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This article presents various abstracts related to the field of human health and behavior. The first one is "Sociological Aspects of Aging," by Howard E. Jensen. The author stresses the disparate, though complimentary, biological and sociological problems of aging. The aging of an individual, as a sociocultural phenomenon, is defined not by physical deterioration or by time but by the value system of his society. The author points out that the simplest part of the sociological problem of aging is to ascertain the objectively determinable physical needs of the aged and to provide for them. The next abstract is "The Sentence Completion Test As a Predictor of Continuation in Psychotherapy," by E. Wesley Hiler. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Michigan Sentence Completion Test as a predictor of a patient's prematurely terminating therapy. Another abstract is "Decision-Making in a Mental Hospital: Real, Perceived, and Ideal," by Mark Lefton, Simon Dinitz and Benjamin Pasamanick. This paper attempts to examine the decision-making process in a small, institute type of psychiatric hospital in terms of differences in real, perceived and ideal influence patterns of 53 mental health specialists.

The article discusses social knowledge in medicine. An appreciation of the importance of social knowledge is growing among physicians. Papers by physicians in the first issue of the "Journal of Health and Human Behavior," emphasize this fact. Awareness of the social factors in health and disease in the minds of doctors, however, is not universal. Social knowledge in the medical setting is important not only for doctor, nurse, and interne. It is important in the patient. The patient's understandings, misunderstandings, loves, hates, fears, and reassurances, which grow out of his appreciation, or lack of appreciation, of his life situation, obviously affect his food and drink habits, his attitude toward medical care and convalescence, and his motivation to stay well. Research in medical care, in the minds of the respondents, should be directed toward the social structure and its influence on the practice of medicine, doctor-nurse-patient relations, medical settings and institutions, the personalities of doctor, patient, nurse, and the ecology and economics of medical care.

The article presents information about this special "Medical Care Issue," which presents reports of several specific programs that illustrate contributory streams in this larger movement of medical care organization. The variety in the movement derives from locality as well as content. One report in this issue comes from the Appalachian coalfields, where new forms of consumer-sponsored prepaid group medical practice are evolving. Another comes from the nation's capital, where a long established health insurance plan has added drugs to its benefits. Another comes from New York City, where organized "home care" has been explored, for the first time as a feature of hospitalization insurance. Another comes from Southern California, where efforts are being made to up-grade the quality of nursing homes. Another comes from a college town in Kentucky, where a great new medical center is being established. Two papers of generic orientation are then presented: one is on the economic characteristics of health services and how they differ from other services or commodities. The final paper offers a review of sociological research conducted on the organization of medical care over the years.