| Public Health
Weblog collected and organized by Laura Larsson Clinical Faculty, SPHCM University of Washington |
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Public Health Today eLearning Blogs eLearningpost InternettimeMore about Blogs and Their Variations The Art of Blogging - Part 1 Overview, Definitions, Uses, and Implications by George Siemens. December 1, 2002 The Art of Blogging - Part 2 Getting Started, "How To", Tools, Resources December 6, 2002 Weblog to Moblog By Justin Hall, Nov 21 2002 |
April 2004[Note: This site uses popup
windows to display links.
Close the popped-up window to return to this page] April 30, 2004 2:25 PM Water
for Profit: How Multinationals
Are Taking Control of a Private Resource From the site: "Water, like air, is a necessity of human life. It is also, according to Fortune magazine, "One of the world's great business opportunities. It promises to be to the 21st century what oil was to the 20th."" "In the past ten years, three giant global corporations have quietly assumed control over the water supplied to almost 300 million people in every continent of the world. A 12-month investigation by journalists in Canada, the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America shows that the results range from questionable to disastrous. And it shows how well-meaning municipal governments in the U.S. and Canada can become vulnerable to the persuasive techniques of these high-powered corporate giants." Visit the site to read transcripts, listen to audio, retrieve statistics, and information on bottled water, water treatment, water testing, well water, and related topics. Increases in Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae Among Men Who Have Sex with Men --- United States, 2003, and Revised Recommendations for Gonorrhea Treatment, 2004 Big problem. Will there be any antibiotics left to treat STDs? Find out more by reading this MMWR article. April 27, 2004 11:50 AM Lasalocid in Eggs: Your Questions Answered The site offers readers advice on the British Food Service AAAS Atlas of Population and Environment (American Association for the Advancement of Science) The site provides "maps and graphics that quantify and illustrate many of the issues, and text that lays out the broader links between population dynamics and the environment and places them within their historical perspective." View the site in Flash or HTML. View the interactions between population and natural resources, land use, atmosphere, waste and chemicals, ecosystems, and biodiversity. Readers can find cases studies on specific regions. Content is searchable. April 27, 2004 11:50 AM Data Sources for Needs Assessment for Basic Food and Nutrition Education Program The following links will be used in regional trainings for contractors to the Basic Food and Nutrition Program for the Washington State Department of Health. ASSESSMENT RESOURCES US Census QuickFacts Washington State WIC Economic Services Administration Briefing Book ESA publishes a briefing book each yearto describe our programs. It includes some basic data. Food Stamp Eligibility for Washington State
"Assessing the Hunger and Food Insecurity Needs of the School Breakfast and Lunch Program Eligibility Healthy
Youth Survey (HYS) Behavior
Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) An
analysis that examines the role of the IHS for the Washington State Department of Health VISTA
PHw Healthy People 2010 Goals and Objectives The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFB)
Provides your county contact person for location of EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES Food Stamp Nutrition Education
Information for school districts to change policies to support Community Food Security Coalition Supports local food system development W.K. Kellogg Foundation B-HEALTHY H.E.R.E. - Nutrition Education Network of Washington Source:
Gail E. Brandt, Program Manager,
Basic Food and Nutrition Education Program (BFNEP),
Washington State Department of Health April 16, 2004 10:48 AM Quality of Health Care for Children and Adolescents: A Chartbook (Commonwealth Fund) [PDF] "A new Fund publication, Quality of Health Care for Children and Adolescents: A Chartbook, is the first comprehensive national report on the quality of pediatric care. The researchers, Sheila Leatherman and Douglas McCarthy, reviewed over 500 studies and created 40 charts that provide a portrait of the current state of pediatric health care. Download the chartbook or press release or view the video of a policy briefing held at the chartbook's release." Relationship Between the EITC and Food Stamp Program Participation Among Households With Children "The Federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Food Stamp Program (FSP) are the largest means-tested transfer programs for low-income, working parents in the United States. This study