Drinking water management: health risk perceptions and choices in First Nations and non-First Nations communities in Canada.

PubMed

Dupont, Diane; Waldner, Cheryl; Bharadwaj, Lalita; Plummer, Ryan; Carter, Blair; Cave, Kate; Zagozewski, Rebecca

2014-05-30

The relationship between tap water and health has been a topic of public concern and calls for better management in Canada since well-publicized contamination events in two provinces (Ontario and Saskatchewan) in 2000-2001. This study reports the perspectives on health risks from tap water and corresponding use of, and spending on, bottled water in a number of different communities in Canada. In 2009-2010, four First Nations communities (three from Ontario and one from Saskatchewan) and a geographically diverse sample of non-First Nations Canadians were surveyed about their beliefs concerning health risks from tap water and their spending practices for bottled water as a substitute. Responses to five identical questions were examined, revealing that survey respondents from Ontario First Nations communities were more likely than non-First Nations Canadians to believe bottled water is safer than tap water (OR 1.6); more likely to report someone became ill from tap water (OR 3.6); more likely to express water and health concerns related to tap water consumption (OR 2.4); and more likely to spend more on bottled water (OR 4.9). On the other hand, participants from one Saskatchewan First Nations community were less likely than non-First Nations Canadians to believe that someone had become ill from drinking tap water (OR 3.8), less likely to believe bottled water is safer than tap (OR 2.0), and less likely to have health concerns with tap water (OR 1.5). These differences, however, did not translate into differences in the likelihood of high bottled water expenditures or being a 100% bottled water consumer. The paper discusses how the differences observed may be related to water supply and regulation, trust, perceived control, cultural background, location, and past experience.

Drinking Water Management: Health Risk Perceptions and Choices in First Nations and Non-First Nations Communities in Canada

PubMed Central

Dupont, Diane; Waldner, Cheryl; Bharadwaj, Lalita; Plummer, Ryan; Carter, Blair; Cave, Kate; Zagozewski, Rebecca

2014-01-01

The relationship between tap water and health has been a topic of public concern and calls for better management in Canada since well-publicized contamination events in two provinces (Ontario and Saskatchewan) in 2000–2001. This study reports the perspectives on health risks from tap water and corresponding use of, and spending on, bottled water in a number of different communities in Canada. In 2009–2010, four First Nations communities (three from Ontario and one from Saskatchewan) and a geographically diverse sample of non-First Nations Canadians were surveyed about their beliefs concerning health risks from tap water and their spending practices for bottled water as a substitute. Responses to five identical questions were examined, revealing that survey respondents from Ontario First Nations communities were more likely than non-First Nations Canadians to believe bottled water is safer than tap water (OR 1.6); more likely to report someone became ill from tap water (OR 3.6); more likely to express water and health concerns related to tap water consumption (OR 2.4); and more likely to spend more on bottled water (OR 4.9). On the other hand, participants from one Saskatchewan First Nations community were less likely than non-First Nations Canadians to believe that someone had become ill from drinking tap water (OR 3.8), less likely to believe bottled water is safer than tap (OR 2.0), and less likely to have health concerns with tap water (OR 1.5). These differences, however, did not translate into differences in the likelihood of high bottled water expenditures or being a 100% bottled water consumer. The paper discusses how the differences observed may be related to water supply and regulation, trust, perceived control, cultural background, location, and past experience. PMID:24886757

Community Needs, Concerns, and Perceptions About Health Research: Findings From the Clinical and Translational Science Award Sentinel Network

PubMed Central

McCloskey, Donna Jo; Aguilar-Gaxiola, Sergio; Bennett, Nancy M.; Strelnick, Hal; Dwyer-White, Molly; Collyar, Deborah E.; Ajinkya, Shaun; Seifer, Sarena D.; O’Leary, Catina Callahan; Striley, Catherine W.; Evanoff, Bradley

