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ACO rule revisions get nod from medical industry group

An influential medical group's change of heart is boosting President Barack Obama's plan to use Medicare to promote higher quality, less expensive care. The American Medical Group Association represents premier organizations like the Mayo Clinic, the models for the proposed "accountable care organizations" in Obama's health care overhaul law. The networks of doctors and hospitals will collaborate to keep patients healthier.

1 Nov 2011

Study looks into how family doctors' own drinking habits affect their advice to patients

Doctors who drink more themselves are more liberal in their advice to patients on alcohol consumption. They set higher thresholds for what is harmful, and while men who are heavy drinkers get to continue drinking, women are often advised to stop altogether, reveals a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

1 Nov 2011

State roundup: Public employee benefit controversy; Calif. hospital woes; Mass. medical homes

A centerpiece of Republican Gov. John Kasich's legislative agenda, the bill passed the Republican-dominated assembly in the spring. But opponents were able to gather 1.3 million signatures to halt the law's enactment and put it on the November 8 ballot for repeal. ... The bill allows bargaining on wages but bans it for health coverage, pensions or staffing levels. ... The law also requires firefighters, police officers and teachers to pay at least 15 percent of their health insurance premiums.

1 Nov 2011

Potential transmission of HBV, HCV and HIV infections in nail salons and barbershops

The risk of hepatitis transmission through non-single use instruments -- such as nail files, nail brushes, finger bowls, foot basins, buffers, razors, clippers, and scissors -- during nail salon and barbershop visits cannot be excluded, according to the results of a new report unveiled today at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 76th Annual Scientific meeting in Washington, DC.

1 Nov 2011

ER-positive breast cancer patients with high levels of heat shock factor 1 experience poor outcomes

Whitehead Institute scientists report that patients whose estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancers have high levels of the ancient cellular survival factor heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) experience poor outcomes—including increased mortality.

1 Nov 2011

Panel backs anthrax vaccine testing on children

An important panel of government advisers Friday recommended that the government should sponsor a controversial study to test the anthrax vaccine in children to see whether the inoculation would protect young Americans against a bioterrorist's attack.

31 Oct 2011

Study: New verbal autopsy methods are fast, effective and inexpensive

New research by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington shows that innovative and improved methods for analyzing verbal autopsies - a method of determining individuals' causes of death in countries without a complete vital registration system - are fast, effective, and inexpensive, and could be invaluable for countries struggling to understand disease trends.

31 Oct 2011

Study examines link between hormonal forms of contraception and sexual functioning

Today's hormonal forms of birth control are vastly different from those used by earlier generations of women, both with lower levels of hormones and with different means of delivery (not just a pill), but many of the same problems related to women's pleasure remain.

31 Oct 2011

Dramatic increase in prevalence of chronic health conditions among minority immigrants

Minority immigrants are at higher risk of experiencing poor health outcomes the longer they stay in the U.S., according to new research released today at the American Public Health Association's 139th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

31 Oct 2011

Study looks at the strain of military deployment on adolescent boys and girls

Adolescent boys with at least one parent in the military are at elevated risk of engaging in school-based physical fighting, carrying a weapon and joining a gang, according to research presented today at the American Public Health Association's 139th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

31 Oct 2011

Construction workers may face lifetime risk of occupational injuries and illnesses

Nearly all construction workers will experience one or more work-related injuries or illnesses over a lifetime plus a greater risk of premature death, according to new data released today at the American Public Health Association's 139th Annual Meeting.

31 Oct 2011

Renowned obstetrician receives March of Dimes 2011 Agnes Higgins award

A highly renowned obstetrician, professor and researcher who showed that babies born to obese and diabetic women have a higher risk of becoming overweight and developing diabetes or other metabolic health problems later in life, received the March of Dimes 2011 Agnes Higgins award for outstanding achievement in the field of maternal-fetal nutrition.

31 Oct 2011

ZAMSTAR project reduces prevalence of tuberculosis by 22%

The results of a large-scale community-randomized trial presented at the 42nd World Conference on Lung Health in Lille, France today show that the Zambia-South Africa TB and AIDS Reduction (ZAMSTAR) project reduced the prevalence of tuberculosis by 22%.

