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Americans eating fewer vegetables and getting fatter

Despite two decades of public health initiatives, stricter government dietary guidelines, record growth of farmers' markets and the ease of products like salad in a bag, Americans still aren't eating enough vegetables. This month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a comprehensive nationwide behavioral study of fruit and vegetable consumption.

27 Sep 2010

Victorian health report card

Results from the 2008 Victorian Population Health Survey of more than 34,000 people are out. Broadly the picture is not too pleasing with signs of poor health like weight gain and disease. People are eating less fruit and vegetables, but smoking is down and asthma is less prevalent than it was earlier in the decade.

26 Sep 2010

Wealthy live longer than the poor: Study

According to the latest research poorer Australians die at least three years before their wealthy counterparts. The report entitled, “The Health Lies in Wealth” by the University of Canberra's National Centre for Social and Economic Modeling found that people in the lowest socio-economic group died on average at 79.6 years of age compared with 82.7 years for the highest socio-economic group. Factors that influence life expectancy include household income, work status, education level and support networks.

26 Sep 2010

Maine receives federal grants to upgrade electronic public health systems, scores of criminals provide home health care in Cal.

The Boston Globe: "Caritas Christi Health Care executives have told union negotiators they will shutter St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Brighton and Carney Hospital in Dorchester if they can't close a deal for the six-hospital chain to be bought by a New York private equity firm. The warning was made during contract talks last week with the Massachusetts Nurses Association, according to two people who attended the meeting.

24 Sep 2010

Research Roundup: Medical homes; Drug samples and prescribing; The health law and disparities; Women's health; CBO projections

Institute of Medicine: Women's Health Research: Progress, Pitfalls, and Promise -"Substantial progress has been made since the expansion of investment in women's health research. Research findings have changed the practice of medicine and public-health recommendations in several prominent contexts, including changes in standards of care for women. There have also been decreases in mortality in women from breast cancer, heart disease, and cervical cancer. In other contexts, however, there has been less progress..."

24 Sep 2010

Consumers need to be made aware of benefits of low-calorie sweeteners

Leading experts in the field of food additive safety and risk communication gathered at a symposium hosted today by the Nutrition Research Foundation at the 2nd World Congress of Public Health Nutrition to discuss the safety of low-calorie sweeteners and reaffirm the positive role they can play in the diet.

24 Sep 2010

Study examines food outlets exposure pattern for school children

Most studies of the food choices available near public schools have focused on fast food outlets rather than the full range of options available to schoolchildren. A new study by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health examined the patterns of exposure to a broad range of food outlets for school children in New York City.

24 Sep 2010

3M announces series of educational events to combat healthcare-associated infections

As a company on a mission to help hospitals fight healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), 3M Infection Prevention today announced a series of educational events taking place the week of September 27.

24 Sep 2010

Eastmont Community Center launches new adolescent immunization awareness initiative

Eastmont Community Center responded today to alarmingly low whooping cough and meningococcal meningitis immunization rates among Latino adolescents by launching a new adolescent immunization awareness initiative. The grassroots campaign aims to educate local Latino families about free or low-cost vaccines available to help protect children against these and other infectious diseases.

24 Sep 2010

NIH awards grants to treat HIV/AIDS in criminal justice system

Twelve scientific teams in more than a dozen states will receive National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants to study effective ways to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS among people in the criminal justice system.

24 Sep 2010

Progress in realizing potential of satellite measurements of air pollution

In many developing countries, the absence of surface-based air pollution sensors makes it difficult, and in some cases impossible, to get even a rough estimate of the abundance of a subcategory of airborne particles that epidemiologists suspect contributes to millions of premature deaths each year. The problematic particles, called fine particulate matter (PM2.5), are 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter, about a tenth the fraction of human hair. These small particles can get past the body's normal defenses and penetrate deep into the lungs.

24 Sep 2010

Legislation to help speed research for cystic fibrosis and other rare diseases

Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "Improving Access to Clinical Trials Act" (I-ACT), in a victory for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, its advocates and 120 other health advocacy organizations.

