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Number of fatalities from 2009 swine flu pandemic might have been 15 times higher than reported deaths, study says

In a study published on Monday in the Lancet Infectious Diseases, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic likely killed about 284,500 people worldwide between August 2009 and August 2010, a number 15 times higher than the 18,500 deaths reported to the WHO, Bloomberg News reports.

27 Jun 2012

Key issues in conducting research using electronic clinical data

Researchers participate in the Electronic Data Methods (EDM) Forum to maximize shared experiences and learning for using electronic clinical data to improve medical care and making informed health decisions. A July supplement to Medical Care is a special 'EDM Forum' issue, highlights key issues researchers are facing, and innovative approaches that have been developed to build the infrastructure and conduct research using electronic clinical data.

26 Jun 2012

First Edition: June 26, 2012

Today's headlines include reports setting the scene for Thursday's Supreme Court decision that will determine the health law's future.

26 Jun 2012

Survey of home healthcare practices related to infection control

A healthy boy was infected with antibiotic-resistant bacterium that was traced to his mother's nurse's bag left in the family's car after his mother's home healthcare visit to a patient with the same infection. Although the boy's infection and the patient's infection were never DNA tested, the coincidence was remarkable.

26 Jun 2012

Congressional eyes focused on the high court

Depending on how the decision shakes out, funding provided for the health law would be fair game during a time marked by difficult budget choices. Meanwhile, the GOP stays steady on its pledge to repeal the health law, or whatever remains of it.

26 Jun 2012

Tools to achieve child survival goals are 'at our disposal'

"The Child Survival Call to Action that took place recently in Washington, D.C., was a unique opportunity for 700 stakeholders working in the government, the private sector, faith-based organizations, and civil society to come together to kick off a long-term, focused effort to save children's lives," Rachel Wilson, the senior director of policy and advocacy at PATH, writes in this post in the Global Health Technologies Coalition's "Breakthroughs" blog.

26 Jun 2012

A new initiative explores what data can mean to patients

Two key elements necessary to turn this public data resource into better health and financial reward are 1) a robust private/public partnership and 2) a rethinking of the traditional roles of doctors and patients, who are increasingly taking greater responsibility for making decisions about their care.

26 Jun 2012

Stricter professional requirements are sending nurses back to school

Jennifer Matton is going to college for the third time, no easy thing with a job, church groups and four children with activities from lacrosse to Boy Scouts. She always planned to return to school, but as it turned out, she had little choice: her career depended on it. Ms. Matton, a nurse, works at Abington Memorial Hospital, one of hundreds around the country that have started to require that their nurses have at least a bachelor's degree in nursing.

26 Jun 2012

States offer test kitchen for health law theme of coverage expansion

Some state programs will continue, regardless of the high court's finding. Still, the various Supreme Court scenarios that could play out would cause some rethinking of state-level reform approaches.

26 Jun 2012

Event highlights impact of AIDS on women worldwide

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog summarizes an event held Thursday, titled "AIDS-free Generation? Not Without Women," that was sponsored by the National Council of Women's Organizations. The session aimed "to draw attention to pivotal issues surrounding the impact of AIDS on women worldwide" ahead of the International AIDS Conference, the blog states.

26 Jun 2012

Myanmar government should shift funding away from military into health care

Burma, also known as Myanmar, "seems to be making the difficult and fragile transition from military dictatorship to fledgling democracy," but the country has "some of the worst health indicators in the world," a Lancet editorial states.

26 Jun 2012

What happens after the court decides?

Heartbreak at the White House? More debate? The contingency plans? News reports include speculation about the policy and political impact of the high court's decision. Also, examinations have already begun regarding what could have been done differently.

26 Jun 2012

GlobalPost examines women's health in Myanmar amid country's recent political reform

"Since Myanmar gained independence from the British in 1948, it has been wracked by armed conflicts and fragile ceasefires with civilians and ethnic rebels," and "[t]he health of Myanmar's women has been one of the biggest casualties," GlobalPost reports.

26 Jun 2012

To complete unfinished child survival agenda, focus on reaching most marginalized children

"As the international community engages in a last push to decrease child deaths annually from 12 million in 1990 to four million by 2015, world leaders met for the 'Child Survival -- Call to Action' Summit in Washington, D.C., earlier this month to set an even more ambitious goal of 'ending all preventable child deaths' down to two million by 2035," Kul Chandra Gautam, former deputy executive director of UNICEF, writes in this post in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog.

26 Jun 2012

Increase in number of women with access to modern contraception has stalled, report says

"Progress in ensuring that women in poor countries have access to modern methods of contraception has stalled," according to a new report by the United Nations Population Fund and the Guttmacher Institute, BMJ reports.

26 Jun 2012

Continuing care approach reduces overall health costs for patients with SUD

For patients with substance use disorders (SUD), a continuing care approach like that used for other chronic diseases reduces long-term health care costs, reports a study in the June issue of Medical Care.

26 Jun 2012

International observers hopeful about Malawian President Banda's agenda for maternal health

"Any new president has a vast array of items on his or her agenda, but newly inaugurated Malawian President Joyce Hilda Banda has elevated a praise-worthy agenda for maternal health at the very outset of her time in office," Alisha Kramer, a research assistant at the Center For Strategic & International Studies' (CSIS) Global Health Policy Center, writes in this post in the center's "Smart Global Health" blog.

26 Jun 2012

Vatican official calls on international community to provide 'free, efficient' HIV treatment in Africa

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state and number two official, "called Friday on the international community to provide 'free and efficient treatment' for AIDS in Africa, starting with pregnant women, mothers and their babies," Agence France-Presse reports.

26 Jun 2012

U.S. Secretary of State Clinton defends women's reproductive rights at conclusion of Rio+20 conference

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton "took a stand for women's reproductive rights during the Rio+20 United Nations conference on Friday, saying 'women must be empowered to make decisions on whether and when to have children' if the world is to attain agreed-upon sustainable development goals," the Associated Press/ABC News reports.

26 Jun 2012

Some caregivers unsure about when to give epinephrine for children with food allergies

Young children with allergies to milk and egg experience reactions to these and other foods more often than researchers had expected, a study reports. The study also found that severe and potentially life-threatening reactions in a significant number of these children occur and that some caregivers are hesitant to give such children epinephrine, a medication that reverses the symptoms of such reactions and can save lives.

26 Jun 2012

Health Care News and Research

Number of fatalities from 2009 swine flu pandemic might have been 15 times higher than reported deaths, study says

Key issues in conducting research using electronic clinical data

First Edition: June 26, 2012

Survey of home healthcare practices related to infection control

Congressional eyes focused on the high court

Tools to achieve child survival goals are 'at our disposal'

A new initiative explores what data can mean to patients

Stricter professional requirements are sending nurses back to school

States offer test kitchen for health law theme of coverage expansion

Event highlights impact of AIDS on women worldwide

Myanmar government should shift funding away from military into health care

What happens after the court decides?

GlobalPost examines women's health in Myanmar amid country's recent political reform

To complete unfinished child survival agenda, focus on reaching most marginalized children

Increase in number of women with access to modern contraception has stalled, report says

Continuing care approach reduces overall health costs for patients with SUD

International observers hopeful about Malawian President Banda's agenda for maternal health

Vatican official calls on international community to provide 'free, efficient' HIV treatment in Africa

U.S. Secretary of State Clinton defends women's reproductive rights at conclusion of Rio+20 conference

Some caregivers unsure about when to give epinephrine for children with food allergies

Event guide: 3rd Measuring Patient Engagement Summit eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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