Each culture or era, we suggest in Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism, has its characteristic or signature disease, and that AIDS is the signature disease of the culture of capitalism.   Dealing with illness has been one of the great achievements of our culture; worldwide, life expectancy has risen dramatically over the past half century, only to decline in the past decade because of AIDS.  In the following sites you will find up-to-date information on the AIDS epidemic, as well as information on other diseases (e.g. drug resistant malaria and tuberculosis), that threaten us.

1998 Guidelines for the Treatment of Sexually Transmitted Disease
http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/dstd/1998_STD_Guidlines/1998_guidelines_for_the_treatment.htm

The Center for Disease Control report on the treatment and prevention of sexually transmited diseases.  "Included are new recommendations for treatment of primary and recurrent genital herpes and management of pelvic inflammatory disease; a new patient-applied medication for treatment of genital warts; and a revised approach to the management of victims of sexual assault."

AIDS Economics
www.worldbank.org/aids-econ/

"This web site focuses on the economics of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. It is intended as an information resource for researchers and policymakers dedicated to defining and implementing effective AIDS policy. The site will continue to develop so please visit again, or subscribe to our electronic newsletter to be periodically informed by e-mail about new materials added to the site."  Check out the report on the state of AIDS in developing countries.

_The AIDS Epidemic at 20 Years: The View From America_ (Survey Report) http://www.kff.org/content/2001/3026/aids20_rpt.pdf
The AIDS Epidemic at 20 Years: Selected Milestones (Timeline) http://www.kff.org/content/2001/3026/aids20_timeline.pdf
Press Release:
http://www.kff.org/content/2001/3026/Press%20Release2.htm

According to the 64-page report, "when asked to name the most urgent health problem facing the U.S., more than one in four Americans (26%) names AIDS"—a significant decline from recent years, but still AIDS is second only to cancer (35%). Moreover, nearly half of Americans (49%) think HIV/AIDS is a "more pressing problem for the nation today than it was a few years ago." The survey presents data on the state of American’s knowledge about the epidemic— including its means of transmission, the number of Americans who have relatives or friends with AIDS, and their opinions on the Federal government’s role in fighting AIDS both at home and abroad as well as the worldwide AIDS crisis. Opinions are also broken down by race, showing marked variance in the responses of different ethnic groups. An eight-page timeline of selected milestones in the history of the epidemic is also posted as well as a press release . (Scout Report for the Humanities and Social Sciences, 5/29/01)

AIDS Knowledge Base
hivinsite.ucsf.edu/akb/1997/

A comprehensive online textbook about AIDS, its origins, transmission, and rates of infections. Some techinical articles, but most are clearly written and informative.   

Atlas of Cancer Mortality in the United States, 1950-94 [.pdf, .dbf]
http://www3.cancer.gov/atlasplus/

Recently published by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), this unique resource tracks cancer death rates in over 3,000 counties through more than four decades. Containing over 250 color-coded maps, the atlas allows users and researchers to view patterns of cancer death rates at both the state and county level. For the first time, separate maps are also available for both white and black populations. Users can view the complete atlas online in both HTML and .pdf formats, view maps, download data, and create customizable maps. (Scout Report, 12/17/1999). 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov/

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the CDC is a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  The site contains health information, news events, and data and statistics on a wide range of issues including AIDS/HIV, tuberculosis, and other sexually transmitted diseases. 

CDC National Prevention Information Network (NPIN) [.pdf]
http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/

"Sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this new site serves as "a national reference, referral and distribution service for information on HIV/AIDS, STDs, and TB." Professionals and researchers working in HIV, STD, and TB prevention, treatment, and support services will find a wide selection of frequently updated authoritative material. The site is divided into seven sections. The HIV/AIDS, STD, and TB sections offer new featured publications, related links, bulletin boards, news, and related reference materials. Another major resource at the site is the NPIN databases section, which contains news abstracts, organization contact information, funding and educational materials, and conference announcements. In the NPIN Publications section, users will find a large listing of reports and briefs, organized by topic, most of which are available for free download in .pdf format. Please note that this section currently contains a number of broken links. Other resources at the site include Prevention News updates, CDC press releases, prevention research highlights, related links, and a Resources by Topic section. Anyone wishing to stay current on HIV/AIDS, STDs, and TB prevention and treatment will undoubtedly want to monitor this site." (Scout Report, 1/29/99)