2013-01-01

Objectives. We used results generated from the first study of the National Institutes of Health Sentinel Network to understand health concerns and perceptions of research among underrepresented groups such as women, the elderly, racial/ethnic groups, and rural populations. Methods. Investigators at 5 Sentinel Network sites and 2 community-focused national organizations developed a common assessment tool used by community health workers to assess research perceptions, health concerns, and conditions. Results. Among 5979 individuals assessed, the top 5 health concerns were hypertension, diabetes, cancer, weight, and heart problems; hypertension was the most common self-reported condition. Levels of interest in research participation ranged from 70.1% among those in the “other” racial/ethnic category to 91.0% among African Americans. Overall, African Americans were more likely than members of other racial/ethnic groups to be interested in studies requiring blood samples (82.6%), genetic samples (76.9%), or medical records (77.2%); staying overnight in a hospital (70.5%); and use of medical equipment (75.4%). Conclusions. Top health concerns were consistent across geographic areas. African Americans reported more willingness to participate in research even if it required blood samples or genetic testing. PMID:23409875

Health Update: Health Concerns for Caregivers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aronson, Susan S.

1987-01-01

Discusses job-related health problems, such as infectious diseases and job stress, that are of concern to child caregivers in child care settings. Ways that these problems can be alleviated and/or medically treated are also discussed. (BB)

The political economy of health promotion: part 2, national provision of the prerequisites of health.

PubMed

Raphael, Dennis

2013-03-01

Governmental authorities of wealthy developed nations differ in their professed commitments and activity related to the provision of the prerequisites of health through public policy action. Part 1 of this article showed how nations identified as social democratic or liberal welfare states were those where such commitments are present. Nations identified as conservative or Latin welfare states were less likely to express such commitments. However, the political economy literature suggests that despite their expressed commitments to provision of the prerequisites of health, liberal welfare states fare rather poorly in implementing these commitments. The opposite is seen for conservative welfare states. Social democratic welfare states show both commitments and public policy consistent with this objective. Part 2 of this article documents the extent to which public policy activity that provides the prerequisites of health through public policy action differs among varying welfare state regimes. Despite extensive rhetoric concerning the prerequisites of health, nations identified as liberal welfare states do a rather poor job of meeting these goals and show evidence of adverse health outcomes. In contrast, social democratic welfare states fare better in providing such prerequisites--consistent with their rhetorical statements--with better health outcomes. Interestingly, conservative--and to a lesser extent Latin--nations fare well in providing the prerequisites of health despite their lack of explicit commitment to such concepts. Findings suggest that health promoters have to concern themselves with the broad strokes of public policymaking whether or not these policy activities are identified as health promotion activities.

Health information exchange: national and international approaches.

PubMed

Vest, Joshua R

2012-01-01

Health information exchange (HIE), the process of electronically moving patient-level information between different organizations, is viewed as a solution to the fragmentation of data in health care. This review provides a description of the current state of HIE in seven nations, as well was three international HIE efforts, with a particular focus on the relation of exchange efforts to national health care systems, common challenges, and the implications of cross-border information sharing. National and international efforts highlighted in English language informatics journals, professional associations, and government reports are described. Fully functioning HIE is not yet a common phenomenon worldwide. However, multiple nations see the potential benefits of HIE and that has led to national and international efforts of varying scope, scale, and purview. National efforts continue to work to overcome the challenges of interoperability, record linking, insufficient infrastructures, governance, and interorganizational relationships, but have created architectural strategies, oversight agencies, and incentives to foster exchange. The three international HIE efforts reviewed represent very different approaches to the same problem of ensuring the availability of health information across borders. The potential of HIE to address many cost and quality issues will ensure HIE remains on many national agendas. In many instances, health care executives and leaders have opportunities to work within national programs to help shape local exchange governance and decide technology partners. Furthermore, HIE raises policy questions concerning the role of centralized planning, national identifiers, standards, and types of information exchanged, each of which are vital issues to individual health organizations and worthy of their attention.

Young Love: Romantic Concerns and Associated Mental Health Issues among Adolescent Help-Seekers.

