Vaccinations and the physically handicapped child.

The vaccination status of 98 physically handicapped children was examined to identify factors associated with an inadequate vaccination status. Of the 98 children, 57 had cerebral palsy, 14 had myelomeningocele, 3 had muscular dystrophy and 24 had myelomeningocele, 3 had muscular dystrophy and 24 had other motor disabilities. According to the available vaccination records, only 17 children had received all the recommended injections on schedule; 26 had missed at least one injection, and 3 of them had never been vaccinated. The overall rate of vaccination in our study group (63%) was lower than expected. The children with moderate to severe limitation of function due to cerebral palsy were significantly less likely (P less than 0.05) than those with less severe limitations to have received a basic series of vaccinations. Health departments must ensure that physically handicapped children receive the preventive health measures viewed normal and appropriate for other children.     

A study on thermal environment for physically handicapped persons. Results from Japanese-Hungarian joint experiment in 1990

1. 1. For the scientific evaluation of thermal environment in relatin to human health and comfort, a number of indices have been proposed in the recent 70 years.

2. 2. However, even the newest indices are still not sufficient to explain the general thermal environment for all people including infants, the aged, the disabled etc., because such indices are based more or less on experiments using college age persons.

3. 3. Series of studies to find required thermal conditions for the disabled and the aged have been carried out from 1976 in Japan and from 1988 in Hungary.

4. 4. In 1990, the Japanese and Hungarian research groups have collaborated in an international joint experiment on the thermal environment for the disabled.

5. 5. This paper reports on the results from the first step examinations of the data from above mentioned joint experiment.

Effectiveness of abortion as birth control.

Several models used to study the effectiveness of abortion in population limitation are examined. The Keyfitz model, based on the probability that an individual woman will conceive in a given month, is extended and public implications of legal abortions are discussed. A model more appropriate for a population of women rather than a single woman can be developed by relating the probability of conception and the sterile intervals to the number of birth and the number of women in the population. The effectiveness of abortion as a birth control method is studied using this model and includes: 1) abortion effectiveness combined with efficient contraception (95% effective); 2) the sensitivity of abortion to gestation when a contraceptive of lower efficiency is used; 3) these effects modified for prolonged lactation; 4) the effect of changing the monthly probability of conception and the monthly efficiency of contraception. Abortion later in pregnancy is advantageous when efficient contraception is absent. The effectiveness of abortion to gestation is approximately the same whether lactation is included or absent, although abortion is more effective at all gestations and for all contraceptives efficiencies in the absence of lactation. The sensitivity of the effectiveness of abortion to the probability of conception decreases as monthly effectiveness of contraception increases. The probability of conception and the monthly effectiveness of contraception are difficult parameters to measure in the population. The effect of abortion averaged over the entire population at risk of pregnancy is different from its effect on certain subgroups. For U.S. females the probability of conception may be between .06 and .16, and from the model it is indicated that the effectiveness of abortion would be from 1 to 1.13 abortions per live birth. The application of the model suggests that the expenditures for abortion services in this population are a reasonable investment, although investment for efficient contraception is also suggested.     

Counselling the parents of handicapped children.

The parents of handicapped children have to adjust to a wide variety of emotional and psychological problems when first confronted with the failure of their reproductive expectations. Counselling is a formal procedure or transaction in which both counsellor and parents aim to find a mutually acceptable plan of adjustment. Parents may need support to cope with their own personal inadequacies as well as with their own personal inadequacies as well as with the needs of the child. Counselling should be a continuous process, in which the parents can learn to accept the child as a different rather than a lesser person.