THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED PERSONS has released a report which offers a snapshot of the health care landscape in each state by providing a compilation of state-level data. The publication depicts major health care characteristics of each state and selected measures of each state's efforts to address problems within its system. The State Health Profiles consists of four major sections: summary; state data and rankings; state health profiles for each state in alphabetical order; and data documentation, sources and special explanations. For each state, the categories presented include: demographics, health status, utilization of services, administration, and quality; expenditures and financing, resources available; health care coverage; and health care reform. For further information contact Ms. Theresa Varner, Director of the Public Policy Institute of AARP, (202) 434-2277.
MACRO INTERNATIONAL announces the publication of a new annotated chartbook that summarizes a decade of research findings from the Demographic and Health Surveys Programs. It is entitled Women's Lives and Experiences. Data from DHS surveys in over 40 countries are highlighted in sections on education, relationships, childbearing experiences, childbearing choices, children and home life. For more information about the document or the DHS Program in general, contact Macro International Inc., DHS Program, 11785 Beltsville Drive, Suite 300, Calverton, MD 20705, (301) 572-0200, Fax: (301) 572-0999.
THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC), Division of Reproductive Health, has released the following reproductive health survey reports:
THE NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS has released a major report on the decennial census, entitled Modernizing the U.S. Census. The report is authored by the Panel on Census Requirements in the Year 2000 and Beyond. Charles Schultze of the Brookings Institute chaired the panel and Barry Edmonston served as study director. Several PAA members served on the 15-person panel, including Margo Anderson, Teresa A. Sullivan, Karl Taeuber, and James Trussell. Starting from the most basic questions of how data are used and whether they are needed, the volumes examine the data that future censuses should provide. It evaluates several radical proposals that have been made for changing the census, as well as other proposals for redesigning the year 2000 census. The book also considers in detail the much-criticized long form, the role of race and ethnic data, and the need for and ways to obtain small- area data between censuses. Copies of the 480 page volume may be ordered for $36.00 (which includes a 20 percent discount for association members) from the National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055. To order by phone, call toll free (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313 in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Request membership discount when ordering. Also available to association members, free of charge, are copies of the 17-page report summary. To obtain a copy, contact Michele Conrad via e-mail at mconrad@nas.edu, fax at (202) 334- 3751 or phone at (202) 334-2550. For more information about the panel or its report, contact Barry Edmonston, Committee on National Statistics, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20418.
THE CENTER FOR POST-SOVIET STUDIES presents The Environment and Health Atlas of Russia, Murray Feshbach, Editor in Chief. The atlas contains over 300 previously unpublished maps and tables, plus extensive commentary and analysis on issues such as the distribution of radioactivity, levels of soil erosion and the distribution of heavy industrial pollution, as well as specific illnesses, causes of death, and infant mortality. The atlas is available for US$95 (US$105 for delivery outside of the U.S.) from The Center for Post-Soviet Studies, 2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 410, Chevy Chase, MD 20815. For more information, call (301) 652-8181.
THE CENTER FOR DEMOGRAPHY AND ECOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN announces the availability of data from the second wave of the National Survey of Families and Households. The NSFH is a comprehensive survey of American family life which interviewed a national probability sample of over 13,000 respondents 1987-88. The sample was followed up in 1992-94, with face-to-face interviews of the original respondent, the original spouse or cohabiting partner of the respondent, and the current spouse or partner of the respondent. In addition, telephone interviews were conducted with a randomly selected child age 10-24 and with a parent of the respondent. Data and documentation for most of the components of the survey are now available via ftp. Printed documentation, and data files on cartridge or tape, will be made available soon. For further information on access to the NSFH data and documentation contact: Diane Hansen, Center for Demography and Ecology, 4412 Social Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, e-mail: NSFHHELP@ssc.wisc.edu.