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Research roundup: Kids on Medicaid have trouble seeing a specialist; safety in outpatient facilities; community health center patients linking to electronic health care

In this study, researchers posing as parents sought specialty care for children in Cook County, Ill., to examine access opportunities for families on Medicaid. They found a major disparity between children with public insurance versus private insurance -- 66 percent of the callers saying the children were insured by Medicaid were denied an appointment, compared to 11 percent with a private plan.

18 Jun 2011

High rates of type 1 diabetes in Australian children

According to a new report the rate of Type 1 diabetes in Australian children will leap by 10 per cent in the five years to 2013, cementing Australia's position in the top 10 OECD nations for the condition's prevalence. Currently the prevalence of diabetes in Australia ranks seventh-highest among the 30 OECD nations.

17 Jun 2011

Children of parents who drink, likely to take up the bottle: Study

According to a latest survey of young teenagers, children who see their parents drunk are twice as likely to regularly get drunk themselves. Poor parental supervision also raises the likelihood of teenage drinking, said the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

17 Jun 2011

U.S. government's GAVI pledge took 'trade-offs' in global health portfolio

"Investments in vaccines are one of the best and most cost-effective life-saving investments for the world's children, which is why we've made tough choices and trade-offs within our current global health portfolio to make this commitment"

17 Jun 2011

Children with head trauma after normal CT scans do not require neurosurgical intervention

A large, national multi-center study of thousands of children taken to emergency departments with minor blunt head trauma has found that most of those with normal computed tomography (CT) scans do not require hospitalization for further observation.

17 Jun 2011

Japan to evacuate pregnant women, children at risk of high radiation levels outside of evacuation zone

"Japan plans to ask pregnant women and children to move away from radiation 'hotspots' that were found far away from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, the government said on Thursday, reflecting new anxieties about the spread of radioactivity," Reuters reports.

17 Jun 2011

First artificial lung transplantation in toddler performed at St. Louis Children's Hospital

Two-year-old Owen Stark came to St. Louis Children's Hospital in the summer of 2010 near death from heart failure and dangerously high blood pressure in his lungs.

17 Jun 2011

Inaccurate number sense is one cause of math learning disabilities

A new study published today in the journal Child Development finds that having a poor "gut sense" of numbers can lead to a mathematical learning disability and difficulty in achieving basic math proficiency. This inaccurate number sense is just one cause of math learning disabilities, according to the research led by Dr. Michele Mazzocco of the Kennedy Krieger Institute.

17 Jun 2011

'Blue baby' study sheds light on basic biology

A newborn described as a "happy blue baby" because of her bluish skin color but healthy appearance made a small mark in medical history when one of her physicians discovered something new in her genes-the hemoglobin Toms River mutation.

17 Jun 2011

Menafrivac more effective, less expensive than older meningitis vaccines, studies say

The meningococcal vaccine MenAfriVac, which is made by the Indian generic drug company Serum Institute, is "dramatically better" at producing a protective effect among African children in three countries than "older so-called meningococcal polysaccaride vaccines, including Mencevax from GlaxoSmithKline," according to a paper describing two studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Reuters reports.

17 Jun 2011

First genetic, biochemical tests for Idiopathic Infantile Hypercalcemia

A breakthrough in genetic research has uncovered the defect behind a rare hereditary children's disease that inhibits the body's ability to break down vitamin D. This discovery has led researchers to develop the first genetic and biochemical tests that positively identify the disease.

17 Jun 2011

Children use self-induced vomiting as weight-loss strategy: Study

Children as young as ten are making themselves vomit in order to lose weight and the problem is more common in boys than girls, according to a study of nearly 16,000 school pupils published online early, ahead of print publication, by the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

16 Jun 2011

Interactive humanoid robots can help children with autism

The University of Hertfordshire's groundbreaking work on a child-like robot it developed to help children with autism, has been chosen as one of the most important research projects taking place in universities today, with the publication today (16 June) of the Big Ideas for the Future report.

16 Jun 2011

Young fathers more willing to ask for parenting help

Men are sometimes criticized for being unwilling to ask for directions when they travel, but they can benefit from looking for help as they begin their journeys as fathers, according to a researcher on fatherhood at the University of Chicago.

16 Jun 2011

Children born pre-term have persistent drive to succeed

In the longest running U.S. study of premature infants who are now 23 years old, University of Rhode Island Professor of Nursing Mary C. Sullivan has found that premature infants are less healthy, have more social and school struggles and face a greater risk of heart-health problems in adulthood.

16 Jun 2011

Majority of publicly-insured children unable to get doctor's appointment for medical conditions

Sixty-six percent of publicly-insured children were unable to get a doctor's appointment for medical conditions requiring outpatient specialty care including diabetes and seizures, while children with identical symptoms and private insurance were turned away only 11 percent of the time, according to an audit study of 273 specialty physician practices in Cook County, Ill.

16 Jun 2011

Children's Medical Center to open new $21M Specialty Care Center in Southlake

Children's Medical Center will debut its new Specialty Care Center in Southlake on June 18, a $21 million expansion which will serve children in one of the state's fastest-growing cities and the surrounding communities.

16 Jun 2011

Study: Glowing gel improves children's hand hygiene

Use of a glowing gel that shows kids how well they wash their hands by illustrating bacteria they missed while washing and may significantly improve hand hygiene, according to a study published in the July issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

16 Jun 2011

Serious RSV infections may occur in previously healthy infants and children

For most parents, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) isn't a familiar term. But it's a common cause of serious respiratory infections with a major impact on the health of infants and young children worldwide, according to a special CDC Review Article in the June issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

16 Jun 2011

Simple and cheap Syphilis test could save the lives of millions of babies

Syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease that has been a taboo for decades, kills an estimated one million newborn and stillborn babies every year. However a simple test for every pregnant woman followed by antibiotics for those infected would stop the deaths.

16 Jun 2011