PubMed

Price, Megan; Hides, Leanne; Cockshaw, Wendell; Staneva, Aleksandra A; Stoyanov, Stoyan R

2016-05-06

Over 50% of young people have dated by age 15. While romantic relationship concerns are a major reason for adolescent help-seeking from counselling services, we have a limited understanding of what types of relationship issues are most strongly related to mental health issues and suicide risk. This paper used records of 4019 counselling sessions with adolescents (10-18 years) seeking help from a national youth counselling service for a romantic relationship concern to: (i) explore what types and stage (pre, during, post) of romantic concerns adolescents seek help for; (ii) how they are associated with mental health problems, self-harm and suicide risk; and (iii) whether these associations differ by age and gender. In line with developmental-contextual theory, results suggest that concerns about the initiation of relationships are common in early adolescence, while concerns about maintaining and repairing relationships increase with age. Relationship breakups were the most common concern for both male and female adolescents and for all age groups (early, mid, late adolescence). Data relating to a range of mental health issues were available for approximately half of the sample. Post-relationship concerns (including breakups) were also more likely than pre- or during-relationship concerns to be associated with concurrent mental health issues (36.8%), self-harm (22.6%) and suicide (9.9%). Results draw on a staged developmental theory of adolescent romantic relationships to provide a comprehensive assessment of relationship stressors, highlighting post-relationship as a particularly vulnerable time for all stages of adolescence. These findings contribute to the development of targeted intervention and support programs.

Young Love: Romantic Concerns and Associated Mental Health Issues among Adolescent Help-Seekers

PubMed Central

Price, Megan; Hides, Leanne; Cockshaw, Wendell; Staneva, Aleksandra A.; Stoyanov, Stoyan R.

2016-01-01

Over 50% of young people have dated by age 15. While romantic relationship concerns are a major reason for adolescent help-seeking from counselling services, we have a limited understanding of what types of relationship issues are most strongly related to mental health issues and suicide risk. This paper used records of 4019 counselling sessions with adolescents (10–18 years) seeking help from a national youth counselling service for a romantic relationship concern to: (i) explore what types and stage (pre, during, post) of romantic concerns adolescents seek help for; (ii) how they are associated with mental health problems, self-harm and suicide risk; and (iii) whether these associations differ by age and gender. In line with developmental-contextual theory, results suggest that concerns about the initiation of relationships are common in early adolescence, while concerns about maintaining and repairing relationships increase with age. Relationship breakups were the most common concern for both male and female adolescents and for all age groups (early, mid, late adolescence). Data relating to a range of mental health issues were available for approximately half of the sample. Post-relationship concerns (including breakups) were also more likely than pre- or during-relationship concerns to be associated with concurrent mental health issues (36.8%), self-harm (22.6%) and suicide (9.9%). Results draw on a staged developmental theory of adolescent romantic relationships to provide a comprehensive assessment of relationship stressors, highlighting post-relationship as a particularly vulnerable time for all stages of adolescence. These findings contribute to the development of targeted intervention and support programs. PMID:27164149

Associations between family characteristics and public health nurses' concerns at children's health examinations.

PubMed

Poutiainen, Hannele; Hakulinen-Viitanen, Tuovi; Laatikainen, Tiina

2014-06-01

The family and the way it functions have a key role for the health and well-being of children and adolescents. Approximately 10-30% of children grow up in families where their health and well-being may be endangered or weakened. There is very little research data on public health nurses' concerns in connection with children's health examinations related to family characteristics. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of children's gender, age, family structure, mother's employment status and parents' perception on the sufficiency of income with public health nurses' concerns on physical and psychosocial health at children's health examinations. In 2007-2009, information about children's health and well-being and their background factors was collected from the health examinations of altogether 6506 children in Finland using a cross-sectional design. Associations between family characteristics and nurses concern related to physical and psychosocial health and development of children were assessed using logistic regression analysis. Physical health and psychosocial issues of school-age children raised most concern in public health nurses. Especially, public health nurses felt concern for the psychosocial development of boys both under and of school age. Family structure and the family's financial situation were associated with public health nurses' concern for children's physical health, psychosocial development and the presence of at least one concern. The fact that public health nurses found cause for concern during health examinations was associated with the child's gender, development stage and family characteristic. The research findings may be utilised in planning and targeting health counselling and services in child and school health care. Understanding the role of family characteristics in health and well-being challenges in children is useful in promoting multidisciplinary work in health care. © 2013 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Legal issues concerning electronic health information: privacy, quality, and liability.

