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The prevalence of school-based healthcare has increased markedly over the past decade. We study a modern mode of school-based healthcare, telemedicine, that offers the potential to reach places and populations with historically low access to such care. School-based telemedicine clinics (SBTCs) provide students with access to healthcare during the regular school day through private videoconferencing with a healthcare provider. We exploit variation over time in SBTC openings across schools in three rural districts in North Carolina. We find that school-level SBTC access reduces the likelihood that a student is chronically absent by 2.5 percentage points (29 percent) and reduces the number of days absent by about 0.8 days (10 percent). Relatedly, access to an SBTC increases the likelihood of math and reading test-taking by between 1.8-2.0 percentage points (about 2 percent). Heterogeneity analyses suggest that these effects are driven by male students. Finally, we see suggestive evidence that SBTC access reduces violent or weapons-related disciplinary infractions among students but has little influence on other forms of misbehavior.

This paper was written in 2018 by NCWD/Youth [National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth] to inform the development of the Guideposts for Success 2.0, an update to the original Guideposts for Success published in 2005. Since it was created in 2005, the Guideposts for Success has become nationally recognized as a valuable research-based framework to inform policies and practices designed to prepare and support youth in transition to adulthood. In 2012, NCWD/Youth began an in-depth process aimed at updating the Guideposts for Success to reflect the latest research studies and current professional standards of practice for supporting youth in transition to adulthood across multiple service systems and sectors. The process included reviewing literature related to youth transition from multiple disciplines.

Historically Catholic college preparatory and career vocational-technical schools have had contrasting approaches to secondary school education. Catholic schools have provided classical liberal-arts education, including religious instruction, with emphasis on the spiritual and intellectual potential of every student and an eye towards higher education. However, student enrollment at Archdiocese of Boston's high schools have been declining. At the same time, vocational-technical education has surged in Massachusetts. Catholic education leaders in Boston and elsewhere have noticed the rise in career vocational technical education (CVTE) popularity that the Archdiocese commissioned to examine the issue. This paper will explore the merits of medical vocational technical education, often called "health services," as a possibility for Catholic high schools.

The food stamp program (SNAP) is one of the most important elements of the social safety net and is the second largest anti-poverty program for children in the U.S. (only the EITC raises more children above poverty). The program varies little across states and over time, which creates challenges for quasi-experimental evaluation. Notably, SNAP benefit levels are fixed across 48 states; but local food prices vary widely, leading to substantial variation in the real value of SNAP benefits. In this study, we leverage time variation in the real value of the SNAP benefit across markets to examine the effects of SNAP on child health. We link panel data on regional food prices and the cost of the Thrifty Food Plan [TFP], as measured by the USDA's Quarterly Food at Home Price Database, to restricted-access geo-located National Health Interview Survey data on samples of SNAP-recipient and SNAP-eligible children. We estimate the relationship between the real value of SNAP benefits (i.e., the ratio of the SNAP maximum benefit to the TFP price faced by a household) and children's health and health care utilization, in a fixed effects framework that controls for a number of individual-level and region characteristics, including non-food prices. Our findings indicate that children in market regions with a lower real value of SNAP benefits utilize significantly less health care, and may utilize emergency room care at increased rates. Lower real SNAP benefits also lead to an increase in school absences but we find no effect on reported health status.

It is the position of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) that schools and districts should establish DNAR policies, protocols, and practices that enable each student to receive best practice care, as designated by clear and specific directives for the individual, throughout the entire course of their condition while they are in school. Each student with a Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR) order benefits from having an Individualized Healthcare Plan (IHP) and an Emergency Action Plan (EAP), developed by the registered professional school nurse (hereinafter referred to as school nurse). As professionals who bridge education and health and who advocate for students, school nurses work closely with school teams, families, and students' healthcare providers to appropriately meet the special healthcare needs of students with a DNAR. This statement provides the background and rationale for NASN's position. [This Position Statement was initially adopted in 2014 and revised in June 2018.]

