Child Health News and Research

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Majority of parents continue to give OTC cough and cold medicines to children under 2

Research has linked over-the-counter cough and cold products to poisoning or death in hundreds of children, ages 2 and younger. Studies have also shown that these medicines do little to control symptoms. As a result, in 2008, the United States Food and Drug Administration formally recommended that OTC cough and cold products not be given to children under age 2.

16 Feb 2011

Temporal artery thermometer measures newborn body temperature more precisely

Measuring the body temperatures of newborns with temporal artery thermometry is as accurate as using rectal thermometers, according to a cross-sectional study recently published in Paediatrica Indonesiana. Quick, safe and accurate thermometry methods are necessary when measuring neonate temperatures.

16 Feb 2011

House CR proposes to cut/eliminate funding for programs to prevent teen and unplanned pregnancy

On February 11, 2011, the Appropriations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives released details of the proposed Continuing Resolution (CR) for fiscal year 2011. The CR would fund the government through the end of September of this year.

15 Feb 2011

New Republican spending cuts include well-known health programs

House Republican leaders pushed out a new round of proposed spending cuts Friday night as they sought to meet demands by conservatives in the party to trim $100 billion from the current spending levels. Health programs were among the targets.

14 Feb 2011

Positive data from second study of predictive preterm birth biomarkers presented at SMFM meeting

Sera Prognostics, a women's health company developing diagnostic tests for early prediction of preterm birth and other pregnancy complications, today announced that preliminary analyses of data from a second study of predictive preterm birth biomarkers generally confirmed researchers' earlier results and were able to identify up to 92 percent of pregnant women who went on to have a preterm birth.

14 Feb 2011

Surgical procedure to repair spina bifida while still in the uterus may help the baby walk after birth

More than two thousand physicians, some of the top obstetric/gynecologists in the world who specialize in maternal-fetal medicine, especially high risk pregnancies, gathered today for their annual meeting in San Francisco to begin four days of intensive research presentations. Presentations each year at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM) annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, represent major findings in reducing high-risk pregnancies and complications.

11 Feb 2011

New study: Fetal surgery for spina bifida greatly improves child's mobility

Performing delicate surgery in the womb, months before birth, can substantially improve outcomes for children with a common, disabling birth defect of the spine. Experts at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia co-led a new landmark study showing that fetal surgery for spina bifida greatly reduces the need to divert fluid from the brain, improves mobility and improves the chances that a child will be able to walk independently.

9 Feb 2011

Mobily introduces first mobile medical imaging service

Saudi Arabian telecommunications company Mobily and Great Connection Inc., creator of the innovative Mobile Baby service, announced the launch of the first mobile medical imaging service that enables ultrasound stills, 3D images and video clips to be sent directly from an ultrasound machine to a mobile device.

9 Feb 2011

Funding too low for paediatric oncology research

At a time when the effects of paediatric oncology research have meant that more and more children survive cancer, its funding is too low and dependent on short-term grants to be able to sustain this improvement in the long-term, says a report supported by the EU-funded 7th Framework Programme project Eurocancercoms and published on-line in ecancer today.

9 Feb 2011

Prenatal exposure to coal byproducts can impact early childhood growth

Children raised in homes using indoor coal for cooking or heating appear to be about a half-inch shorter at age 36 months than those in households using other fuel sources, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the June print issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

8 Feb 2011

NFL, NDC, Gen YOUth Foundation collaborate to tackle childhood obesity

Some of our nation's principal thought leaders in child health, physical activity and education will converge today in North Texas, site of Super Bowl XLV, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding that outlines an unprecedented private-public partnership committed to child health and wellness.

5 Feb 2011

Recent releases in Global Health

"Africa should be one of the leading regions in shaping global food security policies and feeding the future instead of others shaping it for Africa. Developing practical, integrative and more small-scale solutions for agricultural inputs and outputs, farming, and for managing both land and water resources, will help Africa provide for future generations on the Continent and elsewhere," Robin Renee Sanders, the U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, writes in a Huffington Post blog post.