Center for International Health Information
http://www.cihi.com/

The CIHI Website provides data on current status and trends in population, nutrition, and health for developing countries that receive USAID assistance. Country, regional, and time series data are available in tables in either text or .pdf format for sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Near East, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Indicators include infant and maternal mortality, nutritional status, vaccination coverage, contraceptive use, and population and fertility rates. Users can download Global Health Data Viewer (GHDV) software containing over 60 indicators from 200 countries from the site. GHDV allows users to display a selected single point in time or time series data in spreadsheet or graphic form for manipulation or export to other programs. Other sections of the site contain reports of USAID projects and links to international population and health information sources. (Scout Report, 9/18/98)

CDC: Recent Trends in Mortality Rates for Four Major Cancers, by Sex and Race/Ethnicity -- United States, 1990-1998
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5103a1.htm

Reason for mild optimism, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report "Recent Trends in Mortality Rates for Four Major Cancers, by Sex and Race/Ethnicity -- United States, 1990-1998" does give one cause for hope in the ongoing fight against cancer. Tracking four major cancers by racial/ethnic type and gender, the report reveals that cancer mortality has declined slightly overall across the general population of the United States. Alarming, however, is the striking statistical disparity between cancer rates for white and African Americans. For, while white Americans outnumber African Americans by a ratio of 5 to 1, government tracking reveals that the latter group consistently suffers the highest death rates for the four most prevalent forms (lung, colorectal, prostate and breast) of cancer. Particularly troubling are the tables indicating that African American women are more than twice as likely to succumb to breast cancer as white women, and that the same is true for the same racial groups regarding the occurrence of prostate cancer.

Coffin Nails: The Tobacco Controversy in the 19th Century
http://tobacco.harpweek.com/

Culled from the archives of Harper's Weekly, this online trove of visual material and articles deals with the controversy over the alleged health benefits and potential hazards of smoking. The site begins with an orienting essay by John Adler, the publisher of HarpWeek. The compilation itself is quite revealing, pointing out that, as early as 1862, tobacco addiction was a recognized problem, and that the tobacco industry responded to public health concerns by marketing tobacco products that supposedly contained "no nicotine." The site is divided into five major sections, including ones dealing with smoking habits of the young, the "bad behavior" personified by those who smoked excessively, and "healthful" smoking products. All of these sections contain ample selections of news articles from Harper's (usually available as a scanned image and with transcripted text) and the wonderful cartoons of Thomas Nast. Overall, this site will be of great interest to those looking to see how Americans felt about this "noxious weed" in the last-half of the nineteenth century.

Community Health Status Indicators Project -- HRSA [.pdf]
http://www.communityhealth.hrsa.gov/

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), in collaboration with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, the National Association of County and City Health Officials, and the Public Health Foundation, has recently unveiled a new Website that makes available health data for all 3,082 US counties. The Community Health Status Indicators (CHSI) Project has compiled pre-existing data from a variety of sources (no new data were collected) and created a report for each county. The reports offer data on a variety of topics, among them Population Characteristics, Leading Causes of Death, Vulnerable Populations, Environmental Health, and Access to Care. To access reports, users can either enter a county, or they can search for a county by selecting a state and/or a population range; searches can also be limited to those counties with the highest percentage of non-white or Hispanic inhabitants. Once a county is selected, reports can be downloaded in a viewable or printable form (both .pdf format). In addition, the data can be compared to that of "peer" counties, which share similar demographics. The site provides supplemental material to make the reports more understandable and usable, including a FAQ; a document on data sources, definitions, and notes; and a guide to using the reports. While the CHSI reports were created with public health professionals in mind, because the site is easy to navigate and the reports are readable, anyone with an interest in community health issues should find this a useful resource. (Scout Report 8/21/00)

The Economics of Tobacco Control -- World Bank [.pdf, QuickTime]
http://www1.worldbank.org/tobacco/

