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The article reports on the announcement of Vision Care Section of the American Public Health Association in the U.S. of its awards program for 1987. The association solicits nominations in the three categories of awards including distinguished achievement, outstanding student and outstanding paper or project. The distinguished achievement award is the highest honor bestowed by the Vision Care Section, designed to recognize the leaders in vision care and public health. The outstanding student award provides recognition to a student who has demonstrated the ability in the promotion of vision care in the public health field. The paper or project award is designed to recognize an individual, institution, or group that have significantly contributed to the advancement of vision care.

The public health community has made important, original contributions to the debate over universal access to health services in the United States. Well before the decision of the American Public Health Association in 1944 to endorse a health plan encompassing virtually the entire populace, prominent public health practitioners and scholars embraced universality as an essential principle of health policy. Influenced by Arthur Newsholme, C.-E.A. Winslow began to promote this principle in the 1920s. Many others came to justify universal medical care as a corollary of the traditional ideal of all-inclusive public health services. By the 1940s, most leaders in the field saw national health insurance as the best way to attain universal access. For the past 30 years, advocates of universalism have asserted a social right to health services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers a schedule of important deadlines for the policy development process of the American Public Health Association (APHA) Joint Policy Committee (JPC) in the U.S. for 1987. The group's proposed public policy statements will be considered at its 115th annual meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. March 23 will be the deadline of the submission of all proposed resolutions and position papers and must be sent to the attention of the JPC. All proposed policy statements will be returned to the authors on May 8 with an initial assessment by the JPC. On June 15, revised policy statements must be received at APHA headquarters to be considered by the 1987 governing council.

The article offers information on the challenges faced by the American Public Health Association on the development of the association's Medical Care Section in the U.S. On November 10, 1948, the American Public Health Association's Governing Council voted to approve the petition requesting the establishment of a Medical Care Section. In 1972, the association expanded their health services because of the changes on their needs and demands. In 1920, the association created a committee to study the municipal health departments and determine the extent of variation on the health services and procedures offered in a specific community.

The author discusses the method of peer review in trying to control the quality of health care, specifically dental care. Attention is given to the means by which this is done, problems encountered, and the potential uses of this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a position paper from the American Public Health Association relative to the improvement of health care in prisons, jails, and youth detention centers in the U.S. The association backs the recommendation for a federal strategy to help improve health care these centers as structured by the report of General Accounting Office to U.S. Congress. It also supports the Health Services Administration's Prison Health Initiative aimed to assign National Health Service Corps staff to prisons and jails. In addition, the group urges the development of periodic and independent medical audit reviews to check that standards are being met and quality care provided. Other significant decisions of the group are presented.

The article reports on the American Public Health Association's announcement of the schedule for the annual process of considering proposed policy statements for 1990. These public policy statements form the basis of the association's position on legislative, regulatory, legal and health matters of interest to the public health community. They also provide a record of the association's stand on a variety of health issues, reflecting the diverse interest of its membership. Deadline for receipt of proposed resolutions is on February 26, 1990.

The author reflects on the activities of the American Public Health Associations (APHA) that were intended to advance the cause of community health services in the U.S. It cites some of APHA's documented activities such as the Committee on Administrative Practices, the Health Bulletin Service, and the APHA Newsletter. According to the author, the documentation of the organization's activities will provide the basic material for a story of its past services.

The article presents a position paper from the American Public Health Association relative to the availability of nutrition status data to local health agencies in the U.S. The association encourages that there be adequate personnel and funding to make surveillance data collected by the Center for Disease Control available to all the states and territories of the U.S. It also encourages that there be enough funding and manpower to enable the administrators of the Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of the National Center for Health Statistics to formulate a method to make data available and more useful to local communities and develop future surveys to accomplish the purpose.

The article presents the policy statement of the American Public Health Association concerning medically uninsured citizens' health care initiatives of each state in the country. In response to the fact that there is an increasing number of medically uninsured residents in the country and that most states are exerting effort in addressing their needs, the Association agrees in the need for a high quality, universal national health program which has a comprehensive scope, has state and local administration and is equitably financed. It also reorganizes and encourages state health initiatives for the uninsured population.

