About Us Future Students Current Students Research For Staff News and Events
UNSW
Faculty of Medicine
School of Public Health and Community Medicine
About Us
Welcome from the Head of School
Our Capabilities
Centres and Units
Reports and Publications
Contacts
Staff Directory
The WWW Virtual Library: Public Health
Geographical Locations
Africa
America
Asia
Europe
Middle East
Oceania
Selected Topics


Quicklinks
myUNSW
Online Handbook
UNSW Library
The WWW Virtual Library - Public Health
UNSW Public Health Bookshop

About Us > The WWW Virtual Library: Public Health > Geographical Locations > America

Geographical Locations - USA

Virtual Library

The WWW Virtual Library: Public Health

The WWW Virtual Library | Categories | Topic Database


Categories




Country Information


  • (Statistical) Number of Inhabitants per Doctor: 341
  • CIA - World Factbook : USA
^ Back to top

Organisations and Networks

  • Health Information and Publications Network (HIPNET) - Health Information and Publications Network (HIPNET) [formerly Population and Health Materials Working Group (PHMWG)], from Johns Hopkins' Center for Communications Programs, is a mission-driven partnership that addresses a key public health need for access to technical health information and innovative information technologies that strengthen the performance and sustainability of health care programs, organizations, and services around the world. HIPNet facilitates collaboration among organizations that produce and disseminate print and electronic information in the field of international health. Through quarterly meetings, bi-annual conferences, an online resource center, an email forum and other activities, HIPNet ensures that member investments in health information materials and technologies are efficient, effective, and widely used. HIPNET is funded by the United States Agency for International Development.

