UMN: Bio-Med Library - Public Health

Hello SPH!

My name is Lisa McGuire and I am the (somewhat new) library liaison to SPH having taken over this fine duty from Chad Fennell. You may be asking yourself - what is a library liaison? Well, in effect I work as SPH's "personal librarian" which means I am more than happy to help you with any of these tasks:

*literature searching/lit reviews
*instruction sessions on how to use information resources such as Medline searching, using RefWorks to create bibliograhies, or how to search for the best-evidence on a topic
*creating CourseLib pages that link students to relevant information resources (see this example
*one-on-one consultations either at your office, in the library, via phone/email on any information problem you may have
*purchase suggestions for the library's collection

You can contact me via this web page or directly at:

email
phone: 612-626-3643
fax:612-626-2454

Lisa McGuire

Posted by Lisa McGuire at 02:43 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

A University of Minnesota study is the first to show that if you eat too much fat, it can go straight to your liver and damage it. Although the study was performed on people with liver disease, it should serve as a warning that this is what can happen to people who do what the star of "Super Size Me" did: eat too darn much fat and gain a lot of weight.

In the study, which examined obese people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), fat from the diet ended up "stuck" in the liver, where it doesn't belong. It was known that the livers of NAFLD patients accumulated fat, but its origin was unknown. The new work implicates fat from the diet as one cause of NAFLD and shows that fat buildup in the liver results when the liver loses its ability to manage the various influxes of fat that occur during transitions between the fasted and fed states. Identifying the origins of accumulated fat in the livers of NAFLD patients will be important in preventing and reversing this condition, which can lead to more serious liver trouble. The work was published May 2 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Full Artircle: http://www1.umn.edu/umnnews/Feature_Stories/Fat_causes_liver_damage.html

Posted by Chad Fennell at 12:44 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The concentration is a result of the increased popularity in the alternative field.
By Naomi Scott

Starting in fall, the University’s School of Public Health will offer a concentration in complementary and alternative medicine.

The concentration is a result of the increased popularity of alternative medicine and complementary therapies in the United States today, said Pam Schreiner, an epidemiology professor, who proposed the concentration.

Full Article: http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2005/04/19/64244

Posted by Chad Fennell at 08:53 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

CANCER CENTER SPRING POSTER SESSION AND SYMPOSIUM

The Sixth Annual Spring Poster Session and Symposium sponsored by the Cancer Center Core Facilities will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., May 19, 2005. The schedule for the event includes oral presentations from 11 a.m. to noon followed by poster session and lunch from noon to 1:30 p.m. Students, staff, post-docs and PIs are invited to participate by presenting a poster.

Online registration will open on Monday, March 21, 2005. Due to the increasing number (and size!) of posters and the limited amount of display space, we have decided to display the first 35 abstracts/posters that are submitted in the Cancer Center atrium areas. Other posters will be displayed as space permits in other areas of the Cancer Center. All abstracts will be printed in the program booklet.

For more information, call Sue Fautsch at 5-6955 or send an email to fauts001@umn.edu.

Link: http://www.cancer.umn.edu/page/ccmembers/members.html

Posted by Chad Fennell at 11:21 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The PubMed® Cubby will soon be replaced by My NCBI. My NCBI works similarly to the Cubby in that it retains user information in order to provide additional services. To use My NCBI you must be signed in. You can sign in using an existing Cubby account, or if you do not have an account, you can register for a My NCBI account.

Full Article: http://80-www.nlm.nih.gov.floyd.lib.umn.edu/pubs/techbull/jf05/jf05_myncbi.html

Posted by Chad Fennell at 08:35 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

ABRAXANE™, first solvent-free, albumin-bound paclitaxel nanoparticles, requires no premedication and almost doubles response rate
SCHAUMBURG, IL – January 7, 2005 – American Pharmaceutical Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ:APPX) and American Bioscience, Inc. (ABI) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ABRAXANETM for Injectable Suspension (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension) (albumin-bound) in metastatic breast cancer. ABRAXANETM is indicated for the treatment of breast cancer after failure of combination chemotherapy for metastatic disease or relapse within 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy. Prior therapy should have included an anthracycline unless clinically contraindicated.