PubMed

Hodge, J G; Gostin, L O; Jacobson, P D

1999-10-20

Personally identifiable health information about individuals and general medical information is increasingly available in electronic form in health databases and through online networks. The proliferation of electronic data within the modern health information infrastructure presents significant benefits for medical providers and patients, including enhanced patient autonomy, improved clinical treatment, advances in health research and public health surveillance, and modern security techniques. However, it also presents new legal challenges in 3 interconnected areas: privacy of identifiable health information, reliability and quality of health data, and tortbased liability. Protecting health information privacy (by giving individuals control over health data without severely restricting warranted communal uses) directly improves the quality and reliability of health data (by encouraging individual uses of health services and communal uses of data), which diminishes tort-based liabilities (by reducing instances of medical malpractice or privacy invasions through improvements in the delivery of health care services resulting in part from better quality and reliability of clinical and research data). Following an analysis of the interconnectivity of these 3 areas and discussing existing and proposed health information privacy laws, recommendations for legal reform concerning health information privacy are presented. These include (1) recognizing identifiable health information as highly sensitive, (2) providing privacy safeguards based on fair information practices, (3) empowering patients with information and rights to consent to disclosure (4) limiting disclosures of health data absent consent, (5) incorporating industry-wide security protections, (6) establishing a national data protection authority, and (7) providing a national minimal level of privacy protections.

Making the "Child Safe" Environment "Adult Safe": Occupational Health and Safety Concerns for Child Care Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitebook, Marcy; Ginsburg, Gerri

Results of a nonrandom nationwide survey of 89 child care workers in 20 states concerning work-related health and safety conditions confirm that similar hazardous conditions exist in child care programs throughout the nation. Results also confirm that concern and anger about such conditions and their potential consequences are widespread among…

Health concern, food choice motives, and attitudes toward healthy eating: the mediating role of food choice motives.

PubMed

Sun, Yu-Hua Christine

2008-07-01

This study addresses how various health concerns might influence not only consumers' food choice motives but also consumers' subsequent attitudes toward healthy eating. This study expects that those consumers with greater health concerns would have different food choice motives and better attitudes toward healthy eating. A self-completion questionnaire was used to gather information. Participants, a random sample of 500 undergraduate students from a national university in Taipei, Taiwan, provided a total of 456 usable questionnaires, representing a valid response rate of 91%. The average age of the respondents at the time of the survey was 21 years and 63% of respondents were females. The relationship between health concern and healthy eating attitudes was confirmed. The relationship between health concern of developing diseases and attitudes toward healthy eating was fully mediated by food choice motives. However, the relationship between calorie consumption health concern and healthy eating attitudes was only partially mediated by food choice motives. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Health concerns and hazardous waste

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yassi, A.; Weeks, J.; Kraut, A.

1990-01-01

This report discusses health effects of hazardous waste and emphasizes human health concerns related to establishing a hazardous waste management facility. The study reviewed world epidemiological and public health literature to identify cases of suspected or substantiated claims of public health impacts associated with hazardous waste management facilities and potential products or emissions from such facilities, and placed them into perspective, including possible routes and consequences of exposure, risk assessment, and the toxicity of selected organic and inorganic compounds.

Clustering of adolescent health concerns: a latent class analysis of school students in New Zealand.

PubMed

Noel, Hannah; Denny, Simon; Farrant, Bridget; Rossen, Fiona; Teevale, Tasileta; Clark, Terryann; Fleming, Terry; Bullen, Pat; Sheridan, Janie; Fortune, Sarah