UN and Multinational

^ Back to top

Government


^ Back to top

Non-Government

  • American Academy of Health Behavior (AAHB)
    The AAHB aims "to improve the stature of health educators by supporting and promoting quality health behavior, health education, and health promotion research conducted by health educators. Therefore, the American Academy of Health Behavior is a research organization that represents health education researchers for the expressed purpose of supporting and improving our standing within the academic community and the community at large. We wish to be known as creators of knowledge and not merely as disseminators of other disciplines' research and theories"
  • American Association for World Health (AAWH)
    "AAWH is the only private national organization in the U.S. dedicated to funneling a broad spectrum of critical national and international health information to Americans at the grassroots level by developing and distributing practical, easy-to-use health education and promotional materials to those community leaders who can most effectively reach our U.S. citizens at the local level"
  • American Association of Public Health Dentistry (AAPHD)
  • American Council on Science and Health - "a consumer education consortium concerned with issues related to food, nutrition, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, lifestyle, the environment and health. ACSH is an independent, nonprofit, tax-exempt organization"
  • American Public Health Association (APHA)
  • American School Health Association (ASHA)
  • Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH)
  • Campaign for Children's Health Care
    The Campaign for Children's Health Care is dedicated to making high-quality, affordable health insurance coverage for all of America's children a top national priority. It is a diverse group of organizations who represent health care providers, educators, parents, advocates, and others, all of whom share a commitment to our nation's children. The Campaign coordinates public education efforts across the country to demonstrate the importance of health insurance for children and families and to show why national action is needed to expand coverage for children.
  • Change Project: Healthy Cities / Healthy Communities
    A comprehensive collection of resource material on planning and implementing healthy cities programs; it includes interviews with major players in this particular field of health promotion (Len Duhl, Ilona Kickbusch, and others)
  • Commonwealth Fund - "The Fund's current four national program areas are improving health care services, bettering the health of minority Americans, advancing the well-being of elderly people, and developing the capacities of children and young people. In all its national programs, the Fund emphasizes prevention and promoting healthy behavior. The fund's international program in health policy seeks to build a network of policy-oriented health care researchers whose multinational experience and outlook stimulate innovative policies and practices in the United States and other industrialized countries"
  • Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
  • Global Health Council
    "A US-based, non-profit membership organization that was created 27 years ago to identify priority health problems and to report on them to the US public, Congress, international and domestic government agencies, academic institutions, and the global health community. The Global Health Council/NCIH network includes hundreds of private and public organizations as well as several thousand professionals based in and outside of the US"
  • Health Research Group - "Since 1971, Public Citizen, a non-profit, consumer research and advocacy organization, founded by Ralph Nader and Dr. Sidney Wolfe, has been fighting for citizen and consumer justice and for government and corporate accountability. The Health Research Group (HRG) is the health arm of Public Citizen and promotes research-based, system-wide changes in health care policy as well as providing advice and oversight concerning drugs, medical devices, doctors and hospitals and occupational health"
  • HealthWeb: Public Health
  • Healthy Valley 2000 (USA)
    "Healthy Valley 2000 was officially launched in October 1994 after more than a year of work and preparation. The project includes the towns of Ansonia, Derby, Shelton, Seymour, Beacon Falls and Oxford located in South Central Connecticut, with a combined population of 96,000 and an area of 100 square miles"
  • International Healthy Cities Foundation
    The International Healthy Cities Foundation was created to assist people and groups from many different sectors. The mission of the IHCF is to facilitate linkages among people, issues and resources in order to support the development of Healthy Cities initiatives.
  • Intercultural Cancer Council - "promotes policies, programs, partnerships, and research to eliminate the unequal burden of cancer among racial and ethnic minorities and medically underserved populations in the United States and its associated territories"
  • The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
  • MSH - Management Sciences for Health
    Operating since 1971, "Management Sciences for Health (MSH) is a private, nonprofit educational and scientific organization working to close the gap between what is known health problems and what is done to solve them". Its headquarters are in Boston, Massachusetts.
  • National Association of Community Health Centers
    "Founded in 1971, NACHC is the premier national health care organization dedicated exclusively to expanding health care access for the medically underserved through the community-based health care model. In this role, NACHC represents and supports the collective mission and interests of America’s Health Centers nationwide network of more than 900 community-based health centers which provide comprehensive primary care and preventive services to more than 10 million people in all the 50 states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam"
  • National Association of County and City Health Officials
    A non-governmental organization aiming at improving local public health policies and programs
  • National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems
