Journal of public health policy
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J Public Health Policy · Jan 1991
The linkage of Baltimore's mental health and public health systems.
The Institute of Medicine's The Future of Public Health calls for a strengthening of linkages between public health and mental health, with a view to integrating the functions at the service delivery level. This paper details the history of the mental health/public health interface in Baltimore, Maryland. ⋯ Children's mental health, however, was retained as a distinct service within the Department of Health in order to enhance coordination with other health services for children. Replication of such coordinated-care models is certainly feasible.
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J Public Health Policy · Jan 1990
The passage of Maryland's gun law: data and advocacy for injury prevention.
In 1988 the Maryland legislature passed an innovative law designed to limit the availability of certain types of handguns within the state. Pro-gun forces opposed the law and gathered the requisite number of petitioning signatures to refer the law to a public referendum on election day. ⋯ The handgun law was recognized to be a public health issue. This article reviews the activity involved in the passage of the law and the referendum, and discusses the role played by the Johns Hopkins injury prevention faculty in providing information to decision makers.
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The role of consumers in rural health care is explored in this review of the literature. A brief history of public, private, and grassroots efforts to involve consumers in health care is presented. ⋯ Emergency medical services, care for medically disabled persons, and prenatal care are specifically addressed. Barriers to effective citizen participation and policy recommendations are also presented.
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J Public Health Policy · Jan 1990
Current trends in Canadian health care: disease prevention and health promotion.
The Canadian national health insurance plan has not extended to disease prevention in any comprehensive way, and to this extent is incomplete. The Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination has done outstanding work, but no provincial insurance plan has systematically adjusted the benefit schedule to reflect its recommendations. Thus, the place of disease prevention under the Canadian system of universal health insurance is remarkably similar to that in the United States. ⋯ The health promotion movement now enjoys considerable support in Canada, especially in the public health sector, in voluntary agencies, and in the policies of the federal and several provincial departments of health. The movement is almost completely separate from mainstream health services, and is unrelated to the insurance program. To date, there has been mostly talk, but several structures are in place which should lead to action.