5 Feb 2011

Research roundup: Comparing profit and nonprofit hospice care; Hospital mortality and spending; High-deductible insurance plans

Association Of Hospice Agency Profit Status With Patient Diagnosis, Location of Care, and Length of Stay - "The current Medicare Hospice Benefit reimburses hospices at a fixed per diem rate that does not consider the patient's diagnosis, location of care, or hospice LOS [length-of-stay]," and as such, "profit can be maximized by caring for patients with certain diagnoses that require fewer skilled services, patients residing in nursing homes, or patients with longer hospice stays."

4 Feb 2011

At Global Chiefs of Mission Conference, Sec. Clinton, Shah discuss QDDR

As part of a week-long meeting with U.S. diplomats from around the world taking place in Washington, D.C., this week, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday gathered with 300 U.S. diplomats from around the world to discuss "strategies to energize diplomacy and streamline development," the New York Times reports.

4 Feb 2011

Children's BMI increase linked to more years mothers work

Childhood obesity in the United States has more than tripled in the past three decades, and prior research has linked maternal employment to children's body mass index (BMI), a measure of their weight-for-height. A new study in the January/February issue of the journal Child Development has found that children's BMI rose the more years their mothers worked over their children's lifetimes.

4 Feb 2011

Intermittent use of preventive malaria drugs in children found to help prevent malaria transmission, studies say

Three studies published on Tuesday in PLoS Medicine show that "intermittent use of preventive antimalarial drugs can be beneficial in curbing the spread of the disease in children," Agence France-Presse reports (2/1).

3 Feb 2011

Politico looks at how proposed budget cuts could affect U.S. foreign aid, including global health funding

Politico examines how Republicans' proposed budget cuts could affect foreign aid funding. The House Republican majority has recommended combining President Barack Obama's "State and foreign aid requests with 'nonsecurity' domestic spending and to cut appropriations to 2008 levels."

3 Feb 2011

Roundup: Fla., Texas, Minn., Ga., Conn., Mass. officials examine state health programs

Nullification - the legal theory that says a state can prevent enforcement of federal laws within its borders -- is the latest attempt to block Obama's health-care law at the state level. And brings with it new controversies and considerable confusion. For example, supporters and opponents of nullification reference the same language in the Constitution.

3 Feb 2011

African first ladies gather to discuss HIV/AIDS

On the sidelines of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Monday, the General Assembly of the Organization of African First Ladies Against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA) gathered to discuss the continent's progress against HIV/AIDS, Walta Info reports.

3 Feb 2011

New state scorecard finds geographic disparities in health insurance coverage for children

Two years after the reauthorization and expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program, a new Commonwealth Fund state-by-state scorecard evaluating how the health care system is working for children finds that federal and state action on behalf of children has helped preserve, and even expand, health coverage for this group, despite the severe recession.

2 Feb 2011

Child Health News and Research

Majority of parents continue to give OTC cough and cold medicines to children under 2

Temporal artery thermometer measures newborn body temperature more precisely

House CR proposes to cut/eliminate funding for programs to prevent teen and unplanned pregnancy

New Republican spending cuts include well-known health programs

Positive data from second study of predictive preterm birth biomarkers presented at SMFM meeting

Surgical procedure to repair spina bifida while still in the uterus may help the baby walk after birth

New study: Fetal surgery for spina bifida greatly improves child's mobility

Mobily introduces first mobile medical imaging service

Funding too low for paediatric oncology research

Prenatal exposure to coal byproducts can impact early childhood growth

NFL, NDC, Gen YOUth Foundation collaborate to tackle childhood obesity

Recent releases in Global Health

Research roundup: Comparing profit and nonprofit hospice care; Hospital mortality and spending; High-deductible insurance plans

At Global Chiefs of Mission Conference, Sec. Clinton, Shah discuss QDDR

Children's BMI increase linked to more years mothers work

Intermittent use of preventive malaria drugs in children found to help prevent malaria transmission, studies say

Politico looks at how proposed budget cuts could affect U.S. foreign aid, including global health funding

Roundup: Fla., Texas, Minn., Ga., Conn., Mass. officials examine state health programs

African first ladies gather to discuss HIV/AIDS

New state scorecard finds geographic disparities in health insurance coverage for children

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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