2013-11-01

The aims of this study are to identify clinically meaningful groups of adolescents based on their engagement in high levels of risk behaviours or severe emotional health concerns and to describe the demographic characteristics of these groups in two populations of school students in New Zealand. A nationally representative sample of secondary school students was surveyed in 2007; alternative education (AE) students in Auckland and Northland were surveyed in 2009. A total of 9107 secondary school students and 335 AE students completed a youth health questionnaire using Internet tablets. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify groups of students on the basis of distinct profiles of their risk behaviours and mental health concerns. The majority (80%) of students in secondary schools are 'healthy' and report few health concerns, 16% are considered 'risky' or 'distressed', and 4% report 'multiple' risk behaviour profiles or emotional health concerns. In AE, only 21% of students were considered 'healthy' with most featuring in the 'risky' or 'multiple' groups. Females were more likely to be 'distressed', whereas males were more likely to feature in the 'risky' or 'multiple' groups. Clinically-concerning health risk behaviours and emotional health concerns 'cluster' in up to 20% of students in secondary schools and up to 79% of students in AE. Gender, ethnic and socio-economic disparities are also observed. This highlights the importance of comprehensive psychosocial assessment and appropriate service provision, particularly for at-risk groups. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2013 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

Confidentiality Concerns and Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Among Adolescents and Young Adults Aged 15-25.

PubMed

Copen, Casey E; Dittus, Patricia J; Leichliter, Jami S

2016-12-01

Data from the National Survey of Family Growth •About 7% of persons aged 15-25 would not seek sexual or reproductive health care because of concerns that their parents might find out about it. •For females aged 15-17 and 18-25, those who had confidentiality concerns were less likely to receive sexual and reproductive health services in the past year compared with those without these concerns. •Less than one-half of teenagers aged 15-17 (38.1%) spent some time alone in the past year during a visit with a doctor or other health care provider without a parent, relative, or guardian in the room. •Teenagers aged 15-17 who spent some time alone during a visit with a health care provider were more likely to have received sexual or reproductive health services in the past year compared with those who had not. Confidentiality concerns can impact adolescent and young adults' access to sexual and reproductive health services (1-4). Young people who are covered by their parents' private health insurance may be deterred from obtaining these services due to concerns that their parents might find out about it (2). Similarly, confidentiality concerns may arise because youth seeking such services may not have time alone during a visit with a health care provider (4). This report describes two measures related to confidentiality concerns and sexual and reproductive health care. All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is appreciated.

Outsourcing in the Italian National Health Service: findings from a national survey.

PubMed

Macinati, Manuela S

2008-01-01

Over the last decade, outsourcing has become one of the major issues in health care. Two major concerns are related to public health care outsourcing practice. The first one involves the suitability of the outsourcing strategy in the public sector, principally with reference to the outsourcing of essential clinical services. The second one relates to the actual benefits of the outsourcing practice in health care, in terms of cost reduction and increasing efficiency. This paper aims to contribute to the debate and literature on outsourcing through a national survey carried out in the Italian National Health Service. In order to achieve the research objective, a questionnaire was developed and, after a pilot test, it was mailed to all Italian public providers. The total response rate was around 42%. Results showed that outsourcing is a widespread phenomenon within health care, especially in the ancillary services area. Moreover, results showed many criticalities of the outsourcing practice in the Italian health-care sector. On the one hand, criticalities concerned the reasons for outsourcing, the characteristics of the outsourced services and the management of the relationship with the vendor. With reference to essential clinical service, outsourcing, as currently managed by health-care providers, may potentially weaken their ability to reach its own objectives. On the other hand, criticalities related to respondent-perceived benefits. Despite the overall positive outsourcing experience expressed in the survey, the results on perceived benefits showed that the effects of outsourcing did not always align to managers' expectations, especially in the cost containment and efficiency area.

Conversations on telemental health: listening to remote and rural First Nations communities.

