Public Health News and Research

RSS

SAMHSA publishes strategic initiatives paper on nation's behavioral health care system

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration today published its strategic initiatives paper - an overview of SAMHSA's goals, priorities and action steps for accomplishing its mission of reducing the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America's communities.

30 Mar 2011

Insect Shield Repellent Apparel can protect against tick bites

A pilot study shows clothes treated with long-lasting insect repellant appear to offer outdoor workers significant protection against tick bites.

30 Mar 2011

Welsh CJD alert after two years of exposure

Thirty-eight people have been told they may have been put at risk of contracting the fatal brain disease Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) following surgery. All the patients were operated on between 2007 and 2009 at either Swansea's Morriston or Singleton hospital, Neath Port Talbot or Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend.

29 Mar 2011

Bariatric surgery highly cost-effective treatment for obese type 2 diabetics

Bariatric surgery is an especially cost-effective therapy for managing Type 2 diabetes in moderately and severely obese patients. These findings and others were presented today at the 2nd World Congress on Interventional Therapies for Type 2 Diabetes, hosted by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College.

29 Mar 2011

Scientist develops new model to understand peoples' behaviors during flu outbreaks

When influenza pandemics arrive, the specter of disease spread through person-to-person contact can mean that schools close, hand sanitizer sales rise, and travellers stay home. But is severing social and business interactions with our neighbors really better than taking a chance on getting sick?

29 Mar 2011

Study links specific cardiovascular risk factors to AF episodes

Reducing cardiovascular risk factors like high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes and being overweight could potentially reduce more than half of all cases of atrial fibrillation, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

29 Mar 2011

Study highlights tobacco smoke exposure among babies

"Passive smoking is the leading preventable cause of childhood death in developed countries", Guadalupe Ortega, lead author of the research study and coordinator of the Atenció Primària Sense Fum programme at the Department of Health of the Generalitat de Cataluña tells SINC.

29 Mar 2011

IDF: Obese people with type 2 diabetes can benefit from bariatric surgery

Bariatric surgery should be considered earlier in the treatment of eligible patients to help stem the serious complications that can result from diabetes, according to an International Diabetes Federation position statement presented by leading experts at the 2nd World Congress on Interventional Therapies for Type 2 Diabetes in New York.

29 Mar 2011

Cardinal Health, APhA partner to prevent prescription medication abuse

During the American Pharmacists Association's Annual Meeting and Exposition in Seattle, the Cardinal Health Foundation and APhA announced a partnership to encourage pharmacists and student pharmacists to take an active role in preventing the abuse and misuse of prescription medications.

29 Mar 2011

Viewpoints: 'Lesson' from R.I. on waivers; Wis. infant mortality rate disparities; diabetes and seniors

Medicaid is the major cost driver in state budgets these days, so several Governors have proposed a deal to the White House and Congress: They'll take less money in return for the flexibility to run the program with fewer federal strings. A case study in the potential benefits is coming from liberal Rhode Island.

29 Mar 2011

State laws regarding baby blood samples analyzed

State laws and policies governing the storage and use of surplus blood samples taken from newborns as part of the routine health screening process range from explicit to non-existent, leaving many parents ill-informed about how their babies' left over blood might be used, according to a team led by a member of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Utah. A report on their analysis of the subject is published March 28 in the journal Pediatrics.

28 Mar 2011

Nurse staffing levels, safety net status both factors in patient outcomes

A new study finds that higher nurse staffing levels can lead to better patient outcomes. However, the study also found this to not always be the case at safety net hospitals. Meanwhile, the Connecticut Mirror reports on hospitals' efforts to reduce readmissions. And, in other news, new research has found that patients are less likely to fill prescriptions when doctors specify brand names instead of allowing generic substitutions.

28 Mar 2011

Scientists receive CFCF-AACR grants for carcinoid, pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor research

The American Association for Cancer Research is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2011 Caring for Carcinoid Foundation-AACR Grants for Carcinoid Tumor and Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor Research and the 2011 Raymond and Beverly Sackler AACR Fellowships for Ileal Carcinoid Tumor Research.

28 Mar 2011

Nearly half of Latinas women with breast cancer worry about recurrence

Most women face only a small risk of breast cancer coming back after they complete their treatment. Yet a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center finds that nearly half of Latinas who speak little English expressed a great deal of worry about recurrence.

28 Mar 2011

Gates discusses foundation's global health priorities in India during visit to country

During a visit to the Indian state of Bihar, Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, on Thursday discussed his foundation's work in India and global health priorities, ANI/Sify News reports.

28 Mar 2011

Study finds surgeon availability linked to fewer MVC-related deaths

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine claim that the availability of surgeons is a critical factor in public health and suggest that surgery should become an important part of the primary health care system.

28 Mar 2011

Study finds only 1 in 10 children with asthma use traditional inhalers correctly

Fewer than one in 10 children with asthma use traditional inhalers correctly, according to a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

28 Mar 2011

New study: Women with early stage breast cancer worry about recurrence

A new study has found that certain types of women with early stage breast cancer are vulnerable to excessive worrying about cancer recurrence. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study also indicates that worrying about cancer recurrence can compromise patients' medical care and quality of life.

28 Mar 2011

U.S. TB cases reach all-time low, but eradication target missed, CDC says

"The number of tuberculosis cases in the United States reached an all-time low last year, with only 11,181 cases reported to public health authorities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," the Los Angeles Times' "Booster Shots" blog reports.

28 Mar 2011

Scientists receive AACR Team Science Award for HPV research

The Fifth Annual AACR Team Science Award will be given to a team of internationally renowned molecular biologists, epidemiologists, biostatisticians and clinicians from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington who have worked together on human papillomavirus for more than 20 years.

28 Mar 2011