WMJ : official publication of the State Medical Society of Wisconsin
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The prevalence of childhood lead poisoning has substantially decreased in Milwaukee, Wisconsin over the past decade. Nevertheless, by the mid 1990s, 30% of children were still found to have elevated blood levels. ⋯ We conclude that the Sixteenth Street Community Health Center Childhood Lead Outreach Project has successfully accessed populations of children with high rates of lead poisoning who had escaped more traditional screening venues and effectively intervened to reduce their BLLs to < 10 micrograms/dL. Moreover, CLOP produced impressive and unanticipated primary prevention benefits in the community at large. The demonstrated ability of community outreach workers to access high-risk populations and reduce exposure to lead hazards suggests the potential of this strategy for extension to other geographic areas, to the patients of private physicians and to address other prevalent, urban health problems like asthma, injuries and violence.
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Domestic violence is a prevalent problem with significant health consequences. Early recognition and appropriate intervention with referral to local domestic violence agencies can be life-saving. Little is known, however, about the current level of training, knowledge base and attitudes of physicians in this area. ⋯ Significant numbers of physicians, in Milwaukee County, practicing certain specialties that potentially have a high rate of contact with domestic violence victims have had insufficient training in domestic violence assessment and intervention. Physicians should be familiar with the domestic violence hotlines and shelters in their communities and need to incorporate screen questions for domestic violence into their regular practice.
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This annotated bibliography examines public health and advocacy web sites related to firearm injury prevention. In 1998, on average, 1 child or adolescent died from firearm-related injuries almost every 2 hours, resulting in about 3800 youth deaths that year. Including adults, the death toll was 30,708. ⋯ Medline). This article assists physicians in their online research of firearm injury prevention by providing a select list of effective, informative web sites. Despite the pitfalls of on-line searches, physicians with minimal time and effort can discover useful, complementary information on patient care, injury prevention and community advocacy.