Children from Low Income
Families More Likely to Have Sleep Problems
Children from low income
families have more sleep problems than children from middle class families,
potentially impacting their health and performance at school, according to
research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 59th Annual Meeting
in Boston, April 28 -- May
5, 2007. The study
compared the sleeping habits of 64 healthy inner city children, who were African
American and Hispanic, to the sleeping patterns of children from middle class,
Caucasian families.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/05/children-from-l.php
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Simple screening can
help decrease teen risk behaviors
Research shows that adolescents
who engage in one form of risky behavior, like drug or alcohol use, are likely
to engage in other risky behaviors like self-harm, or having unprotected sex,
but often times these behaviors are not discussed during a medical or mental
health exam. Now, a new study from researchers at Brown University shows that a simple and brief screening
measure called the adolescent risk inventory (ARI) can quickly identify the
broad range of risk behaviors found among adolescents.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/04/simple-screenin.php
Teens with Migraine at
Greater Risk of Suicide
Teens with chronic daily
headache should be screened for psychiatric disorders so they can get the
treatment and help they need," according to a researcher at Taipei Veterans General Hospital and National Yang-Ming University
School of Medicine in Taipei, Taiwan. Researchers don't exactly know how
underlying mechanisms may link migraine and psychiatric disorders, although
they do know that migraine, depression and the tendency toward suicide are
all related to problems with the levels of serotonin in the brain.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/04/teens-with-migr.php
Extended Family Ties
Influenced Evacuation Decisions During Hurricane
Katrina
For this study, UCLA researchers
interviewed 58 randomly selected evacuees --- mostly low-income African Americans
--- who relocated from New Orleans to Houston in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
The researchers found that the evacuees' strong family ties had a profound
influence on factors affecting evacuation, including transportation decisions,
access to shelter and how they perceived evacuation messages. These ties
both facilitated and hindered their evacuation.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/04/extended-family.php
**Civic Engagement
Campaign for Tobacco-Free
Kids Honors Youth Advocates of the Year
Jolie Yang
of Centerville, OH and Kyle Peavley
of Trenton, OH, have been named Youth Advocates of
the Year by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids for their leadership in the
fight against tobacco. Every day, 1,000 kids in the United States become regular smokers and one-third
of them will die prematurely from tobacco-caused disease. Nationally, tobacco
use kills more than 400,000 people and costs the nation more than $96 billion
in health care costs each year. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is a leader
in the fight to reduce tobacco use and its devastating consequences in the
United States and around the world.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/04/campaign-for-to.php
Preparing California's Youth for College, Career, and Civic
Responsibility
According to the Institute
for Democracy, Education, and Access at UCLA, Multiple Pathways is an
approach to high school education that has captured the imaginations of major
philanthropy, school reformers, and a growing number of policymakers. Today's
high schools do not offer all students the programs and classes necessary
to prepare them for college, career, and responsible participation in public
life. The purpose of Multiple Pathways reform is to correct this failure.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/04/preparing-calif.php
**Community Development
Children Play Key Role
in Forging Close Communities
Contrary to popular opinion,
children play a key role in strengthening local communities and making people
feel safe in their neighborhoods, according to a study funded by the Economic
and Social Research Council (ESRC). Much panic today about childhood in urban
areas is based on a very partial picture, argue the authors, according to
the evidence they found, children are active - both indirectly and directly
-- in forging neighborly relationships and connections for their parents.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/05/children-play-k.php
U.S. Flood Standards Inadequately Protect
Against Flood Risk - Millions Exposed to Flooding Are Not Insured
A newly released report
from the Water Policy Collaborative at the University of Maryland says that the use of the 100-year
flood standard leaves millions of people who face a significant risk of flooding
uninsured and under-protected. The report, prepared for the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA), recommends that levees protecting urban areas should
be built with a higher level of protection than the 100-year standard that
is now being used to rebuild the levees in New Orleans
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/04/us-flood-standa.php
**Economic Security
Widowhood's Economic
Consequences Harshest on Minority Women
Minority widows are at a
particularly high risk of poverty in late life, according to a report published