  • National Association of Local Boards of Health - " to provide a national voice for the concerns of Local Boards of Health and to assist Local Boards of Health in obtaining the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to protect and promote public health in their communities"
  • National Children's Cancer Society - "to improve the quality of life for children with cancer and to reduce the risk of cancer by promoting children's health through financial and in-kind assistance, advocacy, support services, education and prevention programs"
  • National Environmental Health Association - NEHA
  • National Health Law Program, Inc.- "a national public interest law firm that seeks to improve health care for America's working and unemployed poor, minorities, the elderly, and people with disabilities. NHeLP serves legal services programs, community organizations, the private bar, providers and individuals who work to preserve a health care safety net for the millions of uninsured or underinsured low-income people"
  • National League for Nursing
  • National Low Income Housing Coalition/LIHIS - "the only national organization dedicated solely to ending America's affordable housing crisis. The NLIHC is committed to educating, organizing, and advocating to ensure decent, affordable housing within healthy neighborhoods for everyone"
  • National Pediatric and Family HIV Resource Center - "a non-profit organization that serves professionals who care for children, adolescents and families with HIV infection and AIDS. Founded in 1990, the Center offers education, consultation, technical assistance, and training for health and social service professionals"
  • National Rural Health Association
  • National Women's Health Network - " a nonprofit health advocacy organization founded in 1975 to give women a greater voice in the health care system in the United States. The Network advocates for better federal policy on women's health and, through its Information Clearinghouse, provides women with information and resources to assist them in making better health care decisions. The Network is supported by 12,000 individual and 300 organizational members. The Network does not accept funding from either pharmaceutical or medical device manufacturers"
  • National Women's Health Resource Center
  • National Youth Development Information Center (NYDIC) - "provides practice-related information about youth development to national and local youth-serving organizations at low cost or no cost. Between 60 to 80 percent of all adolescents participate in nonschool programs. Many programs increasingly employ a youth development approach to deliver their services. They purposefully meet the needs of youth by building the competencies necessary for young people to become successful adults. NYDIC provides these community programs with the information tools they need to improve their services"
  • Public Health Foundation
    The Foundation aims "to assist official state and local public health agencies' efforts to promote and protect the health of people living within their respective jurisdictions. PHF serves the needs of public health professionals and the communities they serve by: Translating and disseminating existing research and best practices, Developing new knowledge for improving the practice of public health, and Disseminating professional development activities to build skills and competence throughout the public health workforce. PHF serves as an independent organization providing objective research, professional development, and technical support to public health practice associations and agencies"
  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
    The Foundation is "based in Princeton, N.J., is the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care. It became a national institution in 1972 with receipt of a bequest from the industrialist whose name it bears, and has since made more than $2 billion in grants. The Foundation concentrates its grantmaking in three goal areas: to assure that all Americans have access to basic health care at reasonable cost; to improve the way services are organized and provided to people with chronic health conditions; and to reduce the personal, social and economic harm caused by substance abuse--tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs"
  • Sierra Health Foundation
    The Sierra Health Foundation is "a private, independent foundation that awards grants in support of health and health-related activities in a 26 county region of northern California. Headquartered in Sacramento, the Foundation is one of several California-based philanthropic foundations concentrating on health"
  • Sustainable America
    "A national nonprofit organization with geographically and racially diverse membership of nearly 200 organizations and individuals working in a range of disciplines including worker's rights, environmental sustainability, "high-road" business development, and community design. SA, together with its members are working to create "new economies" in the United States by implementing sustainable economic development models in urban, suburban and rural regions of the country"
  • Wayne County Combined General Health District - this web-site is an interesting case: it's set up by Gregory L. Halley, MD, MBA and though it's located and grounded somewhere in Ohio, it provides rich resources on primary health care and public health. One should promote Gregory for the hard labor he has put into setting up this page. We need more of his kind indeed.
  • Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE)
  • Anchorage Planning Office, Community Health Promotion Section - works closely with the community to develop initiatives which prevent disease and injury and increases the quality of life of the community
  • Van Alen Institute, New York: Projects in Public Architecture, - "the integrity and importance of the physical public realm, which has been the spatial and symbolic binding and boundary of urban life and work, is profoundly challenged by the "cyber" future, the privatization of public places and public institutions, and a host of other technological and cultural changes. The future of public architecture - the physical public realm from streets and parks to schools and housing - is threatened by both indifference and incapacity", the Institute refers in its programs explicitely to the connection of urban
^ Back to top

