Public Health News and Research

RSS

State highlights: Mass. near 0 percent uninsured; Ga. scraps Medicaid contract bidding; states turn to public health issues

When Massachusetts passed its landmark health coverage law under Gov. Mitt Romney in 2006, no one claimed the state would get to zero, as in 0 percent of residents who are uninsured. But numbers out today suggest Massachusetts is very close. Between December 2013 and March of this year, when the federal government was urging people to enroll, the number of Massachusetts residents signed up for health coverage increased by more than 215,000. If that number holds, the percentage of Massachusetts residents who do not have coverage has dropped to less than 1 percent (Bebinger, 6/9).

11 Jun 2014

Adding evidence-based weight loss strategies enhances statewide wellness campaign

Researchers from The Miriam Hospital have found that adding evidence-based weight loss strategies to a statewide wellness campaign improves weight loss outcomes among participants. The study and its findings are published online in advance of print in the American Journal of Public Health.

11 Jun 2014

Researchers discover strong genetic risk factor for type 2 diabetes in Latin American patients

In the largest study of its kind published to date, an international team of researchers in Mexico and the United States has discovered a strong genetic risk factor for type 2 diabetes that primarily affects Latin American patients, but is rare elsewhere.

11 Jun 2014

Telehealth support improves quality of forensic exams for sexual abuse

Researchers at UC Davis and other facilities have shown that telehealth consultations for clinicians at rural hospitals improve their ability to provide forensic examinations for sexual abuse.

11 Jun 2014

mHealth Summit to host Global mHealth Forum

The mHealth Summit announced today that it will host the Global mHealth Forum, a two-day co-located event, to focus on mobile and connected health in low and middle income countries (LMICs).

10 Jun 2014

Synthetic, Enterome partner to study effects of beta-lactam antibiotics on gastrointestinal microflora

Synthetic Biologics, Inc., a developer of novel anti-infective biologic and drug candidates targeting specific pathogens that cause serious infections and diseases, and Enterome Bioscience SA, a pioneer in the development of innovative disease management solutions based on a deep understanding of the gut microbiome, today announced that they have entered into an agreement to conduct metagenomic research on the effects of beta-lactam antibiotics on the gastrointestinal microflora (microbiome) of human patients.

10 Jun 2014

MD Anderson study shows that needle biopsy underused in breast cancer patients

Needle biopsy, the standard of care radiological procedure for diagnosing breast cancer, is underused with too many patients undergoing the more invasive, excisional biopsy to detect their disease, according to research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

10 Jun 2014

Targeting popular kids for fighting obesity may not be effective

In the fight against teenage obesity, some researchers have proposed targeting popular teens, in the belief that such kids would have an outsize influence on their peers.

10 Jun 2014

Text4baby benefits pregnant women

The leading mobile health service in the nation, Text4baby, was found to significantly benefit pregnant women, according to a new study led by Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University and the Madigan Army Medical Center.

10 Jun 2014

Protein may be key to maintaining health of aging blood stem cells

A protein may be the key to maintaining the health of aging blood stem cells, according to work by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai recently published online in Stem Cell Reports.

10 Jun 2014

Penn researchers awarded $10 million grant to study adverse health effects, remediation of asbestos

Researchers at the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, have been awarded a $10 million grant from the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences over the next four years to study asbestos exposure pathways that lead to mesothelioma, the bioremediation of this hazardous material, and mechanisms that lead to asbestos-related diseases.

10 Jun 2014

Hospital shifting away from billing for individual services

Bundled payments may be the "wave of the future," the Wall Street Journal suggests. Meanwhile, health care providers are working to get patients more involved in decisions about their care.

9 Jun 2014

NIDA review offers new insights into the negative health effects of marijuana

The current state of science on the adverse health effects of marijuana use links the drug to several significant adverse effects including addiction, a review reports.

9 Jun 2014

University of Indianapolis breaks ground June 19 on $28 million Health Pavilion

The University of Indianapolis will break ground June 19 on a four-story, $28 million Health Pavilion that will house UIndy's healthcare- and wellness-related academic programs as well as industry partners and clinical facilities to serve the community.

9 Jun 2014

First Edition: June 9, 2014

Today's headlines include reports about efforts on the state level and within the health care system to address health care costs and advance other system reforms.

9 Jun 2014

New methods for detection of fecal pollution in Norwegian watercourses

The Norwegian Institute for Agricultural and Environmental Research, Bioforsk, has tested and implemented a set of methods for the detection of fecal pollution in Norwegian watercourses.

9 Jun 2014

Cubist Pharmaceuticals publishes positive results from Phase 3 clinical trial of SIVEXTRO

Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBST) today announced that The Lancet Infectious Diseases published online the positive results from ESTABLISH-2, a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of the investigational antibiotic SIVEXTRO™ (tedizolid phosphate), which is being developed for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) and complicated skin and soft tissue infections (cSSTI).

9 Jun 2014

Only 20% of health policy researchers use social media for communication, shows survey

Though Twitter boats 645 million users across the world, only 14 percent of health policy researchers reported using Twitter - and approximately 20 percent used blogs and Facebook - to communicate their research findings over the past year, according to a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

9 Jun 2014

Researchers examine link between residential environment and preterm delivery among African Americans

High levels of racial disparities in preterm delivery exist, with African Americans having higher rates than non-Hispanic whites.

9 Jun 2014

Infants exposed to bacterial species in house dust are less likely to develop asthma

Infants exposed to a diverse range of bacterial species in house dust during the first year of life appear to be less likely to develop asthma in early childhood, according to a new study published online on June 6, 2014, in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

9 Jun 2014

Public Health News and Research

State highlights: Mass. near 0 percent uninsured; Ga. scraps Medicaid contract bidding; states turn to public health issues

Adding evidence-based weight loss strategies enhances statewide wellness campaign

Researchers discover strong genetic risk factor for type 2 diabetes in Latin American patients

Telehealth support improves quality of forensic exams for sexual abuse

mHealth Summit to host Global mHealth Forum

Synthetic, Enterome partner to study effects of beta-lactam antibiotics on gastrointestinal microflora

MD Anderson study shows that needle biopsy underused in breast cancer patients

Targeting popular kids for fighting obesity may not be effective

Text4baby benefits pregnant women

Protein may be key to maintaining health of aging blood stem cells

Penn researchers awarded $10 million grant to study adverse health effects, remediation of asbestos

Hospital shifting away from billing for individual services

NIDA review offers new insights into the negative health effects of marijuana

University of Indianapolis breaks ground June 19 on $28 million Health Pavilion

First Edition: June 9, 2014

New methods for detection of fecal pollution in Norwegian watercourses

Cubist Pharmaceuticals publishes positive results from Phase 3 clinical trial of SIVEXTRO

Only 20% of health policy researchers use social media for communication, shows survey

Researchers examine link between residential environment and preterm delivery among African Americans

Infants exposed to bacterial species in house dust are less likely to develop asthma

Revolutionizing Life Science: An Interview with SCIEX on ASMS, the SCIEX 7500+ System, and AI-Driven Quantitation

From Discovery Biology to ELRIG Chair

Breathing New Life into Diagnostics: Plasmion's SICRIT Technology

Latest News