Full Article: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-01/hp-faa010705.php

Posted by Chad Fennell at 11:45 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

1/12/2005 4:03:00 PM

To: National Desk, Health Reporter

Contact: David Fouse of the American Public Health Association, 202-777-2501 or david.fouse@apha.org; Web: http://www.apha.org

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The American Public Health Association announced its support for the new dietary guidelines for Americans released today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"The revised dietary guidelines provide sound science-based advice for promoting health and reducing risk for major chronic diseases through diet and physical activity," said Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, executive director of the American Public Health Association. "The release of the updated guidelines represents a valuable step in addressing the nutritional health of the nation. Now the hard part is putting these recommendations into action."

Read more...U.S. Newswire

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 05:35 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Government sees chance to change health habits

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Cave men lived a healthy lifestyle: Their calorie intake stayed low because food was hard to find, and they exercised regularly to bring home the bacon.

The government wants Americans to follow that approach. Today, however, food is at their fingertips, driving has replaced running and people are fatter than ever.

New dietary guidelines coming out Wednesday are expected to place more emphasis on counting calories and exercising daily, along with swapping whole grains for refined ones and eating a lot more vegetables and fruits.

The advice is not really new. But Americans don't heed it, so the government sees the guidelines as an opportunity to change people's ways.

The recommendations will be incorporated into the familiar Food Guide Pyramid, which most Americans know about but which few actually follow. The Agriculture Department is revising the pyramid for the first time since 1992, when it was developed.

Read more...CNN News

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 10:14 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (1)

Distribution Source : PRNewswire

Date : Thursday - January 06, 2005

WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced that under the new National Response Plan released today by the Department of Homeland Security, HHS will continue to lead the federal government in providing public health and medical services during major disasters and emergencies.

"HHS will continue to work closely with all our partners to protect the health of the American public," Secretary Thompson said. "The National Response Plan will help strengthen crucial working relationships between federal, state, local and tribal officials, and the private sector concerned with public health issues during disasters or terrorist attacks."

Read more...ArriveNet

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Tsunami Help Project

Table of contents
1 Health

1.1 Water - Purification
1.2 Water - Sanitation Management in Disasters Resources
1.3 Disease - Prevention
1.4 Dead Bodies - Information on Handling
1.5 Disease surveillance

1.5.1 Cholera
1.5.2 Malaria
1.5.3 Post-traumatic stress prevention
1.5.4 ACUTE KIDNEY FAILURE

1.6 Medical follow-up on return to one's native country
2 Safety

2.1 Earthquake - Safety Tips
2.2 Standards: Humanitarian Assistance

Read more...Wiki News Tsunami Help Page

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 01:18 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

By Sola Ogundipe
Tuesday, January 04, 2005

Hunger, grief and the growing threat of disease, have remained the lot of survivors of the Asian tsunami disasters in which over 150,000 lives have been reportedly lost. Even as international aid continue to pour into Indonesia, Sri Lanka and 10 other distraught countries on the rim of the Indian Ocean with deliveries of food, water, medicine, clothing and other essentials, reports from the United Nations indicate that the death toll was expected to climb even higher.

The remote regions of Aceh province in Indonesia remained the focus of attempts to save survivors and prevent the possible spread of disease, aid workers said weekend in the aftermath of the December 26 disaster. The estimated death toll rose weekend to more than 140,000 people in the 11 Asian and African nations and aid workers are concerned primarily with providing clean water and proper sanitation.

Read more....Vanguard

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 04:23 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

World Health Organization warns of looming health crisis

GENEVA, Switzerland -- The United Nations warned Wednesday that respiratory and waterborne diseases could break out in areas affected by southern Asia's tsunami disaster "in the next few days."

Relief organizations are distributing medical supplies to prevent the outbreak of disease, but their main focus is dealing with the wounded, said Jamie McGoldrick, an emergency relief coordinator of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva. (Relief workers describe threats)

"Diseases will start to come through in the next few days," McGoldrick said. "No doubt people will be affected, kids are drinking stagnant water."

Read more...CNN Health

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 11:59 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

02 Jan 2005

WHO is mobilizing emergency health kits to cover essential medical needs of two million people for three months. Death rates will rise due to communicable diseases unless humanitarian assistance is provided promptly and is well coordinated.

The World Health Organization (WHO) today said urgent action is needed to address the emerging public health needs of those affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Southeast Asia. Between three and five million people in the region are unable to access the basic requirements they need to stay alive - clean water, adequate shelter, food, sanitation and healthcare.

Read more...Medical News Today

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 09:04 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Geneva _ The World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday said urgent action is needed to address the emerging public health needs of those affected by the earthquake and tsunamis in Southeast Asia.

