Public Health News and Research

RSS

Stigma and social stereotyping of obesity impacts individuals' beliefs and behaviours

A Monash University-led nationwide study into the health beliefs and behaviours of obese people has found that the more severely obese a person is, the less likely they feel they can reduce their weight.

6 Feb 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

A Lancet study examines childbirth practices and the relationship between these practices and maternal and perinatal outcomes in nine Asian countries, as assessed by a WHO global survey. Based on the analysis of over 107,000 deliveries, the authors conclude, "To improve maternal and perinatal outcomes, caesarean section should be done only when there is a medical indication" (Lumbiganon et al., 2/6). These findings "should help us to prioritise our strategies to reduce unnecessary interventions in childbirth," write the authors of a Lancet comment.

5 Feb 2010

More than 175 organizations support comprehensive health reform efforts

More than 175 organizations issued a letter of support today to the President, the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives to strongly support comprehensive health reform efforts, emphasizing the need to modernize and increase funding for disease prevention, wellness, and public health in the United States.

5 Feb 2010

Supreme Court strikes down critically needed medical liability reforms: Illinois Hospital Association disappointed

The Illinois Hospital Association is disappointed that the Illinois Supreme Court has struck down critically needed medical liability reforms that were improving health care access throughout the state and restoring predictability to our broken medical liability system.

5 Feb 2010

FDA investigates Salmonella Montevideo outbreak in Italian sausage products

The Food and Drug Administration, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service, continues to work closely with the Rhode Island Department of Health and other states in the investigation of an outbreak of Salmonella Montevideo infections associated with certain Italian-style sausage products including salami/salame.

5 Feb 2010

Substance use disorder treatment for workers without health insurance promotes safe and productive workplaces

An estimated 3 million full-time workers in America without health insurance (16.3 percent of all full-time workers without health care insurance) needed substance use treatment in the past year according to a national survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Levels of need were particularly high among those in this category who were aged 18 to 25 (24.4 percent) and males (19.2 percent).

5 Feb 2010

New report finds low adult vaccination rates in U.S.

A new report, Adult Immunization: Shots to Save Lives, released today by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) found that more than 30 percent of adults ages 65 and older had not been immunized against pneumonia in 36 states as of 2008.

5 Feb 2010

HSS supports Arthritis Foundation's educational campaign for osteoarthritis

Hospital for Special Surgery, (HSS), a world leader in orthopedics and rheumatology, today announced its support of the Arthritis Foundation and Ad Council newly launched campaign, "Moving is the Best Medicine," to raise awareness of osteoarthritis, increase public health education and support breakthrough research.

5 Feb 2010

Strengthening NAAQS for ozone pollution would reduce premature death, asthma

Environmental Defense Fund testified today that strengthening the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone pollution from 75 to 60 parts per billion (ppb) would reduce premature death rates by 60-fold and reduce asthma cases 50-fold, according to analyses by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

5 Feb 2010

Opinions: G8 and maternal, child mortality; rebuilding Haiti

In a National Post opinion piece, Canadian Member of Parliament Keith Martin, "who chaired the drafting committee at the 2009 G8 International Parliamentarians' Conference in Rome, which put together a plan of action to reduce maternal and infant mortality," welcomes the recent announcement by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper that maternal and child mortality will be a focus of the G8 summit this summer.

5 Feb 2010

Children exposed to acetaminophen prenatally more likely to have asthma symptoms at age five

Children who were exposed to acetaminophen prenatally were more likely to have asthma symptoms at age five in a study of 300 African-American and Dominican Republic children living in New York City.

5 Feb 2010

Online programs may help Americans incorporate more fruits and vegetables in their diet

Online programs that provide information and tips about fruits and vegetables may be the key to getting more Americans to eat healthier, say researchers at Henry Ford Hospital.