PubMed

Gibson, Kerri L; Coulson, Heather; Miles, Roseanne; Kakekakekung, Christal; Daniels, Elizabeth; O'Donnell, Susan

2011-01-01

Telemental health involves technologies such as videoconferencing to deliver mental health services and education, and to connect individuals and communities for healing and health. In remote and rural First Nations communities there are often challenges to obtaining mental healthcare in the community and to working with external mental health workers. Telemental health is a service approach and tool that can address some of these challenges and potentially support First Nations communities in their goal of improving mental health and wellbeing. Community members' perspectives on the usefulness and appropriateness of telemental health can greatly influence the level of engagement with the service. It appears that no research or literature exists on First Nations community members' perspectives on telemental health, or even on community perspectives on the broader area of technologies for mental health services. Therefore, this article explores the perspectives on telemental health of community members living in two rural and remote First Nations communities in Ontario, Canada. METHODS; This study was part of the VideoCom project, a collaborative research project exploring how remote and rural First Nations communities are using ICTs. This current exploration was conducted with the support of Keewaytinook Okimakanak (KO), our partner in Northwestern Ontario. With the full collaboration of the communities' leadership, a team involving KO staff and VideoCom researchers visited the two communities in the spring of 2010. Using a participatory research design, we interviewed 59 community members, asking about their experiences with and thoughts on using technologies and their attitudes toward telemental health, specifically. A thematic analysis of this qualitative data and a descriptive quantitative analysis of the information revealed the diversity of attitudes among community members. Finally, based on a discussion with the community telehealth staff, a 'ways forward

78 FR 14562 - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-06

... Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory... Health Sciences Special Emphasis Panel; Studies on Environmental Health Concerns from Superstorm Sandy... Administrator, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Office of Program Operations, Scientific...

Perceptions of Mental Health Concerns for Secondary Students with Disabilities during Transition to Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poppen, Marcus; Sinclair, James; Hirano, Kara; Lindstrom, Lauren; Unruh, Deanne

2016-01-01

This study reports results from a national survey of education and community professionals regarding secondary level students with disabilities who were experiencing mental health concerns. A total of 648 professionals from 49 states completed the on-line survey. Respondents reported that almost half (48%) of their students with disabilities were…

Global surveillance for chemical incidents of international public health concern.

PubMed Central

Olowokure, B.; Pooransingh, S.; Tempowski, J.; Palmer, S.; Meredith, T.

2005-01-01

OBJECTIVE: In December 2001, an expert consultation convened by WHO identified strengthening national and global chemical incident preparedness and response as a priority. WHO is working towards this objective by developing a surveillance and response system for chemical incidents. This report describes the frequency, nature and geographical location of acute chemical incidents of potential international concern from August 2002 to December 2003. METHODS: Acute chemical incidents were actively identified through several informal (e.g. Internet-based resources) and formal (e.g. various networks of organizations) sources and assessed against criteria for public health emergencies of international concern using the then proposed revised International Health Regulations (IHR). WHO regional and country offices were contacted to obtain additional information regarding identified incidents. FINDINGS: Altogether, 35 chemical incidents from 26 countries met one or more of the IHR criteria. The WHO European Region accounted for 43% (15/35) of reports. The WHO Regions for Africa, Eastern Mediterranean and Western Pacific each accounted for 14% (5/35); South-East Asia and the Americas accounted for 9% (3/35) and 6% (2/35), respectively. Twenty-three (66%) events were identified within 24 hours of their occurrence. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge this is the first global surveillance system for chemical incidents of potential international concern. Limitations such as geographical and language bias associated with the current system are being addressed. Nevertheless, the system has shown that it can provide early detection of important events, as well as information on the magnitude and geographical distribution of such incidents. It can therefore contribute to improving global public health preparedness. PMID:16462985

The United Nations and One Health: the International Health Regulations (2005) and global health security.

PubMed

Nuttall, I; Miyagishima, K; Roth, C; de La Rocque, S

2014-08-01

The One Health approach encompasses multiple themes and can be understood from many different perspectives. This paper expresses the viewpoint of those in charge of responding to public health events of international concern and, in particular, to outbreaks of zoonotic disease. Several international organisations are involved in responding to such outbreaks, including the United Nations (UN) and its technical agencies; principally, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO); UN funds and programmes, such as the United Nations Development Programme, the World Food Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Children's Fund; the UN-linked multilateral banking system (the World Bank and regional development banks); and partner organisations, such as the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). All of these organisations have benefited from the experiences gained during zoonotic disease outbreaks over the last decade, developing common approaches and mechanisms to foster good governance, promote policies that cut across different sectors, target investment more effectively and strengthen global and national capacities for dealing with emerging crises. Coordination among the various UN agencies and creating partnerships with related organisations have helped to improve disease surveillance in all countries, enabling more efficient detection of disease outbreaks and a faster response, greater transparency and stakeholder engagement and improved public health. The need to build more robust national public human and animal health systems, which are based on good governance and comply with the International Health Regulations (2005) and the international standards set by the OIE, prompted FAO, WHO and the OIE to join forces with the World Bank, to provide practical tools to help countries manage their zoonotic disease risks and develop adequate resources to prevent and control disease

