Monthly Archive for December 2009
« November 2009 | | January 2010 »
December 29, 2009
links for 2009-12-29
-
Drugs that have been used for decades are being pushed off the market by the FDA and pharmaceutical companies because the medications pre-date modern drug laws and have never been FDA approved. Medications that used to sell for pennies a pill are now being forced out in favor of "new" brand name medications. The example used in the article is colchicine, a medication used to treat gout and other inflammatory illnesses. The FDA granted URL Pharma and their version of colchicine, Colcrys, "three years exclusivity for treatment of gout - a recurrent arthritic inflammatory disease caused by uric acid buildup - and seven years for FMF under orphan drug rules."
-
East Carolina University is offering a new online program focusing on ethnic and rural health disparities.
ERHD is a non-credit certificate program designed for health care professionals and others interested in broadening their understanding of health issues and improving their skills in working with ethnic health disparities. The program is composed of 16 modules that may be taken individually or as a full series.
CNN video spotlights a restaurant in Harlem that is making headway into bringing healthier options to inner city neighborhoods.
If you eat too much, exercise too little, drink too much, smoke, take drugs, fail to wear a seat belt or ignore gun safety, there is only so much a doctor or hospital can do for you.
Posted by: Staff on December 29, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
December 24, 2009
links for 2009-12-24
-
"The combination of increasing disability rates plus a growing population of older adults emphasizes the importance of prevention of the many chronic conditions giving rise to disability in the first place," said the study's lead author, Esme Fuller-Thomson, professor of social work at the University of Toronto. "There is evidence, for example, that the doubling of obesity rates over the last three decades may be linked to rising disability in older people, yet the obesity problem is largely preventable."
Posted by: Staff on December 24, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
December 23, 2009
links for 2009-12-23
-
Are kickbacks the way of the future in swaying the swing votes in Congress? The deal critics have dubbed the Cornhusker Kickback is expected to cost the federal government $100 million over 10 years. The multimillion-dollar deals cut with Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and others to win the 60 votes needed for the historic health care reform bill gave President Barack Obama the margin he needed to fulfill a central campaign promise — but may also have upped the ante for future presidential horse trading.
Posted by: Staff on December 23, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
December 21, 2009
links for 2009-12-21
-
New technology provides access to health care while never leaving home or getting a physical exam from a health care provider. Is it really going to provide adequate health care for patients who use that technology since they are never physically examined by a provider?
Posted by: Staff on December 21, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
December 19, 2009
links for 2009-12-19
-
This study is the first to use sophisticated techniques to improve disaster preparedness among Hispanics. It shows that lay health teachers who engage people inside their social networks and use culturally tailored content were more effective than mailers at encouraging participants to stockpile water and food and create a family communication plan.
-
Childhood obesity is directly related to how close kids live to convenience stores, according to the preliminary findings of a major Canadian study presented at the Entretiens Jacques-Cartier in Lyon, France
-
About one out of every 110 U.S. children have been diagnosed with autism, according to a new federal estimate released Friday. Boys are 4 times more likely to be diagnosed, with a rate that is now 1 for every 70 boys.
Posted by: Staff on December 19, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
December 15, 2009
links for 2009-12-15
-
The Associated Press reports that women with low incomes are being turned away or put on long waiting lists for free cancer screenings in at least 20 states. These states include Illinois,Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Posted by: Staff on December 15, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
December 12, 2009
links for 2009-12-12
-
New federally financed drug research reveals a stark disparity: children covered by Medicaid are given powerful antipsychotic medicines at a rate four times higher than children whose parents have private insurance. And the Medicaid children are more likely to receive the drugs for less severe conditions than their middle-class counterparts, the data shows.
Posted by: Staff on December 12, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
December 10, 2009
links for 2009-12-10
-
The major bills now pending before Congress include a number of key provisions that could either directly or indirectly have an impact on reducing health disparities affecting racial and ethnic minorities.
