Access to Health Care in Appalachia: Perception and Reality.

Introduction: Health disparities such as cancer and diabetes are well documented in Appalachia. These disparities contribute to health status, and by many indicators, Appalachian people are less healthy than those who live in other parts of the country. Access to health care is one factor that contributes to health disparities.

The Nuclear Legacy in Appalachia.

Nestled in the rolling hills of Appalachia Ohio is a reminder of the role that the region played in winning the Cold War. For more than 40 years in rural Pike County, the 3,700-acre Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS), or the "A-Plant" as the locals refer to it, enriched uranium for use in nuclear weapons. While the facility produced nuclear fuel for national security, it simultaneously exposed plant workers to chemicals and radiation and discharged pollution into the surrounding community.

Development and application of a rubric to compare strategies for improving access to health care in rural communities in the United States.

Unlabelled: Rural areas are underserved in terms of the availability of and access to health care services. According to Healthy People 2020, access to health care continues to be the most frequently identified rural health priority in the United States.

Purpose: The purpose was to develop an efficient approach for standardizing and prioritizing strategies to improve access to health care in rural areas across the United States.

From Cancer to Diarrhea: The Moving Target of Public Concern about Environmental Health Risks.

Public concern about the environment can be unpredictable because it is influenced by numerous factors. Environmental health issues often emerge as important because the public is worried about their health especially when it comes to cancer. Public fear of cancer from environmental exposures is reinforced by many of the US regulations that set pollutant limits based on reducing the risk of cancers rather than other health outcomes.

Creating effective messages about environmental health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supported research coordinated by the Association of Environmental Health Academic Programs (AEHAP) for the purpose of developing effective messages about environmental health. The purpose of these messages would be to increase the visibility of the environmental health profession and improve the public's awareness and understanding of the role played by the profession in protecting the public's health. To accomplish this task, AEHAP first collaborated with a marketing team to develop initial test messages.

Health education and food safety behavior in the university setting.

Health education in colleges and universities offers an opportunity to reach a captive audience of young people in order to promote a lifetime of healthy behavior. University health education typically focuses on topics such as alcohol and substance abuse, sexual behavior, and nutrition. Environmental health issues are not a prominent component of university health education, even though an understanding of a healthy environment is critical to promoting overall health.

Skills and abilities needed by environmental health science and protection professionals in the public sector.

The National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council (EHAC) accredits undergraduate academic environmental health science programs in the United States. The guidelines used by EHAC include core and technical courses that students should take in order to graduate with a bachelor of science degree in environmental health science. As part of a review of the accreditation guidelines, the research reported in this paper was undertaken with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.