Tag: Public Health

Outbreaks in New York state continue to drive up the number of U.S. measles cases, which are approaching levels not seen in 25 years. Health officials say 71 more cases were reported last week, with 68 of them from New York. That brings this years total to 626. That is already the most since 2014,

An analysis of the reports and materials provided by commercial laboratories offering noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS) for genetic disorders finds that none of them fully meet the recommendations published by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG). The report from a team of specialists in medical genetics is being published in the journal

Tyson Foods is recalling more than 36,000 pounds (16,329 kilograms) of chicken nuggets because they may be contaminated with rubber. The U.S. Agriculture Department says there were consumer complaints about extraneous material in 5-pound (2 kilogram) packages of Tyson White Meat Panko Chicken Nuggets. There are no confirmed reports of adverse reactions. The packages have

Many individuals cite prescription opioids as their gateway to illicit opioid use. However, while prescription opioids are involved in more than one-third of all opioid overdose deaths in the U.S., examining any correlation between prescription opioid overdose deaths and pharmaceutical industry marketing has been limited — until now. New research from NYU School of Medicine

Medication administration errors leading to death are common with anticoagulants and antibiotics in particular, according to a new study that analysed incidents reported in England and Wales. The most common error category was omitted medicine, followed by a wrong dose or a wrong strength. In half of the reported incidents, the patient was aged over

Anti-vaccine billboards claiming that routine childhood shots are deadly have popped up in several West Virginia cities. They warn that the son of former Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Nick Catone died from a vaccine, though the infant’s death was officially ruled to be sudden infant death syndrome. A physician director for the Cabell-Huntington Health Department,

Since 2013, gifts and payments to doctors by pharmaceutical and medical device companies have been publicly reported. In addition, some medical centers, physician employers, such as Kaiser Permanente, and states have banned or restricted detailing visits, physician payments or gifts. Some manufacturers have also changed their practices for certain gifts. In order to better understand

Consumers can go to Google, Yelp and Facebook for crowdsourced insight about the experiences they’ll have at a hospital, but they shouldn’t expect foolproof guidance on the quality of care they will receive, according to new Indiana University research. Researchers Victoria Perez and Seth Freedman of IU’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs compared social

A bite from a disease-carrying tick can transmit a serious, potentially fatal infection, such as Lyme disease. But many ticks go unnoticed and unreported. Now, with the help of citizen scientists, ecologists at Colorado State University and Northern Arizona University are offering better insight into people’s and animals’ potential exposure to tick-borne diseases — not

Physician burnout is at least equally responsible for medical errors as unsafe medical workplace conditions, if not more so, according to a study led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. “If we are trying to maximize the safety and quality of medical care, we must address the factors in the work environment

It is currently recommended in Europe that screening for hepatitis C virus (HCV) should target people at high risk of infection. In France, public health data suggest that in 2014 approximately 75,000 people aged 18 to 80 were infected by HCV, but were unaware of their status. In at least one in ten cases, these

Several states are likely dramatically underestimating the effect of opioid-related deaths because of incomplete death certificate reporting, with Pennsylvania leading the pack, according to a new analysis by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. The study, published today in Public Health Reports, the journal of the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General,

Nurse practitioners (NPs) are providing an increasing proportion of primary care, which is in short supply in many areas of the country. NPs deliver quality care in retail clinics, community health centers, rural clinics, and in primary care and specialty medical practices. In an article published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, University

Most participants in clinical trials believe the benefits of broadly sharing person-level data outweigh the risks, according to a new study by Stanford University researchers. And despite low levels of trust in pharmaceutical companies, most of those who take part in clinical trials are willing to share their data with drug firms, the researchers found.

Better educational opportunities and higher incomes may be key to closing the gap of cardiovascular health behaviors — including smoking, physical activity, and diet quality — between black and white Americans, according to a new study led by a University of Iowa researcher. The study, headed by Kara Whitaker, assistant professor in the UI’s Department

Healthcare access and quality improved globally from 2000-2016 due in part to large gains seen in many low and middle-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, according to the latest data from the Global Burden of Disease study published in The Lancet. Despite this, some countries saw progress slow or stall over this time.

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and collaborators have published the first major results from the American Gut Project, a crowdsourced, global citizen science effort. The project, described May 15 in mSystems, is the largest published study to date of the human microbiome — the unique microbial communities that inhabit our

Skyrocketing drug prices and the looming insolvency of Social Security and Medicare are just two of many pressing issues caused by America’s surging baby-boom population, often referred to as the “Silver Tsunami.” What can be done about it? In a recent article published in The Elder Law Journal, Sharona Hoffman, the Edgar A. Hahn Professor

Children who participate in gun safety programs often ignore what they learned when encountering a real firearm, according to a Rutgers School of Nursing study. The report, published recently in Health Promotion Practice, reviewed 10 studies on the effectiveness of strategies for teaching gun safety to children ages 4 to 9. The researchers found such

Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) are a key component of the President’s Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Plan and considered a critical tool for reducing prescription opioid-related illness and death. The results of a study just conducted at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and University of California, Davis, show there is insufficient evidence to