24 Sep 2010

Efforts to reduce worker exposure to hazards during disaster response, cleanup

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is awarding $36 million in grants to 20 organizations that develop safety and health training for workers involved in hazardous waste operations and transportation, environmental restoration of contaminated facilities, and chemical emergency response. These training programs can receive annual funding for up to five years.

24 Sep 2010

United Fresh Produce Association urges passage of Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act legislation

The United Fresh Produce Association is urging the U.S. House of Representatives to immediately pass the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, legislation that will reauthorize all child nutrition programs. It is critical that all child nutrition programs be reauthorized and signed into law by President Obama before they expire on September 30. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act makes important reforms and strengthens child nutrition programs by investing $4.5 billion in programs to reduce childhood hunger and childhood obesity.

24 Sep 2010

HIV-infected African Americans likely to develop kidney failure: Study

Among African Americans, HIV infection is increasingly recognized as an important risk factor for developing chronic kidney disease. African American men and women are more likely to die from the complications of HIV infection compared with Caucasian men and women.

24 Sep 2010

Disenrollment from hospice increases costs of care for cancer patients

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that the costs of care for patients with cancer who disenrolled from hospice were nearly five times higher than for patients who remained with hospice. Patients who disenroll from hospice are far more likely to use emergency department care and be hospitalized. The results are published in the October 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

24 Sep 2010

Maryland Forensic Medical Center becomes the latest addition to University of Maryland BioPark

With its official opening ceremony today, the Maryland Forensic Medical Center became the latest addition to the 10-acre University of Maryland BioPark in Baltimore.

24 Sep 2010

Arthritis Foundation announces major step in passing bi-partisan arthritis legislation

The Arthritis Foundation announces a major step in passing bi-partisan arthritis legislation in more than 30 years. The Arthritis Prevention, Control and Cure Act (H.R. 1210/S. 984) was approved today by the House Energy and Commerce Committee and will now go to the House of Representatives to vote on passage.

24 Sep 2010

ASTMH recommends FDA to include neglected infections of poverty in orphan classification

Today, U.S. scientists committed to finding answers to reducing and eliminating what are known as neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that plague the world's poorest people in developing countries, urged the FDA to include in its orphan classification the neglected infections of poverty that also affect Americans, and expressed support for stronger relationships with the FDA to ultimately halt these ancient scourges.

24 Sep 2010

AJMS journal provides research update on new infectious pathogens

Newly recognized disease-causing viruses, bacteria, and other infections are continually emerging around the world, posing difficult challenges for patient diagnosis and treatment and for public health responses. A special symposium section of the September issue of The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (AJMS), official journal of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation, provides a research update on important new infectious pathogens.

24 Sep 2010

Public Health News and Research

Americans eating fewer vegetables and getting fatter

Victorian health report card

Wealthy live longer than the poor: Study

Maine receives federal grants to upgrade electronic public health systems, scores of criminals provide home health care in Cal.

Research Roundup: Medical homes; Drug samples and prescribing; The health law and disparities; Women's health; CBO projections

Consumers need to be made aware of benefits of low-calorie sweeteners

Study examines food outlets exposure pattern for school children

3M announces series of educational events to combat healthcare-associated infections

Eastmont Community Center launches new adolescent immunization awareness initiative

NIH awards grants to treat HIV/AIDS in criminal justice system

Progress in realizing potential of satellite measurements of air pollution

Legislation to help speed research for cystic fibrosis and other rare diseases

Efforts to reduce worker exposure to hazards during disaster response, cleanup

United Fresh Produce Association urges passage of Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act legislation

HIV-infected African Americans likely to develop kidney failure: Study

Disenrollment from hospice increases costs of care for cancer patients

Maryland Forensic Medical Center becomes the latest addition to University of Maryland BioPark

Arthritis Foundation announces major step in passing bi-partisan arthritis legislation

ASTMH recommends FDA to include neglected infections of poverty in orphan classification

AJMS journal provides research update on new infectious pathogens

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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