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Covid is killing rural Americans at twice the rate of urbanites

Rural Americans are dying of covid at more than twice the rate of their urban counterparts — a divide that health experts say is likely to widen as access to medical care shrinks for a population that tends to be older, sicker, heavier, poorer and less vaccinated.

30 Sep 2021

When covid deaths are dismissed or stigmatized, grief is mixed with shame and anger

Months after Kyle Dixon died, his old house in Lanse, Pennsylvania, is full of reminders of a life cut short.

16 Sep 2021

Charities join hands to reduce health inequalities across the UK

People's voices and lived experiences will continue to be at the centre of health policy development and work to level up the UK, as the government welcomes new members to the voluntary community and social enterprise (VCSE) Health and Wellbeing Alliance.

1 Sep 2021

‘My time to live’: Through novel program, kidney patients get palliative care, dialysis ’til the end

After a decade of living with chronic kidney disease, Vonita McGee knows her body is wearing out.

30 Aug 2021

Patient characteristics including demographic factors and comorbidities can accurately predict the outcome of COVID-19 infection severity

New machine learning models incorporating COVID-19 infection data show that patient demography is a key predictor of infection outcome.

13 Jul 2021

Thousands of young children lost parents to Covid. Where’s help for them?

Five months after her husband died of Covid-19, Valerie Villegas can see how grief has wounded her children.

23 Jun 2021

Unequal hospital quality associated with higher COVID-19 death rate for Black patients

The COVID-19 death rate for Black patients would be 10 percent lower if they had access to the same hospitals as white patients, a new study shows.

17 Jun 2021

Study shows how cowpea mosaic plant virus stimulates the immune system against cancer

Previous work by a team of researchers led by Steven N. Fiering, PhD, Immunology and Cancer Immunotherapy researcher at Dartmouth's and Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Norris Cotton Cancer Center and Nicole Steinmetz, PhD, Jacobs School of Engineering and Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego, showed that a plant virus that does not infect mammals, cowpea mosaic plant virus (CPMV), when injected into cancerous tumors, strongly stimulated the immune system to attack and often eliminate the tumor.

8 Jun 2021

Most Americans may have inadequate understanding of palliative care

The majority of surveyed Americans had an inadequate understanding of palliative care, and frequency of health care utilization was one determinant of knowledge.

5 Jun 2021

UC San Diego Health offers new immunotherapy treatment for multiple myeloma following FDA approval

Following the Food and Drug Administration's approval, UC San Diego Health is the first designated medical center in San Diego certified to offer a new immunotherapy treatment of multiple myeloma outside of a clinical trial.

3 Jun 2021

The ‘grief pandemic’ will torment Americans for years

Cassandra Rollins' daughter was still conscious when the ambulance took her away.

2 Jun 2021

Caring for an aging nation

Health care for the nation's seniors looms large as the baby-boom generation ages into retirement. President Joe Biden tacitly acknowledged those needs in March with his proposal to spend $400 billion over the next eight years to improve access to in-home and community-based care.

28 May 2021

Researchers are developing first prognostic, therapeutic epigenetic biomarker for pancreatic cancer patients

By 2030, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the most lethal form of pancreatic cancer, is projected to become the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States.

24 May 2021

Aiding her dying husband, a geriatrician learns the emotional and physical toll of caregiving

The loss of a husband. The death of a sister. Taking in an elderly mother with dementia.

18 May 2021

New app focuses on supporting patients with life-limiting illnesses in Ethiopia

The Ayzot app is a collaboration between Surrey, the University of Strathclyde, Hospice Ethiopia, the Federal Ministry of Health and Hello Doctor Ethiopia, an Ethiopian-based software company run by Dr Yohans Wodaje.

13 May 2021

Study identifies quality measures for pediatric palliative care

There is currently no consensus on what quality end-of-life care for children with cancer looks like, or how to measure and deliver it; however, investigators recently assembled an expert panel to help fill this void.

5 May 2021

Low doses of ionizing radiation may be a promising therapy for people with Alzheimer’s disease

Individuals living with severe Alzheimer's disease showed remarkable improvements in behavior and cognition within days of receiving an innovative new treatment that delivered low doses of radiation, a recent Baycrest-Sunnybrook pilot study found.

3 May 2021

Experts hope to improve both human communication and animal care

Veterinarians, pet owners and breeders often have preconceived notions about each other, but by investigating these biases, experts at the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine hope to improve both human communication and animal care.

29 Apr 2021

Using estrogen to target drug-resistant breast cancer in mice

Researchers at Dartmouth's and Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Norris Cotton Cancer Center (NCCC) hope to make estrogen therapy a more accessible treatment option for breast cancer patients who could benefit from it.

26 Apr 2021

Policies designed to prevent opioid misuse may limit access to pain-relieving drugs

Policies designed to prevent the misuse of opioids may have the unintended side effect of limiting access to the pain-relieving drugs by terminally ill patients nearing the end of their life, new research led by the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy suggests.

20 Apr 2021