Posted by: Staff on December 10, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
December 08, 2009
links for 2009-12-08
-
Finding Answers: Disparities Research for Change, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) at the University of Chicago, is awarding more than $1.5 million to seven organizations that are working to eliminate racial and ethnic health care disparities in their communities.
Each of the final seven grant recipients will receive up to $258,500 to evaluate their proposed interventions aimed at reducing disparities in the health outcomes of patients in their communities. Grantees will focus on cardiovascular disease, depression and diabetes; diseases where evidence of racial and ethnic disparities in care is strong and the recommended standards of care are clear.
Dr. Regina Benjamin noted that the proportion of U.S. physicians who are minorities is only 6 percent -- the same proportion as a century ago. ... The numbers come from a 2004 estimate of the percentage of U.S. physicians that are black or Hispanic. Blacks and Hispanics account for roughly 28 percent of the U.S. population, according to 2008 figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. In a 27-minute speech, Benjamin told health leaders in the audience to encourage young minorities to pursue careers in medicine or other ambitions" (Stobbe, 12/3)
"Many African-American women don't fit the profile of the average American woman who gets breast cancer. For them, putting off the first mammogram until 50 — as recommended by a government task force — could put their life in danger
Albion's 530 students are part of a nationwide effort to combat obesity called "Fuel Up to Play 60" that is sponsored by the National Football League and the National Dairy Council. The school is one of 20 in the state that will receive $5,000 in grants this year to expand the program at their institution.Rocky River Middle School and North Olmsted Middle School are also receiving the additional grant money this year.
Fuel up to Play, launched in October, is designed to give school children a voice in developing nutrition and fitness programs in their schools. The program's major goals are to make more healthy foods available in schools and to encourage the kids to be physically active for 60 minutes a day.
Posted by: Staff on December 08, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
December 04, 2009
All You Need to Know About Chronic Kidney Disease
If you’re not familiar with what chronic kidney disease is, let me explain – your kidneys play the role of filtering waste from your body and removing excess water from your blood. When they stop functioning normally, toxins and water build up in your body and cause complications. When you suffer from chronic kidney disease, your kidneys slowly begin to deteriorate and finally stop functioning after a certain period of time. You will need dialysis and/or a transplantation to survive at this point. It’s a painful and uncomfortable disease, so if you’re at risk, you need to know all you can about chronic kidney disease so you can do what you can to prevent it:
• According to the 2009 annual report prepared by the U.S. Renal Data System, the incidence of chronic kidney disease has increased by more than one percent in the U.S. Medicare population.
• Diabetes is the leading cause of chronic kidney disease, so if you have this disease or at risk of contracting it because of your lifestyle and/or hereditary factors, you must take adequate care to prevent becoming a casualty.
• Besides diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, age and a strong family history of kidney disease are indicators of your risk to chronic kidney disease.
• African Americans and Hispanics are more prone to this disease than Caucasians.
• A study published in the Journal of American Society of Nephrology has found that over 650,000 Americans are likely to develop end-stage renal disease by 2010.
• When you have chronic kidney disease, you are likely to be beset by cardiovascular problems and anemia.
• Children with chronic kidney disease are prone to hypertension. This increases their risk of cardiovascular disease.
• If you have chronic kidney disease, you are at a higher risk for a stroke.
• With the rising incidence of hypertension, coronary artery disease and hypertension because of our lifestyles, there is bound to be an increase in chronic kidney disease.
• Early screening and diagnosis can help you prevent and avoid the need for dialysis. So if you have diabetes or are at risk for it, ensure that you get your kidneys checked regularly. It’s easy enough to get tested for kidney damage – all you need to do is provide a urine sample for testing. If your urine is found to have traces of albumin according to the microalbumin test or if your blood shows high levels of creatinine, then you could start treatment to avoid kidney failure which is an inevitable consequence of kidney damage if you don’t get treatment at the right time.
