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Research roundup: Whistleblowers, spreading best practices, Medicare's growth-limiting strategy

The Impact Of Removing Financial Incentives From Clinical Quality Indicators: Longitudinal Analysis Of Four Kaiser Permanente Indicators - The researchers found the removal of pay-for-performance incentives "was associated with a decrease in performance of about 3% per year on average for screening for diabetic retinopathy and about 1.6% per year for cervical cancer screening" (Lester et al., 5/11). More details about the study and related news coverage are in the May 12 Morning Report.

15 May 2010

New GE SPHHS building to serve as convening place for public health leaders

The George Washington University announced today plans to begin construction of a new building for its School of Public Health and Health Services on Pennsylvania Avenue, to be completed in the summer of 2014.

15 May 2010

Science special issue reports on Malaria

This week's issue of Science features news articles focusing on recent progress on malaria control in Africa and discussing future challenges, including drug resistance.

15 May 2010

National study of factors related to unmet health needs among homeless people

The vast majority of homeless adults surveyed in a national study had trouble accessing at least one type of needed health care service in the preceding year, according to a study that will appear in the July American Journal of Public Health and is now available online.

15 May 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

As the 193 WHO member states gather at next week's World Health Assembly (WHA) "a draft global code of practice on the international recruitment of health personnel will be on the agenda. Negotiation and adoption of a WHO code of practice is an unprecedented opportunity to advance global consensus to address the critical challenges of migration of health workers and its effect on health systems worldwide," the authors of a Lancet Comment write.

15 May 2010

Scientists look for new ways to fight TB

Scientists looking for new ways to fight tuberculosis have their sights set on a structure essential to the bacterium's survival. Disabling this structure could kill the microbes in the infected host and thwart TB infections. In a study appearing online May 11, 2010, in EMBO J, the journal of the European Molecular Biology Organization, scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University, and Weill Cornell Medical College describe new features of how this structure, known as a proteasome, is put together and how it works.

14 May 2010

New initiative to reduce health inequities

A major new initiative by the University of Maryland aims to eliminate health disparities in the state and extend the impact of health reform. The university's School of Public Health has recruited a team of nationally recognized faculty-researchers who will create action programs to improve primary care and expand public health outreach, so as to reduce the high rates of chronic disease in Maryland's medically underserved communities.

14 May 2010

Scientists to discuss opportunities and challenges for combating HIV, TB

As alarms sound about a weakening international commitment to global AIDS, scientists will gather in Washington, DC to report on potentially transformative new tools in the battle against this deadly epidemic. US policy is moving backwards at a time when the science is more promising than ever.

14 May 2010

Local ordinances in Appalachian states do not offer protection against second-hand smoke: Study

Local ordinances in Appalachian states with weak statewide smoking regulations do not offer most residents adequate protection against second-hand smoke, according to a new study.

14 May 2010

Guidelines for reducing risk of falling among older adults

Falling down is hazardous to a senior citizen's health, yet fewer than half of all seniors see a doctor after a fall. And those who don't seek medical attention are far less likely to engage in any of the six widely recommended activities - such as a review of their medications or getting a cane or walker - that might prevent repeated falls, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

14 May 2010

Rotavirus vaccination associated with decline in U.S. hospitalization rates for acute gastroenteritis: Study

Vaccinating infants against rotavirus, a leading cause of severe diarrhea and dehydration among babies and young children, was associated with a dramatic decline in U.S. hospitalization rates for acute gastroenteritis.

14 May 2010

Smoking, obesity and alcohol use associated with poorer survival of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients

A new study led by researchers from Mayo Clinic in collaboration with six other U.S. institutions has found that patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who smoked, consumed alcohol or were obese before their cancer diagnosis had poorer overall survival, compared to patients who did not have these risk factors.

14 May 2010

UGA researchers discover SERS method to identify rotavirus strains, genotypes

Using nanotechnology and a patented signal enhancing technique developed at the University of Georgia, UGA researchers have discovered a rapid, sensitive and cost-effective method to detect and identify a number of rotavirus strains and genotypes in less than one minute with greater than 96 percent accuracy.

