Public health reports
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Public health reports · Jul 1989
Initiation of a voluntary certification program for health education specialists.
As health education has become a major strategy for addressing current health problems, the need for expertise in health education has increased. Today health education specialists work not only in health agencies and educational institutions but also in hospitals and other health and medical facilities, in businesses and industries, and in consulting firms. ⋯ The purposes and rationale for new National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc., are described as well as the benefits of certification for the profession. The events and accomplishments of the past decade that have provided the foundation for the newly established credentialing program for the health education profession are chronicled.
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Public health reports · Mar 1989
Surveillance for injuries: cluster of finger amputations from snowblowers.
In an investigation of the health effects of a Christmas eve snowstorm in 1982, a review of emergency room records in the Denver area identified a cluster of 17 cases of finger amputations. Fifteen (88) percent of these amputations were associated with snowblower use. An additional 12 persons with hand or finger injuries without amputations from snowblowers were identified. ⋯ This investigation illustrates the importance of surveillance in detecting and controlling injuries. Without such surveillance, the similarity among injuries reported on this paper would not have been recognized. Ongoing surveillance for injuries might identify other clusters of injuries.
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Public health reports · Mar 1989
ReviewFirearms injuries and deaths: a critical public health issue. American Medical Association Council on Scientific Affairs.
The prevention of firearm deaths and injuries is one of the most complex and controversial issues facing the public health profession in recent years. Laws have been enacted to control or discourage private gun ownership, and especially to eliminate guns from the hands of criminals, but the laws' effects in reducing crime and firearm-related injuries and deaths have been disappointing. ⋯ One of the most troubling aspects of handgun violence is that children often are the victims. Educational efforts have been attempted to promote the safer use of firearms, but they have not led to a significant reduction in the number of fatalities, since most firearm incidents are intended to do harm.
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Public health reports · Jan 1989
Simple analytic procedures for rapid microcomputer-assisted cluster surveys in developing countries.
Surveys are often deemed necessary in developing countries when routine sources of data are not considered adequate to answer important policy-related questions. Although field work often goes smoothly, many surveys become bogged down in the analysis stage. With the availability of microcomputers and contemporary software, investigators in developing countries can use rapid survey methodology (RSM) to process, analyze, and report survey findings more quickly than ever before. ⋯ The procedures can be used both in the field and in teaching workshops or courses on survey methods. Examples are given from three rapid surveys conducted in Hlegu Township, Burma, and Sisaket Province, Thailand. In both countries, local health professionals were first taught the methods in a 1-week workshop before they used the procedure for conducting the rapid computer-assisted surveys.