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The Frenetic Quest for Relevance

The Frenetic Quest for Relevance ventable and Manageable Diseases) in collaboration with Feldman, JJ and Leaverton PE (National Center for Health Statistics); Lane JM and Sencer DJ (Center for Disease Control); and Evans CC (Veterans Administration): Measuring the quality of medical care, a clinical method. N Engl J Med 294:582588, 1976. Tables revised September 1, 1977. 2. Reprints of the 1977 revisions are available either from the Clearinghouse on Health Indexes, National Center for Health Statistics, 3700 East-West Highway, Hyattsville, MD 20782, or from Dr. David D. Rutstein, Countway Library, Harvard Medical School, 10 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115. Hospitals and universities decided to compete by offering workshops, seminars, outreach programs, and health This health status measure is becoming popular with physicians, hospital administrators, health planners, and public health administrators. As the number of applications of these measures increase, there is a need to assess the information provided by the sentinel health event methodology and to identify other conditions which might be added to the list. To do this, a register of who is using sentinel health events and their experiences needs to be set up. The Clearinghouse on Health Indexes working closely with Dr. David D. Rutstein, Chairman of the Working Group on Preventable and Manageable Diseases, has agreed to serve as this communication channel. For persons using or interested in using the sentinel health eventB method, the Clearinghouse offers the following services: 1. Inclusion of abstracts of relevant materials in our regular bibliographic series, 2. Identification of new materials through our ongoing search of literature and through our network of personal contacts, 3. Operation of an on-line search file for preparing special topic bibliographies, 4. Referral to persons who are using sentinel health events for the sharing of experiences. To assist the Clearinghouse on Health Indexes to build and maintain an up-to-date file of documents which are related to sentinel health events, everyone is encouraged to send relevant material to the Clearinghouse. Pennifer Erickson Clearinghouse on Health Indexes National Centerfor Health Statistics DHEW, USPHS Hyattsville, MD 20782 Health professionals have observed and lamented the commercial drug advertiser offering pills to the masses to sleep better; be more alert; suppress appetite; relieve cold symptoms; reduce allergic symptoms, etc. Persons purchase mountains of drugs which benefit only manufacturers. The latest health fads have found bonanzas with publishing houses releasing books by authors with little or no credentials on the art of running, diets for good health, or the joy of sex. Whether the public benefits from these alleged health books is an open question. An insurance carrier's television advertisement depicting individuals riding instead of walking to the store suggests that the exercise will contribute to leveling or even lowering medical care costs. Attempts of this kind can only be labeled fallacious and border on false advertising. Health agencies, universities, institutions, and health professionals have joined this band wagon by offering various activities to attract attention. These range from securing the services of a hypnotist to curb the smoking habit, to shopping mall blood pressure testing and other quasi-health activities. Parenthetically, these activities are designed to raise funds as well for the sponsoring agency and certainly for the professional swami. They are merely competing for public awareness, not performing a public health service. fairs including multi-phasic screening programs. These monoliths have claimed to have family and community health programs which were virtually invisible until the monoliths joined the frenetic quest for relevance. It may be that health screening in parking lots, in shopping malls, regardless of sponsor, is doing a great disservice to the nation's citizenry. It is because health professionals are guilty of apostasy that America's peoples are drifting toward fringe health activities and embracing bizarre cults to assure healthful living. This writer believes that professional groups and institutions are culpable in contributing to the health neuroses of America. Images are tarnished when health agencies, institutions, and professionals embark on activities that are not in the best interests of the public. Misleading or fallacious public health information is a violation of professional ethics and erodes public confidence in the health profession. The carnival-like atmosphere in which many of these quasi health activities take place does nothing to maintain the dignity of health professionals, of institutions or of health agencies. The apotheosis for us all is the preservation of the health of the peoples. Ben Chaiken Executive Director Arizona Lung Association 1239 E. McDowell Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85006 Harvard's CHIP Successful Dr. Baranowski wrote of his concern that public health schools are creating an ''Elitism Syndrome" in their students! He found that the syndrome affects students when they come under the influence of professors who emphasize "theoretical work" or "broad-based national problems," ignoring local health problems and re- http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png American Journal of Public Health American Public Health Association

