Physician awareness of fetal alcohol syndrome: a survey of pediatricians and general practitioners.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the knowledge, clinical experience and perceived needs for resource materials of Saskatchewan physicians in regard to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and alcohol-related birth defects. DESIGN: Mailed survey. SETTING: Saskatchewan. PARTICIPANTS: All 48 pediatricians and half (394) of the family physicians (FPs) and general practitioners (GPs) practising in Saskatchewan received a questionnaire. The numbers of physicians who completed it were 24 and 249 respectively. RESULTS: The pediatricians were more likely than the other physicians to be aware of FAS and to have diagnosed at least one case of FAS. Among the FPs and GPs, the year of graduation from medical school was a significant factor in their knowledge of FAS and their diagnostic practices. Those who graduated before 1974, the year FAS was first described in the medical literature, were less likely than the more recent graduates to be aware of FAS and to ask their patients about alcohol use during pregnancy but were more likely to feel comfortable discussing alcohol-related issues in families. All of the groups reported a need for more information about FAS and for resources on alcohol-related issues in general. CONCLUSIONS: Saskatchewan physicians are aware of FAS but have expressed a need for more information about FAS, particularly for parents, as well as physician training materials and information about where to refer patients with FAS and parents with alcohol-related problems.     

Career changes among Saskatchewan physicians.

OBJECTIVE: To determine how often Saskatchewan physicians changed career paths during medical training and practice. DESIGN: Population survey (mailed questionnaire). SETTING: Saskatchewan. PARTICIPANTS: All 1077 active members of the Saskatchewan Medical Association were sent a questionnaire; 493 (45.8%) responded. OUTCOME MEASURES: Long-term career goal or plan in next-to-last year of undergraduate medical school, probable choice of career if forced to choose at that time, and number of physicians who changed their field of training or practice at any time since graduation. RESULTS: In all, 57.8% (237/410) of the respondents were currently practising in a field different from that planned in their next-to-last year of medical school, 63.5% (275/436) were not practising in the field they would have chosen if forced to at that time, and 42.9% (211/492) had changed their field of training or practice at some time since graduation. Older physicians, those who graduated outside of Canada and specialists were the most likely to have changed career paths, family physicians, and those who graduated in Saskatchewan were the least likely to have changed. CONCLUSION: The current system of postgraduate training in Canada does not permit career changes of the sort made by most of the practising Saskatchewan physicians in the survey sample. The implications of this new system are as yet unknown but require careful monitoring.     

Which medical schools produce rural physicians?

OBJECTIVE--To examine the hypothesis that medical schools vary systematically and predictably in the proportion of their graduates who enter rural practice. DESIGN--The December 1991 version of the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile was used to examine the rural and urban practice locations of physicians who graduated from American medical schools between 1976 and 1985. Selected characteristics of the medical schools--including location, ownership, and funding--were linked to the Physician Masterfile. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--The percentage of the graduates from each medical school who were practicing in rural areas in December 1991, disaggregated by physician specialty. RESULTS--Of the practicing graduates from our study, 12.6% were located in rural counties; family physicians were much more likely than members of other specialties to select rural practice, particularly in the smallest and most isolated rural counties. Women were much less likely than men to enter rural practice. Medical schools varied greatly in the percentage of their graduates who entered rural practice, ranging from 41.2% to 2.3% of the graduating classes studied. Twelve medical schools accounted for over one quarter of the physicians entering rural practice in this time period. Four variables were strongly associated with a tendency to produce rural graduates: location in a rural state, public ownership, production of family physicians, and smaller amounts of funding from the National Institutes of Health. DISCUSSION--The organization, location, and mission of medical schools is closely related to the propensity of their graduates to select rural practice. Increasing policy coordination among medical schools and state and federal governmental entities would most effectively address residual problems of rural physician shortages.     

Family planning/contraception

It is the position of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) that family planning advice and assistance should be readily available to all residents of Canada. This is viewed as a responsibility of practising physicians that is to be shared with other health and educational agencies. CMA has recommended the establishment of facilities in addition to physicians' offices for the dissemination of advice on family planning. These facilities should be developed in consultation with and under the supervision of the medical profession. CMA believes induced abortion should not be an alternative to contraception as a method of responsible family planning. In the event of an unwanted pregnancy, full counselling services should be provided. Within the context of preventive medicine, CMA supports the development of educational programs in family living and the promotion of sex education in the school system by knowledgeable persons sensitive to the needs of students.     

