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Study finds nearly 50% decline in child mortality in Niger over the last decade

A study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Niger Countdown Case Study Working Group found that child mortality in Niger-one of the world's poorest countries-declined nearly 50 percent over the last decade.

21 Sep 2012

Amgen receives FDA approval for Prolia to treat bone loss in men with osteoporosis

Amgen today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new indication for Prolia (denosumab) as a treatment to increase bone mass in men with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture.

21 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: Romney's comments point to entitlements' role as big part of 'budget paralysis;' Kristof says candidate inflated 'underlying truth'

Stigmatizing almost everyone with a federal benefit is not just bad politics. It's the worst sort of social stereotyping. But beyond (GOP presidential candidate Mitt) Romney's bluster lies a genuine problem.

21 Sep 2012

'Greater commitment' needed to fight NTDs

In a guest post on USAID's "IMPACT Blog," Rachel Cohen, regional executive director of DNDi North America, writes, "The United States government and its country partners should be commended for the tremendous achievements in the fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) as part of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) NTD Program" and the National Institutes of Health.

20 Sep 2012

Polls offer windows into campaign challenges, dynamics

A new round of polls indicates that, with seven weeks left of campaigning, President Barack Obama appears to be edging out GOP candidate Mitt Romney. However, the findings also highlight the political forces that could work for and against each candidate.

20 Sep 2012

Challenges, solutions to sexual health education in South Africa

"South Africa faces significant challenges when it comes to sexual health, and with the high prevalence of rape, teen pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases and infections, schools need to implement strong and informative programs on sexuality and contraceptive use," Jos Dirkx, founder of Girls & Football SA, writes in this post in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog.

20 Sep 2012

Newspaper publishes series examining family planning in Uganda

The Observer on Tuesday published a series of feature articles examining family planning in Uganda.

20 Sep 2012

Are electronic medical records leading to higher medical bills?

Electronic medical records, long touted by government officials as a critical tool for cutting health care costs, appear to be prompting some doctors and hospitals to bill higher fees to Medicare for treating seniors.

20 Sep 2012

Department of Psychiatry announces opening of NYU Langone's Military Family Clinic

The Department of Psychiatry is pleased to announce the opening of the Military Family Clinic at NYU Langone Medical Center, the first clinic of its kind in New York City to provide important mental health and clinical services for both returning veterans and their supportive families.

20 Sep 2012

Report: Medical home model should have physician at the helm

A report issued Tuesday by the American Academy of Family Physicians urges the concept of medical homes as a solution to the looming primary care shortage, but argues that such practices should still be led by doctors.

20 Sep 2012

WHO working with partners to stop Ebola from spreading in DRC

The WHO on Tuesday "said it is continuing to work with authorities from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to stop an Ebola outbreak from spreading, with the number of detected cases having reached 46 in the past week," the U.N. News Centre reports.

20 Sep 2012

Study: 46% of living kidney transplant donor recipients are minorities

The largest U.S. multicenter study of living kidney transplant donor chains showed that 46 percent of recipients are minorities, a finding that allays previous fears that these groups would be disadvantaged by expansion of the donor pool through this type of exchange process.

20 Sep 2012

UNITAID should 'reinvent itself' to increase role in global health field

In this post in the Center for Global Development's (CGD) "Global Health Policy" blog, Victoria Fan, a CGD research fellow, and Rachel Silverman, a research assistant for the global health team at the center, examine the future of UNITAID.

20 Sep 2012

House panel to consider health law change that would help brokers

A House committee is preparing a bill that would change the health law's medical loss ratio provision to exclude brokers' fees from counting as administrative costs.

20 Sep 2012

Joint Commission offers ranking of hospitals on quality, patient safety

The hospital accreditation board recognized 620 hospitals as top performers based on 45 measures. The rankings reflect performance in 2011.

20 Sep 2012

Minn. governor moves forward on insurance exchange, shifts oversight

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is shifting responsibility for a key part of the federal health overhaul in his state -- a health insurance exchange -- to a different state agency. He's also moving forward on implementing the exchange, he said Tuesday.

20 Sep 2012

Wis. officials say Medicaid funding will need to rise $650M over two years

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services in a request to Gov. Scott Walker said Tuesday that the increase was needed because of rising health care costs, higher program enrollment and lower federal funding.

20 Sep 2012

Romney's '47 percent' comments fuel analyses of who gets tax breaks, aid

Some news outlets report how the remarks underscore different views of the role of government by President Barack Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney. Meanwhile, Romney attempts to deflect criticism by going on the offensive, saying his comments help define the choice before voters.

20 Sep 2012

Health experts warn of linkages between climate change, increased malnutrition

"Malnutrition is likely to be the most serious health threat linked to climate shifts in the coming decades, as farmers struggle to cope with more unpredictable weather, ... epidemiologist Kris Ebi warned during a recent World Health Organization (WHO) briefing on adapting health systems to climate shifts," AlertNet reports.

20 Sep 2012

Weekly campaign highlights: News from Florida, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Virginia

As election day approaches, Kaiser Health News' Sarah Barr samples news coverage each week from swing states around the country – how health policy developments, and other political issues, are playing in this year's vote.

20 Sep 2012