One in five children live below the federal poverty level in the United States and almost one in two are poor or near poor. The Academic Pediatric Association Task Force on Childhood Poverty will focus on specific strategies involving public policy and advocacy, health care delivery, medical education, and research. These strategic priorities are a first step in a “war on childhood poverty”. (Source: Academic Pediatric Association) [Read article]
Federal News
-
(05/17/2013)
-
(05/17/2013)
Growing Power is a national nonprofit organization and land trust supporting people from diverse backgrounds, and the environments in which they live, by helping to provide equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food for people in all communities. Growing Power implements this mission by providing hands-on training, on-the-ground demonstration, outreach and technical assistance through the development of Community Food Systems that help people grow, process, market and distribute food in a sustainable manner. (Source: Growing Power) [Website]
-
(05/17/2013)
Latino students are widely exposed to high-fat, high-sugar snacks and drinks sold in schools, but implementing stronger nutritional standards can yield healthier school snacks for this growing population at high risk of obesity, according to a new package of research materials released by Salud America! The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children. “Healthier School Snacks & Latino Kids” research materials start off with an in-depth review and summary of the latest science on school snacks and drinks and policy implications based on that research. (Source: NBC Latino) [Read article; Infographic]
-
(05/17/2013)
Changes in the marketplace have forced the public health community to wrestle with the idea that some tobacco products may pose less of a health risk than others, the new head of the Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco control efforts told an industry group. There are two approaches to regulating tobacco use: one that says there’s no safe way to use tobacco and pushes for people to quit above all else. Others embrace the idea that lower-risk alternatives like smokeless tobacco and other nicotine delivery systems like gum or even electronic cigarettes can help improve overall health. (Source: Washington Post) [Read article]
-
(05/17/2013)
The shortage, already said to be most acute in poorer inner cities and in rural America, could be getting worse. The Association of American Medical Colleges predicts with more citizens on the verge of receiving insurance through health care reform, and an overall aging population, the nation will see a shortage of about 90,000 doctors in the next decade. That shortfall, according to the AAMC's Center for Workforce Studies, will involve 45,000 too few primary care physicians and 46,000 too few surgeons and medical specialists. (Source: NECN.com) [Read article]
-
(05/17/2013)
The 947-page tome by the American Psychiatric Association adds some new disorders, broadens criteria for existing ones and tightens them for other illnesses. It’s the first major update in nearly 20 years. The highly controversial decisions involved in producing the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-5, have a potentially broad impact: They can affect which services children receive in schools, what treatments patients receive from doctors and even how people are viewed by society. (Source: Washington Post) [Read article]
-
(05/17/2013)
The quality of U.S. health care is slowly improving, while access to health care remains a great challenge for some Americans, especially racial and ethnic minorities and low-income people. The reports note that “urgent attention” is needed to ensure continued improvements in the quality of diabetes care, maternal and child health care, and treatment for conditions such as pressure ulcers and blood clots. Included in this year’s reports are new measures on early and adequate prenatal care, colorectal cancer screening, national rate of hospital-acquired conditions, standardized infection ratios at the state level for central line-associated bloodstream infections, and patient safety culture hospital survey findings. (Source: AHRQ) [Website]
-
(05/17/2013)
Study: Four out of five U.S. adults report having voluntary smoke-free rules in their homes and three out of four report having voluntary smoke-free rules in their vehicles. Despite the high prevalence of voluntary smoke-free rules in homes and vehicles, the study found that almost 11 million non-smoking adults continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke in their home, and almost 17 million non-smoking adults continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke in a vehicle. (Source: CDC) [Read article]
-
(05/17/2013)
Sister Anne Brooks, D.O., has provided care for the desperately poor at the Tutwiler Clinic for the last 30 years. House calls and 12-hour days have been part of her routine for those years. In addition to Sister Anne, the Roman Catholic nuns serving Tutwiler include a nurse practitioner, a registered nurse and a licensed counselor who all work in the clinic, and a community outreach worker who heads Habitat for Humanity. (Source: RAC) [Read article]
-
(05/17/2013)
Kids’ Cafes, community gardens, backpack programs and mobile pantries target hungry seniors, children and families. Vegetables harvested from community gardens are given to senior centers and needy families. Seniors are more vulnerable because poor nutrition or failure to eat regularly exacerbates existing health conditions. (Source: RAC) [Read article]
-
(05/17/2013)
Food pantries and other volunteer operations serve rural households experiencing food insecurity, often for the first time. In America, known as the land of plenty, plenty of people are hungry. They are termed "food insecure," meaning their food intake was reduced and eating patterns disrupted because the household lacked money for food. (Source: RAC) [Read article]
-
(05/17/2013)
The United States Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as having two ranges: low food security, with reports of reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet, but little or no indication of reduced food intake; and very low food security, with reports of multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake (i.e., episodic hunger). “Very low food security” often simply goes by the label “food insecurity.” (Source: RAC) [Read article]
-
(05/17/2013)
MacKinney, an emergency room doc, professor and RUPRI Health Panel member, discusses how health care can be transformed to a system of care that responds to patient and community needs. (Source: RAC) [Read article]
-
(05/17/2013)
The Spring issue of the Rural Monitor deals with “Rural Hunger.” Articles in this issue range from food pantries and programs to food deserts and food insecurity/hunger. Check it out! (Source: RAC) [Read articles]
-
(05/16/2013)
Somewhere between 13 and 20 percent of kids in the United States experience some sort of mental illness, according to Mental Health Surveillance Among Children — United States, 2005–2011, a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That adds up to millions of children suffering from disorders like ADHD, depression, autism and illicit drug use. (Source: Kaiser Health News) [Read article]