Academic Institutions

^ Back to top

National Policy and Related Documents

  • HHS - Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation - Planning Documents
    The ASPE is the principal advisor to the Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services on policy development
  • National Healthcare Disparities Report 2005
    "The 2005 National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR) tracks disparities in both quality of and access to health care in the United States for both the general population and for congressionally designated priority populations. The report presents, in chart format, the latest available findings on quality of and access to health care in the general U.S. population and among priority populations. It focuses on four components of quality—effectiveness, patient safety, timeliness, and patient centeredness—and two components of access—facilitators and barriers to
  • State Profiles - Reforming the Healthcare System 2005
    State Profiles: Reforming the Health Care System 2005 is a compilation of major health system characteristics for each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Published since 1990 by the AARP Public Policy Institute, the State Profiles series was developed to help guide policy discussions among public and private sector leaders in health care throughout the United States.health care and health care utilization."
^ Back to top

Reports, Guidelines, and Projects

  • A Snapshot of Medical Student Education in the United States and Canada: Reports from 128 Schools
    According to Steven L. Kanter, who wrote the forward in this collection of articles, “this collection of reports has value for both contemporary readers and future historians. First, the reports are structured to facilitate comparison between the medical student education programs described in the present collection and those described in the 2000 collection, and also to compare the current programs with one another. Second, both this collection and the one published in 2000 are comprehensive. They include reports from almost every accredited medical education program leading to the MD degree in the United States and Canada. Third, the reports offer an important picture of advances, innovations, and initiatives in these medical student education programs that can help contemporary readers understand the status of medical student education today, and that can help current and future historians gauge progress over the last decade and century. Fourth, the reports reveal important similarities and differences among medical student education programs. For example, some schools have specially-designed experiences in research (often called “scholarly concentrations”), while other schools offer students key clinical experiences in rural settings. Some schools have traditional clerkships, while others have longitudinal ones. Several schools have added buildings devoted to medical student education, and many have integrated ethics into the curriculum as a required component. Many schools are expanding their educational programs to additional campuses, and new medical schools are establishing their own innovative educational programs. This set of reports provides ready access to this information. Fifth, the reports include information on the governance and management structure of educational programs, which situates the curriculum within the context of a school and provides key insights about how decisions are made.” [Academic Medicine, Vol. 85, Iss. 9, p.S1-S648 (September 2010)]
  • Beyond Health Care: New Directions to a Healthier America: Recommendations from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America
    "Making America healthier will require action at all levels of society. Individuals, communities, health care, businesses and unions, philanthropies, and local, state and the federal government must work together to improve our nation’s health. Although medical care is important, our reviews of research and the hearings we’ve held have led us to conclude that building a healthier America will hinge largely on what we do beyond the health care system. It means changing policies that influence economic opportunity, early childhood development, schools, housing, the workplace, community design and nutrition, so that all Americans can live, work, play and learn in environments that protect and actively promote health. And it means encouraging and enabling people to make healthy choices for themselves and their families." Executive summary [Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America, April 2009]
  • Challenges and Successes in Reducing Health Disparities: Workshop Summary
    "In early 2007, the Institute of Medicine convened the Roundtable on Health Disparities to increase the visibility of racial and ethnic health disparities as a national problem, to further the development of programs and strategies to reduce disparities, to foster the emergence of leadership on this issue, and to track promising activities and developments in health care that could lead to dramatically reducing or eliminating disparities. The Roundtable’s first workshop, Challenges and Successes in Reducing Health Disparities, was held in St. Louis, Missouri, on 31 July, 2007, and examined: (1) the importance of differences in life expectancy within the United States; (2) the reasons for those differences; and (3) the implications of this information for programs and policy makers."
  • Civil Society Perspectives on HIV/AIDS Policy in Nicaragua, Senegal, Ukraine, the United States, and Vietnam: overview
    "National governments and international agencies attempting to address HIV/AIDS continue to exclude or ignore marginalized groups that are disproportionately affected by the epidemic. In countries ranging from the United States, with some of the world’s best medicine and health care technology, to Senegal, where more than 50 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, marginalized groups — injecting drug users, sex workers, men who have sex with men, prisoners, and ethnic minorities — are frequently excluded from the design, implementation, and evaluation of national HIV/AIDS policies and programs. The Open Society Institute’s Public Health Watch HIV/AIDS Monitoring Project has documented the varying degrees and different forms that stigma and discrimination against marginalized groups can take in five developed and developing countries: Nicaragua, Senegal, Ukraine, the United States, and Vietnam. The results of this research, which are highlighted in this overview and available in five separate country reports, have made it clear that national governments and international agencies must collaborate more effectively with these groups in order to hear their concerns and address their needs." [Public Health Watch, Open Society Institute, 2007]