Historically, waves of new technologies have brought Americans higher standards of living. Electrical service and hot and cold running water, for example, were once luxuries; now their absence makes a home substandard. Today, technologies for accessing the Internet are diffusing at an even faster rate than those earlier innovations once did, bringing with them commensurate transformations of Americans' way of life. Technologies that increase the speed at which data can be transmitted have had powerful effects. Most importantly, they have transformed the Internet from a tool used by a narrow group of academics and technicians into a means of interaction used by a large majority of Americans. However, Americans have not universally benefitted from better Internet access. Geography, especially the divide between rural and urban America, determines how much some Americans can benefit from the Internet. Networks have not been as extensively developed in rural areas as in urban areas. Some people in rural America still have dial-up as their best available, affordable technology, a technology that offers five percent of the capacity for what the FCC has said is the broadband threshold. Others have service that reaches the broadband level, but still does not offer the "lightning-fast" speeds advertised by Internet service providers in urban areas. Accordingly, the nation faces a "broadband gap," not only with regard to the lack of access in rural areas to service that meets the broadband threshold, but also with regard to the lack of availability of faster service between urban and rural America. This report identifies opportunity costs that arise from this gap. These costs exist today, but the pace at which data transmission capability is growing means that the inequality between the technology being newly deployed and the technology that was deployed a decade or more ago is increasing. Networks that connect research institutions in the United States can move 100,000 times more data per unit of time than the dial-up connections that some Americans still must use. The technology gap is not a fixed deficit that once filled, stays filled. The technology gap will be larger--much larger--in the future, along with the information and technology gap, unless significant action is taken to overcome it. (Contains 2 figures, 1 table, and 19 footnotes.)

Almost one in four (3.9 million) students who are enrolled in postsecondary education programs in the United States are also raising a dependent child (Miller, Gault, and Thorman, 2011). These parents are preparing themselves to compete in an American economy in which high skill levels are required to earn a wage sufficient to support a family (Rakesh, 2012). It is important that college campuses are prepared to recognize and support student parents on their path to educational success. Many postsecondary leaders are looking for promising strategies that match the needs and resources of their institutions and students. This brief is a product of the Student Parent Success Initiative (SPSI) at the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) which provides a framework for thinking about the range of supports student parents typically need and example programs. The brief draws from information and lessons learned that have been collected by IWPR from initiatives supporting student parents at two- and four-year colleges and universities across the country. SPSI resources may be used to inform the decisions of leaders on campuses, in communities, and among policymakers to promote better success rates and stronger families for student parents in postsecondary education. The following are appended: (1) Analysis of Student Parent Program Survey; and (2) Information on the Examples Included in the Toolkit.

This paper aims to provide a picture of the occupations in the community services and health industry, and how the workforce obtains the required skills. The authors argue that planning for the industry should concentrate on occupations specific to the industry and those which require high skill levels. Findings suggest that the qualification levels of community services and health workers have increased substantially over the past decade. Furthermore, community services and health vocational education and training courses are well targeted, with most graduates finding employment in the industry. Appended are: (1) Employment within community services and health; (2) Mapping of ANZSCO (Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations) to ASCO (Australian Standard Classification of Occupations); (3) Employed persons by the level of qualification; (4) Change in qualifications, 1996 and 2006; (5) Top destination occupations; and (6) Top intended occupations. (Contains 25 tables, 1 figure, and 13 footnotes.) [Funding for this paper provided through the Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.]

Building the research capacity of the vocational education and training (VET) sector is a key concern for the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). To assist with this objective, NCVER supports an academic scholarship program, whereby VET practitioners are sponsored to undertake university study at honours', master's or doctorate level. The author received an academic scholarship in 2008 to assist with his Master's of Education at Charles Darwin University. He is a Lecturer and Course Coordinator in Alcohol and Other Drugs, Youth Work at Charles Darwin University. His research investigates the flexible delivery of VET in Wugularr, a remote Indigenous community near Katherine in the Northern Territory. As part of its core business, Charles Darwin University offers a range of VET training programs to Wugularr. One of these programs is the Sunrise Health Service's youth worker training program. This paper evaluates the program from the community's perspective. The lessons learned, which are applicable to the wider VET sector, are also identified. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.) [Funding for this document was provided through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.]