Perspectives on National Health Insurance and Rehabilitation. Emerging Issues in Rehabilitation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dorken, Herbert; LaRocca, Joseph

Major research findings are synthesized and innovations of current concern to vocational rehabilitation professionals are reported in this paper on national health insurance (NHI) and rehabilitation. Discussion covers the following topics: the concept of insurance, forms of health insurance, issues arising from hearings on NHI, perspectives of…

National health spending trends in 1996. National Health Accounts Team.

PubMed

Levit, K R; Lazenby, H C; Braden, B R

1998-01-01

The National Health Accounts, produced annually by the Health Care Financing Administration's Office of the Actuary, present estimates for 1960-1996 of nationwide spending for health care and the sources funding that care. This year's estimates set two records: Spending topped $1 trillion for the first time, and expenditure growth slowed to the lowest rate seen in thirty-seven years of measuring health care spending--4.4 percent. The combination of decelerating health spending and a growing economy has kept national health spending as a share of the nation's gross domestic product unchanged for the fourth consecutive year.

Rapid Assessment of Stakeholder Concerns about Public Health. An Introduction to a Fast and Inexpensive Approach Applied on Health Concerns about Intensive Animal Production Systems.

PubMed

Kraaij-Dirkzwager, Marleen; van der Ree, Joost; Lebret, Erik

2017-12-11

To effectively manage environmental health risks, stakeholders often need to act collectively. Stakeholders vary in their desire to act due to many factors, such as knowledge, risk perception, interests, and worldviews. Understanding their perceptions of the issues at stake is crucial to support the risk governance process. Even though concern assessment is a pivotal element of risk governance, few tools for rapid assessment are reported in the literature. We tested a rapid and relatively cheap approach, taking the Dutch debate on Intensive Animal Production Systems (IAPS) and health as an example. Dutch policy-oriented publications on IAPS and health and ten semi-structured in-depth interviews with a variety of stakeholders were analyzed to identify stakeholders and concerns involved in the Dutch debate about IAPS and health. Concerns were mapped and a stakeholder network was derived. Three classes of concerns were recognized in the discussions about IAPS and health: concerns related to health risks, concerns regarding the activity causing the risks (IAPS), and concerns about the process to control the risks. The notions of 'trust' and 'scientific uncertainty' appeared as important themes in the discussions. Argumentation based on concerns directly related to health risks, the activity causing the risk (IAPS), and its risk management can easily become muddled up in a societal debate, limiting the development of effective action perspectives. Acknowledging these multiple stakeholder concerns can clarify the positions taken by stakeholders and allow for more and other action perspectives to develop.

Rapid Assessment of Stakeholder Concerns about Public Health. An Introduction to a Fast and Inexpensive Approach Applied on Health Concerns about Intensive Animal Production Systems

PubMed Central

van der Ree, Joost; Lebret, Erik

2017-01-01

To effectively manage environmental health risks, stakeholders often need to act collectively. Stakeholders vary in their desire to act due to many factors, such as knowledge, risk perception, interests, and worldviews. Understanding their perceptions of the issues at stake is crucial to support the risk governance process. Even though concern assessment is a pivotal element of risk governance, few tools for rapid assessment are reported in the literature. We tested a rapid and relatively cheap approach, taking the Dutch debate on Intensive Animal Production Systems (IAPS) and health as an example. Dutch policy-oriented publications on IAPS and health and ten semi-structured in-depth interviews with a variety of stakeholders were analyzed to identify stakeholders and concerns involved in the Dutch debate about IAPS and health. Concerns were mapped and a stakeholder network was derived. Three classes of concerns were recognized in the discussions about IAPS and health: concerns related to health risks, concerns regarding the activity causing the risks (IAPS), and concerns about the process to control the risks. The notions of ‘trust’ and ‘scientific uncertainty’ appeared as important themes in the discussions. Argumentation based on concerns directly related to health risks, the activity causing the risk (IAPS), and its risk management can easily become muddled up in a societal debate, limiting the development of effective action perspectives. Acknowledging these multiple stakeholder concerns can clarify the positions taken by stakeholders and allow for more and other action perspectives to develop. PMID:29232902

