Maternal and Child Health Library

This and past issues of the MCH Alert are available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/alert/archives.html.

February 23, 2007

1. BOOKLET DESCRIBES HOW SCIENCE HAS REVOLUTIONIZED THE UNDERSTANDING OF DRUG ADDICTION

Drugs, Brains, and Behavior: The Science of Addiction provides information about drug addiction, including the many harmful consequences of drug abuse and the basic approaches that have been developed to prevent and treat it. The 30-page, full-color booklet, published by the National Institutes on Drug Abuse, discusses the reasons people take drugs, why some people become addicted while others do not, how drugs work in the brain, and how addiction can be prevented and treated. Information about NIDA's addiction-research program and efforts to share findings with professional audiences and the general public are provided, along with information about NIDA's special initiatives to target students and teachers, designated populations, and ethnic groups. The booklet is intended for use by health professionals and the general public in making informed choices in their own lives, adopting science-based policies and programs that reduce drug abuse and addiction in their communities, and supporting scientific research that improves the nation's well-being. The booklet is available at http://www.drugabuse.gov/scienceofaddiction/sciofaddiction.pdf.

• At baseline, 454 (17%) of 2,644 children were identified as CSHCN; 398 (88%) of 454 CSHCN completed the follow-up interview and made up the analytical group.
• Most of the CSHCN had been enrolled in SCHIP for more than 9 months.
• Among CSHCN with physical conditions, improvements after SCHIP were noted for those having a usual source of health care (USC), having unmet needs for prescription medications, and having all or most visits to the USC.
• Improvements were noted regardless of prior insurance status or type of chronic condition.
• Although unmet health care need declined after enrollment in SCHIP, it remained relatively high even during enrollment. The number of parents citing reasons for unmet needs related to costs or to health insurance (e.g., "costs too much" or "didn't have health insurance") declined markedly after enrollment in SCHIP, whereas the number citing reasons related to access to health care or to family factors (e.g., transportation or language) remained about the same after enrollment.

• For G2 with LBW alone, the prevalence of problems was comparable with that of individuals without either LBW or abuse.
• G2 with abuse alone and those with both LBW and abuse had poorer adult functioning, well-being, and health in general than those with LBW alone and than those with neither.
• Compared with G2 with neither LBW nor abuse, those with both LBW and abuse were at a substantially elevated risk for psychological problems: nearly a 10-fold increased risk for depression, nearly a 7-fold increased risk for social dysfunction, and a 4-fold risk for somatization. No such increased risk was found for medical problems.