PubMed · 9599571
The source did not provide an abstract. Follow the original record for more information.
Explore connections, maps & timelines
M N Christoffersen. 1998-05-04. [Wrong citation--wrong manuscript?].. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9599571/
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.
KEEP EXPLORING
CONTEXT: Immunization rates among low-income families have lagged behind those for the general community, with several possible barriers cited in the literature. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of an initiative aimed at improving immunization rates among low-income preschool children by imposing a sanction on families who failed to provide proof of up-to-date immunization status. DESIGN AND SETTING: Randomized, controlled before-after trial conducted from January 1, 1993, through December 31, 1996, in Muscogee County, Georgia. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 2500 families with children aged 6 years or younger who received Aid to Families with Dependent Children assistance. INTERVENTION: Families in the intervention group (n=1500) were informed that receipt of the welfare benefit for any preschool-aged children was contingent on provision of proof of up-to-date immunization status at the beginning of welfare eligibility and, subsequently, semiannually or annually. Case families in the control group (n=1000) were encouraged to immunize their preschool children but were not informed of any aid sanctions nor did such sanctions apply to them. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Age-appropriate rates of 5 immunizations (measles-mumps-rubella; poliovirus; diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and pertussis; Haemophilus influenzae type b; and hepatitis B), based on examination (with family's written consent) of medical provider records, compared among intervention-group vs control-group families. RESULTS: There were no significant differences at baseline between intervention and control families in immunization rates of preschool children. Families in the intervention group were significantly more likely than families in the control group to have up-to-date immunization status in all 4 years of the study for all 5 immunizations (with 3 exceptions). At age 2 years, 72.4% of children in the intervention group vs 60.6% of those in the control group achieved vaccine series completion, which included 4 diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and pertussis, 3 poliovirus, and 1 measles-mumps-rubella (P<.001). Sanctions were implemented only 11 times. There was relatively little increased burden on the part of families to comply with requirements. CONCLUSION: In our study, a monetary sanction in a population receiving welfare benefits stimulated a significant increase in childhood immunization rates, suggesting that when welfare recipients are given an incentive to keep their children's immunizations up-to-date, most are able to do so. JAMA. 2000;284:53-59
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Male circumcision was practiced long before Abraham established a covenant with God to the effect that he should circumcize himself and all male members of his house. Thereafter it has become a potent religion-ethnic commandment also in the Islamic world, although it is not mentioned in the Koran. Several million boys are circumcised yearly in for instance traditional Africa and the USA (in the USA originally as prophylaxis against masturbation). In Sweden the yearly figure is some 3000 boys. A comprehensive review of the literature reveals that there are no or only marginal medical benefits of the operation, particularly in view of the fact that up to 10% suffer complications, and also that newborns both experience pain and will respond more strongly to new pain stimuli for years to come. There are two opposing interests--those related to the religious tradition and those related to the welfare of the child as expressed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.