  • Down syndrome, paternal age and education: comparison of California and the Czech Republic
    Background: The association between maternal age and risk of Down syndrome has been repeatedly shown in various populations. However, the effect of paternal age and education of parents has not been frequently studied. Comparative studies on Down syndrome are also rare. This study evaluates the epidemiological characteristics of Down syndrome in two culturally and socially contrasting population settings, in California and the Czech Republic. Methods: The observed live birth prevalence of Down syndrome was studied among all newborns in the California counties monitored by California Birth Defects Monitoring Program from 1996 to 1997, and in the whole Czech Republic from 1994 to 1998. Logistic regression was used to analyze the data. Results: A total of 516,745 (California) and 475,834 (the Czech Republic) infants were included in the analysis. Among them, 593 and 251, respectively, had Down syndrome. The mean maternal age of children with Down syndrome was 32.1 years in California and 26.9 years in the Czech Republic. Children born to older mothers were at greater risk of Down syndrome in both populations. The association with paternal age was mostly explained by adjusting for maternal age, but remained significant in the Czech Republic. The association between maternal education and Down syndrome was much stronger in California than in the Czech Republic but parental age influences higher occurrence of Down syndrome both in California and in the Czech Republic. Conclusion: The educational gradient in California might reflect selective impact of prenatal diagnosis, elective termination, and acceptance of prenatal diagnostic measures in Californian population. [author abstract] [BMC Public Health 2005, 5: 69 doi:10.1186/1471-2458-5-69]
  • Establishing a Holistic Framework to Reduce Inequities in HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STDs, and Tuberculosis in the United States
    "In the United States, we have made great strides in reducing the incidence and improving the health outcomes of persons infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and tuberculosis (TB).1,2 Our success is a result of advances in surveillance; medical research; and prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Nevertheless, today there are groups that carry a severe and disproportionate burden of our focus diseases. To address this imbalance, we must complement individual-level interventions, intended to influence knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, with new approaches that address the interpersonal, network, community, and societal influences of disease transmission and health.3 Evidence suggests that programs that comprehensively address health where we live, work, learn, and play can have greater impact on health outcomes at the population level than programs utilizing interventions aimed solely at individual behavior change.4,5 Social and personal differences should not hinder the opportunity for each of us to make healthy choices. As health begins at home, and is influenced by where we live, the jobs we hold, our knowledge of risk, and our support systems, it is critically important that our public health programs acknowledge and address these broader realities and contexts. This white paper outlines the strategic vision of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) for reducing health disparities and promoting health equity related to our conditions of interest. The purpose of the white paper is to advance a holistic approach to the design of our public health programs to advance the health of communities and increase their opportunities for healthy living. NCHHSTP is committed to promoting awareness, engagement, and action on the many factors that can affect the health of all of us; to addressing these factors in the policy, practice, and research activities of NCHHSTP; and to building partnerships on every level. This white paper extends and builds on the concepts found in the NCHHSTP social determinants of health (SDH) green paper and incorporates recommendations from the 2008 consultation on SDH." [NCHHSTP National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention White Paper on Social Determinants of Health, Atlanta (GA): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; October 2010]
  • Examining the Health Disparities Research Plan of the National Institutes of Health: Unfinished Business
    "This report is an assessment of the National Institutes of Health (NIS) Strategic Research Plan and Budget to Reduce and Ultimately Eliminate Health Disparities and the adequacy of coordination of the development and implementation of the strategic plans across NIH Institutes and centers. "
  • Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?
    This study examines the impact of food marketing on health of children and youth in the United States. It asserts that the food marketing industry intentionally and successfully targets children who are too young to distinguish advertising from truth and induces them to eat high-calorie, low-nutrient (but highly profitable) "junk" foods. The report also suggests a number of strategies to combat this influence.
  • Health in the Americas 2007: United States of America
    As a health agency, the Pan American Health Organization’s core discipline is epidemiology, which enables the measurement, definition, and comparison of health problems and conditions and their distribution from the perspectives of population, geography, and time. This publication on the United States of America addresses the issue of health as a human right, taking into account both the individual and community contexts, and examines various critical determinants of health, including those of a biological, social, cultural, economic, and political nature. That examination reveals the existence of gaps, disparities, and inequities that persist in the United States of America, especially those related to access to basic services, health, nutrition, housing, and adequate living conditions as well as to the lack of opportunities for human development — all of which contribute to the greater vulnerability to diseases and health risks of some population groups. [Adapted from the preface of Health in the Americas 2007]. The US-Mexico border area.