Between three and five million people in the region are unable to access the basic requirements they need to stay alive _ clean water, adequate shelter, food, sanitation and healthcare.

To address the immediate public health needs and respond to the devastating catastrophe, the WHO estimated in a press statement that it will need US$40 million.

"Four days after the tsunami struck the coasts of Southeast Asia, we now have a clearer picture of the extent of the devastation and human suffering which has occurred," said Dr Lee, Jong-wook, director-general of the WHO. "This is the most serious natural disaster to affect the region for several decades. The health needs of the populations affected are immediate and substantial."

Read more...Bangkok Post

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 07:09 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Thursday December 30, 2004

As aid agencies struggled to cope with the scale of the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster, the UN today warned that the next few days would be critical in the fight to control potential outbreaks of disease.

The incidence of diarrhoea is increasing, but is no greater than would be expected at this stage of a natural disaster, David Nabarro, the head of crisis operations for the World Health Organisation, said.

"We remain really concerned about the situation," he said, adding that it was becoming clearer whether or not medical supplies were matching the needs of the areas affected by the disaster. "It's a normal anxiety that we have at this time, that we've got a clearer understanding of the needs but we've also got a clearer concern about the supplies," Mr Nabarro said.

Read more...Guardian Unlimited

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Links to on-site and regional newsbites and information

ReliefWeb

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:54 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

28 December 2004 -- The World Health Organization, together with national governments, is currently conducting extensive assessments of the situation in devastated parts of Southeast Asia. The health needs of the populations affected are immediate and substantial. Priorities will be to implement measures to prevent disease outbreaks, particularly water-borne diseases.

WHO: Latest Information

What WHO is doing

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:21 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

By Scott Allen, Globe Staff | December 29, 2004

Counting the dead from this week's tsunamis in South Asia is a logistical nightmare, as relief officials contend with casualties spread across 11 countries, including many remote islands and villages whose exact populations were never officially tallied. Thousands of bodies are probably lost at sea, making them impossible to count, and relief groups say the government of at least one country, Burma, is not being candid about the extent of the disaster there.

The estimated toll from Sunday's enormous waves has climbed from 11,000 in the immediate aftermath to more than 52,000 yesterday, as government officials reached isolated places such as India's Chowra Island -- where two-thirds of the inhabitants are believed to have died.

Read more... Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:17 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The Associated Press
Updated: 12:54 p.m. ET Dec. 29, 2004

GENEVA - The United Nations warned Wednesday that respiratory and waterborne diseases could break out in areas affected by southern Asia’s tsunami disaster “in the next few days.”

Although relief organizations are distributing medical supplies to prevent the outbreak of disease, the main focus is still on dealing with the wounded, said Jamie McGoldrick, an emergency relief coordinator of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva.

“Diseases will start to come through in the next few days,” McGoldrick told the Associated Press. “No doubt people will be affected, kids are drinking stagnant water.”

Read More...MSNBC News

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 11:56 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

12/20/2004 1:35:00 PM

To: National Desk

Contact: Sabrina Jones of the American Public Health Association, 202-777-2509 or sabrina.jones@apha.org

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The American Public Health Association recently adopted 20 policies addressing a broad range of issues in public health from underage alcohol consumption and nutrition labeling in restaurants to the supply of flu vaccinations and threats to immigrants' health care. The Association also approved an operational measure in support of smoke-free cities.

The following are brief descriptions of the measures approved by the Association's Governing Council during its 132nd Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., Nov. 6-10, 2004. The descriptions are brief summaries; full language of the 2004 policies is available at http://www.apha.org/legislative/policy/policysearch/.

Read more...U.S. Newswire

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 01:41 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

12/20/2004 1:35:00 PM

To: National Desk

Contact: Sabrina Jones of the American Public Health Association, 202-777-2509 or sabrina.jones@apha.org

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The American Public Health Association recently adopted 20 policies addressing a broad range of issues in public health from underage alcohol consumption and nutrition labeling in restaurants to the supply of flu vaccinations and threats to immigrants' health care. The Association also approved an operational measure in support of smoke-free cities.

The following are brief descriptions of the measures approved by the Association's Governing Council during its 132nd Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., Nov. 6-10, 2004. The descriptions are brief summaries; full language of the 2004 policies is available at http://www.apha.org/legislative/policy/policysearch/.

Read more...U.S. Newswire

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 01:41 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Wed., December 15, 2004 Tevet 3, 5765

By Shlomo Shamir

NEW YORK - The World Health Organization is launching an Israeli-Palestinian journal devoted to public health issues, a WHO communique from Geneva announced yesterday.