This paper discusses routes by which HIV/AIDS money is dispersed and received. It notes that capturing accurate data on actual spending patterns of large donors can be difficult, as there is no uniform tracking or reporting system and much HIV/AIDS money is spent under the broader category of sexual and reproductive health. Most of the information contained in the first two sections is based on main reports that assess the general manner in which HIV/AIDS money as a whole is being distributed. Moving on from who is providing funds for HIV/AIDS initiatives at global level, it tracks sources and flows from governments, through bilateral and multilateral channels. It does not include estimates of household spending on care and treatment, which cannot be realistically quantified. Information follows on top US and European donors, the international business community and pharmaceutical companies. Later sections look into ways HIV/AIDS funding is being spent, with the proviso, as before, that detailed breakdowns of actual spending are rare. The broadest categories are prevention, care and treatment, orphan support and research. Within the field of ECD vis-a-vis HIV/AIDS, funds are being directed through two main areas of concern--prevention of mother-to-child transmission and the care of orphans and vulnerable children. This paper describes major players in these arenas, showing that efforts are being made by a few agencies through the amount of funding directed along these channels is minimal in contrast to other target areas. Fundamental questions are raised about current donor priorities and there follows some discussion touching areas where new or reallocated HIV/AIDS funding could be directed. Obvious gaps in the provision of money for ECD and HIV/AIDS support are then identified along with opportunities to carry out work fill such gaps. The final section examines what it would take to direct more money to support young children living in the shadow of HIV/AIDS. Including very young children in HIV/AIDS response strategies will ultimately depend on individual communities devising their own solutions. A further section highlights the critical importance of sharing knowledge through networks that communicate and disseminate evidence-based research findings and project evaluations. In conclusion, this paper calls for advocacy to urge that more funding should go to ECD-HIV/AIDS needs and that current funding approaches to dealing with the crisis need, in addition, to be tracked and evaluated, with a view to promoting more and better ways of meeting the unfulfilled needs of very young children affected by HIV/AIDS. (Contains 2 figures.)

This publication is intended for three primary audiences: international development professionals who want to define "workforce" for program design purposes, those who seek information about field activities, and those who want to reflect on the implementation of successful, high impact programs--whether they were broad-based or sector-specific projects or local activities. The goal is to provide readers with options and strategies for connecting diverse sets of development objectives through international workforce initiatives. Following a brief introduction, the first chapter briefly reviews international workforce initiatives' historical roles in United States economic and political diplomacy and how they became part of the practice of development assistance. The chapters that follow provide definitions and design principles. The annexes contain more than 80 profiles of projects the Academy for Educational Development (AED) is currently or has recently implemented that have had workforce components. Most of the examples used come from projects implemented in partnership with the U.S. government, projects funded by the United Nations (UN), the Group of Eight (G-8), private foundations, and national governments are also included. Annexes contain: (1) AED Workforce Initiatives--Project Profiles ; (2) AED-Managed Global Technical Assistance Programs; and (3) Profiles of AED Projects with Workforce Components by Category.(Contains 23 endnotes.) [Primary support for this publication has come from AED's Leadership and Institutional Development Group and the AED Center for Enterprise and Capacity Development (CECD).]

"Can You Hear Me? The Right of Young Children to Participate in Decisions Affecting Them" emphasises that participation enhances children's self-esteem and confidence, promotes their overall capacities, produces better outcomes, strengthens understanding of and commitment to democratic processes and protects children more effectively. Participation provides the opportunity for developing a sense of autonomy, independence, heightened social competence and resilience. The benefits are therefore significant, and adults with both direct and indirect responsibility for children need to acquire a greater humility in recognising that they have a great deal to learn from children. But the case for listening to young children goes beyond the beneficial outcomes. It is also a matter of social injustice and human rights. All people, however young, are entitled to be participants in their own lives, to influence what happens to them, to be involved in creating their own environments, to exercise choices and to have their views respected and valued. (Contains 4 footnotes.)

Insights from a variety of research streams were synthesized to identify the key ingredients of a high-quality work environment in Canada's health care sector and ways of achieving high-quality workplaces in the sector. The following sets of interacting factors were considered: (1) the work environment and the human resource practices that shape it; (2) job design and organizational structure, including technology; (3) employment relationships; and (4) industrial relations. The study documented the links between work environments, employment and industrial relations, and "healthy" outcomes for workers and organizations and drew on a broad base of evidence to formulate a model of a high-quality work environment. The evidence established that Canada's health care organizations can and must achieve a virtuous circle connecting work environments, individual quality of work life, and organizational performance. The following were among the 11 recommendations emerging from the study: (1) policymakers should provide a stable policy and funding environment in which to make workplace improvements; (2) although different health care unions and professional associations have unique needs, their leaders must develop a common, long-term workplace improvement agenda; and (3) managers should promote workplace cultures that value employees as assets and work to rebuild commitment and trust between employee and employer. (Contains 93 references.) (MN)

