 Health Care Council 2333 North Broadway, Suite 460 Santa Ana, CA 92706 |
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For information, apply to the Health Professions Education Foundation, 1600 9th Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 or call (916)653-0860 or (800) 773-1669 or visit the web site: www.healthprofessions.ca.gov An estimated 1.6 million children and youth across the country are homeless according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). This includes about 200,000 youths 12 - 21 who live on the streets permanently. A report from the Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) states that homeless adolescents often have a greater number of physical and mental health problems than younger children who live in stable homes, and have some of the same health care needs that adults living on the streets and in shelters have. They are likely to engage in high-risk behaviors, including unprotected sex with multiple partners, substance abuse and sometimes violent lifestyles. These youths have a number of barriers to accessing health care because they are usually uninsured, have problems getting parental consent, and difficulty finding where to go for care. They also lack transportation, a long-term address, and money. Compounding matters, particularly for runaways living on the streets, healthcare is often less of a priority than day-to-day survival. (Editor's note: - these children are living on the streets of U.S. cities - not in Calcutta or Khartoum!) The Campaign for Tobacco Free-Kids, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, and the American Lung Association have released a study entitled: Show Us the Money: An Update on the States' Allocation of the Tobacco Settlement Dollars. The study shows that states are receiving billions of dollars from national tobacco settlement cases but many states are not using the money for anti-tobacco campaigns or for any other health-related purpose. Instead, states are using the money for road repairs, college scholarships, and other budget shortfalls. Surgeon General's New Job: After leaving his post as Surgeon General, David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., will head a research facility and think tank at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, his alma mater, in the fall of 2002. Dr. Satcher's new position as director of Morehouse's National Center for Primary Care will examine racial disparities in health care. More than 108 million children and adults in the U.S. lack dental insurance. Tooth decay is the most common childhood disease, affecting 50% of first graders and 80% of 17-year-olds. Every year over 30,000 people develop oral and pharyngeal (throat) cancer. Oral/pharyngeal cancer is the 6th most common cancer in U.S. males and the 4th most common cancer in Black men. Almost 2.5 million days of work are lost each year due to dental problems. Source: Community Health Forum, February 2002 What's Wrong in Treatment of Urinary Tract Infections? Doctors are only half as likely to prescribe recommended drugs for female urinary tract infections as they were ten years ago. Physicians write approximately 2.5 million prescriptions for the infections each year, yet guidelines for the treatment of the condition have not changed since the early 1990s. A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine reveals that in 1989, 48% of doctors were following the guidelines, compared to only 24% in 1998. In another study, hospitalized patients whose urine test results in the patient record indicated that they had a urinary tract infection on admission for some other problem, most often still had the infection when discharged. U.S. AIDS cases increased by 8% in 2001 according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The figures include 42,000 new AIDS cases reported, compared to 38,864 new cases in 2000. The increase is not a surprise to Public Health officials who attribute the rise to public perception of AIDS being a manageable disease and not a death sentence. Meanwhile the amount of Federal funding for AIDS treatment, education, research and patient services is leveling off even as demand for services is increasing. Orange County's AIDS Services Foundation reports that it faces severe budget constraints. Return to Summer 2002 Front Page COPYRIGHT © 2000, 2001 Health Care Council of Orange County
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