14 May 2010

Gene-Eden may be effective in reducing Hepatitis C viral load in people infected with virus: Review

A new review on the Amazon website suggests that the natural antiviral supplement Gene-Eden may be effective in reducing the Hepatitis C viral load in people infected with the virus.

13 May 2010

Study shows direct cellular interaction between endocannabinoids and alcohol in the brain

In findings that should finally put to rest a decade of controversy in the field of neurobiology, a team at The Scripps Research Institute has found decisive evidence that a specific neurotransmitter system-the endocannabinoid system-is active in a brain region known to play a key role in the processing of memory, emotional reactions, and addiction formation. The new study also shows that this system can dampen the effects of alcohol, suggesting an avenue for the development of drugs to combat alcohol addiction.

13 May 2010

Study reveals increase in treatment admissions for drug abuse

From 1998 to 2008 there were marked changes in some patterns of substance use treatment admissions according to a study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Although the concurrent abuse of both alcohol and drugs has remained widespread, the proportion of treatment admissions for the co-abuse of these substances has declined gradually yet significantly during this period - from 44 percent to 38 percent.

13 May 2010

Childhood sexual or emotional abuse associated with greater body dissatisfaction in BED: JGH

Imagine stuffing yourself with a day's worth of food in two hours or less. Imagine feeling disgusted, depressed and guilty once you finally stop. Then imagine doing it again, repeatedly and uncontrollably, once a week or more for months on end.

13 May 2010

Two LSU researchers tackle incidence of malnutrition-related deaths among older adults in the U.S.

In a paper published in the May 2010 issue of the scholarly journal Annals of Epidemiology, two LSU researchers tackle a problem seldom acknowledged in the United States - the incidence of malnutrition-related deaths among older adults

13 May 2010

Sex can affect frequency and severity of adverse effects of vaccination

Biological differences between the sexes could be a significant predictor of responses to vaccines, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. They examined published data from numerous adult and child vaccine trials and found that sex is a fundamental, but often overlooked predictor of vaccine response that could help predict the efficacy of combating infectious disease.

13 May 2010

Two-thirds of child deaths in 2008 due to infectious diseases, report finds

Pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and other infectious diseases accounted for two-thirds of the 8.8 million deaths in 2008 among children under age 5 around the world, according to a Lancet study published on Wednesday, HealthDay News/Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports. The highest numbers of childhood deaths were in Africa (4.2 million) and Southeast Asia (2.39 million), according to the news service (5/11).

13 May 2010

Public Health News and Research

Research roundup: Whistleblowers, spreading best practices, Medicare's growth-limiting strategy

New GE SPHHS building to serve as convening place for public health leaders

Science special issue reports on Malaria

National study of factors related to unmet health needs among homeless people

Recent releases in Global Health

Scientists look for new ways to fight TB

New initiative to reduce health inequities

Scientists to discuss opportunities and challenges for combating HIV, TB

Local ordinances in Appalachian states do not offer protection against second-hand smoke: Study

Guidelines for reducing risk of falling among older adults

Rotavirus vaccination associated with decline in U.S. hospitalization rates for acute gastroenteritis: Study

Smoking, obesity and alcohol use associated with poorer survival of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients

UGA researchers discover SERS method to identify rotavirus strains, genotypes

Gene-Eden may be effective in reducing Hepatitis C viral load in people infected with virus: Review

Study shows direct cellular interaction between endocannabinoids and alcohol in the brain

Study reveals increase in treatment admissions for drug abuse

Childhood sexual or emotional abuse associated with greater body dissatisfaction in BED: JGH

Two LSU researchers tackle incidence of malnutrition-related deaths among older adults in the U.S.

Sex can affect frequency and severity of adverse effects of vaccination

Two-thirds of child deaths in 2008 due to infectious diseases, report finds

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