The Frenetic Quest for Relevance

American Journal of Public Health , Volume 69 (11) – Nov 1, 1979

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Publisher
American Public Health Association
Copyright
Copyright © by the American Public Health Association
ISSN
0090-0036
eISSN
1541-0048
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

ventable and Manageable Diseases) in collaboration with Feldman, JJ and Leaverton PE (National Center for Health Statistics); Lane JM and Sencer DJ (Center for Disease Control); and Evans CC (Veterans Administration): Measuring the quality of medical care, a clinical method. N Engl J Med 294:582588, 1976. Tables revised September 1, 1977. 2. Reprints of the 1977 revisions are available either from the Clearinghouse on Health Indexes, National Center for Health Statistics, 3700 East-West Highway, Hyattsville, MD 20782, or from Dr. David D. Rutstein, Countway Library, Harvard Medical School, 10 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115. Hospitals and universities decided to compete by offering workshops, seminars, outreach programs, and health This health status measure is becoming popular with physicians, hospital administrators, health planners, and public health administrators. As the number of applications of these measures increase, there is a need to assess the information provided by the sentinel health event methodology and to identify other conditions which might be added to the list. To do this, a register of who is using sentinel health events and their experiences needs to be set up. The Clearinghouse on Health Indexes working closely with Dr. David D. Rutstein, Chairman of the Working Group on Preventable and Manageable Diseases, has agreed to serve as this communication channel. For persons using or interested in using the sentinel health eventB method, the Clearinghouse offers the following services: 1. Inclusion of abstracts of relevant materials in our regular bibliographic series, 2. Identification of new materials through our ongoing search of literature and through our network of personal contacts, 3. Operation of an on-line search file for preparing special topic bibliographies, 4. Referral to persons who are using sentinel health events for the sharing of experiences. To assist the Clearinghouse on Health Indexes to build and maintain an up-to-date file of documents which are related to sentinel health events, everyone is encouraged to send relevant material to the Clearinghouse. Pennifer Erickson Clearinghouse on Health Indexes National Centerfor Health Statistics DHEW, USPHS Hyattsville, MD 20782 Health professionals have observed and lamented the commercial drug advertiser offering pills to the masses to sleep better; be more alert; suppress appetite; relieve cold symptoms; reduce allergic symptoms, etc. Persons purchase mountains of drugs which benefit only manufacturers. The latest health fads have found bonanzas with publishing houses releasing books by authors with little or no credentials on the art of running, diets for good health, or the joy of sex. Whether the public benefits from these alleged health books is an open question. An insurance carrier's television advertisement depicting individuals riding instead of walking to the store suggests that the exercise will contribute to leveling or even lowering medical care costs. Attempts of this kind can only be labeled fallacious and border on false advertising. Health agencies, universities, institutions, and health professionals have joined this band wagon by offering various activities to attract attention. These range from securing the services of a hypnotist to curb the smoking habit, to shopping mall blood pressure testing and other quasi-health activities. Parenthetically, these activities are designed to raise funds as well for the sponsoring agency and certainly for the professional swami. They are merely competing for public awareness, not performing a public health service. fairs including multi-phasic screening programs. These monoliths have claimed to have family and community health programs which were virtually invisible until the monoliths joined the frenetic quest for relevance. It may be that health screening in parking lots, in shopping malls, regardless of sponsor, is doing a great disservice to the nation's citizenry. It is because health professionals are guilty of apostasy that America's peoples are drifting toward fringe health activities and embracing bizarre cults to assure healthful living. This writer believes that professional groups and institutions are culpable in contributing to the health neuroses of America. Images are tarnished when health agencies, institutions, and professionals embark on activities that are not in the best interests of the public. Misleading or fallacious public health information is a violation of professional ethics and erodes public confidence in the health profession. The carnival-like atmosphere in which many of these quasi health activities take place does nothing to maintain the dignity of health professionals, of institutions or of health agencies. The apotheosis for us all is the preservation of the health of the peoples. Ben Chaiken Executive Director Arizona Lung Association 1239 E. McDowell Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85006 Harvard's CHIP Successful Dr. Baranowski wrote of his concern that public health schools are creating an ''Elitism Syndrome" in their students! He found that the syndrome affects students when they come under the influence of professors who emphasize "theoretical work" or "broad-based national problems," ignoring local health problems and re-

Journal

American Journal of Public HealthAmerican Public Health Association

Published: Nov 1, 1979

There are no references for this article.