Health Education

It's the most common cancer among American men and is second only to lung cancer as a killer of males. It can grow for years with no symptoms at all, and by the time typical symptoms do appear it may be too late to treat it successfully. An estimated 132,000 American men will get it this year, and 34,000 will die. Yet many men typically ignore the risks and routinely shun the simple test that might save their lives. Prostate cancer is the killer no one wants to talk about.

As if on cue, all faces turn alertly toward the front of the classroom where Bridget Brownell has set up a slide show at Taft High School in Woodland Hills. They are about to view diseased sex organs. "First," she said, "let me take attendance, and then I will shock you. " Brownell belongs to a declining breed: She's a certified health instructor leading a one-semester health class in a California public high school. The Los Angeles Unified School District nearly killed health as a required course, to focus more on its new mandate that all students complete college-prep classes.

The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday narrowly approved the distribution of condoms on high school campuses, but gave parents the option of denying their children permission to obtain them. The action brings to an end more than two years of study and often-rancorous debate over the proposal. Drawing cheers and jeers from more than 200 parents, activists and religious leaders who packed its meeting room, the board members adopted the measure by a 4-3 vote.

Re "Hepatitis a new worry for baby boomers," May 2 In the late 1960s I was a Peace Corps volunteer teaching school in Uganda. I became ill and required blood transfusions. Fast forward 30 years and I'm donating my own blood for surgery. Imagine my surprise when the Red Cross informed me that I had hepatitis C, something I had never heard of. I had contracted it from those long-ago transfusions. Once my initial panic subsided, I was fortunate to find an excellent heptologist who eventually persuaded me to undergo treatment.

Comprehensive health education from kindergarten through 12th grade is crucial to reducing the numbers of children born out of wedlock, Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders said Sunday. Schools teach driver's education, "but when we come to health education, which includes sexuality education, we refuse to teach them that," Elders said on ABC-TV's "This Week With David Brinkley."

After many years as a community health educator targeting the Latino population, I am convinced that the need for more comprehensive, culturally sensitive health education is greater today than ever before. There are many myths that need to be dispelled. For example, a lot of people in the Latino community believe that diabetes can be cured by drinking home remedies such as herbal teas or just eating cactus plants. They are denying themselves proper treatment. By the time they get to the doctor, they have to go to the emergency room in a comatose state.

Re "Learning life skills the LAUSD way," Opinion, Jan. 2 I am surprised by Dinah Lenney's attitude in her opinion piece about health education in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Yes, students do have sex education in the fourth and seventh grades, along with instruction in the academic curricula. Therefore, are we to assume that students know everything there is to know about English and math by the end of the seventh grade? A continuum of K-12 health education and a demanding math-science curriculum throughout is required if we expect to have a healthy population and to prepare the next generation of healthcare professionals.

Physicians are getting a chance to shine as cable television stars in south Orange County, courtesy of two medical education programs sponsored by an imaging center company and a hospital. Last week, MRI Centers, a Santa Ana-based chain of imaging centers, began airing 10-minute health spots called "Community Health Hints" on Dimension Cable Channel 10, a San Juan Capistrano station that claims to have 97,000 subscribers. The spots run twice a day on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The AIDS Response Program of Orange County will hold a special eight-week health education seminar for men beginning Feb. 22 at the AIDS Services Foundation. The seminar, which will meet Mondays at 7 p.m., will focus on stress, health, sexuality, intimacy, friendships and relationships. Jim Lacy, a registered nurse and trained AIDS educator, will lead the discussion groups at the foundation headquarters at 1685-A Babcock St., Costa Mesa. Enrollment is limited to 12.

A creative, hands-on approach to teach children how to have a healthier heart through diet and exercise is now available to elementary schools, both in San Diego and statewide, from the American Heart Assn. But years of neglect by school districts toward health and physical education make it questionable whether the materials will be quickly disseminated.

What does it take to make people more physically active? Maybe just a sign. Signs posted in buildings prompting people to take the stairs instead of the elevators proved successful in getting them to hoof it, a study finds. Signs were placed in three multi-story buildings in New York: a three-story health clinic, an eight-story academic site and a 10-story affordable housing building. The signs featured a pictogram of a man walking up stairs with text that read, "Burn calories, not electricity.

Calling it a moral obligation and matter of national security, President Obama unveiled an ambitious government effort Monday to increase support for military families. The push is aimed at using the full force of the federal government to aid the families of the country's more than 2.2 million service members. Four areas are being emphasized: the mental and physical health of military families; the education of their children; the educational and career opportunities afforded spouses; and the availability and quality of child care within the armed services.

Hepatitis B and C remain serious threats to public health, but many healthcare providers fail to screen at-risk patients and don't know how to treat those infected with the viral diseases, which can cause liver failure and cancer, according to a report released Monday by the National Academy of Sciences. The long-awaited assessment calls for a campaign to educate the public, doctors and lawmakers about the diseases, an approach similar to HIV/AIDS outreach. Researchers found that even though chronic viral hepatitis infections are three to five times more frequent than HIV in the United States, many doctors and nurses do not understand the extent of the problem.

The start of the school year will undoubtedly bring a rise in H1N1 infections, health and education officials said Friday as they urged parents to practice such precautionary measures with their children as hand-washing and the "Dracula sneeze." Officials also said parents should not panic and keep healthy children home once flu breaks out on campuses. "I want to make sure parents are not afraid to send their children to school if they are well," said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, Los Angeles County's health officer.

In a scathing letter to Orange County officials, Planned Parenthood accused them of having "gerrymandered" the process for doling out health grants and having imposed obstacles to prevent it from running a breast-health program.

This nation tried abstinence-only sex education. It didn't work. And yet the Orange County Board of Supervisors took a serious step backward this week by suspending a contract with Planned Parenthood to provide health education for girls and young women. The grounds: Planned Parenthood provides abortions -- though not under this contract, which is for teaching about anatomy, sexually transmitted diseases, substance abuse and birth control options.

The most recent federal statistics show that AIDS is now the leading cause of death--62 deaths per 100,000 people--for African Americans aged 25 to 44. Nearly as grim are the statistics for the nation's Latino population. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome has become the second leading cause of death for Latinos in that age range.

As if on cue, all faces turn alertly toward the front of the classroom where Bridget Brownell has set up a slide show at Taft High School in Woodland Hills. They are about to view diseased sex organs. "First," she said, "let me take attendance, and then I will shock you. " Brownell belongs to a declining breed: She's a certified health instructor leading a one-semester health class in a California public high school. The Los Angeles Unified School District nearly killed health as a required course, to focus more on its new mandate that all students complete college-prep classes.

Cynthia Davis, one of Los Angeles' best-known HIV/AIDS activists, has logged 580,000 miles on her Camry station wagon and replaced the engine twice in her decadelong campaign of using dolls to educate young and old about the deadly disease. Her latest stop was at Westchester High School a few days before Christmas. As usual, Davis brought along her Dolls of Hope: hand-stitched pieces made by AIDS awareness groups around the world.

The student with shaggy hair hanging low over his eyes, his head pulled turtle-like into a leather jacket, was plainly embarrassed by his ignorance. Not until three months ago, when he got back the results of his blood test, had the 22-year-old art student at a Beijing university heard the term "HIV." None of his friends knew how to use condoms or had any idea why they should. "By the time they realized, it was too late," said the student, who asked not to be named.