Its purpose is to promote projects for improving public health in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, the announcement emphasized.

The periodical, entitled "Bridges," will appear every two months and include articles on public health matters by Israeli and Palestinian experts.

Editing and production will also be handled jointly by Israelis and Palestinians.

The first issue was published yesterday on the WHO Internet site.

Articles will deal with health issues of interest to both sides, and special principles have been established to ensure topics are presented in a balanced manner, the announcement said.

In keeping with these principles, the journal will depict the conflict's negative effects on both sides, priority will be given to highlighting positive cooperation and emphasis will be placed on human interest stories.

Article from: HAARETZ.com

Press Release: WHO Media Centre

Bridges

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 01:02 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Hello U of M Public Health Faculty,

Cindy Gruwell here, the Public Health liaison. I would like to ask for your assistance....

I am in the process of purchasing public health monographs for the library's collection. Although I have a number of items under consideration, I would appreciate your sharing items that you feel would make nice additions to our collection.

Of course I don't have an endless budget, but I do feel I could accomodate most reccomendations.

I am also taking reccomendations for the Public Health Blog. Please feel free to share your comments.

Please contact me at either gruwell@umn.edu or by phone at:626-3995.

Thank you,

Cindy

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Frequent PubMed users may be interested in exploring two browser enhancements which allow users to initiate PubMed searches directly from a web browser window, and which are customized for University of Minnesota users.

Continue reading "PubMed Bookmarklet and Toolbar Search Plugin Enhanced with U of M Find It Service"

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 11:16 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Google Scholar is here! This new application of Google's popular (nay, essential?) Web indexing and ranking strategy enables the user "to search specifically for scholarly literature, including peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, preprints, abstracts and technical reports from all broad areas of research."

Relevance ranking in Google Scholar incorporates citation frequency data, a la the Institute for Scientific Information's Web of Science product. Also using that citation data, article citations found in Google Scholar incorporate a convenient link to other articles which have cited it.

Molecular Biosciences Virtual Library

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 11:13 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Health, United States is an annual report on trends in health statistics. The report consists of two main sections: A chartbook containing text and figures that illustrates major trends in the health of Americans; and a trend tables section that contains 153 detailed data tables. The two main components are supplemented by an executive summary, a highlights section, an extensive appendix and reference section, and an index.

Link to document

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 02:44 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

December 2004

Volume 10, Number 12

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 10:14 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The Merck Institute of Aging & Health (MIAH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) are releasing this report to assess the health status of the growing number of older Americans and to make recommendations to improve the mental and physical health of all Americans in their later years. This report is divided into six sections. Two sections offer report cards—one at the national level and one for individual states and the District of Columbia—that show whether older Americans are meeting specific health targets set in Healthy People 2000. The other four sections examine issues that are critical to improving our ability to meet these targets.

Georgia State University Public Health Blog

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 10:11 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

DANIEL YEE
Wednesday, November 24, 2004 Posted: 5:24 PM EST (2224 GMT)

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- The flu season in the United States is off to a slow start, with only Delaware and New York reporting significant outbreaks -- a relief to government health authorities, given the U.S. vaccine shortage.

Even so, the "widespread" flu activity in Delaware -- the first state to be classified at the nation's highest flu level -- is a little misleading. The state meets the designation because confirmed cases of the flu had been found in every county of that state.

CNN Health

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 05:13 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The Sallie Rosen Kaplan Fellowship is specifically designed to encourage
women scientists in cancer research to pursue advanced training at the
NCI. Successful applicants will be matched with an intramural NCI
investigator for a postdoctoral fellowship and are eligible to receive an
augmented stipend. The goal is to support the careers of women in
biomedical research. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent
residents. Completed applications are due Wednesday, December
15th.

Get flyers or access a brochure about the fellowship.

Apply online by going to NCI's StarCather Web site or contact M. Teresa
Estrada, Ph.D., Office of Workforce Development, NCI, 6116 Executive Blvd.,
Ste. 502, Bethesda, MD 20892-8342, 301-451-8826, 301-402-3509 FAX,
mailto:mncifellows@mail.nih.gov

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 02:28 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

BALTIMORE (November 20, 2004) —

A potential new case of mad cow disease has been found in the U.S. – but tests so far are inconclusive, said U.S. agriculture officials.

A preliminary screening test for mad cow disease will be confirmed in 4-7 days, and few additional details will be released until then.

