OB/GYN: Risk Factors Found for Depression Prior to Menopause Social Medicine: Sharp Rise in Disordered Eating in Fiji Follows Arrival of Western TV Clinical Trials: Gene Therapy for Hemophilia Tested Minority Health Policy: Alums to Broaden Access to Care Ethics: Programs Address Ethics in International Research Books: Summer Reading Type of Oncogene-Caused Leukemia Linked to Progenitor Cell Type P53 May Induce Death in Cells with Short Telomeres Certain Dietary Fat May Protect Against Heart Attacks New Channel Suggested in Pheromone Signaling Framework Developed for Diagnosing Coronary Artery Disease Martinos Gift Creates New Imaging Center in HST Appointments to Full and Endowed Professorships In Memoriam: Thomas Sandson Honors and Advances Getting in Touch with the Human Side of Illness Front Page

MINORITY HEALTH POLICY Alums to Broaden Access to Care Claude Earl Fox announces internship awards for Roderick King, Durado Brooks, and Anita Moncrease to help improve health care access for the medically underserved. Claude Earl Fox, administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced on May 13 the agency's new Senior Health Policy Field Internship Program and the three physicians who have received the first awards.     The one-year internships aim to prepare physicians, particularly from underrepresented minority groups, for leadership in public health policy and practice at various levels of government. During this pilot phase, the intern candidates come from the alumni of the Commonwealth Fund Harvard University Fellowship in Minority Health Policy, established in 1995 and leading to a master's degree in public health from HSPH. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), with a $4.3 billion budget, is the federal agency primarily responsible for improving access to health care for all Americans.     The interns are Roderick King, focusing on children's quality of life; Durado Brooks, studying managed care; and Anita Moncrease, looking at issues in minority health. As interns, they will receive training in planning and administering public health policy at one of HRSA's 10 field offices around the U.S. Assignments will include coordinating managed care technical assistance for HRSA grantees, analyzing health care access issues for underserved urban populations, and developing a model for health work force analysis at the state level.     During the announcement in Boston, Fox said that HRSA's goal is to have "100 percent access and 0 percent racial disparities." To do so, it is important to increase the number of minority professionals who are part of the policymaking system. He called attention to HRSA's funding of several work force analysis projects, designed to help states understand their health work force practice patterns and to forecast change, enabling them, for example, to make informed decisions about future funding of academic health centers.     HRSA anticipates expanding the current pilot program to other candidates who have an MD and MPH, leadership training, and the intention of pursuing a career in public health policy. Back to Top