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Human factors/ergonomics professionals are improving health care

The latest issue of Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society contains a special section describing ways in which human factors/ergonomics professionals are improving health care.

10 May 2006

When it comes to mothers and babies, top spot to be is Sweden

According to a report by the U.S. charity Save the Children, Scandinavian countries lead the stakes when it comes to the top countries to be a mother, while Australia along with the Netherlands ties for 7th place and countries in sub-Saharan Africa dominate the bottom tier.

10 May 2006

Impact of optional regulations on heart attack treatment

People who have heart attacks are about 15 percent less likely to be treated with bypass surgery or angioplasty within the first few days of the incident in states with certificate of need (CON) regulatory programs.

10 May 2006

Generosity of health insurance plans varies widely by state

Employees in the smallest firms (1-9 workers) pay an average 18% more in health insurance premiums than those in the largest firms (1,000+ workers), when actuarial value - the percentage of total medical expenses paid by a health plan - is taken into account, a new Commonwealth Fund-supported study finds.

10 May 2006

300,000 U.S. schoolchildren diagnosed with autism

According to researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, the first-ever national estimate of the prevalence of autism in the United States has found that the disorder affects up to one in every 175 school-age children.

9 May 2006

Doctors widely prescribe drugs without adequate scrutiny

In choosing which drugs to prescribe, doctors often select medications for patients despite a lack of conclusive medical evidence of their effects and safety, according to a new study led by a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

9 May 2006

Off-label prescribing common, often not backed by data

A study of office-based physicians in the United States suggests that about one-fifth of medications are prescribed to treat conditions for which they are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and that nearly three-fourths of those uses lack strong scientific support, according to an article in the May 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

9 May 2006

Treatment with intravenous and oral antiviral medications may help relieve nerve pain related to shingles

A small trial suggests that treatment with intravenous and oral antiviral medications may reduce the nerve pain that occurs following shingles, according to a study posted online today that will appear in the July 2006 print issue of Archives of Neurology.

9 May 2006

Many pregnant not tested for HIV

Despite state laws requiring that every pregnant woman be offered HIV testing multiple times during pregnancy, about 20 percent of women reach their third trimester without it, according to a review of Florida women from 2003-04, researchers say.

9 May 2006

Chancroid vaccine may help control HIV in Africa

HIV plagues more than 25 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Health Organization, and efforts to develop a vaccine against the virus have achieved limited success.

8 May 2006

Patients have high expectations about breast cancer screening mammography

A substantial proportion of women have beliefs about their personal risk of breast cancer, and expectations about the performance of mammography that are abnormally high or unrealistic, according to a survey conducted at University of Michigan Health Systems in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

4 May 2006

Underage and abusive drinkers very profitable for the alcohol industry

According to new research in the U.S. the underage drinking market is making the alcohol industry a neat $23 billion a year and that figure represents 17.5 percent of all money spent on alcohol in the U.S. annually.

3 May 2006

African American men have fewer, less severe coronary obstructions than white males

While African American men are more likely to die from cardiovascular disease, they paradoxically have fewer cases of coronary obstruction than clinically similar white men, according to a new national study led by a Medical College of Wisconsin researcher.

3 May 2006

Minority and multiracial children experience many disparities in medical and oral health status

Minority and multiracial children experience many disparities in medical and oral health status, access to care, and use of services, according to a new national study by researchers at the Center for Advancement of Underserved Children at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.

3 May 2006

Elevated serum alanine aminotransferase activity and calculated risk of coronary heart disease in the U.S.

A new study on the relationship between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and heart disease found that patients with an elevated level of the enzyme associated with NAFLD had an increased risk of coronary heart disease, which appears to be related to insulin resistance, obesity and central fat distribution.

3 May 2006

Surgeons exhibit the lowest level of teamwork and nurses the highest in the operating room

A study based on a survey measuring attitudes toward the work environment in the operating room (OR) reveals that surgeons exhibit the lowest level of teamwork and nurses the highest.

3 May 2006

Researchers recommend national uniform newborn screening tests

In a new study, conducted for the federal government and published in a supplement to the May issue of the journal Pediatrics, Stephen M. Downs, M.D. and Aaron E. Carroll, M.D., of the Indiana University School of Medicine, recommend a national uniform panel of newborn screening tests which they found to be cost saving as well as life saving.

3 May 2006

Evidence-based treatments for alcohol dependence

Medical management combined with the drug naltrexone or with a specialized behavioral therapy can be effective treatments for alcohol dependence, according to a study in the May 3 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

3 May 2006

Combined pharmacotherapies and behavioral interventions for alcohol dependence

While many treatment approaches were found helpful, the authors report that the patients who were most successful in abstaining from alcohol 16 weeks after treatment were those prescribed naltrexone under medical management and those participating in a multi-session program of alcohol counseling delivered by a behavioral specialist.

3 May 2006

New radiation protection technique significantly reduces physician radiation exposure during coronary angiography

Using the new device, physicians monitor patients' angiograms and control exam table movement from behind a lead plastic shield. A newly developed extension bar allows the physician to remain safely behind the shield and still retain table control for panning, according to Martin Magram, MD, developer of the new technique and assistant professor in the department of diagnostic radiology.

3 May 2006