Feature Channels: Public Health

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Residents on the South Side say cancer, violence prevention and sexually transmitted infections are among their top health concerns, according to the latest comprehensive assessment conducted by the University of Chicago Medicine. The 2016 Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA), published online in mid-June, also identifies diabetes among adults, pediatric asthma and pediatric obesity as other critical health issues faced by South Siders. In addition to uncovering the community’s health needs, the report also includes a plan to advance outreach, prevention and education in those six health areas.

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In the following Q&A, Richard Duhrkopf, Ph.D., associate professor of biology in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences and nationally recognized expert on mosquitoes, provides an update on national and statewide (Texas) efforts and gives tips to avoid mosquitoes known to carry Zika (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus), which, he said, are different from those that carry other viruses such as West Nile.

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An ongoing incident of Listeria contamination linked to frozen vegetables is causing illnesses across state and national lines. At least 350 products use the vegetables, which are distributed to retailers in all 50 states and four Canadian provinces.

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Mosquito bite sites are not just itchy, irritating nuisances - they also make viral infections spread by the insects far worse, new research has found.

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Eric Wallace is piloting a telehealth program, which he says could open the door for Alabamians in rural communities to receive more subspecialized care without traveling long distances.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved initiation of the first phase I human trial for a Zika vaccine, based on new research with key findings generated in the lab of David B. Weiner, Ph.D., executive vice president, director of the Vaccine Center, and the W.W. Smith Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at The Wistar Institute.

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In a study appearing in the June 21 issue of JAMA, Matthew M. Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P., of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and colleagues examined changes in insurance coverage among hospitalized nonelderly adults after Michigan expanded Medicaid coverage in 2014 under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

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In nationally representative surveys conducted between 1999 and 2012, several improvements in self-reported dietary habits were identified, such as increased consumption of whole grains, with additional findings suggesting persistent or worsening disparities based on race/ethnicity and education and income level, according to a study appearing in the June 21 issue of JAMA.

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Using unmanned drones to deliver vaccines in low- and middle-income countries may save money and improve vaccination rates, new research led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center suggests.

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Medical researchers, policymakers and providers are paying greater attention to race, national origin, immigration status and a wide range of cultural and socioeconomic factors in addressing the health of the country's large, growing and diverse Hispanic population.

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Mayo Clinic highlights the potential merits of using precision medicine in prescribing antidepressants. Details appear in the current issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Eleven percent of Americans 12 years and older have been prescribed antidepressant medication, according to CDC data from 2005–2008.

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Low dose aspirin is recommended by clinicians as a preventive measure for patients who have already had a heart attack or stroke, but the risk of taking low-dose aspirin to prevent or delay a first heart attack or stroke is less clear, as the benefit for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) must be balanced with the increased risk of gastrointestinal or other bleeding. To help clinicians and patients make informed decisions about aspirin use, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital have developed a new, free, mobile app, "Aspirin-Guide" that calculates both the CVD risk score and the bleeding risk score for the individual patient, and helps clinicians decide which patients are appropriate candidates for the use of low-dose aspirin (75 to 81 mg daily).

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The 39th annual Research Society on Alcoholism Scientific Meeting will take place June 25-29 in New Orleans, Louisiana. RSA 2016 provides a meeting place for scientists and clinicians from across the country, and around the world, to interact. The meeting also gives members and non-members the chance to present their latest findings in alcohol research through abstract and symposia submissions.

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Experts from the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other leading national healthcare groups spoke about the emerging biosimilars market, including key policy and regulatory questions for patients, providers and the healthcare system, during a national policy briefing held today by the nonpartisan Alliance for Health Reform.

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In a small study looking at pain assessments in adults with sickle cell disease, researchers at Johns Hopkins says overall, those treated long-term with opioids often fared worse in measures of pain, fatigue and curtailed daily activities than those not on long-term opioids.

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ISPOR has published its third Good Research Practices Task Force Report on preference-based methods that measure patient and other stakeholder preferences. The report appears in the June 2016 issue (Volume 19, Issue 4) of Value in Health.

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New data released by Thomson Reuters' Journal Citation Reports show that Value in Health is ranked as one of the top journals in the health policy and sciences category, ranking 3rd among 74 journals in the field. . This year's data show that Value in Health's impact factor score has increased by 16.6% to 3.824. This is the third year in a row that the journal has shown double-digit growth in the percentage of improvement in its impact factor score.

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Smoking cigarettes alters dozens of genes important for immune defense in epithelial cells in the respiratory tract. These changes likely increase the risk of bacterial infections, viruses, and inflammation. Now, scientists report that e-cigarette use alters hundreds of genes.

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The results of the largest genetic study on migraine thus far were published online in the journal Nature Genetics today, June 20. The study was based on DNA samples of 375,000 European, American and Australian participants. Almost 60,000 of them suffer from migraine

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UT institutions have discovered ways to clone Zika, kill with with algae and link it to brain cells destined to become neurons.

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Using tiny, alpaca-derived, single-domain antibody fragments, Whitehead Institute scientists have developed a method to perturb cellular processes in mammalian cells, allowing them to tease apart the roles that individual proteins play in these pathways. With improved knowledge of protein activity, scientists can better understand not only basic biology but also how disease corrupts cellular function and identify potential therapeutics to rectify these aberrations.

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ISPOR announced its plenary sessions and speakers for its 7th Asia-Pacific Conference that will be held 3-6 September 2016 in Singapore. The plenary sessions will explore concepts related to the conference theme—Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research in Asia-Pacific: Challenges, Opportunities, and Future Direction.

