Violence Prevention in the Schools

Violence and its consequent injury and death represent a major health problem in this country. The United States has one of the highest homicide rates in the industrialized world: ten times higher than that of England and twenty times higher than that of Spain. Fatalities from violence represent only the tip of the iceberg: nonfatal intentional injuries occur as many as one hundred times more frequently: assault and intentional injuries identified in medical studies can be four times those reported to the police, suggesting that medical institutions are a primary site for identification of individuals with violence-related problems. Violence and its consequences must be perceived as a serious and large-scale problem that needs to be addressed by the health care community. The magnitude and characteristics of violence-related problems cry out for new and creative approaches to prevention and treatment and provide insight into the direction that needs to be taken. Although there will be no easy answers or solutions to the problem, it is essential that support be developed for experimental efforts. The health community cannot ignore the problems associated with violence and can, in fact, make a real contribution to their resolution through prevention, treatment, and research

Can the Health Needs of African American Men Be Met Through Public Health Empowerment Strategies?

Health promotion and disease prevention efforts, which use empowerment strategies and emphasize community control, are essential to overcoming the legacy of medical malfeasance and successfully improving the health status of black males. This discussion depicts the legacy of harm and presents the case for empowerment strategies; it also describes one Boston community-based program example of utilizing an empowerment strategy and concludes with a challenge to all health professionals to become enablers of empowerment rather than obstructions to it

Women's status and the health of women and men: a view from the States

We examined the status of women in the 50 American states in relation to women's and men's levels of health. The status of women in each state was assessed by four composite indices measuring women's political participation, economic autonomy, employment and earnings, and reproductive rights. The study design was cross-sectional and ecologic. Our main outcome measures were total female and male mortality rates, female cause-specific death rates and mean days of activity limitations reported by women during the previous month. Measures of women's status were strikingly correlated with each of these health outcomes at the state level. Higher political participation by women was correlated with lower female mortality rates (r=-0.51), as well as lower activity limitations (-0.47). A smaller wage gap between women and men was associated with lower female mortality rates (-0.30) and lower activity limitations (-0.31) (all correlations, PGender Women's status Women's health

Creating A State Minority Health Policy Report Card: An evaluation of states’ capacity to address racial and ethnic health disparities.

A state minority health policy report card may provide an important tool for evaluating and promoting state policies to reduce health disparities. This study develops criteria that can form the basis of such a state report card and assesses the performance of all fifty states on these measures. The results indicate wide variation among states, with geographic region being a significant predictor of performance on all four measures. Future research should be conducted on other predictors of state variation in minority health policy and connections between state policy and health outcomes for minorities