This article is contributed by Carol Smith, who regularly writes on the topic of ultrasound tech school. She invites your questions, comments at her email address: smithcarol.311@rediffmail.com
Posted by: Staff on December 04, 2009
Category:
December 02, 2009
Cuyahoga health officials urge blacks, who are less apt to get shots, to get H1N1 vaccine
Our very own Dr. Daryl Thornton was recently interviewed for a Plain Dealer article that discusses the concerns over the hesitation among blacks to get vaccinated for the H1N1 virus. He and Cuyahoga County Health Commissioner Terry Allen, are working to raise awareness among the community about the importance of getting the vaccine.
"I think it really gets down to trust," said Thornton, who is black. "There's still this hidden concern that vaccination may not protect them from flu and may make them sicker. They are just by nature going to be more susceptible to infection, so they tend to benefit the most from vaccine."
This issue is important due to the reality that blacks have higher rates of diabetes, asthma and other chronic conditions that leave them more susceptible to infections like H1N1 or the flu.
To read the article on Cleveland.com, please follow this link.
Posted by: Staff on December 02, 2009
Category: H1N1
links for 2009-12-02
-
Dr. Daryl Thornton, a MetroHealth Medical Center pulmonologist who is involved with reducing racial health disparities, said misperceptions and mistrust are behind blacks' reluctance to be vaccinated.
-
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has partnered with the Washington, D.C., Department of Health to launch a study that seeks to determine whether aggressive treatment for HIV could eradicate AIDS, the Washington Post reports.
-
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed offering higher reimbursement rates to schools that serve healthy foods, Reuters reports. Child nutrition programs, including the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs, are slated for reauthorization early next year, and lawmakers are expected to focus their reform efforts on improving the nutritional quality of school meals as a way to help prevent childhood obesity. The school meal programs serve almost 40 million meals per day and account for "more than half [of] students' food intake during the school day." Under the current system, schools receive $2.88 in cash and USDA-provided food for each lunch served for free to students. The USDA proposal would increase that rate, by an amount to be determined, for schools providing more fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
-
African-Americans with preventable conditions often fail to get adequate care, resulting in hospitalizations years earlier than whites with the same conditions, results from a new study suggest.
Posted by: Staff on December 02, 2009
Category: Lunch Break Reading
Should Vending Machines Post Calorie Counts?
The United States is fighting an obesity epidemic and our health care providers are encouraging us to read labels when making our food choices. Now an effort is underway for vending machine companies to ensure that the nutritional content of the snacks and food they sell are displayed to the consumer. Do consumers always make the healthiest choices? The health-care bills in both the House and Senate would make the display of calorie counts a requirement for people who own more than 20 machines. This goes along with the portion of the bill requiring chain restaurants to do the same.
Jacob Goldstein writes about this today in the WSJ Health Blog. He points to the fact that some recent studies have shown that posting nutritional content of foods in restaurants didn't affect the food choices that were made by consumers. It's true, does the action of posting caloric content really have an impact?
Is it possible that consumers go to those restaurants specifically to purchase a particular item, not really caring about what it's made of or how it affects their health? Or is it an issue of educating the public about what the numbers mean and HOW to make a healthy choice?
At any rate, there are restaurant chains that have refused to post their nutritional content in the past, while others will prominently display it in their restaurant, or on the website. Vending machines have limited space with which to display this information and vending companies have other concerns about this as well. Goldstein remarks in his blog:
the folks from the National Automatic Merchandising Association don’t like the rule. In a story posted this morning, an official from the trade group tells NPR that following the labeling requirements would be “pretty expensive” for people who own the machines.
True, but how does that expense compare to the expense of our obesity epidemic? Maybe posting the calorie content is the first step, but does this educate our population on what constitutes a healthy choice? Furthermore, how many "healthy" foods are there in vending machines? Is there even a "choice" to be made?
To read more about this topic in Jacob Goldstein's blog, please visit WSJ's website here.
Posted by: Staff on December 02, 2009
Category: