The following University of Michigan School of Public Health researchers will present their work at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, Nov. 17-21, in New York City. For more information or assistance in arranging interviews, call Deborah Gilbert at (313) 647-4411.

THE BEST CONTRACEPTIVE IN CHINA may be communication between spouses. Chinese wives whose husbands joined them in a family planning education program were approximately three times less likely to become pregnant or to undergo an abortion compared with wives who were in the program alone, according to a U-M researcher. Caroline Wang, assistant professor of health behavior and health education, and colleagues in San Francisco and Shanghai studied the effects of family planning education, with and without spousal involvement, among 1,800 women of childbearing age who worked in 21 factories and six schools in urban China.

Wang will present her results 7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 19) as part of a panel, “An Evening with J. Mayone Stycos and Lawrence W. Green: Revisiting the 40-year Dialogue on Men, Couples and Communication.” Stycos and Green were pioneers in such research. Wang can be reached in New York at (212) 298- 1900.

THE SURVIVAL RATE FOR BABY GIRLS in China is better in regions where health care is easily available because the costs to the family are low. “Members of ethnic groups that have a strong or very strong preference for sons, such as the Han or Korean Chinese, will do whatever possible to assure survival of their sons,” say U-M researchers. “And even those who have a strong preference for sons do not want their daughters to die. The health care choices or actions taken to assure a daughter’s survival, however, depend on the costs involved and other household considerations.”

The researchers, Barbara A. Anderson, professor of sociology and research scientist in the Population Studies Center, and John H. Romani, professor emeritus of the School of Public Health, also found that in economically underdeveloped regions, just small improvements in health care can enhance survival rates for infant sons. For infant daughters to do well, however, health care must be very accessible so the costs to the family are low.

Romani and Anderson studied 1990 census data for the Xishuangbaina and Yanbian prefectures in southwestern and northeastern China, respectively. They will present their findings 2-3:30 p.m. Wednesday (Nov. 20). They can be reached in New York at (212) 362-9200.

ANTI-SMOKING GROUPS FOCUS TOO LITTLE on enforcement and implementation of anti-smoking laws already on the books, according to a seven-state study. Peter Jacobson, assistant professor of health management and policy, will present the results of a study of laws, local ordinances and enforcement efforts with regard to smoking noon-2 p.m. Wednesday (Nov. 20). Jacobson also reports that:

• State legislators, city councils and the public are surprisingly apathetic about implementing and enforcing anti-smoking laws. The issue does not “ignite their passions.”
• Enforcement agencies tend to react to complaints rather than being proactive because there is a shortage of funds. However, they are much more aggressive in conducting stings and enforcing restrictions with regard to teen access to tobacco than they are about enforcing clean indoor air laws.
• The tobacco industry often succeeds in derailing anti-smoking laws at the state level, so anti-smoking groups should focus on local ordinances as well as state laws. Jacobson can be reached in New York at (212) 673-8411.

NOT EVEN THE PROFESSIONAL CLASSES ESCAPE GUNS in America. A survey of 534 Michigan physicians, prosecutors, judges, sheriffs, and public health officials reports that more than 50 percent of them, directly or indirectly through friends or family, have had personal experience with gun violence. Firearms are now the leading cause of death for 15- to 34-year-olds in Michigan, outstripping auto accidents. The major causes of gun violence? The professions pin it mostly on illegal drug traffic, substance abuse and, saddest of all,  low regard for human life.” Doctors, to a greater extent than the other professions, also blamed weak sentencing, while public health professionals were more likely to attribute gun violence to social factors such as poverty, according to Marc A. Zimmerman, professor of health behavior and health education, and Susan Morrel-Samuels, project manager for the survey.

The study also revealed a need for more professional education about gun violence. Many professionals who deal with gun violence issues at work have not received commensurate training. The U-M researchers will report their results 12:30-2 p.m. Wednesday (Nov. 20). Zimmerman can be reached at (212) 228- 7401 and Morrel-Samuels can be reached at (212) 864-1602 in New York.

DEATH RATES FROM BREAST CANCER are approximately three times higher among women ages 65 and older than they are among women ages 35-64. Nevertheless, very little attention has been given to increasing the mammogram rate among older women. U-M researchers attacked that failure by developing a program called ” Take Care of Yourself” that targets women ages 65 and older. The program, which entails a personal reminder letter from a physician and a follow-up call from a peer in the community, quadrupled the mammogram rate for women in the program. The program was funded by the National Cancer Institute. Lead researcher Dr. David Schottenfeld, professor of epidemiology, will discuss the U-M findings 2-3:30 p.m. Monday (Nov. 18). Schottenfeld can be reached in New York at (212) 755-5800.

Related Links:

• Population Studies Center
• School of Public Health
• Peter Jacobson
• health management and policy
• Marc A. Zimmerman