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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 |
June 2004[Note: This site uses popup
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Close the popped-up window to return to this page] June 28, 2004 1:29 PM CDC Collaboration Yields New Test for Anthrax A new test funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and developed in collaboration with a commercial partner has become the first test approved by the Food and Drug Administration for detecting antibodies to anthrax. The test, produced by Immunetics Inc. of Boston, provides an easy-to-use clinical laboratory tool for assessing whether patients have been infected with anthrax. The Anthrax Quick ELISA test, which was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration, detects antibodies produced during infection with Bacillus anthracis – the bacteria that causes anthrax. The approval shows how cooperative work between government agencies and industry can lead to the development of diagnostic tests for biothreat agents and emerging infectious diseases. The new test helps confirm a diagnosis of anthrax because it demonstrates that a person’s immune system has responded to a protein produced by the infecting bacteria. The test is quicker and easier to interpret than previous antibody testing methods. The new test can be completed in less than one hour, compared to about four hours for previous testing methods. Before FDA approval of the new test, very few laboratories other than the CDC and the U.S. Army had the ability to test blood for antibodies to anthrax. The new test will be available shortly for use in state and private laboratories. Source: CDC Press release, June 7, 2004 June 24, 2004 11:21 AM Number
of Cancer Survivors Growing According
to New Report There are 9.8 million cancer survivors in the United States, according to a new report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). A cancer survivor is defined as anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer, from the time of diagnosis through the balance of his or her life. The findings are published in the June 25 issue of CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, “Cancer Survivorship – United States, 1971 – 2001.” “Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States after heart disease. The number of cancer survivors in this country has increased steadily over the past 30 years for all cancers combined. We expect the number of survivors to increase as improvements are made in cancer detection, treatment and care and as the population ages,” said HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. The report was produced by NCI in partnership with CDC. The authors used incidence and follow-up data from NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program to estimate annual cancer prevalence – the number of people living following a diagnosis of cancer – and trends in cancer survivorship. The data show that:
“The findings in this report have important implications for both the public and health practitioners. There is a growing need to promote health and ensure the social, psychological and economic well-being of cancer survivors and their families. In the past, public health programs concentrated on early detection and prevention of cancer. However, the focus has now expanded to include cancer survivorship, transforming survivorship research into practice, and developing clinical guidelines to provide attentive follow-up and health promotion to survivors,” said Dr. Loria Pollack, CDC medical officer. CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control is supporting states, tribes and tribal organizations to develop and incorporate survivorship priorities into their comprehensive cancer control plans. CDC is also working with national organizations to promote education, awareness and community programs that offer services and support for cancer survivors. In response to the growing number of cancer survivors in the United States, many organizations are involved in survivorship issues. Recently, CDC and the Lance Armstrong Foundation released a National Plan for Cancer Survivorship: Advancing Public Health Strategies. Also, the President’s Cancer Panel released a report, Living Beyond Cancer: Finding a New Balance, earlier this month. “Issues faced by cancer survivors include maintaining optimal physical and mental health, preventing disability and late-effects related to cancer and its treatment, and ensuring social and economic well-being for themselves and their family,” said Dr. Julia Rowland, director of the Office of Cancer Survivorship at NCI. She adds, “NCI takes these factors into consideration when conducting research to identify, examine and prevent or control adverse effects associated with cancer. We are working to enhance survivors’ quality of life.” Source: June 24, 2004 Press Release June 22, 2004 10:02 AM Advancing
HIV Prevention - New Strategies
for a Changing Epidemic CDC’s initiative, Advancing HIV Prevention: New Strategies for a Changing Epidemic, is "aimed at reducing barriers to early diagnosis of HIV infection and increasing access to quality medical care, treatment, and ongoing prevention services for those diagnosed with HIV. These pages include descriptions of the initiative and how it is to be implemented, as well as other guidance and information critical to its success." Find out what's new, get brochures and fact sheets, answers to questions, recommendations and other guidance, selected interventions, helpful Web sites and readings, journal articles, slide presentations, and other resources. Of special interest is the "Spotlight On..." section which highlights important HIV/AIDS information. June 12, 2004 4:18 PM Moving Public Assistance Recipients into the Labor Force, 1996-2000 Moving recipients of public assistance into jobs is a goal of the current system for providing public assistance to low-income households. Using scenario analysis with a computable general equilibrium model, ERS researchers examined some of the labor market impacts of the "welfare-to-work" provisions of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). The results show that, from 1996 to 2000, the influx of public assistance recipients into the labor force put downward wage pressure on low-skill occupations, making wage growth smaller than it would have been without the influx. At the same time, the influx added workers to the labor force, which contributed to economic growth. By expanding the labor force, the influx contributed 1 percentage point of real economic growth in terms of gross domestic product from 1996 through 2000. Source: USDA ERS. Released Friday, May 21, 2004. New or updated information is available from USDA ERS. The
Economics of Obesity: A Report on the Workshop held at USDA's Economic
Research Service Since the mid-1970s, the prevalence of obesity and overweight has increased dramatically in the United States. The prevalence of overweight has tripled among children and adolescents, and nearly two out of three adult Americans are either overweight or obese. Although high health, social, and economic costs are known to be associated with obesity, the underlying causes of weight gain are less understood. At a basic level, weight gain and obesity are the result of individual choices. Consequently, economics, as a discipline that studies how individuals use limited resources to attain alternative ends, can provide unique insight into the actions and forces that cause individuals to gain excessive weight. In April 2003, USDA’s Economic Research Service and the University of Chicago’s Irving B. Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies and the George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State jointly hosted a workshop on the Economics of Obesity. The purpose was to provide an overview of leading health economics research on the causes and consequences of rising obesity in the United States. Topics included the role of technological change in explaining both the long- and short-term trends in obesity, the role of maternal employment in child obesity, the impact of obesity on wages and health insurance, behavioral economics as applied to obesity, and the challenges in measuring energy intakes and physical activity. The workshop also discussed policy implications and future directions for obesity research. This report presents a summary of the papers and the discussions presented at the workshop. Source: USDA ERS, Released Thursday, May 13, 2004, New or updated information is available from USDA ERS. Simplified
Reporting and Transitional Benefits in the Food Stamp Program -
Case Studies of State Implementation: Final Report This study examines the experiences of four States (Arizona, Louisiana, Missouri, and Ohio) that use the simplified reporting option of the Food Stamp Program; Arizona also uses the transitional benefit option. With simplified reporting, States lengthen the certification period for most food stamp recipients, minimize reporting requirements between recertifications, and reduce exposure to quality control errors. With transitional benefits, States automatically continue benefits for up to 5 months for most families that leave the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. The options were introduced in 2000 and expanded under the 2002 Farm Act. The States reported reduced staff workload, improved client access, and reduced quality control errors with simplified reporting but faced some operational challenges that made realizing the option's full potential difficult. Transitional benefits were considered a valuable support for families but required substantial planning and staff resources. The primary sources of information for the study were indepth in-person interviews with State Food Stamp Program administrators and field office staff. Source: USDA ERS, Released May 13, 2004. New or updated information is available from USDA ERS. June 3, 2004 2:20 PM CDC Replaces Travel Alerts and Advisories With New System of Notices The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today implemented a new system for providing international travelers with guidance about potential health hazards. "As we learned during last year's SARS outbreak, infectious diseases can spread quickly as people travel around the globe," said CDC Director Julie Gerberding, M.D. "This new system allows us to provide travelers with very important, real-time information that will be easy for them to apply to protect their health." The new system includes four types of notices based on the level of concern. The notices will be posted on the CDC's Traveller's Health Web site and include: In the News, Outbreak Notice, Travel Health Precaution and Travel Health Warning (from lowest to highest severity). Source: Press Release June 1, 2004 2:50 PM Nutrition, Learning, and Behavior in Children: A Resource List for Professionals is now available from the Food and Nutrition Information Center (FNIC) This Resource List can be viewed full text online as HTML at: To see a complete list of Resource Lists from FNIC, see: Source: Liz Hill, RD,
Nutrition Information Specialist,
Food and Nutrition Information Center,
National Agricultural Library
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Recent Entries CDC Collaboration Yields New Test for Anthrax Number of Cancer Survivors Growing According to New Report CDC Collaboration Yields New Test for Anthrax Advancing HIV Prevention - New Strategies for a Changing Epidemic Advancing HIV Prevention - New Strategies for a Changing Epidemic Moving Public Assistance Recipients into the Labor Force, 1996-2000 The Economics of Obesity: A Report on the Workshop held at USDA's Economic Research Service Simplified Reporting and Transitional Benefits in the Food Stamp Program CDC Replaces Travel Alerts and Advisories With New System of Notices Nutrition, Learning, and Behavior in Children: A Resource List for Professionals HHS Launches Pilot Project with WebMD to Make HHS Consumer Health Information More Widely Available Online Searchable Death Indexes & Records: A Genealogy Guide NIH Clinical Alerts and Advisories: NIH Asks Participants in Women’s Health Initiative Estrogen-Alone Study to Stop Study Pills, Begin Follow-up Phase Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion Learning from SARS: Preparing for the Next Disease Outbreak -- Workshop Summary NIH Extramural Center Programs: Criteria for Initiation and Evaluation Forging a Poison Prevention and Control System Monitoring Metabolic Status: Predicting Decrements in Physiological and Cognitive Performance Bioinformatics Links Directory (UBC Bioinformatics Centre) Sexual Health Services in the UK Public Health grand rounds in sexual health Sexual health & HIV commissioning toolkit Index-Catalog of the Surgeon General online Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) Challenges and Tradeoffs in Low-Income Family Budgets: Implications for Health Coverage - Report [PDF] 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
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