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Objective: To assess what positions parents were placing their infants to sleep and their opinion about sleep positioning., Design: A prospective telephone survey of parents of 2-month-old infants with repeated measures at 4 months that began during the second wave of the Back to Sleep campaign in 1994., Participants: African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian parents from inner cities in the north central United States., Results: Preference for prone positioning existed at both 2 and 4 months (over 40%). Twenty-four percent of parents disagreed with the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics regarding supine or lateral positioning., Conclusions: Although prone sleep positioning has decreased over the past 5 years, many inner-city parents of color prefer this over supine. The Back to Sleep campaign appears effective in changing attitudes and medical personnel appear influential in promoting risk reductions associated with sudden infant death syndrome. More efforts are clearly needed to convince parents who disagree with and resist recommendations.sleep, infants, SIDS, African-Americans, Back to Sleep (campaign).

Elder mistreatment is a widespread problem in our society that is often under-recognized by physicians. As a result of growing public outcry over the past 20 years, all states now have abuse laws that are specific to older adults; most states have mandated reporting by all health care professionals. The term "mistreatment" includes physical abuse and neglect, psychologic abuse, financial exploitation and violation of rights. Poor health, physical or cognitive impairment, alcohol abuse and a history of domestic violence are some of the risk factors for elder mistreatment. Diagnosis of elder mistreatment depends on acquiring a detailed history from the patient and the caregiver. It also involves performing a comprehensive physical examination. Only through awareness, a healthy suspicion and the performing of certain procedures are physicians able to detect elder mistreatment. Once it is suspected, elder mistreatment should be reported to adult protective services.