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USC receives $20 million grant to study tobacco use among young people

USC faculty members Adam Leventhal, PhD and Caryn Lerman, PhD have received a $20 million grant for research to inform government regulations overseeing tobacco and its marketing, with a focus on protecting young people.

30 Oct 2023

Youth vaping skyrockets as 85% are exposed to e-cig ads, despite global bans

This cross-national study reveals that 85% of young adults across four countries have been exposed to e-cigarette advertising, despite existing regulations. The research also found a significant association between the level of media exposure and the likelihood of e-cigarette use among the youth.

30 Oct 2023

Is your teen's internet use helping or hurting the family? Study reveals mixed feelings from parents

Parents largely view adolescent internet use as beneficial for family connectedness but express concerns about potential addiction and exposure to harmful content. The study suggests the need for balanced family discussions on internet use and calls for regulation from tech providers and the government.

29 Oct 2023

Five ways AI can help to deal with the mental health crisis

Artificial intelligence is making waves in the world of health and beyond. And there are multiple ways that it can help people with their wellbeing and health, across mental and physical health.

28 Oct 2023

Watch: California and feds invest in health care for homeless people

KFF Health News senior correspondent Angela Hart appeared on Spectrum News 1's "Los Angeles Times Today" on Oct. 24 to discuss her coverage of state and federal efforts to expand street medicine — a growing field that focuses on treating homeless people wherever they are, whether indoors or on the streets.

27 Oct 2023

Children with genetic predisposition to ASD and ADHD more likely to have longer screen time

A team led by Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan has investigated screen time in autistic (ASD) and ADHD children. Screen time refers to the amount of time a person spends on a device with a screen, such as a smartphone, computer, television, or video game system.

25 Oct 2023

Study sheds light on how cocaine addiction alters brain's reward system

Rutgers researchers have used neuroimaging to demonstrate that cocaine addiction alters the brain's system for evaluating how rewarding various outcomes associated with our decisions will feel.

25 Oct 2023

California expands paid sick days and boosts health worker wages

California continues to burnish its reputation as a progressive state for health policy as Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills expanding paid sick leave, adding bereavement leave for miscarriages, and boosting wages for health workers.

25 Oct 2023

Epidemic: What good is a vaccine when there is no rice?

The 1970s was the deadliest decade in the "entire history of Bangladesh," said environmental historian Iftekhar Iqbal

24 Oct 2023

Study identifies predictors of opioid overdose after prescription for chronic pain

A large study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.230459 identified 10 predictors of opioid overdose after prescription for chronic pain, which can help clinicians engage in shared decision-making with patients around opioid prescribing.

24 Oct 2023

Using opioid settlement cash for police gear like squad cars and scanners sparks debate

Policing expenses mount quickly: $25,000 for a law enforcement conference about fentanyl in Colorado; $18,000 for technology to unlock cellphones in Southington, Connecticut; $2,900 for surveillance cameras and to train officers and canines in New Lexington, Ohio. And in other communities around the country, hundreds of thousands for vehicles, body scanners, and other equipment.

23 Oct 2023

California moves ahead of the FDA in banning common candy additives

Halloween candy could be in for a California makeover.

20 Oct 2023

Biden pick to lead NIH finally has her day, but still gets caught up in drug price debate

A Senate committee finally held a hearing Wednesday on President Joe Biden's pick to lead the National Institutes of Health. But the panel's chair, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), was focused on drug prices — an issue over which the NIH has very little control.

19 Oct 2023

Feds try to head off growing problem of overdoses among expectant mothers

When Andria Peterson began working as a clinical pharmacist in the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units at St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson, Nevada, in 2009, she witnessed the devastating effects the opioid crisis had on the hospital's youngest patients.

19 Oct 2023

Health care ‘game-changer’? Feds boost care for homeless Americans

The Biden administration is making it easier for doctors and nurses to treat homeless people wherever they find them, from creekside encampments to freeway underpasses, marking a fundamental shift in how — and where — health care is delivered.

19 Oct 2023

Telehealth may improve access and retention for opioid use disorder treatment

Starting buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder through telehealth was associated with an increased likelihood of staying in treatment longer compared to starting treatment in a non-telehealth setting, according to a new study analyzing Medicaid data from 2019-2020 in Kentucky and Ohio.

18 Oct 2023

Pregnant and addicted: Homeless women see hope in street medicine

Five days after giving birth, Melissa Crespo was already back on the streets, recovering in a damp, litter-strewn water tunnel, when she got the call from the hospital.

18 Oct 2023

For people with sickle cell disease, ERs can mean life-threatening waits

Heather Avant always dresses up when she goes to the emergency room.

17 Oct 2023

Opioid use disorder treatment lowers risk of overdose after surgery, study finds

Although people with opioid use disorder (OUD) are significantly more likely to overdose or have a complication after major surgery than those without the disorder, using medications for the treatment of OUD before surgery may eliminate that extra risk, suggests a large, first-of-its-kind study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2023 annual meeting.

15 Oct 2023

New research calls for shift in thinking about ultra-processed food addiction

Researchers from the United States, Brazil, and Spain, including scientists with the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, published an analysis in a special edition of the British Medical Journal with a timely and controversial recommendation: It's time for an international shift in the way we think about ultra-processed food.

9 Oct 2023