Expanded services for intrauterine contraception in Sudan

Twenty nurse-midwives in government service in the Sudan (health visitors) were trained to provide intrauterine contraceptives in a research project designed to evaluate the safety of insertion of IUDs by medical personnel who are not physicians. After training, they inserted 763 IUDs. Independent evaluation of 520 clients was conducted by obstetrician-gynecologists who found that only six (1.2%) had been incorrectly inserted. Outcomes for clients of the health visitors with respect to perforations, infections, expulsions, and pregnancies compared well with those of eight physicians who participated in the study. The research strongly supports the concept of nurse-midwife training for IUD insertions which would greatly expand the availability of family planning services and would conserve physician time and skills for problem cases.     

Zimbabwe: a family planning profile

This brief article focuses on the history of family planning in Zimbabwe, available services, community-based distribution, contraceptive use, and program problems. Family planning services were first available in Zimbabwe in 1953. The Rhodesian Family Planning Association (RFPA) was established formally in 1965. RFPA distributed contraceptives in 1966 and trained for the first time "field educators" in 1967. The first community-based distributors were trained in 1972. The Ministry of Health integrated the RFPA into its department in 1981. In 1985, the family planning association became a parastatal and was renamed the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC). Services today are provided through 37 family planning clinics. The distribution of contraceptives includes IUDs, condoms, pills, and injectables. Harare and Bulawayo centers receive referrals and perform tubal ligation, vasectomy, and infertility counseling. 700 community-based distributors (CBDs) received a 6-week training course in order to educate about oral contraceptives, encourage their use, and screen clients for high blood pressure and side effects for oral contraceptives. CBDs use bicycles to make home visits and also have access to motorcycles. Each CBD averages 135 clients/month. Most visits are revisits. CBDs provided 25.3% of family planning in 1988. Local clinics provided 19.1% of family planning. Ministry of Health facilities provided 14.8% of services. ZNFPC clinics provided 13.7% of services. Private doctors or pharmacies provided 2.3% of services. 38% of women currently in a union used family planning in 1984, and 43% used it in 1988. 36% in 1988 used modern methods. The pill was the most common method, followed by withdrawal. Logistics of supplies and equipment remain problematic.     

Black student enrollment in US medical schools

Blacks represent about 12% of the nation's population, but only 6% of the total medical school enrollment, 5% of medical school graduates, 5% of postgraduate trainees, 3% of physicians in practice, and 2% of medical school faculties. Addressing this underrepresentation of blacks in medicine not only is a matter of justice, equity, and national conscience but also has implications for the provision of quality physician care to this nation's minority and medically underserved populations. Black physicians are more likely to understand the cultural and social context of illness and disability among blacks and are also more likely to be able to communicate effectively with black patients. Black physicians are also more likely to practice in communities whose residents lack adequate access to medical care. An approach to addressing the problem of underrepresentation is proposed, consisting of activities at the precollege, college, and medical school levels.     

Effects of residency training in family medicine v. internship training on professional attitudes and practice patterns.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether the professional attitudes and practice patterns of physicians with residency training in family medicine differ from those of generalists with internship training. DESIGN: Mail survey conducted in 1985-86. SETTING: Province of Quebec. PARTICIPANTS: A stratified random sample of French-speaking family and general practitioners who graduated after 1972 (325 physicians with residency training and 304 with internship training) (response rate 82%). MAIN RESULTS: Physicians with residency training were 3 years younger on average than those with internship training, were more likely to be female (38% v. 18%, p less than 0.001) and were more likely to work on a salaried basis in CLSCs (public community health centres) (36% v. 14%, p less than 0.001). Even after these confounding factors were controlled for, physicians with residency training seemed to be more sensitive to the psychosocial aspects of patient care and tended to attach more importance to informing patients about useful materials and resources concerning their health problems. They were not, however, more likely to value health counselling or integrate it in medical practice. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide some evidence that the new requirement that physicians complete a residency in family medicine to obtain medical licensure in general practice in Quebec may foster a more patient-centred approach to health care.     

