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WHAT'S NEW!!

CDC Developing New Prevention Guide

WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) Dec 06 - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is developing a new resource for health professionals called the Guide to Community Preventive Services. As an example of the scope of the guide, the chapter on physical activity was
presented here at the 15th National Conference on Chronic Disease Prevention and Control.

"Each chapter is conducting a systematic review of the literature related
to a specific area," Dr. Emily Kahn told Reuters Health. "In the area of physical activity we are looking at the intervention strategies people are using and asking whether they work, if they are practical and if they are
possible. We also evaluate the effectiveness of interventions for subgroups of the population and make recommendations."

While a comprehensive look at the literature would seem like an obvious thing to do when developing public health strategies, Dr. Kahn said it hasn't yet been done on a global level. "In the development of public health programs and in funding determinations, people frequently make decisions based on their sense of whether something works or doesn't work.
They don't have time to review the literature," Dr. Kahn noted. "This guide will do it for them." In addition to being useful on a community level, Dr. Kahn also believes that individual practitioners will be able to use the guide. "I can see a scenario where a physician will want to look at what really works to get a minority teenager to exercise," she said. "We will have the database available in such a way that he or she can plug in 'Latino teenager and exercise' and see the range of options."

Information about the guide can be found at
http://www.thecommunityguide.org/

Dr. Kahn suggests that physicians may be able to use this information in addition to that found in the CDC's Guide to Preventive Services for Clinicians.