April 2012
71 posts
“Many of those costs have dollar signs in front of them, such as the higher...”
– Yet another indication that obesity needs to be addressed.
True cost of obesity in America: $190 billion - TODAY Health - TODAY.com
“Parents either watch in terror as their children are strapped inside ambulances...”
– An heart-breaking, yet eye-opening story by California Endowment Fellow Barbara Anderson.
Fresno County parents must travel far to save their mentally-ill children - Updates - fresnobee.com
“In contrast, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, widely regarded as...”
– According to this article, the food industry is using tactics similar to those used by the Tobacco industry to fight strict regulations.
Special Report: How Washington went soft on childhood obesity | Reuters
120 reports of child abuse a day in South LA,... →
José Martinez at OnCentral covers the big health story about a study on the DNA of children who experience violence from a local angle. Also read Laurie Udesky’s essay Reporting Ethically on Children’s Physical and Mental Health and Jane Stevens’ post See no evil: How child trauma research helps us understand the Penn State tragedy.
“But note that this study, published in Annals of Neurology, received funding...”
– Does the fact that this study was funded by the California Strawberry Commission take away the legitimacy of its findings?
Berries may delay memory decline – - CNN.com Blogs
“Journalism and science are moving toward each other. They won’t merge, of...”
– Jerry Michalski at Forbes gives his take on the future of news in Sorting Out the Truth. Gideon Lichfiled of The Economist and NPR’s Matt Thompson gave their version of what journalists can learn from scientists at SXSW Interactive.
“Experts believe that having to report the results pushed hospitals to work...”
– Can mandatory reporting be a way to improve health care in other areas as well.
A really interesting article by California Endowment Health Journalism Fellow Victoria Colliver.
Heart bypass deaths fall as care, reporting improve
“The good news is that this was not a breach of the feed ban or anything like...”
– said Tom Talbot, Chairman of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Assocation’s Cattle Health and Well-Being Committee, to Reuters. The words mad cow disease are scary to many. But should we really be that scared?
Instant View: Mad cow disease found in California | Reuters
Medical residents are abused more than Chinese... →
An anonymous contributor to KevinMD discusses the working conditions for doctors-in-training
Watch GlobalPost follows up on the mayor’s weight-loss campaign: Obesity: Toronto’s mayor battles a mean KFC habit
“Henriksen’s research, published last year, found that as the proportion of...”
– What can the state of California do to counter the tobacco companies’ efforts?
Tobacco brands target black youth, study finds | California Watch
“After scheduling an appointment, my prospective patient has something new to...”
– George Makari, M.D., professor of psychiatry and director of the DeWitt Wallace Institute for the History of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, reflects: A Brief History of Anxiety in the opinion pages of The New York Times.
“Thomson Reuters put the health-care business up for sale in June, saying it...”
– Reuters will no longer be in the business of providing data to hospitals, government agencies and employers.
Thomson Reuters to Sell Health-Care Unit for $1.25 Billion - Businessweek
“Every year, 13,000 people in the UK die a premature death due to emissions from...”
– Driving safely is not good enough.
Does the US need to increase efforts to encourage less driving?
Car Pollution Kills More People Than Automobile Accidents, UK
Romney's healthcare plan may be more revolutionary... →
Noam N. Levey writes from Washington, D.C. for the Los Angeles Times.
“We don’t tend to think of child labor as a major issue in the U.S. but we...”
– said Carol Runyan, Ph.D., MPH, and professor of epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health about a new report on job safety among workers under 20.
Access Denied: Oklahoma's Health Care Crisis →
Shannon Muchmore’s National Health Journalism Fellowship project was just announced the winner of this year’s Society of Professional Journalists Oklahoma chapter prize for “In-Depth Enterprise Reporting.”
WatchAn animated piece produced for the St. Louis Beacon as part of Robert Joiner’s Hunt/National Health Journalism Fellowship project has been honored by the St. Louis chapter of AIGA, the professional association for communication design.
Ask Me If I Cleaned My Hands →
RoH member Suzanne Gordon’s essay in JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
“It’s part of a new campaign to steer patients (and their doctors) to what...”
– This is great news.
Doctors Group Tells Patients To Go For Cheaper, High-Value Treatments : Shots - Health Blog : NPR
PWC Study: Consumers getting comfortable with... →
Around a third of US adults use social media as a health resource, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers – whether seeking out medical info, sharing symptoms and experiences or rating drugs, devices, doctors, hospitals and health plans. The consulting giant surveyed 1,060 US adults and found that 42% have viewed health-related consumer reviews (more or less evenly split between reviews...
“An international team of researchers have collaborated to identify genes that...”
– Investigators suggest that this will help better target diseases with medication and guide patients in taking preventive measures.
New Gene Map for Mental Illness | Psych Central News
Changing Parental Attitudes on Child Vaccinations →
Pediatrics specialist Dennis Rosen writes in Miller-McCune
WatchThe Tulsa World investigates over-billing by the Emergency Medical Services Authority.
“The product is not available for sale to individual consumers but may have been...”
– The FDA recommends that people be cautious about eating raw seafood.
But, how do you do that?
Tuna linked to salmonella outbreak in 20 states - Health - Food safety - msnbc.com
“‘We’re just trying to engage them and include them in all of our...”
– Interesting program in Columbus, as reported by Katie McCarthy for the Columbus Ledger Inquirer: Youth Leadership Columbus: Teens teaching teens healthy habits | Health
“‘We have a societal conspiracy for sleep deprivation,’ says Russell...”
– Can something be done on the societal level to improve our sleeping patterns?
Beyond drowsy, too little sleep ups diabetes risk – USATODAY.com
“Girls whose mothers reported experiencing two or more stressors when their...”
– Troubled Homes May Fuel Obesity in Girls - US News and World Report
“Since then [October 2010], cholera has killed more than 7,000 people and...”
– Haiti health workers to give cholera vaccine - Boston.com
“Federal law gives states the right and responsibility to establish criteria for...”
– The state remains firm on its decision despite the group’s contention.
Planned Parenthood sues after Texas excludes group from state’s Women’s Health Program - The Washington Post
“Tens of thousands of mentally ill people wind up each year in California jails...”
– A group is asking for changes in the way those unable and unwilling to seek help are treated by the law.
California’s mental health commitment law is target of task force - latimes.com
Study: More young people say they don't need to... →
Sarah Rohrs reports on a study from the CalPIRG Education Fund for the Times-Herald in Vallejo, California. Here’s a direct link to the study.
“According to the USDA, 50 million people, or 16.6 percent of Americans, live in...”
– Certainly, an eye-opening statistic.
Focus on hunger and hope – Eatocracy - CNN.com Blogs
“In 2050, it expects the number of dementia cases to triple to 115.4 million....”
– How will our society handle this? And how does this factor in to the health care reform debate?
WHO: Dementia cases projected to triple worldwide by 2050 – USATODAY.com
“It’s not because (people in lower socioeconomic-status groups) care about...”
– Dr. Gabriel Danovitch, senior author of a new study about kidney transplant told Reuters Health. Read more in Kidney living donations favor some patient groups.
“Asian Pacific Americans represent 2.8 percent of the total reported HIV/AIDS...”
– Read more from California Health Journalism Fellow Nalea J. Ko’s project Ending the Silence: Asian Pacific Americans Urged to Increase HIV/AIDS Testing in Pacific Citizen.
“Women who are obese and/or have diabetes or high blood pressure during pregnancy...”
– Mom’s Health While Pregnant Linked to Autism Risk 