• Report:

A fact sheet on HIV, how it is transmitted, how to protect yourself against HIV, and information on testing and treatments for HIV. This fact sheet is available as part of a partnership with BET Teen Summit Town Hall specials.

• Fact Sheet

• Report:

Health News Index September/October, 1998

The September/October 1998 edition of the Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard Health News Index includes questions about major health stories covered in the news, including questions about the Uninsured, Late Term Abortions and Emergency Contraception. The survey is based on a national sample of 1,202 Americans conducted October 10-18, 1998 which measures public knowledge on health stories covered in the news media during the previous month. The Health News Index is designed to help the news media and people in the health field gain a better understanding of which health stories in the news Americans are following and what they understand about those health issues. Every two months, Kaiser/Harvard issues a new index report.

A public education brochure describing Medicare reform options that are being considered by Congress. This fact sheet is also a part of a packet of information as part of a joint public information project between Kaiser Family Foundation and League of Women Voters of public meetings held across the United States in October 1998 (#1427, available in print).

• Report
• Report

Medicare: Options for Reform, A Public Dialogue on Health Care: The Future of Medicare – (Spanish)

• Report: Medicare: Opciones para la reforma

This report presents the results of eight focus groups conducted in several languages throughout California to explore the knowledge and opinions of parents of potentially eligible children about the Medi-Cal program, California’s Medicaid program. The study found that participants were confused about eligibility requirements, found the enrollment process onerous and demeaning, and had suggestions about how they could be better educated about the program.

• Policy Brief: Medi-Cal Eligibility And Enrollment (.pdf)

• Report: Barriers to Medi-Cal Enrollment and Ideas for Improving Enrollment: Findings (.pdf)

This study examines whether the ratings assigned to television shows accurately reflect their content, according to the guidelines developed by the industry. The study analyzes the level and intensity of violence, sex or adult language in a show as well as the context in which it was presented.

This full report is available only in print (Publication #1434). The executive summary and chartpack is available below.

A companion survey of parents views on the TV ratings system, Parents, Children and the Television Ratings System: Two Kaiser Family Foundation Surveys (#1398), is available separately.

• News Release: Major New Study of the V-Chip TV Rating System
• Chart Pack
• Executive Summary

Will 1999 Be The Year For Mifepristone (RU-486)?And, An Update on Women’s Other Options for Very Early Abortion

September 16, 1998

Briefing Participants:

Janet Benshoof PresidentCenter for Reproductive Law & Policy120 Wall Street, 18th FloorNew York, NY 10005Press Contact: Margie Kelly212/514-5534

Jacqueline E. Darroch, PhDSenior Vice PresidentThe Alan Guttmacher Institute120 Wall StreetNew York, NY 10005

Vanessa Northington Gamble, MD, PhDAssociate ProfessorHistory of Medicine and Family Medicine, and DirectorCenter for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in MedicineUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School1300 University AvenueMadison, WI 53706-1532608/265-5996

Elizabeth Newhall, MDPartnerEverywoman’s Health, P.C., and Medical DirectorDowntown Women’s Center401 North Graham, #445Portland, OR 97227503/284-5220

Felicia H. Stewart, MDDirector of Reproductive Health ProgramsKaiser Family Foundation2400 Sand Hill RoadMenlo Park, CA 94025Press Contact: Tina Hoff,650/854-9400, ext. 210

Carolyn Westhoff, MD, MSAssociate Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology and Public HealthNew York Presbyterian HospitalColumbia Presbyterian CampusColumbia University630 West 168th Street, Room 16-80New York, NY 10032Press Contact: Karin Eskenazi212/305-5587

Beverly Winikoff, MDSenior Medical AssociateThe Population CouncilOne Dag Hammarskjold PlazaNew York, NY 10017Press Contact: Sandra Waldman212/339-0525

Other Resources:

Mifepristone and Methotrexate Research

Mitchell D. Creinin, MDDirector of Family Planning & Family Planning ResearchDepartment of OB/GYN & Reproductive ScienceUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicineMagee-Women’s Hospital300 Halket StreetPittsburgh, PA 15213-3180412/641-1440

David Grimes, MDVice President of Biomedical AffairsFamily Health InternationalPO Box 13950Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3950919/544-7040

Richard Hausknecht, MDMedical DirectorPlanned Parenthood of New York City208 East 72nd StreetNew York, NY 10021212/369-1116

Mifepristone Clinical Trials

Lawrence LaderPresidentAbortion Rights Mobilization51 Fifth Avenue, 10th FloorNew York, NY 10003212/255-0682

Eric Schaff, MDAssociate ProfessorDepartment of Family MedicineUniversity of Rochester885 South AvenueRochester, NY 14620716/442-7470

Methotrexate Clinical Trials

Michael Burnhill, MDVice President of Medical AffairsPlanned Parenthood Federation of America810 Seventh AvenueNew York, NY 10019-5818Press Contact: Steve Plever212/261-4310

Manual Vacuum Aspiration Research

Paul Blumenthal, MDAssociate ProfessorJHU Department of OB/GYNJohns Hopkins Bay View Medical Center4940 Eastern AvenueBaltimore, MD 21224410/550-0335

Forrest C. Greenslade, PhDPresidentIPASPO Box 100Carrboro, NC 27510919/967-7052

Patients’ Experiences With Medical Abortion

S. Marie Harvey, DrPHCo-DirectorPacific Institute for Women’s Health2999 Overland Avenue, Suite 111Los Angeles, CA 90064310/842-6828

Provider Training

Jodi MageeExecutive DirectorPhysicians for Reproductive Choice & Health1780 Broadway, 10th FloorNew York, NY 10019Press Contact: Ciara Wilson212/765-2322

Vicki SaportaExecutive DirectorNational Abortion Federation1755 Massachusetts, NW, Suite 600Washington, DC 20036Press Contact: Stephanie Mueller202/667-5881

Policy And Politics

Elizabeth CavendishLegal DirectorNational Abortion & Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL)1156 15th Street, NW, Suite 700Washington, DC 20005202/973-3000

Marie BassProject DirectorReproductive Health Technologies Project1818 N Street, NW, Suite 450Washington, DC 20036202/530-2900

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Will 1999 Be The Year For Mifepristone (RU-486)?

Press Release Fact Sheet Q&A Resource List

The survey was designed and analyzed by researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University; and was conducted by telephone by Princeton Survey Research Associates with 1,200 adults, 18 years or older, nationwide, between August 6 and August 20, 1998.