Immigrant status carries considerable challenges to survival and mobility in U.S. society. As an emerging dimension of social stratification, legal status influences not only immigrants but also their children. Using data collected in Houston and San Diego, this study examines the intergenerational health consequences of undocumented status for child well-being. Results support the argument that children with undocumented immigrant parents suffer higher risks of poverty and poor health than children in legal households, and children in mixed-status households are equally disadvantaged despite having a legal parent. Children in legal households are wealthier and have more food, better living quarters, and better health insurance and health status. Drawbacks to being raised in families with one or more unauthorized residents offer further evidence of a growing policy dilemma about access to health care and the general well-being of children. Addressing these needs carries particular significance for the future of a growing Chicano/a population, among whom research documents an observable health deficit. This deficit, which may also exist among other Latino groups experiencing high rates of undocumented migration and uncertain legal status outcomes, contributes to existing health disparities and racial and ethnic inequality in the United States. (Contains 62 references.) (Author/SM)

Noting that health benefits for children should be one of the principal goals of comprehensive early childhood initiatives, this Smart Start brochure provides information on "medical homes" and their importance to the overall health of children; the brochure also describes community strategies to help promote a medical home for all children. The medical home, the practice of enhancing access to a regular source of health care, with coordinated referrals to specialized care when needed, is one of three major practices considered necessary to enhance children's health. Among the benefits of a medical home are minimized delay of needed medical or dental care, and decreased visits to the emergency room. The medical home approach to care is described as accessible, family-centered, continuous, comprehensive, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally competent. Because the medical home has been formally adopted by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the concept is receiving greater awareness in the medical community. Progress in improving children's access to a medical home in North Carolina is being made. Local Smart Start initiatives, as are other community-based early childhood initiatives, are well-positioned to promote the medical home concept. Community efforts in promoting a medical home may use numerous strategies, among them gathering data to measure young children's access to a medical home in their community, contacting active health care providers to determine the progress of young children's access to a medical home, assisting with outreach efforts for publicly funded child health insurance programs, and assisting families in building their capacity to promote the medical home. (KB)

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to include support for advanced telecommunications--such as the Internet and computer networking--for elementary and secondary schools, public libraries, and nonprofit rural health care providers among the Universal Service Fund (USF) mandates. In its plan, the FCC created a system of sliding-scale subsidies for schools and libraries that would average 60% of eligible expenses. This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Paper presents the CBO's baseline estimates for federal outlays and revenues under the FCC's May 1997 plan to provide those federal subsidies. CBO estimates that outlays would rise from about $0.6 billion in fiscal year 1998 to $1.2 billion in 1999. After that, outlays are expected to increase by a little more than $0.1 billion per year, reaching $2.4 billion in 2008. CBO assumes that revenues necessary to fund those expenditures will be collected as required and that the USF will be deficit neutral on a fiscal year basis. The paper includes the basis for CBO's estimates of outlays and revenues. In keeping with the CBO's mission to provide impartial information, the paper contains no recommendations. (SWC)

As increasing numbers of children in developing nations survive to school age, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers are increasingly focusing on the health and well-being of school-age children and on the possibility of using the infrastructure of the school system to deliver health and nutrition interventions. This research, conducted in Ghana through the worldwide Partnership for Child Development, identified and targeted school-age children's prevalent health problems; used simple, low-cost mass interventions through the schools; and developed partnerships for implementation between health and education, government, and non-governmental agencies. The specific intervention for this study focused on de-worming. Samples of 8- to 9- and 12- to 13-year-olds were obtained in 1994 at 3 intervention and 2 comparison sites for baseline, with subsequent samples selected for follow-ups. The results indicated that the interventions were effective in reducing infection levels of schistosomiasis and hookworm, reducing malnutrition, and improving achievement, though not necessarily improving students' attendance. The intervention effect on achievement was especially strong for nutritionally disadvantaged children and for girls. The feasibility of mass school-based treatment was demonstrated, with treatment provided to 85,000 children at a cost of $3.21 per child. Further research needs related to education policy were identified. (A list of the persons interviewed for the report is appended.) (KB)