Integrated family planning services: a Nigerian experience

An integrated health and family planning program, operated by the University of Ife Teaching Hospital, was assessed to determine the impact of the integrated approach on family planning service utilization among the predominantly Yoruba residents of the city. In Nigeria, family planning services are generally delivered in clinics which have little or no connection with medical facilities, and service utilization is low. In 1979 the hospital decided to include family planning as part of the routine medical services provided at its 8 clinics located within a 25 kilometer radius of the hospital. Staff members at the clinics were trained in family planning. Trained female fieldworkers conducted motivational activities to encourage the women in the community to use the family planning services of the clinic. The program provided women with an opportunity to obtain contraceptives in a familiar setting and as part of their routine medical care. Neither parental nor spousal consent was required. Yoruba men tend to oppose family planning. Data for the study was obtained from the records of the program's 1495 new acceptors served by the program during its first 2 years of operation. 50.6% of the acceptors were 25-34 years of age, and another 31.7% were between 35-44 years of age. Very few teenagers utilized the services. 96% of the wome were married and they had an average of 4.4 living children. 56% were Catholic, 25% were Protestant, and 16% were Muslim. 37% were illiterate, and another 42.5% could barely read or write. Most were wives of government workers or service men. 88% had never used a modern contraceptive, and 94.5% were not using a method at the time of their first clinic visit. 68.4% of the acceptors were referred to the clinic by the fieldworkers or other health personnel. Only 11.2% sought the services on their own. 85% of the acceptors choose oral contraceptives (OCs), 13% had IUDs inserted, 0.3% were sterilized, and the remaining 2% chose other methods. The low sterilization rate probably reflected the fact that spousal consent was required for sterilization. Side effects reported by the OC users included asthma (9.6%), headaches (5.2%), phlebitis (3.5%), jaundice (1.7%), chest pain (1.5%), depression (1.5%), scanty menses (0.8%), and high blood pressure (0.4%). Among IUD users, 10.8% had intermenstrual bleeding, 18.4% reported pelvic pain, and another 6.8% reported a variety of other problems. 42.1% of the acceptors wanted no more children, and the remainder wanted to avoid the hardships associated with traditional methods of spacing. Correlation analysis revealed that the total number of living children was negatively related to maternal education and that women with sons wanted significantly fewer additional children than women with fewer or no sons. 51% of the acceptors were continuing contraceptive use at the time of the study. The study confirmed the feasibility of an integrated approach. The findings should be of use to government officials who want to improve service utilization in the national family planning program.     

Predictors of physician's smoking cessation advice

OBJECTIVES--To determine the percentage of smokers reporting that a physician had ever advised them to smoke less or to stop smoking, and the effect of time, demographics, medical history, and cigarette dependence on the likelihood that respondents would state that a physician had ever advised them to stop smoking. DESIGN AND SETTING--Data were collected from the Stanford Five-City Project, a communitywide health education intervention program. The two treatment and three control cities were located in northern and central California. As there was no significant difference between treatment and control cities regarding cessation advice, data were pooled for these analyses. PARTICIPANTS--There were five cross-sectional, population-based Five-City Project surveys (conducted in 1979-1980, 1981-1982, 1983-1984, 1985-1986, and 1989-1990); these surveys randomly sampled households and included all residents aged 12 to 74 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Improved smoking advice rates over time in all towns was an a priori hypothesis. RESULTS--Of the 2710 current smokers, 48.8% stated that their physicians had ever advised them to smoke less or stop smoking. Respondents were more likely to have been so advised if they smoked more cigarettes per day, were surveyed later in the decade, had more office visits in the last year, or were older. In 1979-1980, 44.1% of smokers stated that they had ever been advised to smoke less or to quit by a physician, vs 49.8% of smokers in 1989-1990 (P less than .07). Only 3.6% of 1672 ex-smokers stated that their physicians had helped them to quit. CONCLUSION--These findings suggest that physicians still need to increase smoking cessation counseling to all patients, particularly adolescents and other young smokers, minorities, and those without cigarette-related disease.     

