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Traditional medicine is the main, and often the only, source of medical care for a great proportion of the population of the developing world. Systems of traditional medicine are usually rooted in long-standing cultural traditions, take a holistic approach to health, and are community based. The World Health Organization has long recognized the central role traditional systems of care can play in efforts to provide primary health care, especially in rural areas. This article provides an overview of national policies adopted by African governments following World Health Organization recommendations for the incorporation of traditional and allopathic systems of care.

The purpose of this study was to develop a bilingual, user-friendly food label (UFFL) for low-literacy audiences. The UFFL developed was based on (a) a quantitative and qualitative needs assessment of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) food label understanding and use, (b) the development of a UFFL, and (c) a qualitative evaluation of the UFFL. Subjects consisted of a convenience sample (N = 150) of low-income Latino caretakers living in Hartford with children under 6 years of age, who were recruited from local community agencies. The primary outcomes measured in this study were food label use, knowledge, and understanding. Chi-square analyses were conducted to determine relationships between subjects' socioeconomic status and demographic characteristics with food label use, knowledge, and understanding. Although 96% of respondents were familiar with the FDA food label, only 30% used it routinely when grocery shopping. FDA food label knowledge was positively associated (p < .05) with younger age, level of education, and being an English speaker. A UFFL was developed that included color coding, bilingual text, and a shaded Food Guide Pyramid. Results indicated that participants found the UFFL easy to understand. The UFFL can be used as a nutrition education tool and the methodology developed may help food policy makers to improve the nutrition education value of the FDA food label.

Colombian national Nancy Romero-Daza won the 1993 Peter K. New Student Paper Award for her work, 'Multiple Sexual Partners, Migrant Labor, and the Makings for an Epidemic: Knowledge and Beliefs about AIDS among Women in Highland Lesotho.' The paper discusses the history of AIDS and its effects on the African continent, particularly on the women of the kingdom of Lesotho. It also tackles effective approaches towards AIDS education and preventive measures.

This study compared food insecurity, nutritional status (as measured through anthropometry and dietary intake), and food preparation patterns of low-income Puerto Rican female out-of-treatment drug users with that of low-income Puerto Rican women who reported no drug use. A convenience sample of 41 drug users was compared with 41 age-matched non-drug-users from inner-city Hartford, Connecticut. A culturally appropriate food frequency questionnaire was administered and anthropometric measurements were taken. The findings suggest a high degree of poverty among all study participants, but in particular among drug users. Drug users were more likely than the controls to be food insecure (P < 0.05) and to be exposed to increasingly severe food sufficiency problems. The daily frequency of consumption of vegetables was lower (P = 0.03) for drug users than non-drug-users. Conversely, the frequency of consumption for sweets/desserts was significantly higher for drug users than the controls (P = 0.0001). Drug users, who were classified as food insecure were less likely to consume vegetables (P = 0.004) and fish (P = 0.03) than were controls who were food insecure. When comparing drug users with controls, the former group reported consuming fewer meals during a usual week than the latter group (P < 0.0001). Drug users were more likely to fry foods (P = 0.02) while the controls were more likely to bake (P = 0.005), boil (P = 0.02), and steam (P = 0.002) foods. All anthropometric measurements, except for height, were significantly lower for drug users. The results show that drug users generally maintain poorer nutritional status than non-drug-users. Nutrition interventions as part of drug treatment are needed. KEY WORDS: Hispanic women; drug use; anthropometry; food intake