Feature Channels: Public Health

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Studies have shown wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle reduces one's risk of death by more than 50 percent, yet every three days, a child in the United States is killed while riding a bicycle, and every day at least 100 children are treated in emergency rooms due to bicycle-related head injuries. A report released today by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health reveals that in areas where no bicycle helmet laws exist, nearly one-half of children, ages 4 "“ 17, never wear a helmet.

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The tobacco industry knows exactly what makes social smokers tick. Now, researchers want to use that once-secret information to help them quit.

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Researchers at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee published the first initial paper describing the Milwaukee prevalence of the largest outbreak of novel swine origin influenza virus (S-OIV) in America in the June 11, 2009, online issue of Viruses. This corresponded to the announcement by World Health Organization of the first influenza pandemic in 41 years.

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Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health have received a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to determine whether collaborative virtual environments improve public health preparedness and response planning.

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Richard P. Wenzel, M.D., internationally known expert on infectious disease, says that a federal declaration of a health emergency is a standard procedure that frees up resources and gets health care professionals focused to fight an infectious disease like swine flu.

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Public health experts Dr. George T. DiFerdinando, who leads the New Jersey Center for Health Preparedness at the UMDNJ-School of Public Health, and David Perlin, Ph.D., director of the Public Health Research Institute at the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, are available to discuss the H1N1 pandemic declared on Thursday by the World Health Organization (WHO).

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The consequences of tobacco use for people with developmental or intellectual disabilities can be especially severe, and the medical community often tends to overlook the tobacco-related burdens these people face. An extensive review of published research on this topic appears in the June edition of the journal Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

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Factors such as where you live, where you work and how much money you make can affect your health and well-being. People who experience poor economic and social conditions may be physically, psychologically and socially limited, and have difficulty achieving personal aspirations, satisfying needs, and coping with the environment. In response to today's report from the Senate Subcommittee on Population Health, CIHR-funded researchers are available to discuss how we can reduce health inequities and improve health through population health interventions.

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Corrected vision impairment could prevent billions of dollars in lost productivity annually, according to a study. Researchers estimate that nearly 158 million people globally suffer with vision impairment resulting from uncorrected refractive error, which can usually be eliminated with a pair of eyeglasses and an eye examination.

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Implementing measures to improve nutrition, indoor air pollution, immunization coverage and the management of pneumonia cases could be cost-effective and significantly reduce child mortality from pneumonia, according to a study led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Researchers found that these strategies combined could reduce total child mortality by 17 percent and could reduce pneumonia deaths by more than 90 percent.

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More than 17 million U.S. children live more than an hour away by ground or air transportation from a life-saving pediatric trauma center, according to a new study. The creation of a national inventory of pediatric trauma centers may help to identify the locations of gaps and greatly improve access to care for U.S. children, the authors said.

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Experts in child health from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey are available to comment on the dangers of pertussis (whooping cough). The incidence of this highly contagious and potentially fatal disease has risen dramatically in the U.S., and a new study shows that unvaccinated children are 23 times more likely to develop pertussis than fully immunized children.

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Private well water should be tested yearly, and in some cases more often, according to new guidance offered by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, took a lead role in working with the AAP to develop these recommendations and draft a new AAP policy statement about the things parents should do if their children drink well water.

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In light of interest in the ongoing H1N1 influenza outbreak, several pandemic influenza-related scientific papers are being published online ahead of schedule. A special supplement to the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) on influenza preparedness, in which these and other papers appear, will be published as scheduled later this year.

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University of Maryland, Baltimore is expanding dental student work in underserved communities.

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New estimates of the likelihood that a latent case of tuberculosis (TB) will become active have resulted in a roughly 50 percent increase over previous estimates of the number of people needed to be screened (NNS) to prevent an active infection, limiting the cost effectiveness of screening in many Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-defined risk groups, according to an analysis conducted by experts in the epidemiology of the disease.

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Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College have published results showing that a new contraceptive device may also effectively block the transmission of the HIV virus. Findings show that the device prevents infection by the HIV virus in laboratory testing. The promising results are published in the most recent issue of the journal AIDS.

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Researchers at Mayo Clinic compared two popular television shows, CSI and CSI: Miami, to actual U.S. homicide data, and discovered clear differences between media portrayals of violent deaths versus actual murders. This study complements previous research regarding media influences on public health perception.

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New research suggests that exempting bars from community smoking bans makes no economic difference in terms of preserving bar employment, and that even the most comprehensive clean indoor air policies do not lead to a reduction in hospitality jobs.

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1) Differences in generation and language preference among Mexican-American women may influence their reproductive decisions; 2) Insured immigrants spend less on medical expenses than insured US-born citizens; 3) Elderly persons living with a spouse report better preventive care use than those living alone or with children.

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With the struggling economy, everyone is trying to save money. People are eating out less and staying home instead of taking vacations. Unfortunately, at times like this, there also is a tendency for people with hearing loss to forego physician-recommended treatments, such as hearing aids.

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University of Saskatchewan graduate student has been selected as inaugural recipient of the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship"”one of the most sought-after scholarships for graduate students.

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Although many have touted strategies from travel avoidance to Tamiflu to halt the spread of H1N1 flu or swine flu, a large body of evidence from the Cochrane Library suggests that concentrating on children's hand washing might be the best way to reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses.

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Tapping the Internet is fast becoming a way to get a complete, up-to-the-minute view of public health threats, say researchers from the Informatics Program at Children's Hospital Boston in a Perspectives article published Online First by The New England Journal of Medicine on May 7. In an accompanying sidebar, they describe the use of HealthMap.org in tracking the H1N1 swine flu.