This paper addresses issues related to health care reform and the impact of managed care on health care services to children and youth with disabilities or special health care needs. Federal laws governing support for children with disabilities and their families are listed and briefly reviewed, noting a trend toward the dismantling of guarantees for children with disabilities. Major health care needs of disabled and chronically ill children are noted, including the finding that about 10 million children have no health insurance, that massive cuts in Medicaid could cause another 5 million to lose health coverage, and that one-third of children with chronic illness or disability have no source of care. Concerns of families are also listed, such as lack of sufficient family income, inability to locate necessary services, and difficulty in communicating with the health care provider. The current status of Medicaid-managed care for disabled children is summarized and model state programs are noted. Sixteen recommendations for advocates of children with disabilities are offered, such as to become informed about issues of public and private financing of health care, to insist on guaranteed access to medically necessary speciality care, to lobby legislative bodies at all levels, and to form coalitions with others concerned about children and health. (Contains 24 references.) (DB)

This paper examines early childhood development, family, health, and literacy. It places particular emphasis on the need to consider the interrelationships of these factors when attempting to use literacy to improve the quality of life of individuals in developing countries. The paper begins with a discussion of learning capacity and a conceptual model of the interrelationships between the factors. It then moves to an overview of the main issues involved in early childhood development and literacy, considering industrialized and developing country approaches to the issues of school readiness, school quality, and early childhood development programs. The next section comprises a discussion of women and literacy in general, including the state of the women's literacy movement and suggestions for future development. Next is a discussion of family issues and literacy that examines the U.S. family literacy movement, family approaches to literacy in developing countries, and how family approaches may affect women. The following section is a treatment of the issue of literacy and health. The paper concludes with a discussion of the need to combine literacy programs and social life. Appendixes contain a 41-item annotated bibliography and 59 references. (YLB)

This paper on traumatic brain injuries begins with statistics on the incidence of the disorder, especially as they relate to Colorado. Traumatic brain injury is then defined, and problems caused by traumatic brain injury are discussed. The components of effective programming for students with traumatic brain injuries are described, followed by the implications for schools at the district level, the building level, the classroom level, and the personal service provider level. Appendices offer suggestions for transition programming, physical care planning and support, individual health care plans, environmental management and support, differentiated academics, programming in the life skills area, developmental/compensatory skill development, and effective instruction. A list of print resources and organizational resources serving Colorado concludes the paper. (JDD)

The first National Education Goal states that all children in America will start school ready to learn. This report examines what it means to be ready to learn and what this goal means for language minority children. It is noted that language minority children will form an increasingly greater proportion of the school population, that they are more likely to be at risk on measures of health care and access to preschool programs, and that "ready to learn" implies knowledge of English. Progress made by the National Education Goals Panel and its advisors in defining and measuring school readiness is summarized, and suggestions are offered for how parents and teachers can help language minority children get ready for school. Six immediate steps to address the needs of young language minority students are recommended covering the following areas: improved access to health care for poor and minority children; preschool admissions policies related to English proficiency level; increased numbers of bilingual preschool teachers; access for language minority parents to parental training and support; involvement of the language minority community on the National Education Goals Panel; and respect for the language of the home. Contains 36 references. (LB)

It is the position of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) that to optimize student health, safety, and learning, a professional registered school nurse (hereinafter referred to as school nurse) be present all day, every day. The American Academy of Pediatrics' Council on School Health (2016) highlights the important role school nurses play across a child's continuum of care and recommends that every school should have at least one nurse. The Every Student Succeeds Act (2015) identifies school nurses as leaders of student chronic disease management in schools. Utilizing the nursing process, the school nurse manages chronic health conditions in the school setting by providing direct care, providing case management, and advocating for students and families to help them access needed resources and support to achieve academic success (CDC, 2017b). This position statement presents the role of the school nurse for students with chronic health conditions. [This position statement replaces the position statement titled Chronic Health Conditions Managed by School Nurses.]

"Turn and Face the Strain: Age Demographic Change and the Near Future of American Education" outlines a fierce battle looming between the needs of public health care and education. A crisis is fast approaching that makes comprehensive improvement of America's public schools more important than ever. Faced with rapidly expanding populations of the young and the old, working age taxpayers will experience the growing strain of insufficient tax revenue to fund public services from now until the foreseeable future. One solution to the crisis: an American education system that leads to a college and career-ready generation prepared for high-wage job earnings in a competitive global economy. This two-page policy brief summarizes the primary components of the predicament and choice options for a changing demography. [For the full report, see ED574383.]

