Women's Health News

RSS

Saving Lives at Birth partnership supports two bold ideas that address maternal, newborn deaths

Although Kenyan Sam Agutu and Nigerian Aminu Gamawa come from different countries and backgrounds, they share a common passionate commitment - to save the lives of women giving birth and guarantee infants a healthy start.

23 Nov 2011

WHO director-general Chan nominated for second term

The WHO "said on Monday it has received just one application for the U.N. health agency's top post," which was submitted by China and nominated Margaret Chan, the current WHO director-general and former Hong Kong health chief, Agence France-Presse reports.

23 Nov 2011

Pre-existing depression may not delay diagnostic resolution of abnormal cancer screening

In what is believed to be the first study of its kind to examine the relationship between pre-existing depression and the amount of time to diagnostically resolve an abnormal mammogram and/or Pap test, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found suffering from depression was not associated with a prolonged time to diagnostic resolution in a vulnerable population of urban women.

23 Nov 2011

Prioritizing the family planning needs of young women

The world reached a population milestone in October, but "in the many discussions that have sprung up around the seven billion benchmark -- all of them important and illuminating -- I don't hear enough about our world's most vulnerable: our youth," Jill Sheffield, founder and president of Women Deliver, writes in this Huffington Post opinion piece.

23 Nov 2011

Complications following breast reduction surgery more common in older women

Complications following breast reduction surgery—particularly infections—are more common in women older than 50, reports a study in the December issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

23 Nov 2011

Men less willing to participate in cancer screening than women

Although men have higher cancer mortality rates than women, they are less willing to be screened for cancer, according to a study conducted by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and colleagues at Sanoa Consulting LLC, Muscle Shoals, Ala., and the New York University College of Dentistry.

23 Nov 2011

'Fistula hotline' in Sierra Leone helps identify women for treatment

IRIN profiles the establishment of a "'fistula hotline,' a free phone number for women who suffer from this debilitating condition that is seldom spoken about," at the Aberdeen Women's Centre, a clinic in Freetown, Sierra Leone. "The fistula hotline, which is run by the center, is the result of a public-private partnership between the Gloag Foundation, USAID, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and telecommunications company Airtel," IRIN notes.

23 Nov 2011

George W. Bush to travel to Africa to raise awareness about cervical, breast cancer

Former President George W. Bush will travel next month with former first lady Laura Bush and officials with the George W. Bush Institute to Tanzania, Zambia and Ethiopia "where they'll visit clinics and meet with governmental and health care leaders ... to raise awareness about cervical and breast cancer, an effort he calls a 'natural extension' of" the PEPFAR program launched during his presidency, the Associated Press reports.

23 Nov 2011

Partnerships, additional funding allow for expansion of PEPFAR to combat cervical cancer

In this post in the Public Health Institute's "Dialogue4Health" blog, Jeffrey Meer, director of PHI's Washington-based advocacy on global health, writes that "a significant expansion of PEPFAR's existing work to combat cervical cancer" through a partnership with the George W. Bush Institute known as Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon (PRRR); a 50 percent increase in the U.S. government's "commitment to screen and treat for this type of cancer from $20 million over five years to $30 million"; and additional funding from Susan G. Komen for the Cure "to expand breast cancer awareness and prevention among the same target population of women receiving care at PEPFAR-funded HIV service sites" has allowed "the wonderfully robust PEPFAR prevention and treatment platform, considered one of the great global health achievements in recent times, to be made available to a whole new type of prevention -- in this case for a non-communicable disease (NCD)."

23 Nov 2011

New IOM report assesses breast cancer risk posed by environmental factors

Although women have little or no control over some of the risk factors for breast cancer, such as those related to aging and genetics, they may be able to reduce their chances for developing the disease by avoiding certain environmental risks. BREAST CANCER AND THE ENVIRONMENT: A LIFE COURSE APPROACH, a new report from the Institute of Medicine, assesses the breast cancer risk posed by various environmental factors, identifies actions that offer potential to reduce women's risk for the disease, and recommends targets for future research.

23 Nov 2011

EpiGen to collaborate with Nestl- Research Center in Switzerland

The EpiGen Consortium, an international alliance of the world's leading epigenetics researchers (Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), National University of Singapore, University of Southampton, Medical Research Council - Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, AgResearch Limited, Auckland UniServices Limited) are pleased to announce the creation of a research collaboration with Nestl- Research Center in Switzerland.

23 Nov 2011

Virtues of a simple “Thank You” a day

Gratitude is a positive emotion with strong psychological effects say researchers. Now psychologists are trying to figure out the brain chemistry behind gratitude and the best ways of showing it.

22 Nov 2011

Coffee may protect against womb cancer: Study

For the study the researchers looked at coffee consumption and endometrial cancer risk in more than 67,000 women aged between 34 and 59 enrolled in the long-running Nurses' Health Study. The researchers found that women who took more than four cups of coffee a day over a 26-year period were 25 percent less likely to get the cancer.

22 Nov 2011

Is economic crunch the best birth control?

Experts feel it is the economic strain that is responsible for the U.S. birth rate decline that has been consistently falling for the third consecutive year.

22 Nov 2011

CRF to sponsor Women's Heart Health Summit

The Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) will sponsor the Women's Heart Health Summit: "In Pursuit of Excellence: Improving Cardiovascular Outcomes in Women." The goal of the meeting is to examine current prevention, treatment, and key research issues to collectively identify opportunities and recommendations that will lead to improved cardiovascular outcomes in women.

22 Nov 2011

Scientists search for main culprit behind Sj-gren's syndrome

Researchers want to find the main culprit behind the dry, irritated eyes, mouth, throat, skin, nose and more afflicting 1-3 percent of the population.

22 Nov 2011

Hypertension on the rise in Canada

Hypertension in Canada is increasing, and it is projected that more than one-quarter of Canadian adults will be diagnosed with hypertension by 2012/13, according to a study in CMAJ.

22 Nov 2011

Review highlights promising interventions to improve reproductive health of women living with HIV in developing countries

An article published in the Journal of the International AIDS Society on Friday "reviews the evidence of what works to meet the sexual and reproductive health needs of women living with HIV in developing countries and includes 35 studies and evaluations of eight general interventions using various methods of implementation science from 15 countries."

21 Nov 2011

ACR denounces new breast cancer screening guidelines by CTFOPH

The American College of Radiology today denounced new breast cancer screening guidelines by the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health (CTFOPH), which recommend against annual screening of women ages 40-49 and would extend time between screens for older women.

21 Nov 2011

Recommendations aim to enhance health and quality of life for frail and vulnerable patients in nursing home care

More than 1.5 million adults live in nursing homes in the United States, and approximately 30 percent of people will diewith a nursing home as their last place of residence. As this population continues to increase, so will the need for physicians to assist those patients with proper care and guidance in making end-of-life decisions.

21 Nov 2011