examines how these two programs interact, particularly with regard to the impact of the EITC on participation in the FSP during the latter half of the 1990s. Although EITC payments do not reduce the potential size of a household's food stamp allotment under FSP rules, they do add to a household's resources and thus could affect a household's willingness to participate in the FSP. The paper tests this hypothesis with monthly data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation for 1996 through 1999. Although the findings are mixed, they provide evidence of negative impact of EITC on FSP participation." Source: New information @ ERS, March 14, 2004. April 15, 2004 9:10 AM Parasite Web Sites One of my librarian colleagues posted this list of sites dealing with parasites to the MEDLIB-L (medical librarians) list today. I'm reposting it and acknowledging her as the source (see below) of the URLs and site names. I wrote the annotations. DPDx Site looks at the laboratory identification of parasites of public health concern. Links to the diseases themselves, to the Parasite Image Library, to diagnostic procedures and assistance, training, and search. Here's an example of one of their online handouts on Amebiasis: http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/DPDx/HTML/Amebiasis.htm CDCs Division of Parasitic Diseases Search by topic such as kids, drinking water, insects, food, travel, kids. Information is divided into professional and public information. View recent publications. Alphabetical Listing of Parasites There are entirely too many parasites listed on this page. Looking at the list reminds me of the book titled, "The Life That Lives on Man" by Michael Andrews, sadly out of print. MEDLINEplus: Parasitic Diseases This list of resources from a variety of sites is well-chosen. Look at documents from the NIH, general/overviews, anatomy/physiology, clinical trials, diagnosis/symptoms, prevention/screening, research, specific conditions/aspects, directories, organizations and children. Lins to recent research articles from Medline and to MedlinePlus related pages. Source: Tanya Feddern, MLIS, AHIP, MOT, OTR/L, Evidence-Based Medicine Assistant Professor; Reference & Education Services Librarian, University of Miami School of Medicine, Louis Calder Memorial Library. Posted to MEDLIB-L 4/12/04. April 10, 2004 5:04 PM Publications from the National Academy Press I store my NAP alerts until I have the time to go online to look at the documents. Lots of rich resources available at this site. I've gotten behind in reviewing their output. That is why the list is so long today. Meeting Psychosocial Needs of Women with Breast Cancer "The book focuses specifically on breast cancer in women because this group has the largest survivor population (over two million) and is the most extensively studied cancer from the standpoint of psychosocial effects. The book: * Characterizes the psychosocial consequences of a diagnosis of
breast cancer Forum on Microbial Threats: Learning from SARS: Preparing for the Next Disease Outbreak -- Workshop Summary "The report examines the response to SARS by public health systems within individual countries; the biology of the SARS coronavirus and related coronaviruses in animals; the economic and political fallout of the SARS epidemic; quarantine law and other public health measures that apply to combating infectious diseases; and the role of international organizations and scientific cooperation in halting the spread of SARS." Review of NASA's Longitudinal Study of Astronaut Health Prepublication Version Available for Online Reading; Final Version is Forthcoming New Frontiers in Contraceptive Research: A Blueprint for Action "New Frontiers in Contraceptive Research: A Blueprint for Action, a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, identifies priority areas for research to develop new contraceptives. The report highlights new technologies and approaches to biomedical research, including genomics and proteomics, which hold particular promise for developing new products. It also identifies impediments to drug development that must be addressed." Improving Medical Education: Enhancing the Behavioral and Social Science Content of Medical School Curricula Prepublication Version Available for Online Reading; Final Version is Forthcoming The Ethical Conduct of Clinical Research Involving Children This is a forthcoming title and is not available electronically yet. Check back at the site. Fulfilling the Potential of Cancer Prevention and Early Detection: An American Cancer Society and Institute of Medicine Symposium Advancing Prion Science:Guidance for the National Prion Research Program This book "recommends priorities for research and investment to the Department of Defense’s National Prion Research Program (NPRP). Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), also called prion diseases, are invariably fatal neurodegenerative infectious diseases that include bovine spongiform encephalopathy (commonly called mad cow disease), chronic wasting disease, scrapie, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease." Veterans and Agent Orange: Length of Presumptive Period for Association Between Exposure and Respiratory Cancer A 74 page committee report. Keeping Patients Safe: Transforming the Work Environment of Nurses Keeping Patients Safe "lays out guidelines for improving patient safety by changing nurses’ working conditions and demands. Licensed nurses and unlicensed nursing assistants are critical participants in our national effort to protect patients from health care errors. The nature of the activities nurses typically perform – monitoring patients, educating home caretakers, performing treatments, and rescuing patients who are in crisis – provides an indispensable resource in detecting and remedying error-producing defects in the U.S. health care system." Health and Safety Needs of Older Workers Final Forthcoming/Prepublication version. Testosterone and Aging: Clinical Research Directions "Testosterone and Aging weighs the options of future research directions, examines the risks and benefits of testosterone, assesses the potential public health impact of testosterone therapy in the United States and considers the ethical issues related to the conduct of clinical trials. Testosterone therapy remains an attractive option to many even as speculation abounds regarding its potential." I wonder if men will face the same health issues as women do when they take hormone replacement therapy. Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate This 450 page book is forthcoming. Immunization Safety Review: Influenza Vaccines and Neurological Complications This 190 page book is forthcoming. Insuring America's Health: Principles and Recommendations "Insuring America’s Health: Principles and Recommendations recommends principles related to universality, continuity of coverage, affordability to individuals and to society, and quality of care to guide health insurance reform. These principles are based on the evidence reviewed in the Committee’s previous five reports and on new analyses of past and present federal, state, and local efforts to reduce uninsurance. The report also demonstrates how those principles can be used to assess policy options. The IOM Committee does not recommend a specific coverage strategy. Rather, it shows how various approaches could extend coverage and achieve certain of the Committee’s principles." (NAS Colloquium) Regenerative Medicine This is a 116 page Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In the Nation's Compelling Interest: Ensuring Diversity in the Health Care Workforce This report from the Committee on Institutional and Policy-Level Strategies for Increasing the Diversity of the U.S. Healthcare Workforce is forthcoming in 2004. April 9, 2004 3:48 PM Reducing Racial & Ethnic Health Disparities The National Business Group on Health, formerly the Washington Business Group on Health, has "developed an employer toolkit to provide companies with culturally competent resources, best management practices and assessment tools to reduce and eliminate health disparities." The kit is divided into four sections full of information, pertinent findings and strategies that the Business Group will update and expand upon on an ongoing basis. The sections include the following: Overview; Key Facts and Information; Important Findings; and, Strategies and Solutions. Unequal Access: Insurance Instability Among Low-Income Workers and Minorities (Commonwealth Fund) [PDF] From the abstract: "Analysis of health insurance coverage and employment patterns from 1996 through 1999 reveals even higher uninsured rates and greater insurance instability among low-income adults and minorities than had been previously documented. Most low-income adults worked during the four years, but many had no or only intermittent job-based coverage. Low-income Hispanic adults were particularly hard hit: more than one-third (37%) of this group were never insured with private coverage, even though they worked all four years. Policies that expand coverage to low-income families could help reduce racial and ethnic disparities in access to care." April 8, 2004 4:28 PM Infected Artificial Fingernails (Web Sites) These two sites were recommended by colleagues on the Medical Librarians list (medlib-l) today in response to a question by one of the librarians. Nail
