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News outlets examine sanitation in Ethiopia, Liberia

The Daily Monitor examines efforts underway to improve sanitation and promote hygiene in Ethiopia. According to the country's Ministry of Health, "sanitation coverage of Ethiopia has made progressive achievement reaching 54.8% in the current year from 11.5% in 2003," the newspaper reports.

24 Nov 2009

Africa region leaders meet to discuss H1N1 procurement, distribution

Representatives of African countries are meeting in Abuja this week to discuss the procurement and distribution of the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine, the Daily Trust/allAfrica.com reports (Rabiu, 11/23).

24 Nov 2009

Also in Global Health news: Home HIV treatment; voluntary testing in Kenya; women/HIV scorecard; Global Fund Zimbabwe grant; contraceptives in Tanzania

The New York Times reports on a Lancet study that found treating Ugandan HIV patients at home is cheaper and just as effective as treating them in a clinic.

24 Nov 2009

HIV peaked in 1996, according to the United Nations

The number of HIV cases worldwide — 33 million — has remained steady during the last two years and the epidemic peaked in 1996, according to the United Nations, The Associated Press reports. The disease looks stable in most regions, except for Africa, according to the UN. "

24 Nov 2009

New Medicare rules on home-oxygen affect patients, businesses

The Wall Street Journal: "New Medicare rules designed to reduce waste and fraud in medical-equipment reimbursements are driving some home-oxygen suppliers out of business and leaving patients scrambling to find new providers." The rules - scheduled to go into effect January 1, apply to people "who rely on Medicare to pay for oxygen services, which relieve the symptoms of conditions such as emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."

24 Nov 2009

Americans with hepatitis C are at increased risk of developing liver cancer, says NVHR

New peer-reviewed data finding that fewer than one-fifth of the nearly 4 million Americans infected with chronic hepatitis C virus have received anti-viral therapy in recent years should be a wake-up call that Congress needs to move urgently on bipartisan legislation to support new state-based detection, research, and surveillance efforts, the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR) said today.

24 Nov 2009

Vitamin D deficiency may increase risk of stroke, heart disease and death, finds study

While mothers have known that feeding their kids milk builds strong bones, a new study by researchers at the Heart Institute at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City suggests that Vitamin D contributes to a strong and healthy heart as well - and that inadequate levels of the vitamin may significantly increase a person's risk of stroke, heart disease, and death, even among people who've never had heart disease.

24 Nov 2009

New study suggests financial incentives can affect the provision of patient-centered care

Like everybody, health care professionals enjoy a pay raise for a job well done. But in some instances, financial incentives for health care performance may actually backfire.

24 Nov 2009

Cardiovascular risks associated with taking Vioxx could have been identified earlier, say researchers

Evidence of cardiovascular risks associated with taking Vioxx, the popular, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (rofecoxib), could have been identified nearly four years before its manufacturer, Merck & Co. Inc., voluntarily pulled the drug from the market.

24 Nov 2009

2009-10 AACP Student Community Engaged Service Award announced

Four student-led community engagement projects will be awarded the 2009-10 AACP Student Community Engaged Service Award for their outstanding programs delivering consumer education about medication use, expanding access to affordable healthcare and improving the public’s health.

24 Nov 2009

New data indicates early association between anti-inflammatory medication and cardiovascular risk

Clinical trial data indicated an association between the anti-inflammatory medication rofecoxib and cardiovascular risk as early as December 2000, before the product was taken off the market in September 2004, according to a report in the November 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

24 Nov 2009

Exposure to environmental pollutants is associated with asthma symptoms in children

Exposure shortly after birth to ambient metals from residential heating oil combustion and particles from diesel emissions are associated with respiratory symptoms in young inner city children, according to a new study by researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

24 Nov 2009

Team-based care and medical homes may improve chronic disease management

Patients whose hypertension is managed by a physician-pharmacist team have lower blood pressure levels and are more likely to reach goals for blood pressure control than those treated without this collaborative approach, according to a report in the November 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

24 Nov 2009

Treatment rates for hepatitis C virus declining, say researchers

Researchers from the University of Michigan determined that only 663,000 of the approximately 3.9 million Americans with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection received antiviral therapy between 2002 and 2007.

24 Nov 2009

Health Heritage: New website for maintaining family's health history

A team of researchers at the University of Virginia received funding from the National Cancer Institute, an agency of the National Institutes of Health, to enhance a Web site called Health Heritage®. This site will enable family members to enter their family medical histories so that other family members and their health care professionals can use this information while dealing with medical issues.

24 Nov 2009

Misconceptions about contraception contribute to lack of family-planning n Uganda

University of Alberta graduate student Jennifer Heys wants to make her message clear: there needs to be more education in Ugandan communities about contraception.

24 Nov 2009

Urban sprawl causes delay in ambulances reaching their destinations in the United States

Previous research has demonstrated links between urban sprawl and many of our most pressing public health issues, including obesity and traffic injuries. New research from the University of Virginia Health System shows that urban sprawl also causes delays in ambulances reaching their destinations in sprawling sections of large metropolitan areas in the United States. The study appears in the November edition of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

24 Nov 2009

10 x '20 Initiative calls for global commitment to develop 10 new antibiotics by 2020

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has asked for a commitment from the Obama administration and the European Union to further the Society's mission to achieve the development of 10 new antibiotics within the next 10 years, known as the 10 x '20 Initiative. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified antimicrobial resistance as one of the three greatest threats to human health.

24 Nov 2009

Vitamin D: A multi-purpose nutrient for overall health

A string of recent discoveries about the multiple health benefits of vitamin D has renewed interest in this multi-purpose nutrient, increased awareness of the huge numbers of people who are deficient in it, spurred research and even led to an appreciation of it as "nature's antibiotic."

24 Nov 2009

Study: Men who do moderate-to-heavy intensity exercise are less likely to have stroke

Men who regularly take part in moderate-to-heavy intensity exercise such as jogging, tennis or swimming may be less likely to have a stroke than people who get no exercise or only light exercise, such as walking, golfing, or bowling, according to a study published in the November 24, 2009, print issue of Neurology ®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

24 Nov 2009

Public Health News and Research

News outlets examine sanitation in Ethiopia, Liberia

Africa region leaders meet to discuss H1N1 procurement, distribution

Also in Global Health news: Home HIV treatment; voluntary testing in Kenya; women/HIV scorecard; Global Fund Zimbabwe grant; contraceptives in Tanzania

HIV peaked in 1996, according to the United Nations

New Medicare rules on home-oxygen affect patients, businesses

Americans with hepatitis C are at increased risk of developing liver cancer, says NVHR

Vitamin D deficiency may increase risk of stroke, heart disease and death, finds study

New study suggests financial incentives can affect the provision of patient-centered care

Cardiovascular risks associated with taking Vioxx could have been identified earlier, say researchers

2009-10 AACP Student Community Engaged Service Award announced

New data indicates early association between anti-inflammatory medication and cardiovascular risk

Exposure to environmental pollutants is associated with asthma symptoms in children

Team-based care and medical homes may improve chronic disease management

Treatment rates for hepatitis C virus declining, say researchers

Health Heritage: New website for maintaining family's health history

Misconceptions about contraception contribute to lack of family-planning n Uganda

Urban sprawl causes delay in ambulances reaching their destinations in the United States

10 x '20 Initiative calls for global commitment to develop 10 new antibiotics by 2020

Vitamin D: A multi-purpose nutrient for overall health

Study: Men who do moderate-to-heavy intensity exercise are less likely to have stroke

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