  • Health Protection in the 21st Century: Understanding the Burden of Disease: Preparing for the Future
    The 21st Century has seen the emergence of new public health problems, including environmental hazards such as pollution from transport, an increased number of chemicals in everyday use, global warming, disposal of waste at landfill sites and building on contaminated land, together with the emergence of new infections such as SARS and avian flu. This report represents a first step in identifying and quantifying wherever possible the burden of disease for both of these new threats and those areas of health protection which remain a concern, such as respiratorydisease, poisons and injuries in the United States
  • Health United States 2005 with Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans
    "Health, United States is an annual report on trends in health statistics. The report consists of two main sections: A chartbook containing text and figures that illustrates major trends in the health of Americans; and a trend tables section that contains 156 detailed data tables. The two main components are supplemented by an executive summary, a highlights section, an extensive appendix and reference section, and an index."
  • Health United States 2006 with Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans
    Health, United States, 2006, is the 30th annual report on the health status of the Nation prepared by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for the President and Congress. In a chartbook and 147 detailed tables, it provides an annual picture of health for the entire nation. Trends are presented on health status and health care utilisation, resources, and expenditures.
  • High and rising health care costs: Demystifying U.S. health care spending
    "Policy-makers have a number of options available to restrain health care spending growth, none of which are easy. With research consistently showing that medical technology is the largest cost driver, applying technology more selectively to patients needs to be an element of any long-term approach."
  • Hunger in America 2006: National Report Prepared for America's Second Harvest Final Report March 2006
    "…Despite America's great wealth, millions of Americans do not have enough food to eat each day. More than 25 million people use food banks and food-rescue organizations in America's Second Harvest -The Nation’s Food Bank Network (A2H), the nation’s largest network of emergency food providers - each year. This report presents the result of a study conducted in 2005 for Second Harvest. It provides a comprehensive profile of the incidence and nature of hunger and food insecurity in the U.S. The study provides extensive demographic profiles of emergency food clients at charitable feeding agencies and comprehensive information on the nature and efficacy of local agencies in meeting the food security needs."
  • Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2009
    "This report presents data on income, poverty, and health insurance coverage in the United States based on information collected in the 2010 and earlier Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplements (CPS ASEC) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Summary of findings: (i) The median household income in 2009 was not statistically different from the 2008 median in real terms. (ii) The poverty rate increased between 2008 and 2009. (iii) The uninsured rate and number of people without health insurance increased between 2008 and 2009. These results were not uniform across groups. For example, between 2008 and 2009, real median household income declined for non-Hispanic Whites and Blacks, while the changes for Asians and Hispanics were not statistically significant. The poverty rate increased for non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics, while the change for Asians was not statistically significant. Additionally, for health insurance, the uninsured rate and number of uninsured increased for non-Hispanic Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics, while the changes for Asians were not statistically significant. These results are discussed in more detail in the three main sections of this report — income, poverty, and health insurance coverage. Each section presents estimates by characteristics such as race, Hispanic origin, nativity, and region. Other topics covered are earnings of workers, including full-time, year-round workers; families in poverty; and health insurance coverage of children." [[US] Census Bureau Releases Report – September 2010]
  • Interagency Crosscutting Group on Climate Change and Human Health (CCHHG)
    "The Interagency Crosscutting Group on Climate Change and Human Health (CCHHG) is charged by the USGCRP with planning, coordinating, implementing, evaluating, and reporting on federal research and related scientific activities on the human health impacts of global environmental change. The CCHHG integrates relevant science and technology programs and capabilities through interagency, interdisciplinary, and intergovernmental collaborations spanning basic research to decision making to application. The ultimate goal is to build communities that are healthy and resilient to climate change impacts. The CCHHG focuses on all impacts of climate change on human health. Direct health impacts may include increased illnesses and deaths from extreme heat events, injuries and deaths from extreme weather events, and respiratory illnesses due to changes in air quality. Indirect health impacts include illnesses and deaths that may arise from climate-related changes in ecosystems, infectious agents, or agricultural production. The group also considers unintended hazards, as well as potential health benefits, that may arise from climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. The CCHHG incorporates a One Health approach, recognizing that human health is inextricably linked to animal, ecosystem, and environmental health." [The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)]
  • Longevity Disparities in Multiethnic Hawaii: An Analysis of 2000 Life Tables
