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New federal study spotlights heavy soda use

CDC finds that half of Americans consume drinks containing sugar, such as soda and energy drinks, and that teenagers and young adults drink the most.

2 Sep 2011

Wis. patients getting tested for HIV after misuse of equipment

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that a nurse misused equipment to teach diabetic patients how to inject insulin. Meanwhile, researchers look at how hospital uniforms can carry germs.

2 Sep 2011

UNICEF, NGOs in West Africa work to encourage better sanitation in rural areas

UNICEF and non-governmental organizations "operating in West Africa say the main barrier to more pit latrines in rural areas is not poverty or lack of resources, but a lack of understanding about costs and benefits," IRIN reports.

2 Sep 2011

UnitedHealthcare to administer major Calif. physicians groups

UnitedHealth Group continues to expand its Optum health services division, entering into an agreement to handle non-clinical operations at one of California's largest physicians groups.

2 Sep 2011

NCD summit negotiations must get back on track to help millions worldwide

With negotiations over the outcomes for the U.N. High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) stalled, "[i]t is feared that sound proposals for clear goals and timelines to tackle these devastating diseases are being systematically deleted, diluted and downgraded by some U.N. Member States and urgent action is needed to put the negotiations back on track, when they recommence on September 1," Rob Moodie, chair of Global Health at the Nossal Institute of Global Health, writes in the Crikey health blog "Croakey."

2 Sep 2011

Hospital growth slows, NLRB issues nursing home union decision

Hospital revenue growth continued to slow down in 2010 and is projected to cool further during the next few years... Median operating revenue and expense growth last fiscal year dropped to a pace not seen in the last decade, said [said Moody's Investors Service's] analysis of 401 not-for-profit hospitals that operate alone or within single-state health systems.

2 Sep 2011

Insomnia prevalent in 23% of US workers

Insomnia is costing the average U.S. worker 11.3 days, or $2,280 in lost productivity every year, according to a study in the September 1 issue of the journal Sleep. As a nation, the total cost is 252.7 days and $63.2 billion.

2 Sep 2011

Women smokers more likely to attempt quitting when bans are enforced

Many workplaces and households ban smoking and, for some women, the effects extend beyond their office building or family home. A new study finds that women smokers who live and work where bans are enforced, even those who did not make explicit plans to quit, are more likely to attempt quitting.

2 Sep 2011

NAIC members raise concerns about exchange waiver process

The nation's insurance commissioners are raising concerns about how much flexibility states will have to tweak their exchanges once the new insurance markets are up and running. Under the first set of exchange rules, released in July, states that want to alter their exchange plans would have to get permission from HHS.

2 Sep 2011

Florida steps up efforts against pill mills; Hospital executives under scrutiny

The New York Times looks at Florida's efforts to stop illegal sales of prescription drugs while other outlets examine local hospital issues.

2 Sep 2011

Link between age-related changes, health and cognition

Critical life course events and experiences - in both youth and middle adulthood - may contribute to health and cognition in later life, according to a new supplemental issue of the Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences.

2 Sep 2011

AAPB publishes first handbook on sport psychology, neurofeedback and biofeedback

The Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB), an international society for mind-body research, healthcare, and education, recently published the first handbook on sport psychology, neurofeedback, and biofeedback to offer performance techniques for reaching maximum potential.

2 Sep 2011

Investments in EHRs could reap major benefits in better patient care, health outcomes

Research published today in the New England Journal of Medicine gives cause for optimism that federal investments in electronic health records (EHRs) could reap major benefits in better patient care and health outcomes.

2 Sep 2011

STTI selects AJN as 2011 recipient of Nursing Media Award for Print

Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW), part of Wolters Kluwer Health, is pleased to announce that the American Journal of Nursing (AJN) has been selected as the 2011 recipient of the Nursing Media Award for Print by Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), the Honor Society of Nursing.

2 Sep 2011

First Edition: September 2, 2011

On Kaiser Health News' blog, staff writer Julie Appleby writes: "Insurers who offer 'association health plans,' which are often sold through trade groups or other organizations of affiliated members, will face the same scrutiny of premium rate hikes as other types of insurance, federal officials said Thursday."

2 Sep 2011

Tips for parents to identify children with vision problems

Nearly 80 percent of what a child learns during their first 12 years is obtained through their vision. Though vision problems may seem easy to identify, they actually can be difficult for parents to discern. Still, parents need to be attentive since vision disorders are the fourth-most-common disability in children in the U.S.

2 Sep 2011

SAMHSA awards $12.2M in grants to train behavioral health care providers

Five minority fellowship program grants are being awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for a total of up to $12.2 million. These three-year grants will be used to train a new wave of behavioral health care providers. The program focuses on increasing the number of culturally competent behavioral health professionals available in underserved racially and ethnically diverse communities.

2 Sep 2011

Increasing trust in neighbors associated with better self-reported health

Here's an easy way to improve your health: trust your neighbors. A new study from the University of Missouri shows that increasing trust in neighbors is associated with better self-reported health.

2 Sep 2011

Cardin is 'optimistic' that 'super committee' will fix SGR

Sen. Ben Cardin said Wednesday he is optimistic that the super committee will fix the Sustainable Growth Rate formula. "We have to start with a realistic budget baseline," the Maryland Democrat told about 500 National Institutes of Health employees at a town hall meeting on the agency's main campus in Bethesda, Md. Repealing the SGR is estimated to cost about $350 billion over the next decade, but wouldn't have to be offset to meet the super committee's goal of $1.2 trillion if the Bowles-Simpson baseline is used, Cardin said.

2 Sep 2011

Hospitals with higher surgical volumes less likely to cause unintentional serious injuries

Are you scheduled for heart bypass surgery or weight loss surgery? You might want to find out just how frequently different hospitals in your area are performing those procedures before deciding where to go. A new study finds that hospitals with higher surgical volumes for certain procedures are less likely to cause unintentional serious injuries to hospitalized patients when compared to those hospitals that perform the procedures less often.

2 Sep 2011