in the latest issue of The Gerontologist. While the data reveal a substantial
financial widowhood penalty among all ethnic groups, minority women often
have lower incomes and fewer assets to begin with. The findings show that
although non-Hispanic white women had more initial wealth than their Black
or Hispanic counterparts, widowhood resulted in a greater relative loss in
total assets for the minorities.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/05/widowhoods-econ.php
Estimating the Anti-Poverty
Effects of Changes in Taxes and Benefits
This report from the Urban
Institute presents an analysis of policies recommended by the Center for
American Progress Task Force on Poverty. The policies include increasing
the minimum wage, expanding the EITC and other tax credits, expanding the
child care subsidy system, increasing participation in the Food Stamp Program,
rescinding restrictions on legal aliens' eligibility for benefits, and increasing
the number of housing vouchers.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/05/estimating-the.php
**Education
Early Results from the
Opening Doors Demonstration in Ohio
Community colleges enroll
nearly half of all higher education students nationwide; with relatively low
tuition and open admissions policies, they are a vital pathway to better jobs
and higher earnings for many individuals. In 2003, MDRC and a consortium
of funders launched the Opening Doors demonstration to test reforms
in six community colleges aimed at helping students stay in school and earn
credentials. Two MDRC reports present early results from two similar Opening
Doors programs in Ohio, at Lorain County Community College in Elyria, outside Cleveland, and Owens Community College in Toledo.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/05/early-results-f.php
**Health
More Research Needed
to Involve Families in Psychosocial Interventions
Family-oriented psychosocial
interventions seem to be beneficial in improving the mental and physical well-being
of both patients with chronic illness and their family members, but the results
aren't as robust as researchers had hoped. Prior studies have found that
supportive and non-supportive actions by family members are linked with a
patient's emotional well-being, health behaviors, immune function, blood pressure
and illness events.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/04/more-research-n.php
Older, Lower Income Patients
Least Likely to See a Specialist for Lupus
Despite advances in treatment,
systemic lupus (SLE) remains a serious disease. Other research has shown
that care provided by specialists to patients with rheumatic diseases is associated
with improved outcomes yet does not cost more. A new study published in Arthritis
Care & Research found older patients and those with lower incomes were
less likely to see a specialist for SLE.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/04/older-lower-inc.php
Indiana Takes Important Step to Improve Hoosier
Health
Indiana legislators have taken an important
step toward improving the health of Hoosiers by passing HB 1678 and the state
budget late yesterday evening. HB 1678 will increase the state cigarette
tax by 44 cents per pack, which is a proven strategy to prevent kids from
smoking and help smokers quit, and will improve access to vital healthcare
services for many uninsured Hoosiers. Between HB 1678 and the state budget,
annual funding for Indiana's nationally recognized tobacco prevention
program was also increased by $5.4 million dollars.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/04/indiana-takes-i.php
**Substance Abuse
Ways of Helping Children
of Drug and Alcohol Abusers
A review published in the
journal Advances in Psychiatric Treatment suggests how children whose parents
have drug or alcohol problems can be protected from the consequences usually
associated with parental substance misuse. Drawing on research from around
the world, the review highlights ways of reducing children's exposure to risk
and increasing the protective factors that promote the child's resilience.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/04/review-finds-wa.php
Help Comes in the Mail
for Drinkers
Mailing a simple information
pamphlet to interested drinkers in the general population reduced binge drinking
by 10 per cent, and is a promising public health approach to reduce the health
and social problems associated with heavy drinking, shows a new study led
by the University of Alberta. The study results showed that drinkers who
initially met a clinical screen for alcohol problems and who later received
the brief intervention reported a 10 per cent reduction in binge drinking
rates, compared to those who did not receive the pamphlets until the end of
the study.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/04/help-comes-in-t.php
Drama can help educate
and motivate, research shows
A play about substance abuse
was successful at prompting audience members to participate in substance abuse
prevention activities, according to a study from Wake Forest University School
of Medicine. After seeing the play, "Tunnels," audience members
were more likely to talk to their friends and family about substance abuse
and to donate money to organizations involved in substance abuse prevention.
Substance abuse problems most common in the community -- alcohol, marijuana,
heroin, other opiates and cocaine or crack -- were included in the drama.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/04/drama-can-help.php
