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Study on ethnic disparities in pediatric asthma in Latino and non-Latino children

A new study by researchers at the Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center and the University of Puerto Rico may help explain some of the well-documented ethnic disparities in pediatric asthma.

10 Aug 2010

Researchers find disparities among children suffering from repeated ear infections

Research has documented that ethnic and socioeconomic disparities exist among patients with conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. Now, a new study by researchers from UCLA and Harvard University has found disparities among children suffering from repeated ear infections. The findings, published in the August edition of the journal Laryngoscope, show that frequent ear infections plague white children and children living below the poverty level more than children of other racial or ethnic backrounds or income levels.

10 Aug 2010

Also in Global Health News: Food production and climate change; Poverty and hunger in India; Composting toilets in Malawi

A new discussion paper, led by a researcher from the University of Nairobi and produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute, examines how 10 sub-Saharan African countries have adapted food production to mitigate the effects of climate change, IRIN reports. The paper found that most countries use crops that mature faster and are tolerant of frequent and intense droughts.

9 Aug 2010

Researchers examine differences in eating habits of African Americans

7 Aug 2010

Catholic Charities USA releases statement in response to passage of Child Nutrition Bill

While Catholic Charities USA strongly supports increased funding for improvements to Child Nutrition Programs, we are opposed to cutting funds from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to pay for these new investments. As one of the nation's largest networks of social service providers, we simply cannot pit one program that serves the poor and vulnerable against another program that serves the same population.

7 Aug 2010

Research Roundups: Expanding Medicaid; More spending doesn't reduce mortality; Colonoscopy cost effectiveness; Kids, asthma and access to care

Health Affairs: Little Evidence Of Correlation Between Growth In Health Care Spending And Reduced Mortality - This study examines differences in hospital mortality and cost between 2000 and 2004 for patients at 122 U.S. hospitals, with seven common medical diagnoses: acute myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, community-acquired pneumonia, congestive heart failure, cerebrovascular accident (also called ischemic stroke), sepsis, or urinary tract infection.

7 Aug 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

According to a Lancet Comment, "alcohol remains conspicuously absent from the larger field of research and programming in HIV and substance use. ... Patterns of hazardous alcohol consumption prevail in countries with the most severe HIV epidemics, notably eastern and southern Africa." In addition, "hazardous drinking patterns also dominate in the concentrated epidemics of eastern Europe and Asia, where alcohol use by injecting drug users and other marginalised groups might be an additional barrier to effective efforts to prevent HIV infection."

7 Aug 2010

Research shows variations in care that kidney disease patients receive before starting dialysis

The wealth or poverty of kidney disease patients' communities impacts the quality of care patients receive before starting dialysis, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology. The results suggest that medical professionals need to improve care for patients who have not yet started dialysis.

6 Aug 2010

Survey reveals need for nutrition education among African Americans for disease prevention, management

Researchers looking for differences in eating habits of African Americans based on whether or not they had Type 2 diabetes uncovered an unexpected result: No matter what the blood sugar level was, the dietary intakes were pretty much the same.African Americans are 1.8 times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes and 1.4 times more likely to be obese than are non-Hispanic whites, according to federal health agencies. Obesity is a leading risk factor for development of diabetes, a condition that results when the body cannot properly use insulin to transfer sugar from the blood to muscle and fat cells that use glucose for energy.

6 Aug 2010

Kaiser Permanente funds 700 grants targeting critical health issues in communities

Kaiser Permanente, one of the country's largest not-for-profit health care organizations, funded 700 grants nationwide totaling approximately $13 million in the second quarter of 2010. The grants this quarter focused on expanding access to healthy food, reducing childhood obesity, and increasing care for the underinsured.

5 Aug 2010

Senate vote on Medicaid help for states delayed because of cost underestimate

Senate Democrats Monday delayed a scheduled vote on a provision to aid states and local governments after the Congressional Budget Office said the bill would increase spending. The CBO analysis further complicates efforts to extend enhanced federal Medicaid funding to states.

4 Aug 2010

Asian ministers review MDGs progress

South Asia is "lagging behind" in poverty and hunger reduction and is "in danger" of missing key Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets, a U.N. official told Asian ministers gathered to discuss MDGs progress, Agence France-Presse reports. At the meeting, "senior officials told delegates from dozens of countries that global food, energy and financial crises in recent years had jeopardized progress toward achieving the goals set for 2015," the news service writes.