The article discusses the reactions of the American Public Health Association against the denial of emergency care to uninsured patients in the U.S. The Association opposes the practice of denying care and transferring emergency department patients, including women in labor, for solely economic reasons. It also opposes the refusal of hospitals with specialized services to accept medically appropriate patient transfers. In addition, it urges that private and public hospitals adopt policies that no emergency patients be transferred for non-medical reasons.

The author reflects on contribution of the American Public Health Association to the progress in disease prevention in the U.S. He examines the challenge of prevention in the field of medicine. The author also discusses the growing body of facts about burden of illness and its possible treatment or prevention.

The article presents a survey which identifies the smoking behavior of American Public Health Association (APHA) members in the U.S. The association conducted the survey in order to determine how they could best contribute to the goal of decreasing cigarette smoking within the country. It has shown additional evidence that health professionals' own smoking behavior is related to their attitudes and actions in urging a change in the smoking behavior of those to whom they give care. In addition, the said survey presented the percentage of APHA members who ever tried to persuade someone to stop smoking.

The article presents guidelines recommended by the American Public Health Association (APHA) for abortion services in the U.S. The first national guidelines for abortion care were issued by APHA in November, 1970. Some of its specific recommendations include providing proper education about abortion procedures and services to general population and health professionals, establishment of an organized and properly publicized, nonprofit abortion referral service in local communities, and providing abortion counseling as an integral part of all medical services. APHA recommends full implementation of the laws permitting abortion in order to make abortion a matter of medical practice everywhere in the country.

The article provides information related to public health services in the U.S. Every woman in the country should receive safe, effective, and legal abortion services from health agencies with the supervision of competent and well-trained physicians. Margaret B. Dolan, professor and head nurse of the Department of Public Health Nursing was appointed as the 98th president of the American Public Health Association (APHA). Paul B. Cornely, assistant to the executive medical officer of the United Mine Workers of America Welfare and Retirement Fund, has received Sedgwick Memorial Medal for his distinguished service in public health.

The major thrust of this year's presidential address is the urgent need for a clearly defined national health program. By offering an outline in which specifics are used for illustration, the reader is given an opportunity to consider the basic aspects and how to develop and implement such a program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides information on the policy statement adopted by the American Public Health Association (APHA) regarding the criteria for assessing the quality of health information on the Internet. The APHA notes that more than 22 million U.S. citizens went to the Internet for health-related answers. It finds that nearly 70 percent of those searching for health care information on the Internet did so prior visiting a doctor's office. The APHA urges individuals and organizations to get involved in promoting the application of the right criteria for assessing health information on the Internet. It supports the continued U.S. Federal Trade Commission monitoring and enforcement of fraudulent health claims and deceptive health marketing on the Internet.

The article discusses the position of the American Public Health Association (APHA) on racial and ethnic disparities in health in the U.S. The association recognizes that there have been efforts in the country to reduce ethnic disparities in health through national health policy. It reaffirms the joint announcement of APHA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities, and supports the action plan of the DHHS for eliminating health disparities.

The article presents the American Public Health Association Policy Statement for the coverage of counseling and patient education services and funding of health education programs under national health care reform. Most of the goals and objectives for health promotion and disease prevention will require community-based health education efforts. The association suggests that reform proposals include adequate funding for health promotion and coverage for counseling as part of a package of clinical preventive services.

The article provides information on the nominations for the 1993 American Public Health Association (APHA) awards. The awards for which nominations are being sought include the Sedgwick Memorial Medal, Jay S. Drotman Memorial Award, Martha May Eliot Award and the APHA Award for Excellence. All nominations for these awards should be submitted on the prescribed forms and must be accompanied with a complete curriculum vitae of the nominee. Nominees need not be members of the APHA, however, it is preferred that the nominees work in the U.S., Canada or Mexico.