    Objective: We examined differences among seven major ethnic groups in Hawaii in life expectancy at birth (e[0]) and mortality at broad age groups. Methods: We constructed life tables for 2000 for Caucasian, Chinese, Filipino, Hawaiian, Japanese, Korean, and Samoan ethnic groups in Hawaii. We partitioned overall mortality into broad age groups: <15 (representing premature mortality), 15–65 (representing working age), and 66–84 and $85 (representing senescent mortality). Results: The overall e(0) in Hawaii was 80.5 years, but the difference between the longest-living group (Chinese) and the shortest-living group (Samoan) was 13 years. Chinese had the lowest mortality rates in each age group except the 85 category. In this last age group, we observed anomalously low rates for some new immigrant groups (especially Samoan males) suggesting, as a cause, that elders in these immigrant groups may return to natal countries in their old age and die there. In the <15 age group, mortality rates for Samoans and Koreans were highest, especially for Korean girls, suggesting some continuance in the U.S. of a preference for boy children. Outside of these anomalies, ethnic differences in e(0) were likely explained by socioeconomic and behavioral variables known to affect mortality levels, which are closely associated with ethnicity in Hawaii. Conclusions: These findings confirm the need to disaggregate Asian and Pacific Islander data, to conduct ethnic-specific research, and to address socioeconomic disparities. [publication synopsis] [Public Health Reports, July–August 2009, Vol. 124, pp.579-584]
  • Moving sustainable development from theory to practice in the US (USA)
    "Sustainable development, which includes community development, environmental protection, natural resource conservation, and local economic development, is becoming more widely practiced in Europe, while lagging behind as a US development strategy. Since sustainable development planning requires civic planners and private developers to understand a number of new disciplines and to address their interconnections, it has been difficult for working professionals to gain an overview and access to specific implementation strategies. The author presents an outline of the key features of sustainable development that should be considered in new development, with extensive web references for more in-depth information on each topic."
  • Reaching for a Healthier Life: Facts on Socioeconomic Status and Health in the U.S.
    "Reaching for a Healthier Life is the result of a decade of work by the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on SES & Health. This multidisciplinary group of scientists has examined the pathways by which socioeconomic status ‘gets into the body’ to affect health and longevity. There is no single pathway by which this occurs. Rather, resources associated with where people stand on the social ladder shape multiple aspects of their lives in ways that affect their health and well-being."
  • Reported Health and Health-influencing Behaviors Among Urban American Indians and Alaska Natives: An Analysis of Data Collected by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
    On March 5th, 2008, the Urban Indian Health Institute releases their ground breaking report titled: Reported Health and Health-Influencing Behaviors Among Urban American Indians and Alaska Natives. The report was released at a Native Symposium titled, Through Native Eyes: Identity, Perception and Recognition. “…The report finds additional evidence that American Indians and Alaska Natives living in urban areas face major hurdles in reaching health status similar to their fellow Americans. Findings from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a national telephone survey conducted yearly and coordinated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), show America Indians and Alaska Natives living in selected urban areas were more likely to report difficulty accessing health care, had higher rates of risk behavior, and experienced worse health outcomes than the general population. Income differences were shown to play a role in explaining some of the health disparities, but differences in some reported health indicators were not income dependent….” [Updated July 2008]
  • Segregated spaces, risky places: the effects of racial segregation on health inequalities
    "This report is based upon two studies with distinct sets of data analyses. Both studies are designed to test whether geographic location – or “place” – plays a significant role in determining racial and ethnic health inequalities. The first study updates previously published findings, which document the relationship between residential segregation and racial disparities in infant mortality rates across U.S. cities. This study sought to determine whether a slight decline in residential segregation by race between 2000 and 2010 coincided with a corresponding reduction in racial health inequalities… The second study tested whether the correlation between segregation and health disparities varies more in accordance with the racial composition of neighborhoods or the concentration of neighborhood poverty. Data from the 2006 Medical Expenditure Panel Study (MEPS) along with zip code level data from the 2000 US Census were used to examine the relationships between segregation, concentrated poverty and racial and ethnic health inequalities. The study revealed that for certain health conditions, place does matter. When controlling for the variable of living in a high-poverty zip code, racial health disparities were diminished. In other words, living in a high poverty zip code is most likely to have negative effects on health status and outcomes. Place matters for minority communities not because they are predominantly black or Hispanic but rather due to higher rates of poverty… Racial and ethnic segregation has previously been documented as a predictor of health disparities. Segregated communities in the U.S. tend to be environments which produce poor health outcomes. The research literature documents that “places” which are racially segregated with high concentrations of blacks or Hispanics tend to be places with limited opportunities and failing infrastructure, resulting from a lack of investment in social and economic development. The result is a community that produces bad health outcomes. So, racial inequalities in health status and outcomes are predominantly the result of place. Race helps to determine place, and in turn, place influences health." [Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies (USA), September 2011]
  • Strong Medicine for a Healthier America