4 Aug 2010

Opinions: AIDS 2010; Clean water, sanitation; Russia's HIV/AIDS epidemic; Financial tax; Medical abortion in developing countries

A VOA News editorial by the U.S. government reflects on last month's International AIDS Conference-AIDS 2010, including key advancements such as the vaginal microbicide gel found to offer women some protection against HIV infection as well discussions about funding for the fight against HIV/AIDS and how the "criminalization of drug abuse and persecution of homosexuals" in the world is compromising efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.

4 Aug 2010

EITC programs directly linked to higher birth weights: Study

Relieving poverty during pregnancy can reduce the incidence of low- birth-weight babies and may help break the succession of childhood poor health, a study published in the August 2010 issue of the American Sociological Review has found.

3 Aug 2010

Group skill building intervention programs for foster care children may help improve mental health

Incorporating mentoring and group skill-building intervention programs for children in foster care may help improve mental health outcomes in this population, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

3 Aug 2010

Study finds hunger as a serious risk factor for long-term poor health among children, youth

Children and youth who experience hunger appear more likely to have health problems, and repeated episodes of hunger may be particularly toxic, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

3 Aug 2010

Nature series examines role science can play in securing food for the future

As part of a series of stories and editorials on the role science can play in securing food for the future, Nature News examines the challenges associated with feeding the world's hungry.

31 Jul 2010

Illinois quickly begins implementing new law to end violence in nursing homes; N.J. reverses cuts in AIDS drug program

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn Thursday signed a law establishing new nursing home safety measures "aimed at ending chronic violence in the facilities. Work already has begun on hiring dozens of additional nursing home inspectors, as well as writing rules that will increase licensing fees and nursing staff levels in the homes. State authorities also say they are tackling one of the thorniest issues: finding ways to fund the law's multifaceted provisions even as Illinois faces a $13 billion budget deficit" (Jackson and Marx, 7/29).

31 Jul 2010

Louisiana's Medicaid rate cuts kick in Aug. 1; Other states seek health program assistance, make tough choices to balance budgets

"The rates paid to many of the private health providers in Louisiana's Medicaid program will fall Sunday to trim spending by $168 million in the program that provides care to the poor, elderly and disabled. The latest cuts to private hospitals, home- and community-based care providers, doctors and specialty service providers are the final piece of balancing this year's $6.5 billion Medicaid budget. Department of Health and Hospitals Undersecretary Jerry Phillips said Medicaid funding was cut by $277 million in the 2010-11 fiscal year that began July 1."

31 Jul 2010

Research Roundup:COBRA subsidies; Children's insurance and dental coverage; Adopting health IT; Race and heart treatments

Archives of Internal Medicine: Racial Differences In Admissions To High-Quality Hospitals For Coronary Heart Disease - "Racial disparities in the management of coronary heart disease (CHD) are widely documented, yet the reasons behind persistent gaps in quality of care are not fully understood," write the authors, who examined "Medicare patients with acute myocardial infarction and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) admitted during 2002 through 2005 to hospitals located in markets with top-ranked cardiac hospitals, as ascertained from the US News and World Report 'America's Best Hospitals' annual rankings."

31 Jul 2010

Poverty News and Research

Study on ethnic disparities in pediatric asthma in Latino and non-Latino children

Researchers find disparities among children suffering from repeated ear infections

Also in Global Health News: Food production and climate change; Poverty and hunger in India; Composting toilets in Malawi

Researchers examine differences in eating habits of African Americans

Catholic Charities USA releases statement in response to passage of Child Nutrition Bill

Research Roundups: Expanding Medicaid; More spending doesn't reduce mortality; Colonoscopy cost effectiveness; Kids, asthma and access to care

Recent releases in Global Health

Research shows variations in care that kidney disease patients receive before starting dialysis

Survey reveals need for nutrition education among African Americans for disease prevention, management

Kaiser Permanente funds 700 grants targeting critical health issues in communities

Senate vote on Medicaid help for states delayed because of cost underestimate

Asian ministers review MDGs progress

Opinions: AIDS 2010; Clean water, sanitation; Russia's HIV/AIDS epidemic; Financial tax; Medical abortion in developing countries

EITC programs directly linked to higher birth weights: Study

Group skill building intervention programs for foster care children may help improve mental health

Study finds hunger as a serious risk factor for long-term poor health among children, youth

Nature series examines role science can play in securing food for the future

Illinois quickly begins implementing new law to end violence in nursing homes; N.J. reverses cuts in AIDS drug program

Louisiana's Medicaid rate cuts kick in Aug. 1; Other states seek health program assistance, make tough choices to balance budgets

Research Roundup:COBRA subsidies; Children's insurance and dental coverage; Adopting health IT; Race and heart treatments

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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