According to this new site from World Bank, more than 1.1 billion people worldwide smoke, and over 500 million people alive today will die of smoking-related illnesses unless governments implement effective tobacco control measures. Featured on the site is Curbing the Epidemic: Governments and the Economics of Tobacco Control, a 134-page World Bank report offering current global smoking trends, health consequences, and suggested responses to the tobacco epidemic. Tobacco control measures introduced in this report include raising tobacco taxes, comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, public service announcements, health warning labels, restrictions on smoking in public places, and making nicotine cessation therapies more accessible. The Country Data section allows users to generate short reports on topics including tobacco trade, mortality from smoking, and regulations and restrictions in over 100 countries. Finally, the site offers several versions of a World Bank-sponsored public service announcement about the evils of smoking, two online slide shows, "Risks of Dying From Smoking" and "Governments and the Economics of Tobacco Control," and an excellent Myths and Facts section. All in all, The Economics of Tobacco Control offers compelling information and data about the global epidemic of tobacco use as well as the ways in which countries are affected in both economics and in public health. (Scout Report 9/8/00)

Emerging Infectious Diseases_--CDC
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/index.htm

A peer-reviewed journal sponsored by the Center for Infectious Diseases, with access to past issues.  The articles are fairly technical in nature, but you can get a good overview of the problem of emerging infectious diseases by going over the press releases that contain links to the original articles.  Check out the story on the re-emergence of malaria in Kenya.

epidemic! The World of Infectious Disease—AMNH [.pdf]
http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/epidemic/index.html

"This new online exhibition from the American Museum of Natural History offers a captivating account of the physical and social environments that allow disease-causing microbes to emerge and spread. Throughout the exhibit, which references both historical and contemporary outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics, users learn about the human and environmental changes that contribute to the rise and decline of certain diseases, the microbes that carry these diseases, and how they infect us. Essentially a collection of short, illustrated passages, the exhibit is best viewed in the order presented, although users may jump to specific sections. The text of the exhibit is frequently hyperlinked to glossary terms and short sections offering further information on selected topics. Additional features at the site include a collection of high-quality online resources, teacher’s guides (in .pdf format), a Kids Magazine, and a link to a partner site at Discovery Online. (Scout Report, 3/26/1999)

From Wallet to Waistline: The Hidden Costs of Supersizing [.pdf]
http://www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/final_price_study.pdf

Sponsored by the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity, this 14-page report documents the immense health risks that may result because of the ubiquity of "value" meals proffered by fast-food outlets. During the first week of May 2002, members of the National Alliance gathered pricing data of various convenience foods and meals in Washington DC, Des Moines, Little Rock, Sacramento, and Oakland. The results they obtained were surprising, including such discoveries that purchasing a Double Gulp Coca-Cola Classic from 7-Eleven (as opposed to the regular Gulp) adds 450 extra calories, and that upgrading from a McDonald's small to large fry results in 330 extra calories. The report begins by documenting the fast-food industry marketing tactic of "value" marketing and "bundling." Perhaps most ominous is their documentation of obesity rates in children over the past few years. All in all, this is an important document that will be of interest to persons in the field of public health and those concerned with their physical well-being.

Global Health Council [pdf]
http://www.globalhealth.org/

Created in 1972, the Global Health Council (then known as the National Council of International Health) was created to identify priority world health problems and report on them to a wide range of parties, including government agencies and the global health community.  In order to disseminate its findings and keep the public informed, the Council has created this well-organized website. The homepage offers visitors the basic layout of the site’s contents, as it includes a selection of news briefs dealing with world health concerns and information on the most recent accomplishments of the Council.  The top of the homepage offers subject links to the main programmatic areas of interest to the Council: women’s health, child health, HIV/AIDS, and infectious disease. Of course, there is a strong publication section, which includes such timely documents as “Faith in Action: Examining the Role of Faith-Based Organizations in Addressing HIV/AIDS” and “Preventing Tuberculosis in HIV-Infected Persons”. [KMG]

Global HIV/AIDS & STD Surveillance--WHO UNAIDS [.pdf, Excel, .dif]
www.who.ch/emc-hiv/

You can get the latest HIV/AIDS reports from UNAIDS and WHO (also see below), as well as a country by country profile of the AIDS/HIV epidemic.

