Emergency medicine clinics of North America
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Emerg. Med. Clin. North Am. · Nov 2006
ReviewHealth promotion and disease prevention in the emergency department.
This article provides an overview of health promotion and disease and injury prevention concepts. It provides an emergency medicine perspective and reviews approaches that can be used in the emergency department. It discusses examples of innovative emergency medicine-based preventive activities including prevention in the prehospital setting. This article ends with a discussion of the importance of a system approach to prevention and suggests a role for a preventionist as a new member of the emergency medicine team.
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Emerg. Med. Clin. North Am. · Nov 2006
ReviewThe role of the emergency department in the care of homeless and disadvantaged populations.
This article provides an overview of the role of the emergency department (ED) in the care of homeless and disadvantaged populations. It suggests that organized emergency medicine can have a significant impact on total community health by maintaining a universal "safety net" for the delivery of integrated health and human services. The epidemiology of social deprivation among ED patients is examined, with a particular focus on homelessness. Current research on the value of socio-medical integration in the ED setting is discussed, with emphasis on selected initiatives that have demonstrated feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and impact.
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Emerg. Med. Clin. North Am. · Nov 2006
Emergency medicine and the health of the public: the critical role of emergency departments in US public health.
This issue of the Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America focuses on the spectrum of public health issues that significantly impact the practice of emergency medicine and which are faced by practicing emergency physicians on daily basis. Topics include public health research in the emergency department; respiratory threats; emerging infectious diseases; emergency department overcrowding; end-of-life care; racial and ethnic disparities; issues of health promotion and disease prevention encompassing substance abuse, alcohol, and injury and violence; and public health surveillance; and the problems of homeless and disadvantaged patients. This article gives a brief introduction to the important relationship between emergency medicine and public health.