Health Systems News and Research

RSS

Hyfe’s smartphone cough-tracking app used in a groundbreaking epidemiological research

Hyfe, a cough monitoring smartphone app and digital diagnostics tool developed by an international team of scientists and public health professionals, recently announced that their technology is now being incorporated into groundbreaking research in Spain in partnership with the University of Navarra, and involving over 800 participants.

26 Aug 2021

COVID-19 economic downturn likely to have prompted an extra 267,000 infant deaths in 2020

An extra 267,000 infants will likely have died in 2020 in low and middle income countries as a result of the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, finds a modelling study, published in the online journal BMJ Open.

24 Aug 2021

Mission and money clash in nonprofit hospitals’ venture capital ambitions

Cone Health, a small not-for-profit health care network in North Carolina, spent several years developing a smartphone-based system called Wellsmith to help people manage their diabetes.

24 Aug 2021

Electronic health systems helped increase HBV screenings during COVID-19 pandemic

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, community health clinics saw a significant drop in patient visits. Important screenings like those for the hepatitis B virus (HBV) were getting missed, which was a setback for a local program called END B to end the transmission of HBV - a leading risk factor for liver cancer.

23 Aug 2021

Researchers create a novel strategy for developing an effective TB vaccine

Innovators at Purdue University and Houston Methodist Research Institute have created a novel strategy for developing an effective vaccine for a widespread form of tuberculosis.

20 Aug 2021

Researchers analyze similarities and differences of CT features between heart failure and COVID-19

In a new publication from Cardiovascular Innovations and Applications; Zhaowei Zhu, Jianjun Tang, Xiangping Chai and colleagues from Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China analyse the similarities and differences of CT features between COVID-19 pneumonia and heart failure.

20 Aug 2021

249,000 UK-donated AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines reach Ghana

A shipment of 249,000 UK-donated AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines has today (Wednesday, 18 August) arrived in Accra’s Kotoka International Airport.

19 Aug 2021

If the unvaccinated want to work, they face a series of hurdles

With the delta variant surging, a growing number of employers are tiring of merely cajoling workers to get vaccinated against covid-19 and are following President Joe Biden's protocol for federal workers: Either show proof of vaccination, or mask up and get regular testing if you want to work on-site.

19 Aug 2021

Vaccinating previously infected induces more potent antibodies less susceptible to escape from SARS-CoV-2 variants

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causal agent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which has claimed more than 4.3 million lives worldwide. Even after implementing various measures, such as vaccination and social restrictions, SARS-CoV-2 and its variants of concern (VoC) leave the world's public health systems and economies in turmoil.

16 Aug 2021

PAHO Director expresses concern about COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Caribbean countries

Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), expressed concern about COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Caribbean countries and made a strong appeal to people to get vaccinated.

12 Aug 2021

Apple aims to push more patient data to doctors. But who can gauge its impact on health?

Soon, Apple announced recently, it will enable doctors to monitor health data from their patients' phones and watches between visits, part of the push into health care that Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, has declared will constitute the company's greatest contribution to mankind.

12 Aug 2021

Comparative scoring system suggests possibility of global COVID-19 eradication

The global eradication of COVID-19 is probably feasible, and more so than it is for polio, although considerably less so than it was for smallpox, suggests a comparative score of technical, sociopolitical, and economic factors for all three infections, published in the online journal BMJ Global Health.

10 Aug 2021

New regional policy to guide EMS response could improve stroke care

Patients with a suspected acute ischemic stroke who are taken by emergency medical services (EMS) directly to comprehensive stroke centers rather than the nearest stroke center for care are more likely to receive endovascular therapy, according to research led by investigators at the University of Chicago Medicine, in collaboration with local healthcare and emergency response groups.

9 Aug 2021

Nutritional value of foods has not improved despite targets for reductions in salt, sugar and calories

UK policies that set targets for reductions in salt, sugar and calories have not led to overall improvements in the nutritional value of food products.

4 Aug 2021

Research reveals the economic burden of colorectal cancer across Europe

New research led by Queen’s University Belfast has found that colorectal cancer costs Europe a staggering €19.1 billion (£16.3 billion) per year. This figure includes direct expenditure as well as indirect costs including premature death and sick leave.

4 Aug 2021

A health care giant sold off dozens of hospitals — but continued suing patients

Tennova Healthcare-Lebanon doesn’t exist anymore as a hospital. But it still sued Hope Cantwell.

3 Aug 2021

China earns a malaria-free certification from WHO

Following a 70-year effort, China has been awarded a malaria-free certification from WHO – a notable feat for a country that reported 30 million cases of the disease annually in the 1940s.

28 Jul 2021

Global prevalence of dementia estimated to increase to more than 152 million by 2050

Positive trends in global education access are expected to decrease dementia prevalence worldwide by 6.2 million cases by the year 2050.

27 Jul 2021

The pandemic made telemedicine an instant hit. Patients and providers feel the growing pains.

Crystal Joseph pays for two telemedicine video services to ensure that her small therapy practice in Silver Spring, Maryland, can always connect with its clients.

26 Jul 2021

Global economic recovery at risk due to COVID-19 vaccine inequity

New Global Dashboard on COVID-19 Vaccine Equity finds low-income countries would add $38 billion to their GDP forecast for 2021 if they had the same vaccination rate as high-income countries. Global economic recovery at risk if vaccines are not equitably manufactured, scaled up and distributed.

23 Jul 2021