Public Health News and Research

RSS

HIV home tests: an interview with Dr Nitika Pant Pai, McGill University

30 years into the HIV epidemic, there is no vaccine in sight. Yet, even though there are fantastic and effective cheap and universally available drugs, and a treatment as prevention strategy is known to work, people do not wish to get tested for HIV! If everyone got tested, and treated, we could have brought the infection under control a long time ago!

21 Mar 2013

Study: News stories on mass shootings contribute to negative perceptions of mental illness

News stories about mass shootings involving a shooter with mental illness heighten readers' negative attitudes toward persons with serious mental illness, according to a new report by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

21 Mar 2013

Report: Adults experiencing mental or substance use disorders more likely to smoke heavily than others

Adults aged 18 or older who experienced any mental illness or who have had a substance use disorder in the past year are more likely to smoke and to smoke more heavily than others, according to a new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

21 Mar 2013

Some public health experts concerned over Saudi Arabia's response to SARS-like virus

"A SARS-like virus has infected 15 people, nine of whom have died, mostly in Saudi Arabia, worrying some Western scientists who question whether the kingdom is sharing enough critical data on the outbreak," "[b]ut a top Saudi Arabia health official rejected those complaints on Tuesday and said the virus posed a low risk of pandemic," the Wall Street Journal reports.

21 Mar 2013

Research shows short, bad sleepers have 65% higher risk of cardiovascular disease

People who sleep badly or not long enough have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease. This does not apply to people who sleep less than 6 hours, but wake up feeling fit and rested.

21 Mar 2013

Lancet to launch new global health journal

The Lancet on Monday announced the launch of a new journal, Lancet Global Health, according to a press release (3/18).

21 Mar 2013

Viewpoints: N.D. abortion law is 'repressive and extreme;' States identify 'promising' ideas to overhaul medical malpractice

Late last week, the North Dakota legislature passed a bill that would ban a woman from having an abortion as soon as the heartbeat of the fetus is detected, which can happen as early as six weeks into a pregnancy.

21 Mar 2013

Roundup: Calif. deal allows smaller-than-proposed reduction in home health care; Texas senate panel weighs end of life bills

A selection of health policy stories from California, Mississippi, Oregon, Texas, Florida, Kansas and Colorado.

21 Mar 2013

Robotic systems may enhance basic social learning skills of children with ASD, experts say

"Aiden, look!" piped NAO, a two-foot tall humanoid robot, as it pointed to a flat-panel display on a far wall. As the cartoon dog Scooby Doo flashed on the screen, Aiden, a young boy with an unruly thatch of straw-colored hair, looked in the direction the robot was pointing.

21 Mar 2013

Researchers develop dune infiltration system to treat coastal stormwater runoff for fecal bacteria

When it rains, untreated stormwater can sweep pollutants into coastal waters, potentially endangering public health. Now researchers from North Carolina State University have developed low-cost filtration systems that are concealed beneath sand dunes and filter out most of the bacteria that can lead to beach closures.

21 Mar 2013

EuroPRevent 2013 to explore low-cost solutions to global epidemic of cardiovascular diseases

Preventive cardiology is now on the political as well as clinical agenda. In 2011 a UN heads-of-state meeting agreed to reduce mortality from chronic non-communicable diseases by 25% by 2025.

21 Mar 2013

Researchers invent secondhand tobacco smoke sensor that records data in real time

Making headway against a major public health threat, Dartmouth College researchers have invented the first ever secondhand tobacco smoke sensor that records data in real time, a new study in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research shows.

20 Mar 2013

Study: Health of critically ill newborns is endangered by insufficient nurse staffing

A new study reveals that the health of critically ill newborns is endangered by insufficient nurse staffing. The national study finds that very few neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) provide sufficient numbers of nurses to meet guidelines and that the most vulnerable babies are also the most understaffed.

20 Mar 2013

Study identifies lead concentrations in household paint sold in Cameroon by US company

House paint containing dangerous concentrations of lead is being sold in Cameroon by an American company - and the company is refusing to remove the paint from store shelves.

20 Mar 2013

Mozambique completes first HIV vaccine clinical trial

Last week, "researchers at Mozambique's Polana Cancio Centre for Research and Public Health completed a trial evaluating the safety of an HIV vaccine candidate," the country's "first HIV vaccine trial," and it "is set to embark on a second, a demonstration of the country's increased HIV research capacity," PlusNews reports.

20 Mar 2013

Ill health and retirement: an interview with Dr Sabrina Pit, University Centre for Rural Health, University of Sydney

In our study population, which was drawn from NSW Australia only, the proportion of working aged men who were fully retired due to ill-health in cities is five percent, eight percent for inner regional areas and nine for outer regional areas.

20 Mar 2013

Study finds that some younger women see both benefit and harm from annual exams

Screening for breast cancer every two years appears just as beneficial as yearly mammograms for women ages 50 to 74, with significantly fewer "false positives" - even for women whose breasts are dense or who use hormone therapy for menopause.

20 Mar 2013

Weill Cornell Medical College researchers call for clearer definition of population health

Accountable Care Organizations, a key feature of the Affordable Care Act, aim to control health care costs, enhance quality in health care and improve population health. But what does "improving population health" really mean? This is the question asked in a new viewpoint article by Weill Cornell Medical College researchers published in the March 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

20 Mar 2013

Roundup: Calif. gets poor grade on health price transparency; Inmates sue Calif. counties over prison care; Ore. lawmakers want torts to apply to insurers

A selection of health policy stories from California, Oregon, Michigan, Kansas, Massachusetts and New Jersey.

20 Mar 2013

New research project on systems biology of synapse proteins and ageing launched

The AgedBrainSYSBIO project on systems biology of synapse proteins & ageing was officially launched March18th in Paris, France.

20 Mar 2013

Public Health News and Research

HIV home tests: an interview with Dr Nitika Pant Pai, McGill University

Study: News stories on mass shootings contribute to negative perceptions of mental illness

Report: Adults experiencing mental or substance use disorders more likely to smoke heavily than others

Some public health experts concerned over Saudi Arabia's response to SARS-like virus

Research shows short, bad sleepers have 65% higher risk of cardiovascular disease

Lancet to launch new global health journal

Viewpoints: N.D. abortion law is 'repressive and extreme;' States identify 'promising' ideas to overhaul medical malpractice

Roundup: Calif. deal allows smaller-than-proposed reduction in home health care; Texas senate panel weighs end of life bills

Robotic systems may enhance basic social learning skills of children with ASD, experts say

Researchers develop dune infiltration system to treat coastal stormwater runoff for fecal bacteria

EuroPRevent 2013 to explore low-cost solutions to global epidemic of cardiovascular diseases

Researchers invent secondhand tobacco smoke sensor that records data in real time

Study: Health of critically ill newborns is endangered by insufficient nurse staffing

Study identifies lead concentrations in household paint sold in Cameroon by US company

Mozambique completes first HIV vaccine clinical trial

Ill health and retirement: an interview with Dr Sabrina Pit, University Centre for Rural Health, University of Sydney

Study finds that some younger women see both benefit and harm from annual exams

Weill Cornell Medical College researchers call for clearer definition of population health

Roundup: Calif. gets poor grade on health price transparency; Inmates sue Calif. counties over prison care; Ore. lawmakers want torts to apply to insurers

New research project on systems biology of synapse proteins and ageing launched

Achieving and maintaining ISO 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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

Latest News