Despite the public message from agriculture officials that this shouldn't cause alarm, the news has already economically rattled the cattle industry, meat companies and hamburger restaurant chains. Thursday's announcement about the inconclusive test sent cattle prices tumbling. Shares of McDonald's, Wendy's, and other restaurant chains slumped, as did those of U.S. meat producers such as Tyson Foods.

Disaster News Network

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 09:26 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

By Dorsey Griffith and Lesli A. Maxwell -- Bee Staff Writers
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, November 20, 2004

Calls for changing the way the government monitors drug safety erupted Friday, as consumer advocates and worried patients zeroed in on testimony that five federally approved medicines posed significant health risks.
The allegations, made public in Washington on Thursday, sparked a spirited rebuttal by the Food and Drug Administration, which sought to defend itself against claims by one of its own that the agency fails to protect consumers.

sacbee

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From the UK

This White Paper sets out the key principles for supporting the public to make more healthier and informed choices in regards to their health. The Government will provide information and practical support to get people motivated and improve emotional wellbeing and access to services so that healthy choices are easier to make.

UK Department of Health

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GPHIN II collects and disseminates alerts in seven languages

OTTAWA/NEW YORK -- The newest version of the Global Public Health Intelligence Network (GPHIN II) was jointly launched today by the Government of Canada and the Washington-based Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI). This unique "early warning" system gathers and disseminates preliminary reports of public health significance on a real-time, 24/7 basis in seven languages.

The secure, web-based system was developed by Canadian health officials with important support and financial assistance from NTI, an organization devoted to reducing global threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, co-chaired by philanthropist Ted Turner and former United States Senator Sam Nunn.

Public Health Agency of Canada

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 05:07 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Tuesday, November 16, 2004 · Last updated 9:42 p.m. PT

By LAURA MECKLER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

WASHINGTON -- A senator suggested Tuesday that money federal health officials have sought to upgrade flu vaccine production is on the way - an effort to avoid another year like this one, when the United States lost nearly half its supply of vaccine.

The current system for producing flu vaccine relies on millions of chicken eggs, which are used to incubate the viruses needed to create the vaccine. Many scientists believe the system could be improved by brewing vaccines in human and monkey cells instead.

The Health and Human Services Department has requested $100 million to speed this transition. This year, it got $50 million.

seattlepi.com

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 04:45 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Tue 16 November, 2004 22:30

By Lorraine Orlandi

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Global health leaders meeting in Mexico this week want nations of the world to spend more on medical research, not only to develop new cures but to make those now on the market available to the poor.

Existing tools as simple as mosquito nets can cut deep into massive health problems such as malaria in developing nations, but research is needed to find ways to best use them, organizers of a summit for health research said at the start of the four-day event in Mexico City on Tuesday.

Reuters UK

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Tuesday, November 16, 2004 Posted: 9:25 AM EST (1425 GMT)

LONDON, England -- England could become the latest country to ban smoking in public places, including restaurants and most pubs and bars, under a government proposal.

The ban would be phased in gradually, starting with government offices by 2006, if it is approved by lawmakers, Health Secretary John Reid told parliament Tuesday.

"All government departments will be smoke-free," Reid said. "All enclosed public places and workplaces ... will be smoke free. All restaurants will be smoke free. All pubs and bars preparing and serving food will be smoke free."

CNN Health

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 01:48 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

OTTAWA -- Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh and Minister of State (Public Health) Dr. Carolyn Bennett will join Dr. David Butler-Jones, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and philanthropist Ted Turner, co-chairs of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, as well as the World Health Organization's Dr. Stephen Corber in launching the enhanced Global Public Health Intelligence Network (GPHIN II). GPHIN II is a unique, secure Internet-based "early warning" system developed by Canadian health officials to gather and disseminate preliminary reports of public health significance (i.e., bioterrorism such as anthrax, infectious diseases such as avian flu, SARS) on a 24/7 basis.

Announcement link : Government of Canada

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 01:31 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 2004--

Minnesota, New Hampshire and Vermont Hold Top Three Positions as Nation's Healthiest States, Southeastern States Experience Targeted Success but Continue to Face Challenges

United Health Foundation, together with the American Public Health Association (APHA) and Partnership for Prevention, today released the 15th annual America's Health: State Health Rankings at the APHA's Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

This year's report reveals a 17.5 percent improvement in America's overall health during the past 15 years. However, the report also shows that the rate of improvement is slowing significantly due to a combination of personal, community and public health issues. During the 1990s, health in the United States improved by an annual rate of 1.5 percent each year. However, during the 2000s, health in the United States has improved by an annual rate of only 0.2 percent each year - 1/8 the rate experienced during the 1990s.

