THE ninth annual Science Reporters' Conference, scheduled by the American Medical Association this year for the Boston, Mass, area, was designed to cover the usual extensive range of clinical topics. Cosponsors this year include the Massachusetts General, Beth Israel, and Children's hospitals, all in Boston.
The following are brief summaries of many of the presentations, as reported by members of JAMA'S Medical News & Perspectives Department staff. —by Phil Gunby
Diffusion Fights Disease:
Leon McKusick, PhD, University of California, San Francisco, draws on 10 years of experience in that city to define the roles of various participants in preventing the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). He says a complex process of diffusion, which he uses to mean the communication of attitudes as well as information, is involved in modifying behavior in order to prevent disease transmission.The psychologist told science reporters at the conference that they can