Department of Health and Human Services and maintained by the ICD-9-CM Central Office at the AHA.http://www.aapcnatl.orgThe AAPC is a nonprofit association for health care professionals. At this Web site, you can find information about certification programs, educational curricula, and membership services offered by the AAPC.

Cervical screening, compliance and moral obligation

Cervical screening has been subject to extensive scrutiny within the social sciences over the last two decades. Moreover, it has been described, in passing, as an example of ‘surveillance medicine’ through which new aspects of people’s lives are brought under medical scrutiny. Cervical screening is an example of secondary prevention with which women, on the whole, are expected and encouraged to comply, in what are deemed to be their best interests. However, the social science literature on cervical screening tends to present compliance as a morally neutral and unproblematic response to information about disease prevention. In contrast, this paper seeks to illustrate how women draw on specific contexts and relationships through which participation in, or compliance with screening, is given meaning. Drawing on women’s accounts of their experience of screening participation, the paper suggests that compliance with cervical screening cannot be viewed exclusively as a morally neutral, if desirable, outcome of disease prevention initiatives, but may also be embedded within a moral framework of self‐responsibility and social obligation.

Vaginal Drying Agents and HIV Transmission

Biological social and economic factors all affect a womans risk of HIV infection. Certain sexual practices such as the use of vaginal drying agents may also increase womens HIV risk when such practices result in genital irritation and inflammation. Stones leaves powders herbs water dry cloth antiseptics pharmaceutical products and tissue or toilet paper are some of the items which may be inserted into the vagina to make it more dry and tight when a cultural preference exists for dry vaginas during sexual intercourse. The use of vaginal drying agents has been reported in South Africa Senegal Zaire Cameroon Malawi Zambia Kenya Zimbabwe Saudi Arabia Haiti and Costa Rica. The international health community however knows little about the prevalence of the practice whether it increases the risk of HIV infection or how to implement culturally sensitive and effective educational interventions which address the potential health consequences of use. Vaginal drying practices are part of a complex web of biological economic and cultural factors which may affect womens risk of HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases. Health promotion and disease prevention initiatives can be effective only if they understand and account for the interrelated factors affecting the practice. Qualitative data are needed on the impact of such agents upon reproductive health initiatives for women.

Heart disease education and prevention program targeting immigrant Latinos: using focus group responses to develop effective interventions.

Although research has provided considerable knowledge concerning the positive effects of behavioral change on morbidity and mortality from heart disease and related risk factors, some segments of the population have not benefited equitably from this information. In April 1995, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) conducted seven focus groups to determine knowledge and attitudes about heart disease and associated risk factors, identify media usage and preferences, and assess publications usage and preferences among Spanish-speaking Latino immigrants residing in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. This information was gathered to assist in the development of key messages and strategies for the NHLBI Latino Community Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Outreach Initiative, Salud para su Corazón--a heart disease prevention and education campaign. Findings from these focus groups indicate that Latinos may not benefit from heart disease prevention messages developed for the general population because of language and cultural differences. The researchers concluded that health education and disease prevention programs targeting the Latino community should develop educational materials and interventions that address language preferences and cultural values. Furthermore, to be effective, these programs should show people how to make positive behavioral changes based on their current circumstances, while remaining sensitive to the fact that Latino immigrants face major life adjustments and many are still greatly influenced by their country of origin.

Health characteristics and behaviors of adults with mental retardation residing in three living arrangements

Three hundred and twenty-nine subjects (aged 17–70 years) residing in an institution ( N = 184), group home ( N = 39), or with one or more family members ( N = 106) were evaluated on body composition, blood lipids, and health behaviors. Subjects in the institutional group had lower body weights than those in the group home and natural family settings ( p < .001) and also had lower BMIs and percent body fat levels compared to those in the natural family ( p < .001). The institutional group also had lower total cholesterol and LDL-C levels than the group home and natural family groups ( p < .001) and lower TG and ratio of total cholesterol to HDL-C than the natural family group ( p < .01). Although overall use was quite limited, residents in the group home setting smoked more cigarettes, drank more alcohol and coffee, and exercised less than those in the institution and natural family ( p < .001). Group home residents also exercised less. Health promotion and disease prevention initiatives for persons with mental retardation living in group homes, in supported living placements, and with their natural families should be undertaken and carefully evaluated.

New Jersey health promotion and disease prevention initiative.

Health promotion is a major component of the rhetoric about health care reform at a national level. However, it is likely that the benefit packages included in any congressional legislation will be limited and unsatisfactory, thus compelling the states to take the lead. New Jersey is the first state to enact a comprehensive health promotion and disease prevention law; this legislation has the potential to change medical practice in the state.

Future Challenges in Wales

Heartbeat Wales is the first national heart disease prevention initiative of its kind in the UK. Describes the progress which has been achieved since the programme was launched in 1985. Gives details of how alliances have been forged with commerce and industry with the objective of promoting improvements in nutrition.

Researching communication approaches to heart disease prevention

TO develop an effective coronary heart disease (CHD) prevention initiative, the Health Education Board for Scotland considered it important to understand first the relevant issues when viewed from the consumer perspective. The Advertising Research Unit at the University of Strathclyde was commissioned to carry out the formative research for, and initial monitoring of, the initiative. This paper focuses on the communi cation research aspects of these formative stages and demonstrates the decision-making role a compre hensive research strategy can play in developing ef fective health communication programmes.

Data requirements to measure progress on the objectives for the nation in health promotion and disease prevention.

The Reagan Administration has adopted the policy guidelines developed over the previous few years in the disease prevention and health promotion initiative of the Carter Administration. Broad national consensus had been sought in the formulation of 226 measurable objectives for the decade. We classify the prevention objectives according to their position in an implied causal chain: 1) improved programs, 2) increased public and professional awareness, 3) reduced risk factors, and 4) improved health status. Prior to 1980, the data systems and periodic surveys sponsored by federal agencies and national organizations covered only four of the 42 objectives in the public and professional awareness category, whereas at least half of the objectives in each of the other three categories were covered by available national data sources, mostly federal. Sample surveys are needed to measure the majority of the currently unmeasured objectives in all four categories. Private and state health interview surveys are needed to supplement the federal capacity, especially in the face of federal cutbacks in survey capacity.

Disease prevention and health promotion initiatives: some legal considerations.

Public health programs to prevent disease and promote health are constrained by legal doctrines that protect individuals from intrusive regulation of their health-influencing behaviors. This paper outlines the parameters of acceptable interventions in the context of antismoking legislation and motorcycle helmet safety laws. The authors discuss recent court decisions challenging the constitutionality of these laws and identify criteria the courts apply in reviewing governmental attempts to protect the public from disease or trauma.