Article from Businesswire

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 08:42 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Fri Nov 12,10:26 AM ET Health - Reuters

By Mike Peacock

LONDON (Reuters) - The British government will launch a long-awaited policy paper on public health next week with plans to curb public smoking, tackle obesity and address the way food companies target children through advertising.

A government official said the Public Health White Paper would be published on Tuesday, following hard on the heels of a decision by the Scottish parliament to ban smoking in public buildings from 2006.

Articlel from Health Reuters

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08 Nov 2004

Public health officials are "more alarmed than they have signaled publicly" that the United States remains "woefully unprepared" for a bioterrorist attack, the Washington Post reports.

Officials have raised concerns because most U.S. hospitals and state and local public health agencies "would be completely overwhelmed trying to carry out mass vaccinations" or distribute antidotes in response to a large bioterrorist attack, and most facilities lack the "surge capacity" required to treat "a huge influx of very sick people," according to the Post. In addition, officials maintain that shared jurisdiction among federal agencies involved with bioterrorism response -- such as the Department of Homeland Security and HHS -- "leads to confusion inside and outside" of the federal government, the Post reports. Practice scenarios -- such as a failed May 2003 exercise in Chicago in which hospitals had three days to respond to a fictitious outbreak of the plague -- also have revealed that "more work is required" to plan how the federal government should communicate with the public after a bioterrorist attack and "manage the potential flight of perhaps millions of people" from cities, according to the Post. In addition, officials have raised concerns about the lack of new bioterrorism vaccines and medication in development at pharmaceutical companies or NIH and the lack of technology to detect bioterrorist attacks (Mintz/Warrick, Washington Post, 11/8).

Article from Medical News Today

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Improvement slowing, though, and could stall, survey says
By Michael Coren

Monday, November 8, 2004 Posted: 12:03 PM EST (1703 GMT)

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- The average resident of Minnesota stands a better chance of avoiding smoking, car accidents and obesity than a friend living 900 miles to the south in Tennessee.

That is among the findings of a study released on Monday by the United Health Foundation, which has been tracking the nation's health for the past 15 years.

The nationwide study found plenty to cheer about -- Americans are getting healthier and smoking is on the decline -- but improvements are slowing and could stall completely if trends continue.

Article from CNN.com

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 01:14 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Monday, November 08, 2004 - Page updated at 12:00 A.M.

By Reuters and The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The U.S. influenza season is starting slowly, but it is still too early to tell how severe the outbreak will be as the nation faces a vaccine shortage, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday.

Article from The Seattle Times

Posted by Cindy Gruwell at 01:09 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

We need your opinions and expertise

Last fall, more than 30 Cancer Center members participated in Minnesota's first CancerPlan Summit. During the past year, about a dozen Cancer Center members helped draft Minnesota's first comprehensive cancer control plan.

Now you have an opportunity to weigh in on this important initiative and support the contributions of your colleagues. We ask that you attend the second annual Summit , set for Nov. 16. The draft plan will be presented for discussion. Your comments will help shape the final plan that beginning next year will integrate and coordinate Minnesota 's approach to the entire spectrum of cancer control, including prevention, early detection, treatment, survivorship and palliation.

• The Summit will be held 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Nov. 16, at the Radisson Riverfront Hotel in St. Paul
• Registration is $35 per person and covers conference materials, continental breakfast, lunch and reception. The Cancer Center will reimburse the registration fee for cancer center members. Registration deadline is Oct. 31, so please register as soon as you can.

For more information about the CancerPlan Minnesota initiative and to register for the Summit , visit www.cancerplanmn.org. Or contact DeAnn Lazovich, Ph.D. (6-9099; lazov001@umn.edu) or Marva Bohen (4-2620; bohen001@umn.edu).

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The University of Illinois at Chicago has received $8.1 million in grant funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for three innovative public health research and training projects.

Three separate grants were funded:

Prevention of Disease

The Illinois Prevention Research Center at UIC received a five-year, $4.1 million grant from the CDC to help eliminate health disparities and create healthy communities through research, training and sharing knowledge. The grant will fund the center's largest research project, aimed at preventing and controlling diabetes in Latino and African-American populations.

News Release from UIC

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