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The federal government requires that most packaged foods carry a standardized label--the Nutrition Facts panel--that provides nutrition information intended to help consumers make healthful choices. In recent years, manufacturers have begun to include additional nutrition messages on their food pack... More

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable morbidity and mortality in the United States, contributing to approximately 443,000 premature deaths each year nationally (CDC, 2008). Smoking-related disease causes more deaths than alcohol, illicit drug use, homicide, and suicide combined (Mokdad et al.,... More

Academic health centers are currently facing enormous changes that will impact their roles in education, research, and patient care. The aging and diversity of the population will create new health care needs and demands, while rapid advances in technology will fundamentally alter the health care s... More

Popular culture often equates testosterone with virility, strength, and the macho male physique. Viewed by some as an “antiaging tonic,” testosterone’s reputation and increased use by men of all ages in the United States have outpaced the scientific evidence about its potential ben... More

Building on the revolutionary Institute of Medicine reports To Err is Human and Crossing the Quality Chasm, Keeping Patients Safe lays out guidelines for improving patient safety by changing nurses working conditions and demands. Licensed nurses and unlicensed nursing assistants are critical partici... More

The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act gives funding to cities, states, and other public and private entities to provide care and support services to individuals with HIV and AIDS who have low-incomes and little or no insurance. The CARE Act is a discretionary program that... More

To maintain their own health and the health of their families and communities, consumers rely heavily on the health information that is available to them. This information is at the core of the partnerships that patients and their families forge with today’s complex modern health systems. This... More

The United States is rapidly transforming into one of the most racially and ethnically diverse nations in the world. Groups commonly referred to as minorities--including Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, and Alaska Natives--are the fastest growing se... More

Roughly half of all deaths in the United States are linked to behavioral and social factors. The leading causes of preventable death and disease in the United States are smoking, sedentary lifestyle, along with poor dietary habits, and alcohol consumption. To make measurable improvements in the heal... More

Infant formulas are unique because they are the only source of nutrition for many infants during the first 4 to 6 months of life. They are critical to infant health since they must safely support growth and development during a period when the consequences on inadequate nutrition are most severe. Ex... More

Grants for research centers located in universities, medical centers, and other nonprofit research institutions account for about 9 percent of the National Institutes of Health budget. Centers are popular because they can bring visibility, focus, and increased resources to bear on specific diseases.... More

The U.S. military's concerns about the individual combat service member's ability to avoid performance degradation, in conjunction with the need to maintain both mental and physical capabilities in highly stressful situations, have led to and interest in developing methods by which commanders can mo... More

Almost all homes, apartments, and commercial buildings will experience leaks, flooding, or other forms of excessive indoor dampness at some point. Not only is excessive dampness a health problem by itself, it also contributes to several other potentially problematic types of situations. Molds and ot... More

Children's health has made tremendous strides over the past century. In general, life expectancy has increased by more than thirty years since 1900 and much of this improvement is due to the reduction of infant and early childhood mortality. Given this trajectory toward a healthier childhood, we beg... More

For more than 50 years, low-cost antimalarial drugs silently saved millions of lives and cured billions of debilitating infections. Today, however, these drugs no longer work against the deadliest form of malaria that exists throughout the world. Malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africa—currently ... More

The National Academies Press (NAP)--publisher for the National Academies--publishes more than 200 books a year offering the most authoritative views, definitive information, and groundbreaking recommendations on a wide range of topics in science, engineering, and health. Our books are unique in that... More

In January 2004, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) hosted the 1st Annual Crossing the Quality Chasm Summit, convening a group of national and community health care leaders to pool their knowledge and resources with regard to strategies for improving patient care for five common chronic illnesses. Thi... More

Building on the innovative Institute of Medicine reports To Err Is Human and Crossing the Quality Chasm, Quality Through Collaboration: The Future of Rural Health offers a strategy to address the quality challenges in rural communities. Rural America is a vital, diverse component of the American com... More

The National Academies Press (NAP)--publisher for the National Academies--publishes more than 200 books a year offering the most authoritative views, definitive information, and groundbreaking recommendations on a wide range of topics in science, engineering, and health. Our books are unique in that... More

An estimated 11,000 spinal cord injuries occur each year in the United States and more than 200,000 Americans suffer from maladies associated with spinal cord injury. This includes paralysis, bowel and bladder dysfunction, sexual dysfunction, respiratory impairment, temperature regulation problems, ... More

A report on The Smallpox Vaccination Program... More

The National Academies Press (NAP)--publisher for the National Academies--publishes more than 200 books a year offering the most authoritative views, definitive information, and groundbreaking recommendations on a wide range of topics in science, engineering, and health. Our books are unique in that... More

The American workforce is changing, creating new challenges for employers to provide occupational health services to meet the needs of employees. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) workforce is highly skilled and competitive and employees frequently work under intense pressure ... More

Innovative medical devices have helped reduce the burden of illness and injury and improve the quality of life for countless children. Mechanical ventilators and other respiratory support devices rescue thousands of fragile newborns every year. Children who once would have died of congenital heart c... More

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (the WIC program) has promoted the health of low-income families for more than 30 years by providing nutrition education, supplemental food, and other valuable services. The program reaches millions of families every year, i... More