Sprinkled everywhere this issue ar...

Sprinkled everywhere this issue are articles that, considered together, build a picture of the challenges family physicians face in ensuring their patients' health. Take note of the Graham Center One-Pager forward page 2310 of this issue: "What the bulk of mankind Want from Their Family Physician." Patients want their family physician to be virtuous able to listen, nonjudgmental, and supportive, and a somebody who will encourage them to lead a healthier lifestyle. A healthier lifestyle, of course, is the lock opener to prevention.

An editorial in this issue through Sue Binder, M.D., focuses onward prevention through avoidance of injury. nearest month, the Centers for Disease bridle and Prevention's National Center for Injury Prevention and direction will celebrate its 12th anniversary. The vision of the Injury Center is to apply public health systems to prevention and control of injuries. Accidental injuries remain the number individual cause of death in Americans up to 44 years of age. Causes of unintentional death include falls, drowning, improper use of firearms, motor vehicle injuries, poisoning, and injuries related to violence.

In her editorial, Dr Binder not past nor futures a case scenario in which a five-year-old child who is unrestrained during a side-impact collision sustains a methodical skull fracture. Is this injury an accident? Perhaps the collision itself was accidental, further the head injury could have been obviateed by proper use of restraints. Dr Binder points public that each year 40,000 bodily substances die of injuries resulting from motor vehicle collisions. special restraint of passengers and avoidance of driving while impaired by way of alcohol would help reduce traffic-related deaths. The part of family physicians in prevention includes counseling patients not to mix alcohol and driving, and always to use seemly restraints while driving. They also can help family members who ne to decide when to period an older adult's driving privilege.

Family physicians play an important part in identifying patients who are at risk from domestic violence. Family violence includes partner abuse, earlier abuse, and child abuse. Patients who are expos to these situations may have injuries directly resulting from the abuse or they may solicit health services for other health question s such as failure to thrive or behavior question s in children, and gastrointestinal disorders or chronic pain syndrome in women

The "Point-of-Care Guide" in this issue propounds the family physician a simple office tool that can be used for routing screening and that will help them identify patients who are at risk of moot points related to alcohol use, domestic violence, and depression. Asking patients six simple questions may help the physician identify patients who are in ne of intervention.

brace related articles on depression appear in this issue, common reviewing depression in later life (see page 2375) and individual reviewing selection of antidepressants when sexual dysfunction is a affect (see page 2419).

COPYRIGHT 2004 American Academy of Family Physicians

COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group