Combined Oral Contraceptive Pills: Profile of Acceptors in a Tertiary Hospital in South-South Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Combined oral contraceptive pills were the first contraceptive method to provide sexual freedom of choice for women through reliable, personal and private control of fertility. They are the most widely used hormonal contraceptives and also the most popular non-surgical method of contraception. OBJECTIVE: To review the profile of acceptors of combined oral contraceptive pills at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Uyo. METHODOLOGY: An 8 year review of all clients that accepted combined oral contraceptive pills in the family planning clinic. RESULTS: There were 1,146 new contraceptive acceptors during the period of study out of which 309 (27.9%) accepted the pills. Majority of the clients were between 20 and 29 years of age (54.0%), were multiparous (72.8%), Christians (99.7%) and 61.2% had tertiary level education. Two hundred and fifty-five women (82.5%) desired to use combined oral contraceptive pills to space births while 7.8% wanted to limit child bearing. There was a high discontinuation rate among the women (45.0%) and out of these 87.9% of the clients changed to other contraceptive methods. All the clients commenced their pills within seven days of menstruation and only the low dose monophasic preparations were available in the family planning unit and thus were given to the clients. CONCLUSION: Women who accept to initiate combined oral contraceptive pills in our center are young, well educated, multiparous women who want to space their pregnancies. However, due to the high discontinuation rate among the clients, there is need for further studies evaluating reasons for the high discontinuation rate, exploring interactions between clients and providers' and also providers' attitude towards combined pills in our environment.     

心理健康与自杀行为的影响因素： 基于对三所高校10 340名医学生的调查

目的 了解并探讨医学生的心理健康及自杀行为的影响因素,为提高医学生的心理健康水平、降低自杀行为提供科学依据。方法 以某省南部、北部和中部三个地区的省属医学院校的一、二年级11270名在校大学生为调查对象,经过对回收的问卷进行核查并摒弃填写质量较差的问卷后保留10 340份有效问卷,并采用多因素Logistic回归分析焦虑、抑郁和自杀行为的影响因素,尤其是家庭环境因素对医学生心理健康状况的影响。结果 女生、二年级医学生、对所学专业不满意、家庭经济状况差、父母间有暴力打斗行为、家庭功能存在障碍的医学生更容易发展出抑郁和焦虑情绪;被父母/监护人殴打、儿童时期有留守经历的医学生也更易出现焦虑情绪（P<0.05）。同时,女性、被父母/监护人殴打、存在焦虑情绪、存在抑郁情绪、家庭功能存在障碍的医学生更容易出现自杀未遂和自杀意念;对所学专业不满意、父母间有暴力打斗行为、儿童时期有留守经历者也更易出现自杀意念（P<0.05）。结论 医学生的心理健康与自杀行为受家庭关系、成长经历等多方面的影响,因此应加强父母和相关部门对医学生心理健康与自杀行为的重视。     

中国、日本、印度、南非、美国五国1970—2030年计划生育状况与趋势预测

 目的    分析并预测中国、日本、印度、南非、美国已婚/同居育龄女性计划生育状况,为满足育龄女性计划生育需要提供依据。方法    从《全球避孕及方法使用状况2016》(World Contraceptive Use 2016)中选取1970—2030年五国已婚/同居育龄女性的避孕节育数据,通过U检验和χ2检验比较五国1970—2016年间的计划生育现状及2017—2030年间的预测趋势。结果    相比于1970年,2016年五国总的计划生育需求增大,避孕节育率上升,未满足的计划生育需要下降(P<0.001)。2016年,五国避孕节育率分别为83.3%、59.9%、56.4%、64.9%、73.7%,未满足的计划生育需要分别为3.8%、13.1%、15.5%、12.2%、7.2%。同时,五国避孕方法的构成发生改变(P<0.001),现代避孕方法使用率高于传统避孕方法,且其满足总的计划生育需求的比例自1970—2016年也不断提高。2017—2030年五国总的计划生育需求、避孕节育率、未满足的计划生育需要、避孕方法的构成、未满足的现代避孕方法需要均有改变(P<0.001)。预测至2030年,中国将是避孕方法使用人数最多的国家,印度将是未满足的计划生育需要人数最多的国家;其中中国、印度有可能是现代避孕方法使用人数最多的国家,印度可能是传统避孕方法使用人数最多的国家。结论    当前五国已婚/同居育龄女性总的计划生育需求大、避孕节育率高、未满足的计划生育需要下降。预测此后至2030年间,该状况仍有可能延续,因此有必要提供适宜的避孕方法以维护生殖权利。     

Private physicians in ambulatory care training in U.S. medical schools

The contribution of private physicians to medical student education in ambulatory care was determined by a questionnaire directed to departments of family practice, internal medicine, and pediatrics in 124 U.S. medical schools and their branch campuses. The response rate was 84 percent. Of the responding departments, 82 percent offered an ambulatory care course in curricular years three and/or four, and 56 percent utilized private physicians in their courses. Departments of internal medicine were least likely to offer such a course, and their courses less frequently included teaching by private physicians (p less than 0.0001). When offered, internal medicine courses in ambulatory care were least likely to be required for graduation and involved the fewer students. Departments of family practice were most likely to offer ambulatory care courses and were most likely to utilize private physicians in their courses.     

