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Study identifies age and marital status as factors in parental happiness

New research by psychologists at three North American universities, including the University of British Columbia, finds that parents experience greater levels of happiness and meaning from life than non-parents.

18 May 2012

Fertility for older, highly educated women has risen since the 1990s

An increasing number of highly educated women are opting for families, according to a national study co-authored by a University at Buffalo economist.

16 May 2012

Viewpoints: Approving drugs quickly; Berwick: In health care, cheaper can mean better; Health costs 'persistent' concern

For about 20 years, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has charged pharmaceutical companies "user fees" for reviewing drug-approval applications. The revenue allows the FDA to hire more evaluators, which allows useful drugs to reach patients faster. Now the Prescription Drug User Fee Act needs reauthorization, as it does every five years. Legislators should not dillydally.

15 May 2012

Best and worst mothers worldwide

Right in time for Mother’s day comes a report on the best and worst mothers worldwide. U.S. moms have moved up six places - from 31st to 25th - in the 13th annual Save The Children State of the World's Mothers report. That puts the U.S. right between Belarus and the Czech Republic. Norway is No. 1, just ahead of Iceland and Sweden.

10 May 2012

Free whooping cough vaccine cut concerns experts

Heath experts are concerned that parents and carers of newborn babies will stop getting the whooping cough vaccine after the state government cut its free immunisation program in the midst of a fatal epidemic.

9 May 2012

Call for cookery lessons in schools to reduce childhood obesity

Health professionals, charity leaders and celebrities, including Steven Gerrard and Jamie Oliver, are calling for cookery lessons to be introduced to schools for all children aged between 4 and 14 years old.

8 May 2012

Cigna encourages new mothers to get screened for prenatal and postpartum depression

A mother's emotional health is as important as her physical health during pregnancy and after delivery. That's why, during May, Maternal Depression Awareness Month, Cigna (NYSE: CI) is encouraging soon-to-be and new mothers to get screened and understand the symptoms of prenatal and postpartum depression.

8 May 2012

HSPH introduces Obesity Prevention Source website

What is causing the obesity epidemic-and how can we stop and reverse this worldwide weight problem? A new website offers authoritative answers to these pressing questions and sheds light on one of the most challenging public health threats of our time.

3 May 2012

Roundup: Mass. health cost control bill could save $8B to $34B; Md. weighs hospital rate freeze; Iowa Senate passes a fix for HIV insurance program

As Massachusetts' state legislators put the finishing touches on a major health care cost-control bill, there is still one big question: How much could it save? A recent report claims employers and employees could see between $8 billion and $34.5 billion in savings over nine years.

3 May 2012

Hand sanitizers provide key benefits when properly used

With cases of intentional misuse of alcohol-based hand sanitizers being widely reported, the American Cleaning Institute (ACI, formerly The Soap and Detergent Association) offered reminders that the products provide key benefits when properly used.

26 Apr 2012

Collective bargaining agreements mean public employee benefit changes in Conn., Wis.

Collective bargaining agreements are changing health plans in Connecticut and Wisconsin for home care workers, teachers and a police union -- which, if it was not granted an injunction from a judge, would have had to pay new deductibles and copays in Milwaukee.

24 Apr 2012

Viewpoints: Myths about women voters; Stopping fake drugs; Medicaid innovation not easy; The war over women

Women vote based on "women's issues," such as abortion rights and contraception. A recent poll of voters in swing states showed that women's top priorities are health care, gas prices, unemployment and the deficit -- in that order -- with "government policies toward contraception" coming in last

24 Apr 2012

Tips for parents to increase outdoor physical activity for kids

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that pediatric healthcare providers promote active healthy living by encouraging children to play outside as much as possible. Being outdoors correlates strongly with physical activity for children, which is important for preventing obesity in the preschool years and on through adulthood.

4 Apr 2012

Half of preschool children not being taken outside to play daily by parents

Parents reported that about half of the preschoolers in a nationally representative sample did not have at least one parent-supervised outdoor playtime per day, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a JAMA Network publication.

3 Apr 2012

CSEP develops two guidelines to improve health and activity levels of infants, toddlers

In response to an urgent call from public health, health care, child care, and fitness practitioners, the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP), with assistance from multiple partners, has developed two important sets of guidelines directed at improving the health and activity levels of infants and toddlers.

28 Mar 2012

Reducing children's sugary beverage intake may help manage obesity

Sugary drinks are the single biggest contributor to the obesity epidemic in the United States, and according to the Centers for Disease Control, two-thirds of adults and one-third of the children in the U.S. are overweight or obese. Registered dietician Leah Holbrook, Coordinator of the Long Island Center for Pediatric Obesity Prevention in the Department of Family Medicine at Stony Brook School of Medicine, says that these sobering statistics and the fact that beverages account for nearly half of the added sugars in our diet are a wakeup call for Americans to reduce their sugary drink intake.

21 Mar 2012

Various State Legislatures consider insurance exchanges, HMO audits, mental health care

A selection of health policy news from Iowa, Oregon, California, Oregon, Maryland, Connecticut, Kansas and Texas.

14 Mar 2012

Top-line results from Inviragen's INV21 Phase 1 trial on HFMD

Inviragen today reported top-line results of a placebo-controlled, randomized Phase 1 trial of INV21, the Company's highly purified virus particle vaccine against Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) caused by enterovirus 71.

12 Mar 2012

States use retiree health care, Medicaid cuts to stare down budget gaps

State budget cuts are targeting health care and retiree health care programs in states around the U.S. In Maryland, a "doomsday" budget scenario could reduce Medicaid spending by $101 million while advocates push for reinstatement of Medicaid dollars in Idaho and Arizona.

8 Mar 2012

Home health industry fights minimum wage rule

USA Today reports about the effort by home health care companies fighting an administration proposal on pay. Meanwhile in Connecticut, officials are considering changes in pay rules.

17 Feb 2012