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In March 2001, the Surgeon General’s Report (SGR) Women and Smoking was released, presenting an update of the now massive body of evidence on the adverse effects of smoking on women’s health. Major findings show that, despite all that is known of the devastating health consequences of smoking, 22% of U.S. women smoked cigarettes in 1998, and 3 million women have died prematurely of smoking-related diseases since 1980. In addition, in 1987 lung cancer surpassed breast cancer as the leading cause of death among U.S. women.
CDC’s involvement in a year-long communication plan for promoting the SGR and its findings yielded more than 1,500 national and local media stories about the report and an estimated 200 million audience impressions. In addition, the Internet search engine Yahoo! and HHS’s National Women’s Health Information Center launched new tobacco prevention Internet sites on the day of the SGR release. CDC also collaborated with the Oxygen television network to produce the video documentary Women and Tobacco: Seven Deadly Myths, hosted by Christy Turlington, a fashion model and antitobacco spokesperson, and featuring Dr. Virginia Ernster, senior scientific editor of the SGR. CDC is distributing the video and related resources to women’s groups across the country and worldwide to help them carry the messages of the SGR to their members.
A precedent-setting national satellite video-conference entitled Investing in Tobacco Control: A Guide for State Decision Makers was held in February 2001; it was viewed at 312 sites in 47 states. The conference, which was a collaborative effort between CDC and the Public Health Training Network, enabled state and community leaders and public health professionals to share information on the importance and benefits of committing resources to comprehensive state tobacco control programs. About 3,000 viewers took part in the conference, including gubernatorial staff, state legislators and legislative staff, state health officials and health department staff, members and staff of state tobacco control foundations and commissions, partner organizations, officials involved in state budget issues, and community leaders.
One of the highlights of the video-conference was the release of Investment in Tobacco Control: State Highlights, 2001, a report on the prevalence of tobacco use, the health effects and costs associated with tobacco use, the funding for tobacco control, and tobacco excise taxes by state. The report, a tool for states to use in developing their own tobacco control programs, was the third State Highlights report released by CDC.
For the first time, the report included a compilation of states’ investments in tobacco control, specifically enabling states to compare their own efforts with those of other states. In addition to profiling funding amounts and sources for state tobacco control, the investment report looked at several other issues, including smoking prevalence among young people and adults, death rates from smoking, and per capita cigarette sales.
As part of its efforts to improve health-related resources for parents, CDC launched a multimedia social marketing campaign called Got a Minute? Give It to Your Kid. The campaign is based on research that shows that certain parenting behaviors consistently build children’s ability to resist using tobacco and other drugs. The parenting kit includes print and radio advertisements, a parent education brochure, parenting tips and activity guides, and tips and resources for quitting smoking. It also features a PowerPoint presentation that focuses on ways parents can improve the odds that their children will say no to tobacco. It is designed for adaptation and use by state tobacco prevention specialists when they communicate with parents in their states and communities. CDC has begun developing an Hispanic version of the Got a Minute? campaign, which is being adapted to meet the unique needs and circumstances of Hispanic parents.
Another CDC product is the Tobacco-Free Sports Playbook, a guide to help communities and youth sports officials pitch healthy lifestyles to children. It gives public health officials, youth coaches, and school administrators step-by-step advice on launching and sustaining campaigns to help kids say no to tobacco.
The National Tobacco Information On-line System (NATIONS) project is an electronically integrated information system containing country-specific information on a wide variety of tobacco control issues. A collaboration of CDC, the American Cancer Society, the World Health Organization, and the World Bank, the system includes profiles on 192 countries summarizing tobacco-related information on use prevalence, legislation, economics, agriculture, and other topics. NATIONS provides a standardized structure to monitor and assess the global effects of tobacco. It will assist in the design of international tobacco prevention and control initiatives, programs, and policies, and it will enhance future international tobacco surveillance and evaluation research.
The “Nutrition and Physical Activity: the 100 Way” project is a curriculum-based intervention developed to complement the 100 Black Men of America (BMOA) curriculum guide. The goal of the project is to 1) educate and empower 11- to 18-year-old African American boys and young men who participate in 100 BMOA’s mentoring program and 2) assess and modify behavioral and environmental factors that put young black men at risk of engaging in inadequate physical activity and eating an inadequate amount of fruits and vegetables.
To implement this project, CDC formed partnerships with the 100 BMOA, the Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, and the California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program. In FY2001, the project was successfully piloted and evaluated at the Los Angeles, Dallas, and DeKalb County (Georgia) chapters of 100 BMOA.
The “Nutrition and Physical Activity: the 100 Way” curriculum guide will be disseminated to the 100 BMOA chapters, and training will be conducted during 100 BMOA’s Training for Mentors.
A national plan for increasing physical activity among adults aged 50 or older was released in May 2001. The press covered the release in 45 major media markets, which reach an audience of more than 6 million people. National Blueprint: Increasing Physical Activity Among Adults Aged 50 or Older grew out of the need for a framework for planning, collaborative action, and social change for organizations and agencies involved in physical activity or aging. Six partner organizations (American Association of Retired Persons, American College of Sports Medicine, American Geriatrics Society, National Institute on Aging, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and CDC) worked to create the guidelines. National Blueprint is based on presentations and discussions at a conference held in October 2000, and it contains input and recommendations from about 50 interested organizations. National Blueprint suggests about 60 strategies for increasing physical activity in the home, community, and workplace. It also suggests topics for research and strategies for increasing physical activity through medical systems, policy change, and advocacy. A follow-up meeting of the participant organizations is planned for 2003 with a goal of assessing and promoting progress in implementing National Blueprint’s strategies.