Factors influencing the emigration of physicians from Canada to the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether location of postgraduate medical training and other factors are associated with the emigration of physicians from Canada to the United States. DESIGN: Case-control study, physicians were surveyed with the use of a questionnaire mailed in May 1994 (with a reminder sent in September 1994), responses to which were accepted until Dec. 31, 1994. PARTICIPANTS: Physicians randomly selected from the CMA database, 4000 with addresses in Canada and 4000 with current addresses in the United States and previous addresses in Canada. OUTCOME MEASURES: Sex, age, location of undergraduate and postgraduate medical training, qualifications, practice location, opinions concerning residence decisions, current satisfaction and plans. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 49.6% (50.0% among physicians in the United States and 49.2% among those in Canada). Age and sex distributions were similar among the 8000 questionnaire recipients and the nearly 4000 respondents. Physicians living in the United States were more likely to be older (mean 53.2 v. 49.6 years of age), male (87% v. 75%) and specialists (79% v. 52%) than those practising in Canada. Postgraduate training in the United States was associated with subsequent emigration (odds ratio 9.2, 95% confidence interval 7.8 to 10.7). However, in rating the importance of nine factors in the decision to emigrate or remain in Canada, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the rating assigned to location of postgraduate training. Professional factors rated most important by most physicians in both groups were professional/clinical autonomy, availability of medical facilities and job availability. Remuneration was considered an equally important factor by those in Canada and in the United States. Six of seven personal/family factors were rated as more important to their choice of practice location by respondents in Canada than by those in the United States. Current satisfaction was significantly higher among respondents in the United States. Most physicians in each group planned to continue practising at their current location. Of Canadian respondents, 22% indicated that they were more likely to move to the United States than they were a year beforehand, whereas 4% of US respondents indicated that they were more likely to return to Canada. CONCLUSIONS: Factors affecting the decision to move to the United States or remain in Canada can be categorized as "push" factors (e.g., government involvement) and "pull" factors (e.g., better geographic climate in the US). Factors can also be categorized by whether they are amenable to change (e.g., availability of medical facilities) or cannot be managed (e.g., proximity of relatives). An understanding of the reasons why physicians immigrate to the United States or remain in Canada is essential to planning physician resources nationally.     

Mississippi's physician labor force: current status and future challenges

The literature review indicates that changes in Medicaid/Medicare reimbursement, large numbers of uninsured patients, the legal climate, and largely rural and chronically ill populations create a challenging environment for physicians practicing in Mississippi. As a largely rural state, many Mississippians find medical care to be physically distant, with most care being concentrated in a couple areas of the state. Given these factors, the legal climate in Mississippi and the top relocation decision factors, Mississippi will be further challenged in recruiting and retaining the numbers of general practitioners and specialists necessary to provide care to the state's population. The challenges that physicians are facing have led to challenges for health policy makers, in that physicians are difficult to recruit to Mississippi and, once here, difficult to retain as practitioners throughout their career. Four datasets were used in conjunction to analyze the demographic characteristics of Mississippi's physicians, including the age structure disaggregated by several other variables. Ultimately, the results were extended to impacts of recruitment, relocations, and retirement decisions of physicians who participated in the MSMDS. Briefly, demographic results indicate that Mississippi has a largely white physician population serving a nearly 40% minority population in Mississippi. The under representation of women within the medical profession in Mississippi means that women in the state might find it unusually challenging to find a female physician, particularly in rural areas where access to physicians is more limited in the first place. Mississippi has a high concentration of African-American patients with a low African-American physician presence. The proportion of physicians who are female is on the rise nationwide and within Mississippi, largely due to increasing enrollments of women in medical schools. Though variations exist within the groups of physicians identified as generalists, Mississippi is only slightly more likely than the nation to have specialists, rather than generalists (see Table Seven). Age structure analysis indicates that Delta physicians are older than physicians elsewhere in the state, that urban physicians are younger than rural physicians, and that our physician labor force is more highly concentrated between the ages of 35 and 54 than in the nation as a whole. Analyses concerning the future of the physician labor force indicate that a near majority of Mississippi's practicing physicians received their MD degree at UMC, but younger physicians are more likely to have been educated out-of-state than older physicians. Those who received their degrees elsewhere and chose to practice in Mississippi are more likely to be specialists (60%) than generalists (40%). Those physicians practicing in the state who were educated in-state are nearly equally as likely to be generalists (47%) as they are to be specialists (53%). Additionally, those approaching retirement are more likely to be generalists, yet the state is recruiting more generalists from recent medical school classes than in the past. Variations in intentions to recruit, relocate, and retire exist. However, most of the substantively important variation is across age groups and time in practice. There is little relevance of specialty or location within the state when examining variation in recruitment, relocation or retirement plans. Given the findings, policy research recommendations focus on improving the retention of UMC's graduates for practice in the state, improving retention of active physicians, increasing the recruitment of physicians from out of state, and easing difficulties associated with working part-time as a step toward retirement. With these changes in policy, it is possible that Mississippi can thwart a physician workforce shortage; however, without changes, with more physicians relocating, retiring early, or opting out of practicing in the state, the extant physician shortage will become more severe. Furthermore, without the data collection efforts mentioned here, there will be no means to assess whether policy changes are actually impacting the physician labor force.     