Diseases & Disorders Clinical Example: Paronychia - nail fold infections The pictures are pretty graphic and can be enlarged for a better view. April 5, 2004 9:23 AM State-based Diabetes Surveillance Among Minority Populations (CDC) " The U.S. public health field has made steady progress in diabetes surveillance over the past decade, but there is much room for improvement (1). In this issue, Burrows et al report the findings and recommendations of an expert panel on the feasibility of using current surveys for diabetes surveillance among minority populations (2). The expert panel, convened by the Division of Diabetes Translation at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found existing surveys insufficient for diabetes survey surveillance among minority populations, and, given the realities of finite resources, the panel recommended modifying and expanding existing survey systems to improve this capacity." Be sure to visit this new NIH Web site for seniors. This talking web site comes "with formats and topics tailored to the needs of older people. The senior-friendly site takes advantage of techniques developed by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the National Library of Medicine (NLM) designed to encourage older people to use the Internet, and this site in particular, as a resource for the best information on health and medical research." Visitors to the site can enlarge the text or listen to the site's content using synthetic voices. Quizzes also help visitors remember the content. Navigation buttons are large and easy to see and the interface is easy to navigate. April 5, 2004 9:23 AM LifeWorks (U.S. National Institutes of Health Career Site) According to the U.S. Department of Labor, health and medical science jobs are expected to be among the fastest growing jobs in the nation over the next 10 years. Knowing this, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Science Education has launched a new Web site, "LifeWorks," which is designed as a resource for middle school and high school students, parents, educators, and school guidance/career counselors to explore the diversity of careers in the field. The site explores more than 100 careers in the health and medical sciences. Source: unknown Trends in Tuberculosis --- United States, 1998--2003 (MMWR (307 KB)) From the March 19, 2004 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report comes this discussion of what has been happening with this hard-to-eliminate disease. April 3, 2004 6:40 PM National Network of Public Health Institutes This is a brand new association site for me. Public Health Institutes are "nonprofit, multi-sector entities that rely upon partnerships and collaborations between federal, state, and local public health agencies, universities, foundations, and other health-related organizations to foster innovations that improve health." Get information about the NNPHI, a calendar of events, conferences and training, their monthly newsletter, reports, member list, partners, forums and a file library. State Fact Sheets (ERS) The ERS State Fact Sheets contain frequently requested data for each state and for the total United States. These include current data on population, per-capita income, earnings per job, poverty rates, employment, unemployment, farm and farm-related jobs, farm characteristics, farm financial characteristics, top agricultural commodities, top export commodities, and the top counties in agricultural sales.
The ERS State Fact Sheets have been updated with more recent
data on Farm and Farm Related Employment. In addition, the
Population,
Income, and Employment data now reflect the June 2003 metro and
nonmetro definitions. Source: USDA ERS Update Monday, March 29, 2004 to Friday, April 2, 2004 April 2, 2004 6:40 PM Obesity Closes Gap on Tobacco as Leading Cause of Death. (CDC) A new study from the CDC shows poor diet and inactivity may soon become the leading preventable cause of death among Americans—causing an estimated 400,000 deaths in 2000. Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000, published in the March 10 issue of JAMA, sought to identify and quantify the leading causes of death in the United States attributable to modifiable behavioral risk factors, the first update of the groundbreaking work of McGinnis and Foege more than a decade ago. The researchers found that the leading causes of death in 2000 were tobacco (435,000 deaths; 18.1 percent of total U.S. deaths), poor diet and physical inactivity (400,000 deaths; 16.6 percent), and alcohol consumption (85,000 deaths; 3.5 percent). In response to the growing obesity epidemic, HHS Secretary Thompson last week unveiled a new national education campaign in conjunction with the Ad Council to encourage Americans to take small steps to fight obesity and announced a new obesity research strategy at the NIH. The Secretary also released a new FDA report outlining another element in HHS' strategy for combating obesity. The report highlights actions that the FDA, which regulates many foods and their labels, plans to take to enable consumers to make smart choices about their diet and maintain a healthy weight. Source: Diane L. Adams, MD, MPH, Chair, Program Planner: HAS 2004 American Public Health Association (APHA) Food Safety Innovation in the United States: Evidence from the Meat Industry Recent industry innovations improving the safety of the Nation's meat