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ACOEM President James A. Tacci, MD, JD, MPH (FACOEM) called today for a comprehensive national public health response to the growing issue of gun violence.

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Researchers at The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles have identified a new genetic candidate for testing therapies that might affect fear learning in people with PTSD or other conditions. Results of the study have been published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

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In the fight to end opioid abuse, Blue Cross Blue Shield in at least two states is denying coverage of a proven nonopioid treatment for chronic pain

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Eleven health tech startups will offer hundreds of investors and executives a first look at their new products that can improve the delivery of medical care, save lives and reduce healthcare costs. The innovations will be showcased during "Demo Day," June 23, and will include such things as: Virtual reality goggles that immerse patients in scenes of beauty that can help manage pain and anxiety; A new type of laryngoscope that increases the speed and safety of intubation; An online healthcare marketplace where patients pick their own prices for standardized medical and dental services, and more.

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A team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has identified a single gene pathway that is vital for Zika and other flaviviruses to spread infection between cells. Further, they showed that shutting down a single gene in this pathway — in both human and insect cells — does not negatively affect the cells themselves and renders flaviviruses unable to leave the infected cell, curbing the spread of infection.

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/PRNewswire/ -- Virginia Mason Institute, a leading lean education resource for health care organizations, is offering four training courses in September 2016.

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Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, MD, a nationally renowned medical institution named one of the top 100 hospitals in the U.S. by Thomson Reuters, has re-earned the coveted “Magnet®” recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center®.

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In this month’s release, find new embargoed research about return on investment in public health; cardiovascular risks for U.S. women; and effects of increased minimum wage on infant mortality.

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The city of Philadelphia on June 16 passed a 1.5 cent-per-ounce tax on soda and other sugary drinks to fund children’s education and park programs in the city, making it the first major city in the nation to impose such a tax.The move is poised to be a watershed event in public health policy, said a health economist at Washington University in St.

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Rift Valley fever virus and other bunyaviruses may soon be added to the list of viruses denied access to a human host. Sandia National Laboratories researchers have discovered a mechanism by which RVFV hijacks the host machinery to cause infection

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What if private companies could obtain some coverage to protect their foreign investments in developing countries against crippling infectious disease outbreaks such as Ebola? The possible path to offering disease outbreak guarantees is an idea being posed by two global health researchers who suggest that a mechanism for establishing such an instrument could be tied to public health investments.

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Partnership provides Humana Medicare Advantage members with more personalized health care experience and aims for healthier outcomes

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/PRNewswire/ -- Nonin Medical, Inc., the inventor of finger pulse oximetry and a leader in noninvasive medical monitoring, today announced it has globally launched the NoninConnect™ Elite Model 3240 Bluetooth® Smart wireless finger pulse oximeter for clinicians and their patients.

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University of Chicago scientists and their colleagues have developed an innovative computer model of HIV that gives real insight into how a virus “matures” and becomes infective.

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Researchers at the University of Missouri have found that Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1), a protein that is naturally found in high levels among adolescents, can help prevent arteries from clogging. They say that increasing atherosclerosis patients’ levels of the protein could reduce the amount of plaque buildup in their arteries, lowering their risk of heart disease.

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Drinking piping hot coffee, tea and the caffeine-infused beverage yerba mate probably causes cancer, the World Health Organization announced Wednesday.

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The Endocrine Society expressed disappointment and concern today that the European Commission’s regulatory criteria are too strict to effectively protect the public from endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

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Ann Arbor, MI, June 14, 2016 - Coronary heart disease (CHD) is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. A new study evaluating recent trends in the prevalence of CHD in the U.S. population aged 40 years and older showed that CHD rates have decreased significantly, from 10.3% in 2001-2002 to 8.0% in 2011-2012. These results are reported in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

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At the annual meeting of the ASHP House of Delegates during ASHP’s 2016 Summer Meetings and Exhibition this week in Baltimore, ASHP (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) approved a policy calling on Congress to ban all direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs and medication-containing devices.

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The Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University (Milken Institute SPH) today announced receiving two separate awards for a total of $7 million to study the human microbiome, the collection of bacteria and other microbes that live in and on the human body. The first study, a $3.3 million award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), will focus on the bacterial ecosystem of the penis and how it may affect an individual’s risk for acquiring an HIV infection. The second study, a $3.7 million award from NIAID, will focus on bacteria living in the human nose with the goal of finding strategies to protect people from dangerous Staph infections.

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Poor physical fitness and sedentary behaviour are linked to increased pain conditions in children as young as 6-8 years old, according to the Physical Activity and Nutrition in Children Study ongoing at the University of Eastern Finland. The findings were published in the Journal of Pain.

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Cedars-Sinai will play a critical role in bolstering the nation’s front-line defense against Ebola and other highly infectious diseases under a federal grant meant to improve the response to emerging medical threats. The medical center and the California Department of Public Health will share a $3.25-million grant from the federal agency through fiscal year 2019 to strengthen the delivery of specialized emergency medical care.

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To protect human health, Endocrine Society members called on the European Commission to adopt science-based policies for regulating endocrine-disrupting chemicals in an opinion piece published today in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.

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A model that predicts outbreaks of zoonotic diseases -- those originating in livestock or wildlife such as Ebola and Zika -- based on changes in climate, population growth and land use has been developed by a UCL-led team of researchers.

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For the first time, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has released official consensus recommendations for the amount of sleep needed to promote optimal health in children and teenagers to avoid the health risks of insufficient sleep.

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A model that predicts outbreaks of zoonotic diseases -- those originating in livestock or wildlife such as Ebola and Zika -- based on changes in climate, population growth and land use has been developed by a UCL-led team of researchers.