Family physician registration at locally produced short courses.

Physicians who do not take advantage of short courses that are offered within their community may miss the opportunity to learn about new services and consultants as well as to validate new information or practices with trusted colleagues. The registration patterns at short courses of all 505 family physicians in Calgary were assessed to determine whether the sociodemographic characteristics of attendees differed from those of nonattendees and whether the sociodemographic data were predictive of attendance or nonattendance. Four variables were predictive of attendance or nonattendance: certification status with the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC), year of graduation, sex and hospital affiliation. Physicians who had attended four or more courses were more likely to be graduates of Canadian or US schools, to have graduated after 1969, and to be women, certificants of the CFPC and affiliated with a hospital. Universities, hospitals and professional associations planning continuing education must determine if the needs of nonattending physicians are being met through other means or if new strategies are required to ensure that these physicians have opportunities for upgrading their knowledge. Practitioners who frequently attend short courses can help planners ensure that programming is relevant.     

Television viewing habits associated with obesity risk factors: a survey of Melbourne schoolchildren

OBJECTIVES: To examine whether children's television viewing may be a useful indicator of risk of obesity-promoting versus healthy eating behaviours, low-level physical activity (PA) and overweight or obesity among children of primary school entry and exit ages. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study, stratified by area-level socioeconomic status. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: 1560 children (613 aged 5-6 years [50% boys], and 947 aged 10-12 years [46% boys]) from 24 primary schools in Melbourne, Australia, randomly selected proportionate to school size between 1 November 2002 and 30 December 2003. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Parents' reports of the time their child spends watching television, their participation in organised physical activities (PA), and their food intake; each child's measured height and weight and their PA levels as assessed by accelerometry for one week. RESULTS: After adjusting for the age and sex of child, the parents' level of education, clustering by school, and all other health behaviour variables, children who watched television for > 2 h/day were significantly more likely than children who watched television for < or = 2 h/day to: to have one or more serves/day of high energy drinks (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.31; 95% CI, 1.61-3.32), and to have one or more serves/day of savoury snacks (AOR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.04-2.17). They were also less likely to have two or more serves/day of fruit (AOR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.46-0.74), or to participate in any organised PA (AOR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.34-0.80). CONCLUSIONS: Health practitioners in the primary care setting may find that asking whether a child watches television for more than 2 hours daily can be a useful indicator of a child's risk of poor diet and low physical activity level.     

The physician's oath and the prevention of nuclear war

All graduating physicians in the U.S.S.R. take an oath that since November 1983 has included a pledge to work for peace and the prevention of nuclear war. The authors compare the Soviet oath with those taken by American physicians, none of which mentions nuclear war, and give reasons why the medical profession in the Soviet Union may be more sensitive to this issue than its American counterpart. They explore the rationale behind professional oaths and codes, and identify changes in how physicians in the United States regard their responsibilities vis-à-vis individual patients and the public. Arguing that nuclear weapons pose the greatest threat ever to public health, Cassel et al. propose incorporating a commitment to work to prevent their use into the oath taken by American medical school graduates.