supply range from new pathogen tests, high-tech equipment, and supply
chain management systems, to new surveillance networks. Despite these
and other improvements, the market incentives that motivate private
firms to invest in innovation seem to be fairly weak. Results from
an ERS survey of U.S. meat and poultry slaughter and processing plants
and two case studies of innovation in the U.S. beef industry reveal
that the industry has developed a number of mechanisms to overcome
that weakness and to stimulate investment in food safety innovation. Source: USDA ERS Update. Monday, March 29, 2004 to Friday, April 2, 2004. Food Traceability: One Ingredient in a Safe and Efficient Food Supply This investigation into the traceability baseline in the United States
finds that private sector food firms have developed a substantial
capacity to trace. Source: USDA ERS Update. Monday, March 29, 2004 to Friday, April 2, 2004. Savvy Buyers Spur Food Safety Innovations in Meat Processing Source: USDA ERS Update. Monday, March 29, 2004 to Friday, April 2, 2004. |
Recent Entries Water for Profit: How Multinationals Are Taking Control of a Private Resource Increases in Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae Among Men Who Have Sex with Men --- United States, 2003, and Revised Recommendations for Gonorrhea Treatment, 2004 Lasalocid in Eggs: Your Questions Answered AAAS Atlas of Population and Environment (American Association for the Advancement of Science) US Census QuickFacts Washington State WIC Economic Services Administration Briefing Book Food Stamp Eligibility for Washington State "Assessing the Hunger and Food Insecurity Needs of the Basic Food Program Eligibility Population in Washington State" by Phil Terry School
Breakfast and Lunch Program Eligibility Healthy
Youth Survey (HYS) Behavior
Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Washington State Department of Health VISTA
PHw Healthy People
2010 Goals and Objectives The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFB) Food
Stamp Nutrition Education Community Food Security Coalition W.K.
Kellogg Foundation H.E.R.E. - Nutrition Education Network of Washington Quality of Health Care for Children and Adolescents: A Chartbook Relationship Between the EITC and Food Stamp Program Participation Among Households With Children Parasite Web Sites Publications from the National Academy Press Reducing Racial & Ethnic Health Disparities Unequal Access: Insurance Instability Among Low-Income Workers and Minorities Unequal Access: Insurance Instability Among Low-Income Workers and Minorities Infected Artificial Fingernails State-based Diabetes Surveillance Among Minority Populations (CDC) Trends in Tuberculosis --- United States, 1998--2003 National Network of Public Health Institutes State Fact Sheets (ERS) Obesity Closes Gap on Tobacco as Leading Cause of Death. (CDC) Food Safety Innovation in the United States: Evidence from the Meat Industry Food Traceability: One Ingredient in a Safe and Efficient Food Supply Savvy Buyers Spur Food Safety Innovations in Meat Processing Diet Wars (PBS) Fresh From the Farm and Into the Classroom (PDF) Eight Entries Added to Tox Town The Role of the Media in Childhood Obesity, Kaiser Family Foundation Report Chicken Genome Deposited to GenBank Evidence-Based Practice for Public Health Project CIRRIE - Center for International Rehabilitation Research Information and Exchange Grants.gov (DHHS) Managing Housework with Arthritis What Is Child Abuse and Neglect? U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Brief Updates MEDLINEplus: Food Labeling MEDLINEplus: Infant and Toddler Nutrition MEDLINEplus: Mastectomy MEDLINEplus: Rural Health Concerns HCFO Cyber Seminar December 9, 2003: Pregnant and Poor: Did Medicaid and Welfare Policy Changes Improve Care for these Women as Intended? "The State of 50+ America" (AARP Report) Student Self-Harm: Silent School Crisis USDA/FDA Foodborne Illness Education Information Center Nutrition Country Profiles (UNFAO) Anatomy of Nonmetro High Poverty Areas: Common in Plight, Distinctive in Nature (USDA) Tobacco Yearbook (USDA) "Researchers Develop Computer Application To 'Read' Medical Literature, Find Data Relationships" The Demand for Food Away From Home: Full Service or Fast Food (PDF) Two Recent Books from the National Academy Press of Interest to Public Health Practitioners Child Labor Research Initiative (CLRI) “Medical Expenditures Attributable to Injuries in the United States, 2000” Coffee Drinkers at Lower Risk for Type 2 Diabetes Fifteen Recent Books/Reports from the National Academy Press
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