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Gastroschisis may be associated with infections during pregnancy

Results of an investigation conducted by University of Nevada, Reno researchers, public health officials and area physicians published this week in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, indicate that Washoe County experienced a cluster of a particular birth defect, gastroschisis, during the period April 2007 - April 2008.

7 Nov 2009

Poll examines the American public's response to H1N1 vaccine shortage

A new national poll from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers found that a majority of adults who tried to get the H1N1 vaccine for themselves or their children have been unable to do so. The poll, which examines the American public's response to the H1N1 vaccine shortage, is the fifth in a series of surveys of public views concerning the H1N1 flu outbreak undertaken by the Harvard Opinion Research Program at HSPH.

7 Nov 2009

NIH awards UAB School of Public Health $11.5M to research new methods of identifying youth with HIV

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health has been awarded a total of $11.5 million from the National Institutes of Health to explore new ways to identify adolescents and young adults infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and link them to medical care.

7 Nov 2009

ART as part of HIV prevention strategy supported by WHO

"AIDS drugs should be given to all who need them to reduce new infections, the World Health Organization said," following a three-day meeting on the topic of using antiretroviral therapy (ART) to help prevent the spread of HIV, Bloomberg reports. "Providing more antiretroviral drugs 'will achieve a significant transmission benefit,' Teguest Guerma, interim director of the WHO's AIDS department, said … 'In the past, there has been a false dichotomy between prevention and treatment. …'That is really what has been corrected. Prevention and treatment are two faces of the same coin'" (Bennett, 11/5).

6 Nov 2009

CREW urge HHS to investigate CDC's approval to distribute H1NI vaccine to Wall Street firms

Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) asked Health and Human Service (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to investigate why the Center for Disease Control (CDC) approved the distribution of the H1NI vaccine to Wall Street firms at a time when the vaccine is unavailable to most Americans.

6 Nov 2009

Journal of Public Health Management presents new ideas for building better public health workforce

A recent special supplement to the Journal of Public Health Management calls attention to the country's pressing need for a larger and fully capable public health workforce. The supplement, written by the leading academic voices in public health and published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW), also sheds light on the challenges the U.S. faces in adequately meeting public health needs.

6 Nov 2009

San Francisco and Berkeley miss opportunity to help smokers quit

San Francisco and Berkeley missed an opportunity to help smokers quit when the cities moved all tobacco sales out of pharmacies, according to a new Bay Area health initiative. Instead of having smokers buy cigarettes in convenience stores and at other retailers, smokers should buy cigarettes only at pharmacy counters, says Stuart Skorman, founder of Elephant Pharmacy.

6 Nov 2009

USAction urges House to pass comprehensive health care reform legislation

The Affordable Health Care for America Act will make health care more affordable for consumers, hold insurance companies accountable and increase access to health care for millions of Americans.

6 Nov 2009

Grant awarded for research into a new treatment for methamphetamine addiction

Dr. Keith Flower - a research physician at the Addiction Pharmacology & Research Laboratory in San Francisco, CA - has been awarded a grant to investigate a new medication treatment for methamphetamine addiction. This grant has been awarded to California Pacific Medical Center's Research Institute through President Obama's AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009.

6 Nov 2009

Physical education plays a key role for low-income communities in curbing obesity and improving fitness

School-based physical education plays a key role in curbing obesity and improving fitness among adolescents from low-income communities, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and UC Berkeley.

6 Nov 2009

Soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages linked to obesity; soda industry fails to acquit itself in landmark hearings

In today’s landmark hearings called by State Senators Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) and Elaine Kontominas Alquist (D-San Jose), representatives from the soda industry failed to acquit themselves of a growing body of research implicating sugar-sweetened beverages as the leading culprit in the obesity epidemic.

6 Nov 2009

Tobacco companies attempt to block key provisions of new tobacco regulation law, federal judge rejects motion

In a clear victory for public health, a federal judge in Kentucky today rejected a motion by tobacco companies to block key provisions of the new law giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the power to regulate tobacco products. Specifically, today's decision strongly supports the government's authority to prevent the industry from making health claims about its products without FDA approval.

