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Study: Barbie lags in diversity and accuracy of medical and scientific careers

Barbie should consider expanding her medical and scientific careers into areas where women and other under-represented groups remain a minority, suggests a study published in the Christmas issue of The BMJ.

19 Dec 2023

Scheduling CNAs together reduces turnover and enhances patient care

Long-term care facilities that scheduled part-time Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) with more hours and more consistently with the same co-workers had reduced turnover, according to research led by Washington State University.

18 Dec 2023

Rift over when to use N95s puts health workers at risk again

Three years after more than 3,600 health workers died of covid-19, occupational safety experts warn that those on the front lines may once again be at risk if the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention takes its committee's advice on infection control guidelines in health care settings, including hospitals, nursing homes, and jails.

14 Dec 2023

LA County invests big in free virtual mental health therapy for K-12 students

Los Angeles County public schools are rolling out an ambitious effort to offer free mental health services to their 1.3 million K-12 students, a key test of California Gov. Gavin Newsom's sweeping, $4.7 billion program to address a youth mental health crisis.

12 Dec 2023

Working night shifts associated with higher occurrence of disordered sleep

Sleep is critical for daytime and neurocognitive functioning, as well as physical and mental health. When people work shifts – in 2015, 21% of workers in the European Union did – their circadian sleep-wake rhythms are commonly disrupted.

7 Dec 2023

Australian study shows shift workers prioritize sleep over diet and exercise

In a study published in the Journal of Activity, Sedentary and Sleep Behaviors, researchers found that while 49% of Australian adults prioritize diet, shift workers mainly prioritize sleep, with this preference increasing with years of shiftwork experience.

4 Dec 2023

Desperate families search for affordable home care

It's a good day when Frank Lee, a retired chef, can slip out to the hardware store, fairly confident that his wife, Robin, is in the hands of reliable help. He spends nearly every hour of every day anxiously overseeing her care at their home on the Isle of Palms, a barrier island near Charleston, South Carolina.

4 Dec 2023

Uncle Sam wants you … to help stop insurers’ bogus Medicare Advantage sales tactics

After an unprecedented crackdown on misleading advertising claims by insurers selling private Medicare Advantage and drug plans, the Biden administration hopes to unleash a special weapon to make sure companies follow the new rules: you.

30 Nov 2023

Uniting Against Antimicrobial Resistance: An Interview with the World Health Organization

An interview with Kitty van Weezenbeek, Director of Surveillance, Prevention and Control of AMR for the World Health Organistion (WHO) AMR division.

20 Nov 2023

Extra fees drive assisted living profits

Assisted living centers have become an appealing retirement option for hundreds of thousands of boomers who can no longer live independently, promising a cheerful alternative to the institutional feel of a nursing home.

20 Nov 2023

Loughborough University to deliver patient safety course to hundreds of NHS professionals

Loughborough University is collaborating with NHS England to deliver learning to hundreds of healthcare professionals in a bid to improve patient safety.

20 Nov 2023

Breakthrough wireless sensor offers continuous health monitoring, revolutionizing patient care

The study introduces a wireless broadband acousto-mechanical sensing (BAMS) system for continuous physiological monitoring, capturing a wide range of body signals and offering significant potential for both home and hospital settings.

19 Nov 2023

Scientists unravel the mystery of how cells keep glutathione levels in check

If a delivery person leaves a package on your front step without pinging you, you likely won't know it's there.

8 Nov 2023

Wearable technology helps to improve working conditions in agriculture

The AgWearCare project resorts to wearables to collect and digitalize data, supporting agricultural tasks and preventing work-related musculoskeletal disorders.

6 Nov 2023

Study: Nursing homes most adversely affected by employment declines since the pandemic

Among health care job sectors, nursing homes have been the most adversely affected by declines in employment growth since the pandemic—a rate more than triple that of hospitals or physician offices, says a University of Michigan researcher.

3 Nov 2023

Medicare expands the roster of available mental health professionals

Lynn Cooper was going through an awful time. After losing her job in 2019, she became deeply depressed.

3 Nov 2023

Tips for women to protect their heart health during menopause

Medical experts note that hormone and body composition changes during the transition to menopause can increase the risk of developing heart disease after menopause.

2 Nov 2023

‘Worse than people can imagine’: Medicaid ‘unwinding’ breeds chaos in states

More than two dozen people lined up outside a state public assistance office in Montana before it opened to ensure they didn't get cut off from Medicaid.

2 Nov 2023

Dads drive growth in California’s paid family leave program

In a sign of growing domestic equality, more new dads are claiming paid family leave to bond with their babies and support their partners during the first weeks of parenthood.

30 Oct 2023

Machine learning sheds light on mental health challenges faced by HCWs during COVID-19 pandemic

Machine learning reveals unique mental health struggles among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the urgent need for specialized support. The study analyzed therapy transcripts to show how healthcare professionals faced distinct challenges, including heightened anxiety and depression.

29 Oct 2023