2011 Archives

The policy forum of this issue addresses the behavioral health needs of North Carolina service members, veterans, and their families. Also in this issue, a leading pharmaceutical company reviews how its efforts complement health reform, and original articles investigate secondhand-smoke exposure, smoking among adolescents, and characteristics of cancer survivors.

The policy forum of this issue addresses the connection between public health and environmental health, drawing on papers and presentations from the 2010 North Carolina Environmental Health Summit. The forum is complemented by original research on barriers to municipal walking and bicycling projects, quality of asthma care, and use of public records for evaluating the health effects of treated sewage sludge, as well as by a review of the National Children's Study, which is presently underway at 2 sites in the state. Also in the issue, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Institute of Medicine review efforts associated with implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

The policy forum of this issue reviews new models of health care payment and delivery. North Carolina is a national leader in some of the new models envisioned under the Affordable Care Act, and this forum features authoritative commentaries about 6 types of models in the state: entrepreneur-driven activities, management of innovations, applications of technology, changes in financing, market approaches, and structures involving changes in how health care professionals work. Also in this issue, original articles describe overweight and obese employees’ perceptions about lifestyle-associated changes in health benefits, career transitions among physicians dually trained in internal medicine and pediatrics, and hospitals’ use of data to identify disparities in the care of minority patients.

The policy forum of this issue takes as its point of departure an April 2011 summit of North Carolina nurse leaders, who met to review and discuss recommendations from The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, a report recently published by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Commentaries from experts across the state affirm the importance of ensuring that an effective, educated nursing workforce is present; that nursing education involves a seamless process; that nurses can practice to the full extent of their education and training; that nurses are full partners in redesigning health care; and that an effective, comprehensive health care workforce planning system is in place. Also in this issue, original articles address the use Charlotte-area emergency departments for primary care services and the presence of defibrillators in North Carolina public schools.

The policy forum of this issue reviews activities to prevent and control diabetes in North Carolina. Topics considered include the epidemiologic characteristics of the diabetes burden, the role of community health workers in diabetes education and care, and the influence of federal and state policies on programs and services for individuals with or at risk for diabetes. Original articles in the issue complement the policy forum by looking at characteristics associated with glycemic control, diabetes care provided by school nurses, a program to increase retinal screening among diabetic individuals, and diabetes prevention and control services in North Carolina health departments. Elsewhere in the issue, experts review allied health's contributions to health reform in North Carolina.

The policy forum of this issue focuses on promoting farm safety and fostering a healthy agricultural workforce in North Carolina. Among the topics considered are the need for improved farm injury surveillance, factors associated with farm injuries, challenges for migrant and seasonal farmworkers, pesticide exposure, and response to on-farm emergencies. Original articles in the issue address the seasonality of poor pregnancy outcomes in North Carolina, drug use trends for arthritis and similar conditions and the effect of a patient’s age on the choice of treatment, and the increasing impact of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases on one North Carolina county.