6 Nov 2009

Rice University's new BRC awarded $2M NIH grant to develop an inexpensive test for oral cancer

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded researchers in Rice University's new BioScience Research Collaborative (BRC) a $2 million Grand Opportunity (GO) grant to develop a fast, inexpensive test for oral cancer that a dentist could perform simply by using a brush to collect a small sample of cells from a patient's mouth.

6 Nov 2009

Patients should bring up financial concerns with their doctors in view of high health insurance costs

As health insurers require people to base more treatment decisions on out-of-pocket costs, physicians should learn to talk to patients about money, according to researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

6 Nov 2009

MSF calls for sustained commitment to global HIV/AIDS funding

During a press conference on Thursday, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) warned that the "global economic crisis and calls to commit funds to other health crises" threatened to undermine recent gains in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the Associated Press reports. MSF "says money for other health issues should be given in addition to money for [HIV/]AIDS" (11/5).

5 Nov 2009

FDA and FSIS announce joint public meeting to prevent foodborne illness

A joint public meeting focused on improving the system for tracing of food products and ingredients that are causing illness outbreaks or presenting other risks to the health of consumers was announced today by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

5 Nov 2009

William D. Carey Award for Boston University School of Medicine professor

Francis A. Farraye, MD, MSc, FACG, FASGE, a professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and clinical director in the Gastroenterology Section at Boston Medical Center (BMC) recently received the William D. Carey Award from the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG). The award is reserved for an exceptional individual who has served the Board and the College with distinction.

5 Nov 2009

Mandatory minimum sentences for drug-related offences, an ineffective approach

Mandatory minimum sentences for drug-related offences are an expensive and ineffective approach to substance use problems in Canada. That's the message being delivered today by an addictions professional at Canada's largest mental health and addictions treatment and research hospital to a Senate Committee on Bill C-15 - legislation that would create mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug-related offences.

5 Nov 2009

USC: Heavy traffic corridors responsible for preventable childhood asthma

Heavy traffic corridors in the cities of Long Beach and Riverside are responsible for a significant proportion of preventable childhood asthma, and the true impact of air pollution and ship emissions on the disease has likely been underestimated, according to researchers at the University of Southern California (USC).

5 Nov 2009

Poor housing conditions can lead to chronic disease and premature death

Being warm enough at home might lead to better health, according to a new review appearing online in the American Journal of Public Health.

5 Nov 2009

Public Health News and Research

Gastroschisis may be associated with infections during pregnancy

Poll examines the American public's response to H1N1 vaccine shortage

NIH awards UAB School of Public Health $11.5M to research new methods of identifying youth with HIV

ART as part of HIV prevention strategy supported by WHO

CREW urge HHS to investigate CDC's approval to distribute H1NI vaccine to Wall Street firms

Journal of Public Health Management presents new ideas for building better public health workforce

San Francisco and Berkeley miss opportunity to help smokers quit

USAction urges House to pass comprehensive health care reform legislation

Grant awarded for research into a new treatment for methamphetamine addiction

Physical education plays a key role for low-income communities in curbing obesity and improving fitness

Soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages linked to obesity; soda industry fails to acquit itself in landmark hearings

Tobacco companies attempt to block key provisions of new tobacco regulation law, federal judge rejects motion

Rice University's new BRC awarded $2M NIH grant to develop an inexpensive test for oral cancer

Patients should bring up financial concerns with their doctors in view of high health insurance costs

MSF calls for sustained commitment to global HIV/AIDS funding

FDA and FSIS announce joint public meeting to prevent foodborne illness

William D. Carey Award for Boston University School of Medicine professor

Mandatory minimum sentences for drug-related offences, an ineffective approach

USC: Heavy traffic corridors responsible for preventable childhood asthma

Poor housing conditions can lead to chronic disease and premature death

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