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Loyola Occupational Health Services gives tips on keeping the flu out of the office.

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Students from The University of Texas School of Public Health are gaining firsthand surveillance experience in response to the recent H1N1 flu outbreak. The Student Epidemic Intelligence Society (SEIS) was organized in 2002 shortly after Kristy Murray, DVM, Ph.D., assistant professor of epidemiology at the UT School of Public Health joined the faculty at the UT School of Public Health. As a former Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she was invited to assist the city health department with the increasing number of West Nile virus cases being diagnosed in Houston.

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Responses during times of medical emergencies and stress offer opportunities for adults and children to teach and learn. Educational resources available from the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, or CSTS, of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, or USU, at www.cstsonline.org/pandemicflu.shtml, may be helpful in understanding and explaining the risks and prevention of exposure to the H1N1 and other viruses.

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Swine flu, or H1N1, is spreading around the globe and has reached pandemic levels. As more cases are reported and more details are revealed, American University experts can provide analysis on similar outbreaks in the past, such as the Spanish flu of 1918, or how the outbreak could affect international trade.

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David P. Fidler of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law says the developing debate about the responses to Influenza A (H1N1) is important but that people should be wary of simplistic hype about the "panic" public health responses to the outbreak have ostensibly caused.

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According to a new study led by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, there are several factors that contribute to children missing immunization visits. The findings will be reported in a platform presentation at 8:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, May 5, 2009, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Baltimore.

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Nearly 75 percent of children ages 3-6 are in child care centers, and many are not be getting enough exercise. A focus group study of child care providers by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center shows several reasons children are not getting as much physical activity as they should.

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Experts in the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization, the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, the College of Medicine and the School of Public Health at the University of Saskatchewan are available to comment on the swine flu outbreak.

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Behind the scenes and all levels of government, the swine flu outbreak has triggered a rapid, coordinated, "˜connect-the-dots' public health response "“ the first big test of the bio-threat system in the post-9/11 world, says public administration expert Donald Kettl, incoming public policy dean at the University of Maryland. "The issue of coordination is really huge and there will be many lessons about preparedness and response to learn from this outbreak," Kettl says.

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With cases of swine flu continuing to spread, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Homeland Security Department have declared a public health emergency, and the World Health Organization and governments around the globe are organizing to confront the potential crisis. UCLA has experts.

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Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech are using high-performance computer simulations to show how diseases like flu spread through large populations. They want to provide policymakers, decision-makers, and public health experts with a way to test health interventions that would help to put the brakes on the spread of a deadly influenza outbreak.

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Experts available to comment on aspects of viral infections, such as viral gene replication, the communication challenges the local and national health agencies are likely to face, communicating health information, epidemiology, health law, public policy and pandemic preparedness.

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The University of Michigan School of Public Health and the U-M Health System have several experts available to discuss various aspects of the recent swine flu outbreak, including disease transmission, nonpharmaceutical interventions, antiviral resistance, quarantine, viruses and trauma.

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The following faculty members of The George Washington University Medical Center are available to comment on topics regarding the swine flu outbreak.

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The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Worker Education and Training Program (WETP) will take part on May 1 in a disaster training exercise with several other agencies in Cincinnati, Ohio. The exercise will include a table top instructional activity to respond to a simulated explosion and dispersion of chemicals from a Cincinnati business, as well as displays and stations for the participants to conduct hands-on work.

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A new multicenter study involving UCLA and the RAND Corp. has found that perceived racial or ethnic discrimination is not an uncommon experience among fifth-grade students and that it may have a negative effect on their mental health.

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Representatives from four international agencies, including the director of the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP), today signed a memorandum of cooperation that could reduce the number of animals required for consumer product safety testing worldwide.

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RTI International has three public health experts who can discuss issues surrounding the swine flu outbreak.

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The recent drinking and driving (DUI) arrests of celebrities"”Paris Hilton, Nicole Ritchie, Michelle Rodriguez and Lindsay Lohan"”yielded widespread news coverage, however, very little of it offered any public health context, according to a new report by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Injury Research and Policy.

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More people live behind bars in the United States than in any other country, but the American prison system punishes more than just its inmates---it also takes a toll on the health of friends and loved ones left behind.

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More people are turning to a new trend to let others know about their medical condition "“ tattooing. A case report will be presented Friday, May 15, at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) 18th Annual Meeting & Clinical Congress shedding light on this new phenomenon, while urging discussion from the medical community.

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University of Maryland, Baltimore study shows early preventive dental care to toddlers may significantly reduce cavities and cavity-causing bacteria levels in children.

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Dr. Peter Wenger, medical director for Project Vaccinate, an immunization case management and community action initiative, is available to discuss the importance of vaccinations to infants during National Infant Immunization Week April 25-May 2, which highlights the importance of protecting infants from vaccine-preventable diseases and the achievements of immunization programs.

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The Academy for Eating Disorders (AED) invites you to join the world's leading eating disorders professionals at the 2009 International Conference on Eating Disorders, April 30-May 2 in Cancun, Mexico.

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Lorraine Robbins of the College of Nursing at Michigan State University has been awarded a $400,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health. Her study entitled, "Middle School Physical Activity Intervention for Girls," aims to help middle school-age girls increase their physical activity and improve other health-related behaviors. According to federal estimates, of the approximately 5 million middle school girls in the United States, over 1.5 million are overweight or at risk for becoming overweight.

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A new series of national public service announcements designed to encourage consumers to get involved in their health care by knowing and asking appropriate questions when visiting their doctor or other clinicians was launched today by AHRQ with The Advertising Council and actress and health advocate Fran Drescher.