Search

This article reports findings from assessment by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), an analytical arm of the U.S. Congress. In brief, OTA found the conventional wisdom that American adolescents as a group are so healthy that they do not require health and related services is not justified. Even more disturbing, U.S. adolescents often face formidable barriers in trying to obtain health care. OTA suggested that Congress could act to 1) increase adolescents' access to health care, most effectively by supporting school- or community-based comprehensive health services specifically for adolescents, 2) restructure and reinvigorate the federal role in adolescent health, most visibly by creating an office of adolescent health in the U.S. Executive branch, and 3) improve adolescents' social environments, by providing more support to the families of adolescents, limiting adolescents' access to firearms, supporting the expansion of recreational opportunities for adolescents, and further supporting opportunties for community service. Congressional actions taken since the release of OTA's report are summarized. (J Sch Health. 1992;62(5):167-174), In April 1991, the U.S. Congress' Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) completed a three-year assessment of adolescent health and health services.[1-3] OTA found the conventional wisdom that American adolescents as [...]

The Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) has prepared a report on the availability and sources of information on osteoporosis. The report identifies three major source: mass media, private organizations and government agencies. The mass media's tendancy to oversimplify research findings and not follow up on medical news make the information it provides less than reliable. The National Osteoporosis Foundation, a private non-profit organization, may be the best source of information on osteoporosis. The Depts of Health and Human Services and Agriculture each offer information, as do some state governments. The National Resource Center on Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases, established in 1993, has recently opened and will focus its attention on providing information about FDA approval of drugs and the risks of osteoporosis to men and minorities, who are underrepresented in other information sources.