Study Links Hypertension
in Obese Children to Television Viewing
Researchers from the University
of California, San Diego; the Rady Children's Hospital
-- San Diego; the University of California, San Francisco; and the University
of South Alabama determined that television viewing is not only linked to
childhood obesity, but also to hypertension in children, according to a study
published in the December 2007 issue of the American Journal of Preventive
Medicine. As of 2004, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
(NHANES) estimated that 17% of children and adolescents were obese.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/10/study-links-hyp.php
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'Huffing' Household Chemicals
Connected to Teen Suicide
With suicide as the third
leading cause of death among adolescents in the United States, a new University of Denver (DU) study
reveals inhaling or "huffing" vapors of common household goods,
such as glue or nail polish, are associated with increased suicidal thoughts
and attempts. Of the study's participants, 33 percent reported having inhaled
volatile solvents, 25 percent had attempted suicide, and 58 percent reported
suicidal thoughts. The study warns parents to be aware of the possibility
of suicidal thoughts in children who have been caught inhaling household chemicals.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/10/study-reveals-h.php
**Community Development
Katrina Victims Increasingly
Depressed, Traumatized, and Suicidal as Relief Efforts Drag On
According to the most comprehensive
survey of people affected by Hurricane Katrina, results of which are being
presented today to the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government
Affairs Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Disaster Recovery, the percentage of pre-hurricane
residents of the affected areas in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi who
have mental disorders has increased significantly compared to the situation
five to eight months after the hurricane. These findings counter a more typical
pattern from previous disasters where prevalence of mental disorders decreases
as time passes.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/10/katrina-victims.php
**Economic Security
Racial Disparities and
the New Federalism
The paper explores how shifts
in both social welfare policies and economic conditions beginning in the mid-1990s
altered the relative well-being of blacks compared to whites between 1997
and 2002. The findings suggest that some of the disparities between whites
and blacks narrowed between 1997 and 2002, especially among people with low
incomes. But gaps in income, child school outcomes, employment, assets, and
welfare and other income supports, remained essentially unchanged over the
period.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/10/racial-disparit-1.php
The Economic Power -
and Pitfalls - of Positive Thinking
People who are optimistic
are more likely than others to display prudent financial behaviors, according
to new research from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. But too
much optimism can be a problem: people who are extremely optimistic tend to
have short planning horizons and act in ways that are generally not considered
wise. Professors of finance at Duke, report in the October 2007 issue of
the Journal of Financial Economics that the differences between optimists
and extreme optimists provide important insights into the interaction between
psychology and economic and lifestyle choices.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/10/the-economic-po.php
Assessing the Evidence
on Science and Engineering Education, Quality, and Workforce Demand
According to the Urban
Institute, recent policy reports claim the United States is falling behind other nations in
science and math education and graduating insufficient numbers of scientists
and engineers. Review of the evidence and analysis of actual graduation rates
and workforce needs does not find support for these claims. U.S. student performance rankings are comparable
to other leading nations and colleges graduate far more scientists and engineers
than are hired each year.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/11/into-the-eye-of.php
**Education
Education Department
Announces Academic Competitiveness and National SMART Grants Data Results
U.S. Department of Education
announced the first year national data results from the Academic Competitiveness
(AC) and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (National
SMART) Grants. The AC Grants provide additional aid to first- and second-year
college students who complete rigorous high school coursework, are enrolled
fulltime and maintain a 3.0 GPA. As new grant programs available to students,
the Department has worked closely with financial aid advisors and admissions
counselors across the U.S. to raise awareness about these grants,
verify students' eligibility and award grant aid.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/10/spellings-annou.php
**Health
Education Program Leads
to Lasting Improvement of Cancer Knowledge in African-Americans
Disparities in access to
health care and education hinder minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged
populations from receiving needed cancer services and often lead to delayed
cancer diagnoses. To determine the lasting impact of cancer education geared
toward African-Americans, researchers with the University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), in partnership with The Centers for Healthy
Hearts and Souls, a Pittsburgh-based community health promotion organization,
designed an outreach program that consisted of three education sessions.
This study points to the crucial influence an education program can have on
cancer knowledge and attitudes, and is an important first step in breaking
down barriers related to cancer disparities.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/10/education-progr.php
Access to Specialty Care
and Medical Services in Community Health Centers
Community health centers
provide primary health care services to more than 15 million Americans, many
of whom are members of racial or ethnic minorities, have low income, are uninsured,
or have coverage through Medicaid. To improve access to care in underserved
communities, the federal government recently increased the number of CHCs. There are concerns, however, that CHCs
lack adequate capacity to provide a full range of services to their patients.