For several years, the Office of Telecommunications Policy has initiated projects investigating the potential of telecommunications as a method for alleviating some of the problems of rural America. In the course of these investigations, a number of insights have been gained relating both to the match between rural problems and telecommunications solutions and to some of the issues involved in service delivery via telecommunications wherever the delivery takes place. Covering some of the issues raised during these investigations, this paper discusses: (1) the rural setting, trends, background, and traditional public services (education, health, public works, public safety, and recreation); (2) some of the alternative technologies (telephone, coaxial cable, radio, video broadcasting, microwave, and satellites); (3) significant characteristics and comparative advantages of cable and local telephone systems; (4) some aspects of the "software problem"; (5) the development of methodology for identifying the communications requirements of localities; and (6) the compilation, codification and analysis of information already available. Several representative studies and demonstrations pertaining to health services, services to the elderly, educational services, public safety, and administrative services are outlined. (NQ)

This fourth volume of the 1981 Report of the Select Panel for the Promotion of Child Health presents a collection of commissioned papers prepared in order to provide working groups of the panel with background information on major areas of health care and health policy toward children and pregnant women. The papers are grouped according to the following topics: health protection and promotion; health services needed by children, adolescents, and pregnant women; access of children and pregnant women to health care; financing and organization of health services; health manpower; planning and administration of health services; and research and information that is still needed in relation to maternal and child health. Also included is a summary of the proceedings of the Panel's workshop on organization of health services, held February 21 to 22, 1980. The Workshop focused on a description of six organizational mechanisms for providing needed health services to infants, children, and pregnant women, sources of support for improved existing organizational mechanisms, and ways of ensuring effective use of federal child health funds. (Author/MP)

The purpose of this paper is to specify the design for evaluating the second year Health Start Program. This design is used as the basis for the determination of the data to be collected and the comparisons that will be made using these data to provide information to answer the policy questions asked by the Office of Child Development (OCD). For OCD, the basic purpose of the evaluation is to identify successful procedures, strategies, and methods of operation that could be transfered and applied to Head Start or other types of local health service delivery programs. In addition, rapid feedback was to be provided about: (a) whether local projects are complying with program guidelines and grant conditions; (b) the managerial efficiency of projects; and (c) the need for technical assistance either in management or substantive areas. This form of feedback is called project management in this paper, distinguishing it from the evaluation of the program which is the main purpose of this effort. For this analysis, two kinds of comparisons are made: (1) comparisons between particular procedures and strategies within the Health Start program; and (2) comparisons between Health Start and the health component of a sample of Head Start programs. Appendices contain the data collection instruments. (RC)

In July and August 1975, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 347 adults living in Indiana County, Pennsylvania to gather information on the health services needed, physician extenders (i.e., nurse practitioners and physician's assistants), adequate health care for everyone, and regular health habits of the population. The sample included 114 adults from the northern part of the county, 114 from the central area, and 119 from the southern region. After the results were compiled, statistical weightings were given to the different regions, which had been sampled at different rates, to make the results representative of the county as a whole. Findings included: 87% of the people felt that the availability of doctors was in need of improvement for Indiana County; availability of doctors was especially of concern in the more rural northern and southern regions; 86% indicated that they had a family doctor; of the 14% who did not have a family doctor, most said no doctor was available in the area or that one was not needed; 74% stated that they would usually or always be willing to accept help from a physician extender working under the direct supervision of a doctor; 67% reported that they regularly did things to stay healthy; 25% rated their health as very good, 45% as good, 22% as average, and 8% as not so good or poor; and regular exercising was the most often mentioned health activity. (NQ)

In June 1975, 62 men and 64 women living on commercial farms in Juniata County, Pennsylvania were interviewed regarding their behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes related to preventing cancer and coronary heart disease. Respondents represented about 22% of all adults living on commercial farms in the county. A commercial farm was defined as one that either sold $10,000 or more produce per year or the operator worked more than half time on the farm. During a face-to-face interview setting, each respondent was asked 137 questions pertaining to: the seriousness and susceptibility of the disease, early detection, their knowledge about the disease, high blood pressure, overweight, and medical services. Each person rated eight selected diseases as to their seriousness and susceptibility. Findings included: cancer was perceived to be the most serious of all eight illnesses with heart disease ranking second; 1/3 of the respondents perceived themselves as either likely or very likely to have heart disease; 30% believed themselves likely to have cancer; all but 5 of the respondents strongly agreed that many types of cancer detected in the early stages could be cured; and 99% of the respondents felt that high blood pressure could be reduced and were aware of 1 or more ways in which this could be accomplished. (NQ)