5 Feb 2010

"Knowledge deficit" about methadone responsible for resulting deaths

In a unique and comprehensive literature review of poisoning deaths involving opioids from 1999 -- 2009, the deaths involving methadone were found to be disproportionately high. Methadone represented less than five percent of all opioid prescriptions but is responsible for a third of the deaths. After four years of investigation, the major underlying cause was found to be fundamental misunderstandings about the properties of the medicine -- a "knowledge deficit" -- especially when converting patients from other opioids.

4 Feb 2010

First Edition: February 4, 2010

Health care spending is taking an increasingly big bite out of the nation's economy, according to today's headlines.

4 Feb 2010

February issue of Chest releases latest medical news

Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are widely used for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, new research suggests that ICS may only provide a modest benefit in reducing exacerbations in patients with COPD.

4 Feb 2010

Health Canada accepts AbstralTM New Drug Submission for review

Orexo AB today confirms that its partner, ProStrakan Group plc has announced that the New Drug Submission made by their Canadian partner, Paladin Labs Inc., for AbstralTM has been accepted for review by Health Canada, the Canadian Government Department with responsibility for public health.

4 Feb 2010

Closing funding gap for federal viral hepatitis education, screening and surveillance programs stops liver cancer

With most liver cancer caused by undetected or untreated hepatitis B or C viral infection, the 22,000 new cases of liver cancer that are diagnosed each year could be dramatically reduced if Congress took decisive action to close the funding gap for federal viral hepatitis education, screening, and surveillance programs, the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR) said today.

4 Feb 2010

New program to help the U.S. health care sector switch to cleaner, renewable energy sources

In recent months, three U.S. hospitals signed energy contracts that will save over $1.7 million in energy costs, provide them with up to 10 percent clean energy. The green energy will avoid 11,829 metric tons of CO2 being released to our atmosphere, which is equivalent to taking 2,052 cars off the road or not burning 56 railcars' worth of coal.

4 Feb 2010

Around seven in every thousand morbidly obese people are missing part of their DNA

A small but significant proportion of morbidly obese people are missing a section of their DNA, according to research published today in Nature. The authors of the study, from Imperial College London and ten other European Centres, say that missing DNA such as that identified in this research may be having a dramatic effect on some people's weight.

4 Feb 2010

Providing Tamiflu and educating on sanitizer use helped to stop spread of H1N1 at boys' summer camp

Providing preventive Tamiflu and educating and emphasizing the need for repeated hand sanitizer use and disinfectant spray helped stop the spread of H1N1 influenza at a boys' summer camp in northern Alabama, according the co-director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases.

4 Feb 2010

Public Health News and Research

Stigma and social stereotyping of obesity impacts individuals' beliefs and behaviours

Recent releases in Global Health

More than 175 organizations support comprehensive health reform efforts

Supreme Court strikes down critically needed medical liability reforms: Illinois Hospital Association disappointed

FDA investigates Salmonella Montevideo outbreak in Italian sausage products

Substance use disorder treatment for workers without health insurance promotes safe and productive workplaces

New report finds low adult vaccination rates in U.S.

HSS supports Arthritis Foundation's educational campaign for osteoarthritis

Strengthening NAAQS for ozone pollution would reduce premature death, asthma

Opinions: G8 and maternal, child mortality; rebuilding Haiti

Children exposed to acetaminophen prenatally more likely to have asthma symptoms at age five

Online programs may help Americans incorporate more fruits and vegetables in their diet

"Knowledge deficit" about methadone responsible for resulting deaths

First Edition: February 4, 2010

February issue of Chest releases latest medical news

Health Canada accepts AbstralTM New Drug Submission for review

Closing funding gap for federal viral hepatitis education, screening and surveillance programs stops liver cancer

New program to help the U.S. health care sector switch to cleaner, renewable energy sources

Around seven in every thousand morbidly obese people are missing part of their DNA

Providing Tamiflu and educating on sanitizer use helped to stop spread of H1N1 at boys' summer camp

News Medical 2025: Healthcare Shifts That Mattered Most eBook

How ELRIG Is Helping Mid-Career Scientists Navigate Leadership, Career Change and Redundancy

The role of UV-Vis in biopharma QC

Applications Engineer

Latest News