HCUPnet
http://www.ahcpr.gov/data/hcup/hcupnet.htm

HCUPnet is an online statistical tool created as a part of the Health Care Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), an initiative of the US Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR). HCUPnet allows users to generate customized statistical reports in order to identify, analyze, and track national data on "hospital utilization, access, charges, quality and outcomes." Data in the customized reports are derived from the latest Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS). Explicit instructions for using this interactive online tool are available at the site. (The Scout Report for Social Sciences, 7/13/99)

HIV/AIDS: A threat to work, productivity, and developmentHIV/AIDS: A threat to work, productivity, and development_ --ILO [.pdf, 630K]
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/trav/aids/pdf/aidse.pdf

This recently released report from the International Labour Organisation was created as a document for discussion at the Special High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work. An estimated 33 million people were living with HIV in 1999; two-thirds of these people were living in sub-Saharan Africa, and 5 million were infected with the virus in 1999. This study considers the ways in which HIV/AIDS has affected the global working world. Those infected with HIV/AIDS often have their rights to "non-discrimination, equal protection and equality before the law, to privacy, liberty of movement, work, equal access to education, housing, health care, social security, assistance and welfare [violated] on the sole basis of their known or presumed HIV/AIDS status." AIDS/HIV also affects economic development; in 2015, the work force population will be between 10 to 22 percent lower than it would be without HIV/AIDS. For some industries, such as food production and food security, this drop in the employment field will have crucial implications. This 54-page report is divided into three main sections. The first details the overarching issues of the epidemic, briefly touching on regional features, risk and vulnerability, and human rights implications. The second part considers the economic and social impact of HIV/AIDS, with emphasis on the work force, employees, and organizations. Finally the third major section examines the response to the epidemic by governments, international organizations, and employers. The report also contains a chapter on the ILO’s response to HIV/AIDS. (Scout Report for Social Sciences, 6/13/2000)

HIV/AIDS Policy Compendium Database
http://209.27.118.7/

Constructed and maintained by USAID, this site indexes "2,400 annotated citations from policy papers from over 50 countries" relating to AIDS-related policy. The database is searchable by keyword or subject as well as region. Extensive information about the selection procedures and criteria are available on-site. Full-text copies of the policy documents must be requested by fax, email, or phone. (The Scout Report for Social Sciences, 7/13/99)

HIV Insite: Gateway to AIDS Knowledge
hivinsite.ucsf.edu/

Up-to-date information on AIDS/HIV treatment, interviews with authors, along with a section on AIDS Basics, that explains the difference between AIDS and HIV, how people get AIDS, how to protect yourself against it, a description of symptoms, and worldwide rates on infection.

Influenza 1918
www.pbs.org/amex/influenza/

In 1918 an influenza epidemic spread around the world; its mortality rate among the young and the lack of ways to treat it led leading health authorities in the United States to believe that it might wipe out most of the population.  But it ended almost as mysteriously as it appeared after killing hundreds of thousands.  This is the companion site to a PBS special on the epidemic.  It contains, in addition to a transcript of the show, supporting documents, phots, and interviews.  Read, for example, some of the measures people took to prevent or cure the disease, all of which proved ineffective.

Investment in Tobacco Control: Stage Highlights 2002 [.pdf]
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/statehi/statehi_2002.htm

Recently released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), this report summarizes statistical information regarding the health and economic burden of tobacco use for all fifty North American states. An augmented version of last year's report (last mentioned in the February 16, 2001 Scout Report), this 2002 report offers users the opportunity to download the full text or look up individual state information via an interactive map. In addition, users can view summary maps and tables with information ranging from youth projected to die from smoking, to smoking attributable medicaid and direct medical expenditures, to the number of packs sold and taxed per capita, to current cigarette smoking and tobacco use among youth from grades 6-12.

John Snow--A Historical Giant in Epidemiology
http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow.html

From the UCLA Department of Epidemiology, this site is devoted to the life and times of Dr. John Snow (1813-1858), a legendary figure in the history of public health, epidemiology and anesthesiology.

