The objective of this study was to determine parental knowledge about antibiotics and their use for common respiratory tract infections. A survey was administered to 100 adults at a rural pediatric office. Many respondents had misconceptions about the etiology of common respiratory tract infections and the effects of antibiotic therapy. Parental knowledge about common respiratory tract infections and about antibiotic therapy is often lacking. Improved parent education may alter parents' expectations concerning antibiotic therapy for their ill children.
Tobacco use causes significant morbidity and mortality.
Resident physicians at the George Washington University Medical Center are trained to counsel patients to stop smoking. Resident physicians in the primary care training program obtained more smoking histories and counseled more patients to stop smoking. Further study is necessary to evaluate strategies that can be used in residency training to encourage smoking-cessation counseling. People who have periods of low family income are at risk for increased health problems in the future, even if they present a similar clinical picture before the reduction in family income. The association between low income and health status was studied in residents of an area with relatively low-average family income and with a historically unstable economy.