A Commonwealth Fund supported study has found that CHC patients have difficulty
obtaining off-site specialty services, including referrals to medical specialists,
diagnostic testing, and mental health and substance abuse treatment.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/10/access-to-speci.php
Patient Navigators Help
Minority, Low-Income Cancer Patients Get Life-Saving Treatments
Volunteers who guide low-income
and minority cancer patients through cancer treatment, called lay patient
navigators, help them to overcome major obstacles that prevent them from receiving
quality care and achieving better outcomes, according to a study presented
at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 49th Annual
Meeting in Los Angeles. Minority and low-income cancer patients
continue to receive inferior care in the detection and treatment of cancer,
compared to the general population. They are also under-represented in cancer
clinical trials, which can potentially save or extend the lives of trial participants,
especially those who have few treatment options.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/10/patient-navigat.php
Statement by ADA on the Native American Full Access to Dental Care Act
"The American Dental
Association applauds Reps. Ron Kind (D-WI) and Dave Camp (R-MI) for introducing
legislation that will help bring more dentists into
the Indian Health Service and Native American tribal areas, where too many
people lack sufficient access to the basic dental care that most Americans
take for granted. "The Native American Full Access to Dental Care Act
(H.R. 3960) would help address the dental access problem in some of the nation's
most underserved communities, by helping to fill some of the many vacant positions
for dentists within the IHS, about one-third of which currently are empty.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/11/statement-by-ad.php
Assuring Comprehensive
Dental Services in Medicaid and Head Start Programs
As part of efforts to improve
access to required dental services for their child beneficiaries, state Medicaid
agencies and Head Start programs recently have considered models or arrangements
that include a limited set of services---usually dental screening and/or prevention
services---often provided by non-dentists outside of 'traditional' dental
care delivery settings. Dental caries (tooth decay) is the most common chronic
disease among children, with economically disadvantaged children and ethnic
minority children experiencing the highest rates of disease.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/11/assuring-compre.php
Government Restrictions
on Weight Loss Surgeries Limit Access for Poor, Underinsured Patients
Thresholds limiting bariatric
surgeries to high-volume centers disproportionately restrict access for poor
and underinsured patients, populations which are among the most in need of
them, an analysis led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers
shows. "Restricting surgeries to high-volume centers has the effect
of limiting bariatric surgery as an option for many
poor and underinsured who rely on Medicare and Medicaid," said the, senior
author of the study appearing in the October edition of Archives of Surgery.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/10/government-rest.php
**Substance Abuse
Study Finds Alarming
Rate of Drinking and Driving Among Rural Middle Schoolers
Warnings that alcohol and
driving don't mix are generally targeted at adults or high school students,
but a new University of Georgia study finds that some middle schoolers in rural areas are drinking and driving as well.
Researchers, whose results appear in the November issue of the journal Accident
Analysis and Prevention, surveyed 290 middle school students in the Mississippi
Delta and found that 17 percent had driven an automobile after drinking.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/10/uga-study-finds-1.php
Dealing with Stress as
a Treatment for Alcohol Abuse
A researcher at the University
at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA) is initiating a study
of "mindfulness-based stress reduction," a technique often used
in behavioral medicine for stress reduction but not before as an adjunct in
the treatment of alcohol use disorders. The long-term goal is to decrease
relapse to drinking following treatment, thereby providing significant health
benefits to people being treated for alcohol dependence, with corresponding
benefits for their families and the community-at-large.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/10/dealing-with-st.php
Substance Abuse Practitioners
Ask 'What is Recovery?'
Abstinence from alcohol
and drugs is just the starting point in defining "recovery" for
people with substance abuse disorders, according to a paper in the October
issue of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment (JSAT). "Recovery
may be the best word to summarize all the positive benefits to physical, mental,
and social health that can happen when alcohol- and other drug-dependent individuals
get the help they need," the expert panel writes. The panel suggests
a classification to define the duration of sobriety: "early" sobriety
between one month and one year; "sustained" sobriety, between one
and five years; and "stable" sobriety, five years or longer.
http://webclipper.handsnet.org/2007/11/substance-abuse.php