Macroeconomics and Health: Investing in Health for Economic Development [.pdf]
http://www3.who.int/whosis/cmh/cmh_report/e/report.cfm?path=cmh,cmh_report&language=english

The World Health Organisation's (WHO) Commission on Macroeconomics and Health yesterday released this 210-page report on the role of health in global economic development. The Commission, which was established in January of last year, finds "that extending the coverage of crucial health services, including a relatively small number of specific interventions, to the world's poor could save millions of lives each year, reduce poverty, spur economic development, and promote global security." The report recommends an effort on the part of developing and developed nations alike and argues that millions of lives would be saved annually if cooperating countries invested one tenth of one percent of national income. At the site, users can download the report in full or by section. (Scout Report, 1/21/01)

Medact
http://www.medact.org/tbx/pages/

A site devoted to document the effects on health of environmental devastation, violent conflict and poverty.  Excellent source for recent articles regarding these problems.

National Center for Health Statistics [.pdf]
http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/

Statistics, fact sheets, and news stories regarding health and disease in the United States.  Check out, for example, the information on the relationship between health and income in the United States.

National Institutes of Health
www.nih.gov/

The Website for the National Institutes of Health contains recent news and health information, as well as information about grants and links to other health agencies and sites.

Netherlands Institute for Social Sexological Research (NISSO) Database
www.niwi.knaw.nl/guests/nisso/ndbeng.htm

Pan American Health Organization: Country Health Profiles and _Health of the Americas, 1998_ [.pdf] http://www.paho.org/english/country.htm

This site from the Pan American Health Organization ... offers data and analysis on health and related sociological factors in the nations of the Americas. Users can click on the country of their choice via a map or list to access statistics on demographics, socioeconomic data, health risk factors, health care access, and mortality rates as well as an analysis of these and other data. Also available from this site is the text of _Health in the Americas_, a quadrennial publication that exhaustively "assesses the evolving health situation of the Americas-diseases, services, resources-at the regional and country levels" (free registration required). (Scout Report for Social Sciences, 1/25/2000)

Project Inform (Site for AIDS information)
www.projinf.org

"Project Inform is a national, non-profit, community-based organization working to end the AIDS epidemic. Its mission is:  To provide vital information on the diagnosis and treatment of HIV disease to HIV-infected individuals, their caregivers, and their healthcare and service providers. To advocate for enlightened regulatory, research, and funding policies, affecting the development of, access to, and delivery of effective treatments, as well as to fund innovative research opportunities. To inspire people to make informed choices amid uncertainty, and to choose hope over despair."

Report on the Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic--1999
http://www.unaids.org/hivaidsinfo/index.html

The latest figures on the AIDS/HIV epidemic worldwide.  There are some 16,000 new HIV cases each day, of which 90% are in developing countries, 1,600 are in children under 15, while 40% of the adults infected are women. 

Report on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic—UNAIDS [.pdf, Excel, PowerPoint]--2000 http://www.unaids.org/epidemic_update/report/index.html

Released ahead of the thirteenth International AIDS Conference, which began on July 9 in Durban, South Africa (see this report’s In the News section), UNAIDS’s second comprehensive report is sobering reading indeed. For the first time, the impact of AIDS on young people has been calculated, and the report concludes that up to half of all fifteen-year-olds in the most severely affected African countries (primarily sub-Saharan) will eventually die from HIV/AIDS regardless of whether rates drop substantially in the near future. Worldwide, the report finds that some 34 million people are infected and that "Barring a miracle, most of these will die over the next decade or so." (Scout Report for Social Sciences, 7/11/00)

Public Health Image Library
http://phil.cdc.gov/Phil/default.asp

The Public Health Image Library (PHIL) offered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is an extensive collection of images and multimedia files related to public health. If you've ever wanted to see the life cycle of a hookworm or pictures of anthrax lesions, you can see them here. The site can be searched by category, keyword, or image id number, and although the Java-based search engine is a bit cumbersome, spending several hours here will be easy. Often graphic, many of the images are of diseased organs and microscopic slides. Educators, researchers, and professionals should find this site interesting.

State Health Facts Online
http://www.statehealthfacts.kff.org/cgi-bin/healthfacts.cgi?

