The Internet has become a daily part of life especially for younger Americans. Teens as well as adults are now going online to look for health information. What exactly are young people looking for? Do they trust what they find? Is it influencing what they talk about with their peers, parents, or physicians? Are they worried about privacy? Pornography? Parental controls?

A panel featuring Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet & American Life Project; Gretchen Berland, MD, Assistant Professor, Yale University Department of Internal Medicine; Esther Drill, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, gURL.com; and Robert Johnson, MD, Director of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, New Jersey Medical School discussed all these issues and more at an Emerging Issues in Reproductive Health Briefing. New findings from a national survey of teens and young adults experiences with and attitudes toward online health information were presented.

• Report 
• Chartpack 
• Teen Sexual Activity Fact Sheet 

The Women’s Health Data Book: A Profile of Women’s Health in the United States, offers the latest data and trends on the wide range of health issues that affect women across their life spans. Published by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health, the Data Book is edited by Dawn Misra, Ph.D.

This book addresses social and economic factors and provides up-to-date information on chronic conditions, reproductive health, mental health, violence, health behaviors, and access to and quality of health services received by women. Information is included on disparities in health status and access to care among subgroups of women, highlighting the populations of women who are at greatest risk. Additional fact sheets highlighting key data from the book are also available.

• Women’s Health Data Book

• Fact Sheet: Data Book Highlights
• Fact Sheet: Highlights for Women of Color
• Fact Sheet: Highlights for Adolescents

Disparities in Women’s Health

Disparities in health and health care continue to burden women, particularly affecting women of color or those who are poor. To shed more light on the factors contributing to inequalities in health and access to care for women, the Kaiser Family Foundation provided support for the newest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association (JAMWA) Disparities in Women’s Health. This special issue features an editorial by Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., Ph.D., as well as articles focusing on the underlying causes of racial and ethnic inequalities in women’s health and sex differences in health care delivery. This issue also explores the impact of social-economic status, age, and disease on health disparities.

A fully downloadable copy of the article is available on the JAMWA website.

Note: This publication is no longer in circulation. However, a few copies may still exist in the Foundation’s internal library that could be xeroxed. Please email order@kff.org if you would like to pursue this option.

Health News Index November/December, 2001

The November/December 2001 edition of the Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health Health News Index includes questions about major health stories covered in the news, including the public s knowledge of bioterrorism threats, anthrax and smallpox. The Health News Index is designed to help news media and people in the health field gain a better understanding of which health stories Americans are following and what they understand about those issues.

• HNI November-December 2001
• Topline/Survey

An overview of the human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted disease in the U.S. and the cause of most cervical cancer.

• Fact Sheet

A survey by National Public Radio, Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government shows that the vast majority of Americans are willing to forgo some civil liberties to fight terrorism and that they trust the government to do the right thing in carrying out the fight. However, Americans also hold strong beliefs in principle about civil liberties, and public attitudes may change if the threat of terrorism recedes.

• Topline & Methodology

Ten focus groups were conducted with voters April through July 2001, prior to the tragedies of September 11th and broad public recognition of an economic slowdown. The report, Effective Language and Themes for Talking About the Uninsured, finds that at that time: voters were still surprised by basic facts about the uninsured; voters seemed ready for messages about the uninsured that focus on the health and financial consequences of being uninsured, especially those centered on personal vulnerability; voters responded strongly when uninsured children were discussed and felt strongly that all of the uninsured are deserving of health coverage. Voters found less persuasive the arguments that linked having health insurance to having equal opportunities such as those provided by the public education system or that suggested that the large numbers of uninsured people hurt the economy because they cannot be as productive at their jobs.

• Report/ Insights

More than half (57%) of the 2.5 million people who identify themselves solely as American Indian and Alaska Native in the 2000 Census live in metropolitan areas. This issue brief describes the large and growing urban Indian population, their health status, and the major federal health programs and federal-state programs that are available to improve Native Americans’ access to needed health services.

Report

Introductory Letter

Direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising, particularly television advertising, has grown rapidly in the last few years. This nationally representative survey examines how consumers who are shown specific television prescription drug ads respond to such ads: what information they retain, what actions they predict they will take, and their views about this type of advertising.

• Report

This November 2001 Chartbook updates data from last year’s chartbook, including information about prescription drug coverage, expenditures and prices, utilization, drug promotion, and the pharmaceutical industry.