Health care markets and related sectors of the economy like insurance provide essential services in our society. They have been undergoing rapid change for at least the past decade, yet some thirtyseven to thirty-nine million citizens lack health care insurance at one time or another each year; rapid inflation of costs has more often been the case than not; and equal access to the system for bo...

of times a member voted consistently with APHA’s position on the legislation included in the record. Second, the records do not demonstrate the number of responsible legislative proposals a legislator introduces; leadership in committees, where much important work is done; influence with other members; or contributions related to intensity of feeling or level of expertise. Third, many members o...

BACKGROUND Germany is a country with a high use of herbal medicinal products. Population-based data on the use of herbal medicinal products among children are lacking. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence, patterns and determinants of herbal medicine use among children and adolescents in Germany. METHODS As data base served the German Health Interview and Examination Survey ...

The Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) is the product of a political compromise to attract moderate Republicans and enough Democrats without losing Republican conservatives. The compromise offered more private health plans to beneficiaries while maintaining and improving traditional Medicare's benefits. This compromise did not settle the debate over the legislation, which is a major issue in the ...

OBJECTIVE To assess the influence of newspaper coverage and a media campaign about Dutch smoke-free legislation on smokers' support for smoke-free bars and restaurants and on secondhand smoke (SHS) harm awareness. DESIGN AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES A content analysis was conducted of 1041 newspaper articles on the smoke-free legislation published in six Dutch newspapers from March 2008 to April...

Better understanding of the cognitive framework for decision making among legislators is important for advocacy of health-promoting legislation. In 1994, the authors surveyed state legislators from North Carolina, Texas, and Vermont concerning their beliefs and intentions related to voting for a hypothetical measure to enforce legislation preventing the sale of tobacco to minors, using scales b...

Despite criticism that health reform legislation will result in cuts to Medicare, the bills passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as President Obama's proposal, contain provisions that would strengthen the program by reducing costs for prescription drugs, expanding coverage for preventive care, providing more help for low-income beneficiaries, and supporting accessible,...

P olicy measures, including legislation, are one method of promoting health. Participation in many voluntary health promoting behaviours is strongly socioeconomically patterned, and this may also apply to behaviours governed by legislation. Rear passenger seat belt use is one legally prescribed behaviour—having been made compulsory in the UK in 1991. Previous research on the socioeconomic distr...

OBJECTIVES Second-hand smoke (SHS) can attain high concentrations in cars. To protect children's health, nine Canadian provinces have enacted legislation prohibiting smoking in privately owned vehicles when children are present; Quebec is the only province with no such legislation. The objective of this study was to estimate the proportion of smokers in Quebec who smoke while travelling in a pr...