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Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network announces availability of three research awards

The Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN) has announced the availability of three research awards of $100,000 each, over a two-year period. Applications will be accepted from January 9 to March 6, 2013.

11 Jan 2013

Republicans take aim at Planned Parenthood's 'record' taxpayer support

Also making headlines, a group of House Democrats are pressing the White House to retain funding for mental health, and New York members of Congress are pushing to include cancer care in the 9/11 health program.

11 Jan 2013

Leveraging public-private partnerships to improve global health

"Although global health was historically dominated by U.N. agencies and bilateral organizations, new partnerships with the private sector have emerged since the 1990s," Jeffrey Sturchio, senior partner at Rabin Martin, and Adel Mahmoud, a professor at Princeton University, write in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog.

11 Jan 2013

Americans die sooner and experience higher rates of disease and injury than others

On average, Americans die sooner and experience higher rates of disease and injury than people in other high-income countries, says a new report from the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. The report finds that this health disadvantage exists at all ages from birth to age 75 and that even advantaged Americans -- those who have health insurance, college educations, higher incomes, and healthy behaviors -- appear to be sicker than their peers in other rich nations.

11 Jan 2013

Examining growing attention toward health systems strengthening

In an article published in the journal Health Policy and Planning, Tamara Hafner and Jeremy Shiffman of the Department of Public Administration and Policy at American University examine the factors behind why "many organizations involved in global health have come to direct attention and resources to the issue of health systems strengthening," especially since 2005, according to the abstract. They "construct a case history and analyze the factors shaping and inhibiting global political attention for health systems strengthening," the abstract states.

11 Jan 2013

Lower education level negatively impacts cancer screening rates

When researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues conducted a random telephone survey among blacks, whites and Hispanics in New York, Baltimore and San Juan, Puerto Rico, they found that Hispanics are nearly twice as likely to report that fear of being used as a "guinea pig" and lack of trust in medical professionals contribute in being unwilling to participate in cancer screenings.

11 Jan 2013

Global health spending levels remain unresolved under 'fiscal cliff' deal

The "fiscal cliff" deal agreed to by Congress "leaves suspended in mid-air the fates of programs essential to meeting the goals of continued global health responses -- including the implementation of PEPFAR's blueprint for an AIDS-free generation, and whatever promise the new Office of Global Health Diplomacy will offer," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

11 Jan 2013

Pakistan re-launches polio vaccination campaign amid increased security

"Pakistan's ambassador for polio eradication, Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, re-launched the anti-polio campaign in Sindh province on Tuesday," Pakistan Today reports.

11 Jan 2013

U.N. warns humanitarian needs growing in Syria; 2.5M people need emergency food aid

"The United Nations food relief agency on Tuesday warned that humanitarian needs in Syria -- especially for food -- are growing, with serious bread and fuel shortages across the war-torn country," the U.N. News Centre reports.

11 Jan 2013

Roundup: Kan., Ga., Mass., Neb. face decisions on implementing health law

At an Atlanta panel discussion Tuesday previewing children's health issues for the upcoming General Assembly session, one item stood out. State Sen. Fran Millar (R-Atlanta) was officially on the panel to highlight "School Flexibility," but he summed up what he sees as the urgency of passing a Medicaid hospital provider fee during the legislative session. Approving the hospital assessment is "perhaps the most critical thing we have to do," Millar said.

11 Jan 2013

PLoS Medicine articles look at HIV care disengagement, development aid, mental health

PLoS Medicine Publications Assistant Michael Morris summarizes several articles published this week in the journal in this PLoS "Speaking of Medicine" blog post.

11 Jan 2013

Running foot strike patterns vary among habitually barefoot people in Kenya

A recently published paper by two George Washington University researchers shows that the running foot strike patterns vary among habitually barefoot people in Kenya due to speed and other factors such as running habits and the hardness of the ground. These results are counter to the belief that barefoot people prefer one specific style of running.

11 Jan 2013

Medicare spends about as much screening for breast cancer as treating it -- $1B annually

Medicare spends $1 billion annually on breast cancer screening, a new study has found. Another report, this one from UnitedHealth, says changes to how the government coordinates patient care could save half a trillion dollars over a decade.

11 Jan 2013

People with high levels of education tend to have positive attitudes towards homosexuals

Attitudes of Singaporeans and permanent residents toward gays and lesbians although sharply polarised and predominantly negative, have shifted slightly over a five-year span to become a little more favourable. This was found by a research team from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

11 Jan 2013

Tips for parents to safely help relieve child's flu symptoms

Doctors' offices are teeming with patients suffering from one of the worst outbreaks of cold and flu season in recent years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that flu is at an elevated level across the nation. Though virus symptoms vary by age, children are especially vulnerable since they are unable to take over-the-counter medications to help alleviate symptoms.

10 Jan 2013

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center receives $36M NCI grant

The National Cancer Institute has awarded the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center a $36 million grant to fund cutting edge research programs and clinical trials over five years.

10 Jan 2013

Loyola uses FilmArray Respiratory Panel to screen infectious diseases

Cold, allergies, the flu or something else? Thanks to advanced technology, physicians at Loyola University Health System receive confirmation of their patient's respiratory illness within one hour. Loyola is one of only two hospitals in lllinois to use the FDA-approved FilmArray Respiratory Panel, which screens for 17 viral and 3 bacterial pathogens in about 60 minutes.

10 Jan 2013

New York State WIC program reduces rates of obesity among children

New York children participating in a federal nutrition program had healthier eating behaviors and lower rates of obesity two years after improvements to the program were undertaken, according to a study published online today in Obesity, the official journal of the Obesity Society.

10 Jan 2013

MSF, DNDi analysis shows increased investment in NTDs but low number of new therapy approvals

"Over the past decade, neglected diseases have attracted increased attention and larger investments in research," but "a new analysis by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) finds that the rate of approvals for new compounds over the past decade is roughly the same as it was during the previous two-and-a-half decades, when the diseases received little attention," Nature Medicine reports.

10 Jan 2013

Tips to keep kids safe while playing outside in the cold

Cold winds, icy rain and, in some places, snow—Old Man Winter is here. With the snowball fights, snow forts and snowy hills come some serious dangers. In addition to ducking from flying snow balls and avoiding out-of-control skiers, parents need to be on the lookout for dangerously low body temperatures and frostbite related to cold weather exposure.

10 Jan 2013