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D R Hopkins

Publications and source records attributed to D R Hopkins.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Effect of low-impact aerobic dance on the functional fitness of elderly women.

To determine the effect of low-impact aerobic dance on sedentary elderly women (N = 53), functional fitness was measured by items from the proposed American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) fitness test for older adults. After 12-weeks of low-impact aerobic dance, the group improved significantly on all functional fitness components except motor control/coordination, including cardiorespiratory endurance, strength/endurance, body agility, flexibility, body fat, and balance.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1990

Dracunculiasis eradication: target 1995.

Substantial progress has been achieved over the past 3 years by the campaign to eradicate dracunculiasis. The target of eradication by 1995 has been set by the African Regional Office of the World Health Organization and accepted by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Development Program. India and Pakistan continue to reduce their cases of the disease dramatically. In Africa, Ghana and Nigeria conducted national village-by-village searches in 1988-1990 and, between them, found greater than 800,000 cases of the disease. Most African countries have now prepared national plans of action, appointed national coordinators, and intend to use UNICEF's assistance to conduct national searches by the end of 1990. An international donors' conference held in 1989 facilitated major new assistance for the initiative by UNICEF, the United Nations Development Program, the United States Agency for International Development, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, the Peace Corps, the American Cyanamid Company, and DuPont. The World Health Organization held a meeting early in 1990 to draft criteria and recommend the process for certifying achievement of elimination of dracunculiasis in formerly endemic countries. The major remaining obstacles to eradication of dracunculiasis by 1995 are civil wars in northeastern Africa and the apathy of some national and international officials.

Africa↗
PubMed1987

Dracunculiasis eradication: a mid-decade status report.

A campaign to eradicate dracunculiasis has been underway from the beginning of the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade (1981-1990), since providing safe drinking water is the most effective means to prevent that disease. About 120 million persons are estimated to be at risk of the infection in Africa, and 20 million more in India and Pakistan. Both major endemic countries in Asia have begun efforts to eliminate the disease, and by the end of 1986, national anti-dracunculiasis programs were underway or planned in 8 of the 19 affected African countries. In May 1986, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution on the elimination of dracunculiasis-the first such resolution since the successful Smallpox Eradication Program. India, which began its Guinea Worm Eradication Program in 1980, has already eliminated the disease from one of seven endemic states, and reduced the total number of cases found through active surveillance by 35% between 1983 and 1985. In Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), the only African country to conduct active surveillance for dracunculiasis so far, an aggressive combined program of rural water supply, health education, and active surveillance has reduced the disease from 4,971 cases in 1976 to 592 cases in 1985.

Africa↗
PubMed1986

A method of rapid assessment of the distribution and endemicity of dracunculiasis in Nigeria.

This paper describes how information was collected at a national conference in Nigeria and a map compiled to give an initial assessment of the distribution and endemicity of dracunculiasis (guinea worm disease) throughout the country. The map provided a stimulus for further studies of the status of the disease and for the consideration of national control strategies. A map created along the same lines could be used for obtaining an initial assessment of the extent and endemicity of dracunculiasis, or other diseases, in countries for which such data was not readily available.

Dracunculiasis↗
PubMed1985

The spread of Jenner's vaccine: social mobilization in the early nineteenth century.

Several books have been devoted in the past to the history of smallpox, for instance the classic "Smallpox" by C. W. Dixon, published in 1962 by J. and A. Churchill Ltd., London, which endeavors to present both the clinical and public health aspects of the disease. More recently, 2 very important books have been written on the history of smallpox, one in the United States, by Donald R. Hopkins, assistant surgeon general of the United States and deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, entitled "Princes and Peasants, Smallpox in History," published in 1983, the other one in France, by Yves-Marie Berce, professor of modern history at the University of Reims, entitled "Le Caudron et la Lancette, Croyances Populaires et Medecine Preventive (1798-1830), "published in 1984. Among the many topics which these 2 recent books address, a most important question for today's strategies is extensively documented: how did the Jenner vaccine spread over the world in 10 years? Some of the significant answers which the works of Donald R. Hopkins and Yves-Marie Berce provide are excerpted and adapted in this article.

Delivery of Health Care↗
PubMed1985

Beyond smallpox eradication.

This paper highlights 2 important, under-recognized lessons of the Smallpox Eradication Program (SEP). The 1st lesson is that the discipline and enthusiasm of that vertical campaign could be applied to an attack on several high priority diseases or conditions simultaneously, to great advantage. The 2nd lesson is that eradication of selected diseases remains a uniquely useful tool for advancing the public's health.

Communicable Diseases↗
PubMed1983

Resurgence of yaws in Ghana.

This paper reports on the first 1 1/2 years of a new effort to control yaws in Ghana, where the disease has been resurgent since a previous mass campaign ended over 10 years ago.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Dracunculiasis: an eradicable scourge.

As an incapacitating disease which has a direct negative effect on the self-sufficiency of rural populations in parts of Asia and Africa, dracunculiasis is a serious, but neglected, hindrance to economic development. It is the only communicable disease that is transmitted solely by drinking contaminated water. Several intervention measures have been shown to be effective in reducing or interrupting transmission, the most effective of which is provision of safe drinking water. Its vulnerability to well planned control measures has been demonstrated in India, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, the Soviet Union, and elsewhere. The International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade (1981-1990) presents an unparalleled opportunity to eradicate dracunculiasis, and linking the Decade and an effort to eradicate dracunculiasis would be mutually beneficial. Additional epidemiologic studies to document further the economic impact of the disease on affected populations, the changes in incidence which result when effective interventions are made, and the role of subgroups in affected villages as transmitters of the infection, would be very useful in the struggle to eradicate another scourge of mankind.

Africa↗