AAFP Elects New Officers and Board Members for Upcoming Year

The American Academy of Family Physicians' (AAFP) Congress of Delegates elected new officers and board members October 3 at the 2001 AAFP Scientific Assembly in Atlanta. James Martin, M.D., San Antonio, Tex., was elected the AAFP's next president-elect. Three new AAFP directors were elected: Arlene Brown, M.D., Ruidoso, N.M.; Larry Fields, M.D., Ashland, Ky.; and Daniel Heinemann, M.D., Canton, S.D. The new resident board member is English González, M.D., M.P.H., Silver Spring, Md. The new student board member is Jaime Hartung, Rootstown, Ohio. The delegates re-elected Speaker Michael Fleming, M.D., Shreveport, La., and Vice Speaker Carolyn Lopez, M.D., Chicago.

The delegates also selected three finalists as candidates for the AAFP position on the board of directors of the American Board of Family Practice (ABFP): Ted Epperly, M.D., Boise, Ida. (USAFP); Karen Mitchell, M.D., Southfield, Mich.; and George Shannon, M.D., Columbus, Ga. The ABFP board will elect one of the three candidates in spring 2002.

Publication Provides Guidelines of Physical Activity for Children

A new guide designed for health professionals, titled Bright Futures in Practice: Physical Activity, provides developmentally appropriate physical activity guidelines for infants, children, and adolescents up to 21 years of age. Included in the guide are strategies and tools to assist health professionals incorporate physical activity information in primary care services and build partnerships with families and communities, along with current information on screening, assessment, and counseling to promote physical activity. The guide also contains information on topics such as asthma, diabetes mellitus, ergogenic aids, eating disorders, heat-related illness, injury, nutrition and obesity, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) growth charts. The guide was prepared by the National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., in collaboration with health and physical activity/fitness experts and representatives from several federal agencies and national organizations, including the AAFP. The project was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) Maternal and Child Health Bureau. To download the guide or order a print copy, visithttp://www.brightfutures.org/physicalactivity.

Task Force Releases New Recommendations for Management of Diabetes

The Task Force on Community Preventive Services, an independent, nonfederal panel, recently recommended new measures for reducing the morbidity and mortality of diabetes and improving the quality of life for patients with diabetes. Based on a systematic review of population-oriented interventions, the Task Force made recommendations concerning the implementation of disease management and case management for patients with diabetes and self-management education for various subgroups of patients with diabetes. The full text of the recommendations, including descriptions of the interventions and information to assist in applying them locally, is available online athttp://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5016a1.htm. The Task Force on Community Preventive Services is currently developing the Guide to Community Preventive Services as a resource for systematic reviews on specific disease, disabilities, injuries, and ways to promote health behaviors and environments.

IOM Issues Report on Vaccines Containing Thimerosal

A new report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends that vaccines containing the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal should not be used when an alternative is available, even though the IOM's analysis of current scientific evidence neither proved nor disproved a link between thimerosal and neurodevelopmental disorders in children. The committee that authored the report stated that although very few vaccines currently given to children in the United States contain thimerosal, precautionary measures should be taken to decrease thimerosal exposure. Vaccines against hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, and Haemophilus influenza type B are no longer manufactured with thimerosal, but an unknown, probably small number of vaccine doses that still contain thimerosal are on clinic shelves. Thimerosal was used in some vaccines and other pharmaceutical products to prevent bacterial contamination. The report, Immunization Safety Review: Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines and Neurodevelopmental Disorders, can be accessed online athttp://www.nap.edu/books/0309076366/html.

HHS Awards $227 Million to Children's Teaching Hospitals

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson recently announced the award of nearly $227 million to 57 children's teaching hospitals throughout the nation to assure that future pediatricians receive top-quality training and education. “Our children deserve the best medical care possible, and that requires the best trained doctors who care for them,” Secretary Thompson said. “These awards will help to assure a brighter future by supporting top-notch medical training for pediatricians and other pediatric specialists.” Independent children's teaching hospitals provide clinical care to young patients, conduct research, and educate and train approximately 30 percent of the nation's pediatricians and almost one half of pediatric specialists. Among the top recipients were children's teaching hospitals in the following states: Pennsylvania (more than $31 million); California (more than $26 million); Ohio (more than $26 million); and Texas (more than $18 million). For more information and a full list of recipients, visithttp://www.hrsa.gov/Newsroom/releases/2001%20Releases/childhospgrantsl.htm.