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Watch, wait and see, may be best option for babes' ear infections

One of the most common and frequent reasons why doctors prescribe antibiotics to young children is for an ear infection.

7 Jun 2005

MRSA study demonstrates need for frequent hand washing and environmental disinfection in health care settings

A major cause of hospital-acquired infections can persist for days and even weeks on environmental surfaces found in healthcare settings, including bed linens, computer keyboard covers and acrylic fingernails

6 Jun 2005

Study forecasts continuing slide in job-based health coverage

A study released Thursday, June 2 by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Working Partnerships USA, a consortium devoted to workforce issues, says that just a bare majority of adults likely will have job-based health insurance by 2010, with middle-income adults facing the sharpest coverage decline and lower-income adults being largely priced out of the market.

6 Jun 2005

Workers more productive after exercise

Workers’ quality of work, mental performance and time management were better on days when they exercised, according to research presented at the 52nd American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tenn.

6 Jun 2005

Childrens' mental development may be impaired by aircraft noise

A new study is suggesting that exposure to aircraft noise at schools located near major airports may affect the development of children's mental skills in an adverse way, and this applies especially to reading comprehension.

6 Jun 2005

Educating parents and physicians could reduce overuse of antibiotics in children

The most frequent reason pediatricians prescribe antibiotics to young children is for an ear infection (acute otitis media). With increased concerns about high rates of antibiotic use and resistance, recent guidelines suggest consideration of "watchful waiting" for some ear infections to see if they resolve without antibiotics.

6 Jun 2005

Adolescents who are lethargic, cranky and forgetful may have chronic sleep deprivation

Adolescents who are lethargic, cranky and forgetful may have a common ailment: chronic sleep deprivation. But some tired teens may actually have a medical condition such as depression, insomnia, narcolepsy or sleep apnea, warns a new report in Pediatrics.

6 Jun 2005

One-time whooping cough vaccination at 11 years of age may potentially be cost-effective

Despite childhood vaccination rates at all-time highs, pertussis (whooping cough) has re-emerged over the past two decades, especially among adolescents, adults, and young infants. Because of this resurgence, federal health policymakers are considering a national booster vaccination program.

6 Jun 2005

International action needed on health in Turkmenistan

Health experts called on the international community to put pressure on the Turkmenistan government to improve health and stop human rights abuses.

3 Jun 2005

Raising awareness of oral health as an essential factor in general health

Despite the fact that oral health is an essential factor in general health and quality of life through an individual's life course, oral health is mostly neglected in integral approaches for the promotion of general health.

3 Jun 2005

Progress on HIV/AIDS significant but insufficient

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today shared his hope with a gathering of senior world officials at Headquarters that the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS would have heralded a response that matched the epidemic’s scale, yet progress had been “significant but insufficient”.

3 Jun 2005

New understanding of jet lag

A new study demonstrates that the brain’s central timekeeper - the biological clock that regulates waking and sleeping cycles - has two parts that fall out of synchrony during light schedule shifts of six hours, the time it takes to fly across the Atlantic.

3 Jun 2005

Diabetes knowledge has little effect on improving outcomes

A new study by Duke Clinical Research Institute researchers finds little relationship between what a diabetic patient knows about the disease and control of its associated cardiovascular risk factors or how well the patient ultimately fares.

3 Jun 2005

Most doctors and patients misbelieve that a nebulizer is more effective than an inhaler for asthma

Battling a child’s asthma attack could be as simple as sliding a plastic tube onto the end of an inhaler, but many health-care providers don’t offer this option to parents, say University of Florida researchers, who are calling for change.

2 Jun 2005

Environmental solutions to childhood obesity

National and community leaders join researchers today to sort out how a child's environment increases the risk for obesity and to identify ways the environment can be changed to address this health epidemic.

2 Jun 2005

A drug used to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 induces resistance more often than previously thought

The incidence of drug resistance associated with single-dose nevirapine, a drug used to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1, may be substantially higher than previously thought and of particular risk for those infected with HIV-1 subtype C, according to three new studies published in the July 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online.

1 Jun 2005

Research shows smoking bans unlikely to affect business in Canada

More people reported that they would likely visit bars and restaurants if they are smoke-free than the number who would stay away because of a smoking ban. These are the results of recent public opinion research announced today by Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh.

1 Jun 2005

Homicide-suicide among the elderly an emerging public health concern

A study by University of South Florida researcher Donna Cohen and Julie Malphurs of the Miami Veteran’s Administration Health Care System recently published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry shows homicide-suicide among the elderly to be "an emerging public health concern."

1 Jun 2005

UMHS study finds premium rates affect where ob/gyns choose to practice

The high cost of malpractice insurance for some medical specialties affects not only how many doctors are entering the field of obstetrics and gynecology, but also where they offer their widely needed obstetric, prenatal and gynecological care, according to new University of Michigan Health System research.

1 Jun 2005

Study of compassionate care

Patients approaching the end of life can significantly reduce their depression symptoms and improve their sense of spiritual well-being according to a study published in the current issue of the Journal of Palliative Medicine.

1 Jun 2005