    A supplement to … the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM), funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, includes six articles and a broad array of commentaries that provide a fundamental understanding of the fact that where, we live, learn, work and play has as much to do with our health as the health care we receive. The authors – including Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, David R. Williams, Michael G. Marmot and more – address factors beginning with early childhood education, to homes and communities, to the economic rationale for improving the lives of disadvantaged Americans. Together, the collection provides an in-depth look at why some Americans are so much healthier than others and why Americans are not the healthiest people in the world. Articles include: “Strong Medicine for a Healthier America: Introduction”; “Broadening the Focus: The Need to Address the Social Determinants of Health”; “Healthy Starts for All: Policy Prescriptions”; “Citizen-Centered Health Promotion: Building Collaborations to Facilitate Healthy Living”; “Healthy Homes and Communities: Putting the Pieces Together”; “When Do We Know Enough to Recommend Action on the Social Determinants of Health?”; and “The Economic Value of Improving the Health of Disadvantaged Americans”. Commentaries include: “Improving Health: Social Determinants and Personal Choice”; “To Improve Health, Don't Follow the Money”; “Moving on Upstream: The Role of Health Departments in Addressing Socioecologic Determinants of Disease”; “Businesses As Partners to Improve Community Health”; and “Strengthening the Public Research Agenda for Social Determinants of Health”. [publisher overview] [Am J Prev Med 2011; 40(1S1) S1–S3]
  • The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)
    The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) coordinates and integrates federal research on changes in the global environment and their implications for society. The USGCRP began as a presidential initiative in 1989 and was mandated by Congress in the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-606), which called for ‘a comprehensive and integrated United States research program which will assist the Nation and the world to understand, assess, predict, and respond to human-induced and natural processes of global change.’"
  • The Voluntary Code of Ethical Conduct for the Recruitment of Foreign-Educated Nurses to the United States
    "The Voluntary Code of Ethical Conduct for the Recruitment of Foreign-Educated Nurses to the United States (the Code) reflects the mutual recognition of stakeholder interests relevant to the recruitment of foreign educated nurses (FENs) to the United States. It is based on an acknowledgement of the rights of individuals to migrate, as well as an understanding that the legitimate interests and responsibilities of nurses, source countries, and employers in the destination country may conflict. It affirms that a careful balancing of those individual and collective interests offers the best course for maximizing the benefits and reducing the potential harm to all parties. While the Code acknowledges the interests of these three primary stakeholder groups, its subscribers are the organizations that recruit and employ foreign educated nurses, e.g., third party recruiting firms, staffing agencies, hospitals, long-term care organizations and health systems."
  • Trafficking in Persons Report
    “The US Department of State is required by law to submit a Report each year to the U.S. Congress on foreign governments’ efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons. This Report is the eighth annual TIP Report. It is intended to raise global awareness, to highlight efforts of the international community, and to encourage foreign governments to take effective actions to counter all forms of trafficking in persons. The U.S. law that guides anti-human trafficking efforts, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended (TVPA), states that the purpose of combating human trafficking is to punish traffickers, to protect victims, and to prevent trafficking from occurring. Freeing those trapped in slave-like conditions is the ultimate goal of this Report — and of the U.S. Government’s antihuman trafficking policy. Human trafficking is a multi-dimensional threat. It deprives people of their human rights and freedoms, it increases global health risks, and it fuels the growth of organized crime. Human trafficking has a devastating impact on individual victims, who often suffer physical and emotional abuse, rape, threats against self and family, and even death. But the impact of human trafficking goes beyond individual victims; it undermines the health, safety, and security of all nations it touches.”
  • Women’s Health Research: Progress, Pitfalls, and Promise
    Even though slightly over half of the U.S. population is female, medical research historically has neglected the health needs of women. However, over the past two decades, there have been major changes in government support of women’s health research—in policies, regulations, and the organization of research efforts. To assess the impact of these changes, Congress directed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ask the IOM to examine what has been learned from that research and how well it has been put into practice as well as communicated to both providers and women. In this report, the IOM finds that women’s health research has contributed to significant progress over the past 20 years in lessening the burden of disease and reducing deaths from some conditions, while other conditions have seen only moderate change or even little or no change. Gaps remain, both in research areas and in the application of results to benefit women in general and across multiple population groups. Given the many and significant roles women play in our society, maintaining support for women’s health research and enhancing its impact are not only in the interest of women, they are in the interest of us all. [publication abstract] [Institute of Medicine (IOM) (US), September 2010]
^ Back to top

Educational Resources

^ Back to top


Original website founded Lucien E. Schlosser and Eberhard Wenzel, 1997.
© Copyright for the The WWW Virtual Library and its logos by The WWW Virtual Library.


School of Public Health and Community Medicine

See Also


History of VL:PH
How to Contribute
Join our mailing list


The VL:PH site is maintained
by the School of Public Health and Community Medicine.

Dedicated to the
memory of
Eberhard Wenzel
(1950-2001)

Print Friendly Printer Friendly Page
> Privacy Policy    > Copyright & Disclaimer    > Accessibility    > Online Enquiry
School of Public Health and Community Medicine - UNSW - Faculty of Medicine NSW 2052 Australia | Tel: +61 (2) 9385 2517 Fax: +61 (2) 9313 6185
© Copyright 2005 UNSW Faculty of Medicine | CRICOS Provider Code: 00098G | ABN 57 195 873 179 | Authorised by Head of School
Page Last Updated: 10:18:50 AM, Monday 12 December 2011
CONTACTS | SITEMAP | Print Friendly