Provided by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, State Health Facts discloses important health and health policy information for all fifty states and US territories. Data are divided into ten categories -- demographics and the economy, health status, health coverage and uninsured, medicaid and CHIP, medicare, health costs and budgets, managed care and health insurance, providers and service use, women's health, minority health, and HIV/ AIDS -- and are displayed as tables, rankings, graphs, or color-coded maps. Users may access individual state profiles and then compare them to other states, or the US as a whole. Also available is a complete list of all the categories, subcategories, and topics that are available on the State Health Facts Online site; links to over 40 Kaiser Family Foundation reports and related resources; a glossary; methodology; and contact information.

Supercourse: Epidemiology, the Internet and Global Health--GHN

www.pitt.edu/~super1/

 

Surgeon General Reports on the Web [.pdf]
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/surgeonreports.html

Like the Government Printing Office's phenomenally successful foray into the World Wide Web with GPO Access, the National Library of Medicine's site offers readers easy, direct access to government-sponsored medical information, now including all of the reports and studies of the Surgeon General's Office. Searchable in a variety of ways and presenting a wide array of media, the site makes available digitized information from articles, white papers, brochures and pamphlets, as well photographic images and slides of historic figures.

Television Watching and Other Sedentary Behaviors in Relation to Risk of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Women
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/289/14/1785

The last few years have seen a number of studies linking a sedentary lifestyle to obesity and an increased incidence of type 2 diabetes. This problem has been rather pronounced in the United States, as more Americans tend towards watching or being "passive" participants in activities. In a study released in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Professor Frank B. Hu and his colleagues at Harvard examined the relationship between various sedentary behaviors (particularly prolonged television watching) and the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes in women. Looking at approximately 50,000 women from 11 states, Dr. Hu and his colleagues determined that sedentary behaviors were associated with a significantly elevated risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes. For persons interested in public health and women's health in particular, this report will be of great importance.

Tobacco Company Strategies to Undermine Tobacco Control Activities at the World Health Organization -- WHO [.pdf]
http://filestore.who.int/~who/home/tobacco/tobacco.pdf

Released on August 2 by the World Health Organization (WHO), this 248-page report charges that leading tobacco companies undertook a long-running, sophisticated, and comprehensive effort to undermine the WHO's anti-smoking efforts worldwide. Based on industry documents that date back a decade, the report contends that tobacco companies attempted to use front organizations and groups to block the WHO, and even placed individuals with industry ties within WHO-affiliated groups. For the most part, the tobacco companies have not disputed the contents of the report, but claim that they no longer use such tactics. (The Scout Report, 8/4/2000)

Tobacco Industry Documents
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/industrydocs/index.htm

Announced by US Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Donna E. Shalala on November 18, the day of the Great American Smokeout, this important new site will allow the public, for the first time, to conduct searches of key tobacco industry documents "made public by state lawsuits, congressional subpoenas, and the November 1998 master settlement agreement." (Scout Report, November 19, 1999)

Trends in Racial and Ethnic-Specific Rates for the Health Status Indicators: United States, 1990-1998 [.pdf]
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/statnt/statnt23.pdf

The Department of Health and Human Service's report, "Trends in Racial and Ethnic-Specific Rates for the Health Status Indicators: United States, 1990-1998" traces the success of the US government's Healthy People 2000, a program intended to target and improve the health care needs of specific racial and ethnic groups in the United States over the course of the 1990's. Tracking performance by racial group in 17 categories, including cancer, poverty, suicide, infant mortality, and murder rates, the report reveals statistical improvement for almost every racial and ethnic group, save for American Indians and Native Alaskans, whose needs clearly remain unmet. Despite overall improvement in many areas, however, the authors of the report note that "relatively little progress was made toward the goal of eliminating health disparities ...." That said, one can't help but question the objectives of Healthy People 2010 which aim to "eliminate health disparities among different segments of the population."

Tuberculosis, Strategy and Operations, Monitoring and Evaluation
http://www.who.int/gtb/

In spite of the attention being given to HIV/AIDS as a killer of young people, tuberculosis is now the greatest killer of young women in the world.  This site provides information about TB worldwide, the measures that are being taken to address it, and the problems many countries are having trying to deal with it.

Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care
http://www.nap.edu/books/030908265X/html/

Presented by the National Academy Press, this in-depth report examines healthcare disparities between racial minorities and whites. Although those categorized as minorities make up more than half the US population, they still receive a lower quality of healthcare than whites even when insurance status and income are compatible. According to the report, sources of this incongruence is rooted in historic and contemporary inequities and involve many participants at several levels. The study committee focused part of its analysis on the patient/system level factor and the clinical encounter factor. For those interested in learning about these healthcare disparities as well as systematic multi-leveled strategies to counteract them, the information is merely a click away. Viewers have the option of reading the whole report online, or downloading and printing the document in .pdf. The report is 191 pages long (excluding references); therefore, printing the entire report may take some time.

Women and Heart Disease: An Atlas of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Mortality_ - CDC [.pdf, 26.2MB] http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/cvd/womensatlas/

Developed by the Office for Social Environment and Health Research at West Virginia University and the Cardiovascular Health Branch at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this new atlas features over 200 national and state maps of heart disease mortality among women. Collectively, these maps "provide critical data on geographic, racial, and ethnic inequalities in women’s heart disease death rates for the five major racial and ethnic groups." Users can download the 239-page atlas in .pdf format in its entirety or by sections. They can also view national maps, interactive state maps with county information, and methodological and technical notes. (Scout Report, 2/18/2000)

Women, War, Health
http://www.unfpa.org/emergencies/psa/

A three minute film on the relationship between war and women's health.  The film segment is available in 9 different languages.  Flash required.

World Health News
http://www.worldhealthnews.harvard.edu/

Published by the Center for Health Communication of the Harvard School of Public Health, this online weekly news digest covers stories on public health issues from around the world. Aimed at an international audience of policy makers, journalists, public health researchers, practitioners, and advocates, World Health News blends original reporting with links to stories and editorials from publications worldwide. Currently, the site features a spotlight story on women’s rights, health, and equality, as well as synopses and links to stories on the death penalty, AIDS, mental health care for children, environmental hazards, teens and tobacco, and gene therapy, among others. Future plans for the site include video and audio offerings, such as expert interviews and coverage of breaking public health news from "leading news organizations." (Scout Report, 2/18/2000)

World Health Organization
www.who.ch/

The home page of WHO.  The site is loaded with information.  One of the most valuable features is an Online course, Health, Environment, and Sustainable Development.  The course is based on the fact that it "has become clear that health and environment must be understood within the context of social and economic development, which was stressed especially in the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. Investing in improvement to people's health and their environment is a prerequisite for sustainable development."

World Health Report 2000 Health Systems: Improving Performance_WHO [.pdf, Excel]
http://www.who.int/whr/

Published on June 21, this year’s annual report from the World Health Organization (WHO) represents the first ever analysis of the world’s health systems. "Using five performance indicators to measure health systems in 191 member states, it finds that France provides the best overall health care followed among major countries by Italy, Spain, Oman, Austria and Japan." The US, though it spends a higher portion of its gross domestic product than any other country on health, ranks 37. The five indicators used to measure health system performance are overall level of population health, health disparities within the population, overall level of health system responsiveness, distribution of responsiveness within the population, and the distribution of the health system’s financial burden within the population. Users can read the full text of the report by chapter in .pdf format, as well as basic indicators, statistical annexes, and the official press release. (Scout Report, 6/23/00)

World Malaria Report 2005 [pdf]
http://rbm.who.int/wmr2005/

The persistence of malaria in much of the developing world remains a public health problem of staggering proportions. Most people may be familiar with the problem of malaria throughout much of Africa, but over the past decade, incidences of the disease increased in Southeast Asia and a number of Central Asian countries. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO), with assistance from several other international humanitarian organizations, released the World Malaria Report 2005. This site provides access to the complete text of the report, along with a number of other helpful features. These features include brief executive summaries of the report's findings (in English, French, and Spanish), profiles of the state of malaria in each country, and copious amounts of data. Users can access this information by clicking on an interactive map or by selecting any given country of interest from a drop-down menu on the homepage. Finally, visitors may also wish to take a look at the "Users' Guide" area which offers some brief information on the acronyms used throughout the documents on the site. (Scout Report, 9/16/05) 

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Richard H. Robbins

email: richard.robbins@plattsburgh.edu

 

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