The article presents a policy statement of The American Public Health Association concerning the introduction of registered care technologists in patient care as a temporary solution to the severe shortage of professional nurses in the U.S. The association objects to the proposal and instead encourages the National League for Nursing, American Nurses Association, and other professional nursing associations to address the nursing shortage in partnership with the federal government and health-related organizations to guarantee quality patient care.

The article presents a policy statement of the American Public Health Association regarding the counseling and testing for perinatal transmission of AIDS. The association affirms the women's right to make their own choices regarding reproduction. It recommends that the voluntary and informed testing for HIV infection in the context of perinatal transmission involves several factors. One factor involves the information on the benefits and risks of HIV testing. It also encourages the Centers for Disease Control to create a program regarding counseling for HIV testing of pregnant women.

The article presents a policy statement of the American Public Health Association concerning nutrition fraud and AIDS. The association notes that an estimated $10 billion are being lost to health fraud in the United States. Also, it recognizes that there is a very limited research on appropriate nutritional care with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected individuals. It notes that various newsletters and books are promoting potentially harmful nutritional practices. As a result, the association urges the development of educational and case management programs for people with AIDS.

The article presents the policy statement of the American Public Health Association concerning equitable and full employment. The Association believes that employment has an impact on health and poverty that is why it is urging the country's Department of Health and Human Services to include employment availability in its objectives. It also calls for a public employment and wage maintenance program and encourages researches which focus on public health effect of inadequate wages and unemployment.

The article presents the policy statement of the American Public Health Association concerning occupational diseases and injuries surveillance. The Association believes that surveillance of occupational injuries and diseases is vital to the effectiveness of preventive programs and can increase awareness of both the employee and employer about work-related health problems. It is also convincing the Congress to mandate a reporting system for occupational diseases and calls the attention of concerned federal agencies to develop an occupational injury and disease surveillance system.

The article presents the policy statement of the American Public Health Association concerning health hazards brought by naturally occurring radon. The association believes that radon exposure can cause lung cancer that is why it recommends performance of adequate testing for the determination of areas with high level of naturally occurring radon be done by federal and state governments. It also urges state and local governments to provide information and outreach programs regarding radon exposure as well as financial assistance to those households that need remediation and testing activities.

The article presents the policy statement of the American Public Health Association stating its opposition to the revision of the National Family Planning Program, Title X of the Public Health Service Act, while support for the principle of informed consent. The Association believes that revisions in Title X would promote infertility services but no information or counseling related to abortion will be given to the person entitled for the services provided by the Title X. The Association encourages concerned citizens and groups to oppose the regulation as well as the Congress to have commitment to the principle of informed consent.

The article discusses recommendations from the American Public Health Association (APHA) regarding the worker notification of adverse health findings. The APHA is aware of the worker's right to know health risk, the ethical obligations of government agencies, and the problems on medical, scientific, and socio-economic. Through this awareness, APHA recommends that the Department of Health of the U.S. allocate funds that will be used for worker's notification, supports and endorses bills before the U.S. Congress. In addition, APHA recommends the mechanism and requirements for notification program and the provision of the immediate care and medical follow-up for the workers.

The article discusses the increase of involuntary sterilization of poor especially the minority females in the U.S., according to the American Public Health Association (APHA). APHA cites an incident involving welfare mothers who are about to give birth and faced with the choice of consenting to sterilization as a condition of medical care. It has mentioned that the practices would violate not only legal concepts of due process but the most fundamental respect for human dignity and the basic rights of human beings.

The article presents the policy statement of the American Public Health Association concerning state and local departments programs on injury control. In response to the fact that there is an increase in deaths caused by intentional and unintentional injuries and that these incidences cost the country a lot of money, aside from pain, suffering and grief, the Association urges state legislators and governors to establish programs focusing on injury control. It also encourages engineering and medicine-related schools and institutions to expand their training and research programs on injury epidemiology and control.

The article discusses the provisions on vision care in national health programs of the American Public Health Association in the U.S. The policies identify issues such as that vision health care problems are second most evident chronic health difficulty in the U.S. It also notes that there are only one-half of the population who receive eye or vision care from any source. It is recommended to support the preventive vision health services in any national health insurance of national health service program.