CDC is focusing on several strategies recommended in National Blueprint, mainly through partnerships. These strategies include
During FY2001, CDC developed a national nutrition and physical activity program for preventing chronic diseases and obesity. Principal areas of increased activity were in support of state programs and of extramural applied research activities. CDC now provides support to 12 states for planning statewide nutrition and physical activity programs and conducting demonstration interventions, particularly through population-based strategies such as policy change, environmental support, and social marketing. Six new states received funds in FY2001: Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Montana, Pennsylvania, and Washington. State activities include 1) development of a plan for a selected priority population, 2) establishment of partnerships to carry out the plan, and 3) development, implementation, and evaluation of nutrition and physical activity intervention projects for the selected priority population.
CDC funded a number of extramural applied research projects at CDC Prevention Research Centers and academic institutions. Research topics include 1) state-specific direct medical costs of obesity and physical activity, 2) strategies for a comprehensive nutrition and physical activity surveillance system, 3) use of the PRIZM software system to identify and profile high-risk lifestyle clusters related to unhealthy eating habits, and 4) a survey of communities to learn whether they are easy and safe places in which to walk or bicycle. During the year, a network of Prevention Research Centers was organized to explore the development of innovative nutrition and physical activity approaches to preventing chronic diseases and obesity.
CDC sponsored a 1-day meeting on August 20–21 entitled Designing State Comprehensive Nutrition and Physical Activity Programs. The meeting was attended by representatives from 48 states and by a number of external partners with interests in state physical activity and nutrition programs. During the meeting, workgroups met to discuss a series of questions related to the vision, goals, strategies, expertise, and collaborations necessary for a comprehensive program. The major themes from the discussion groups have been summarized and will serve as one of the components for planning future initiatives for nutrition and physical activity in state health departments.
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Maternal and Child HealthThe National Summit on Safe Motherhood: Investing in the Health of WomenCDC convened this national meeting on women’s health and pregnancy. More than 300 participants from academic institutions, clinical practice, advocacy groups, professional organizations, businesses, and health departments attended the meeting. The Summit featured presentations and discussions on complex issues that could be addressed through CDC’s Safe Motherhood program. The Executive Planning Committee for the conference included more than 50 representatives of governmental and nongovernmental organizations, including professionals and advocates involved in research and policy making. Initial responses to the Summit included requests for long- and short-term partnerships in research and program development. Evolving partnerships support the development of recommendations for pregnant women who are exposed to Bacillus anthracis (the organism that causes anthrax) as well as technical assistance requests from programs dealing with the aftermath of acts of terrorism. Postsummit activities are being planned to develop a comprehensive research agenda for Safe Motherhood in the 21st century. Expanding the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring SystemFunding from the Child Health Act of 2000 enabled CDC to expand the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), which monitors of the health of women before, during, and after pregnancy. Six states received funds for the core PRAMS program (Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Texas). Three other projects are expanding state capacity (Colorado) or conducting point-in-time surveys (Montana and North Dakota). With this expansion, PRAMS data collection activities cover 62% of U.S. births. PRAMS data continued to be used effectively in FY2001: for example, Alaska used PRAMS data to examine unintended pregnancy, resulting in decisions to expand family planning services in specific areas of the state and to focus on specific groups of women. Global Health: Reproductive Health Surveys and Scientific AssistanceDuring FY2001, CDC provided a great deal of assistance to other nations through agreements with USAID and other organizations. For example, the CDC WHO Collaborating Center for Reproductive Health produced the Healthy Newborn Manual, a reference manual for program managers. This manual, currently in press, provides technical and scientific information needed by managers of women’s health and pediatric programs in developing nations. CDC also assisted the Russian Federation in conducting a study on congenital syphilis among women who give birth in maternity houses. Results of these studies are leading to policy reforms for prenatal care and collaboration among health professionals. In Pakistan, CDC researchers provided scientific assistance to investigate mortality among women in an Afghan refugee program. This study provided new insights concerning the reproductive health of Afghan women of childbearing age both before and during the time they were refugees.
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Comprehensive ApproachesBehavioral Risk Factor Surveillance SystemOn June 25, 2001, CDC’s Behavioral Surveillance Branch (BSB) received the Outstanding Scientific Contribution to Public Health Award. This is a new category within the Charles C. Shepard Award program, and BSB was the first recipient. This award recognized 1) the collaboration between BSB and all 50 states in monitoring health risk behaviors, clinical preventive health practices, and health care access—primarily related to U.S. adults’ risk for chronic disease or injury and 2) the significant effect of data obtained through the joint collaboration on public health practice. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) was implemented in 1984, when awards totaling $750,000 were issued to 19 states. In FY2000, the number of programs in the BRFSS grew to 54, to include all states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Guam; the total awarded was $6,137,500. With a new budget period beginning on October 1, 2001, awards of $8,606,182 were provided to 54 surveillance programs. Important databases were established or will be on-line prior to the end of FY2001:
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Policy | Accessibility This page last reviewed August 17, 2004 United
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