31 Oct 2011

Commuting by car or public transport associated with negative effects on health

A mobile workforce can help improve a country's economy but the health of effects of commuting on the commuters and on the costs to industry in terms of sick days is largely unknown. From a commuter's point of view, the advantages of daily travel, such as a better paid job or better housing conditions, need to be weighed against adverse health effects.

31 Oct 2011

Oral hormonal contraceptives linked to blood clots: Study

A new study has shown that women who use new type of contraceptive pills are twice as likely to develop life threatening blood clots as those who take older versions. Oral hormonal contraceptives have been known to increase the risk of a blood clot in deep leg veins, known as venous thromboembolism (VTE). These can prove fatal if they travel to the lungs. But, researchers at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, found the “third-generation” pills are doubly harmful than the older versions.

30 Oct 2011

Hormones influence dietary and behavioral changes in regulating body weight

Worldwide, there are more than 1.5 billion overweight adults, including 400 million who are obese. In Australia, it is estimated more than 50 per cent of women and 60 per cent of men are either overweight or obese.

29 Oct 2011

Study: Many fetal expression changes are reversed immediately after birth

The "switching on" or expression of specific genes in the human genome is what makes each human tissue and each human being unique. A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Lieber Institute for Brain Development, and the National Institute of Mental Health found that many gene expression changes that occur during fetal development are reversed immediately after birth.

29 Oct 2011

State highlights: Wash. Gov. announces more budget cuts

For the fourth year in a row, Gov. Chris Gregoire on Thursday outlined more than $1.5 billion in state cuts to health care, social services, prisons and education.The latest round would increase public-school class sizes, eliminate subsidized health care for the working poor and release hundreds of inmates early…. The state's Basic Health Plan would close, ending state-subsidized insurance for about 35,000 low-income people.

29 Oct 2011

Seeking a broad scientific consensus on disease eradication

In a SciDev.Net letter to the editor, Rashid Zargar from the Centre of Research for Development at the University of Kashmir, responds to an editorial published by the news service last week in which editor David Dickson suggested that "focusing on the science and technology required to eliminate a disease, rather than just control it, can pay off."

29 Oct 2011

Global Health Technologies Coalition blog reports on health research projects in Kenya

In a post in the Global Health Technologies Coalition's "Breakthroughs" blog, GHTC's Kim Lufkin reports on her travels to Kenya this month "to visit global health research projects and see the impact on people in the country," writing, "Although we visited a range of projects, I was left with the lasting impression that much of this research is so close to producing new health tools that can lead to amazing innovations in public health," including "the first ever malaria vaccine, gels women can use to protect themselves from HIV, and new drugs for neglected diseases that affect the poorest of the poor."

29 Oct 2011

Public Health News and Research

ACO rule revisions get nod from medical industry group

Study looks into how family doctors' own drinking habits affect their advice to patients

State roundup: Public employee benefit controversy; Calif. hospital woes; Mass. medical homes

Potential transmission of HBV, HCV and HIV infections in nail salons and barbershops

ER-positive breast cancer patients with high levels of heat shock factor 1 experience poor outcomes

Panel backs anthrax vaccine testing on children

Study: New verbal autopsy methods are fast, effective and inexpensive

Study examines link between hormonal forms of contraception and sexual functioning

Dramatic increase in prevalence of chronic health conditions among minority immigrants

Study looks at the strain of military deployment on adolescent boys and girls

Construction workers may face lifetime risk of occupational injuries and illnesses

Renowned obstetrician receives March of Dimes 2011 Agnes Higgins award

ZAMSTAR project reduces prevalence of tuberculosis by 22%

Commuting by car or public transport associated with negative effects on health

Oral hormonal contraceptives linked to blood clots: Study

Hormones influence dietary and behavioral changes in regulating body weight

Study: Many fetal expression changes are reversed immediately after birth

State highlights: Wash. Gov. announces more budget cuts

Seeking a broad scientific consensus on disease eradication

Global Health Technologies Coalition blog reports on health research projects in Kenya

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