National Health Information Center

MedlinePlus

... About ODPHP National Health Information Center National Health Information Center The National Health Information Center (NHIC) is ... of interest View the NHO calendar . Federal Health Information Centers and Clearinghouses Federal Health Information Centers and ...

Forest health conditions on the Allegheny National Forest (1989-1999): Analysis of forest health monitoring surveys

Treesearch

R.S. Morin; A.M. Liebhold; K.W. Gottschalk; D.B. Twardus; R.E. Acciavatti; R.L. White; S.B. Horsley; W.D. Smith; E.R. Luzader

2001-01-01

This publication describes the forest vegetation and health conditions of the Allegheny National Forest (ANF). During the past 15 years, the ANF has experienced four severe droughts, several outbreaks of exotic and native insect defoliators, and the effects of other disturbance agents. An increase in tree mortality has raised concerns about forest health. Historical...

Prenatal Maternal Depressive Symptoms Predict Early Infant Health Concerns.

PubMed

Coburn, S S; Luecken, L J; Rystad, I A; Lin, B; Crnic, K A; Gonzales, N A

2018-06-01

Recent research suggests that health disparities among low-SES and ethnic minority populations may originate from prenatal and early life exposures. Postpartum maternal depressive symptoms have been linked to poorer infant physical health, yet prenatal depressive symptoms not been thoroughly examined in relation to infant health. In a prospective study of low-income Mexican American mothers and their infants, women (N = 322, median age 27.23, IQR = 22.01-32.54) completed surveys during pregnancy (median gestation 39.50, IQR = 38.71-40.14 weeks) and 12 weeks after birth. We investigated (1) if prenatal depressive symptoms predicted infant physical health concerns at 12 weeks of age, (2) whether these associations occurred above and beyond concurrent depressive symptoms, and (3) if birth weight, gestational age, and breastfeeding were mediators of prenatal depression predicting subsequent infant health. Higher prenatal depressive symptoms were associated with more infant physical health concerns at 12 weeks (p < .001), after accounting for 12-week maternal depressive symptoms, breastfeeding, gestational age, and birth weight. Twelve-week maternal depressive symptoms were concurrently associated with more infant health concerns (p < .01). Birth weight, gestational age, and breastfeeding were not associated with maternal depression or infant health concerns. Results establish a link between prenatal depressive symptoms and an elevated risk of poor health evident shortly after birth. These findings underscore the importance of the prenatal period as a possible sensitive period for infants' health, and the need for effective interventions for depression during pregnancy to mitigate potentially teratogenic effects on the developing fetus and reduce risks for later health concerns.

Human health screening and public health significance of contaminants of emerging concern detected in public water supplies

USGS Publications Warehouse

Benson, Robert; Conerly, Octavia D.; Sander, William; Batt, Angela L.; Boone, J. Scott; Furlong, Edward T.; Glassmeyer, Susan T.; Kolpin, Dana W.; Mash, Heath

2017-01-01

The source water and treated drinking water from twenty five drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) across the United States were sampled in 2010–2012. Samples were analyzed for 247 contaminants using 15 chemical and microbiological methods. Most of these contaminants are not regulated currently either in drinking water or in discharges to ambient water by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) or other U.S. regulatory agencies. This analysis shows that there is little public health concern for most of the contaminants detected in treated water from the 25 DWTPs participating in this study. For vanadium, the calculated Margin of Exposure (MOE) was less than the screening MOE in two DWTPs. For silicon, the calculated MOE was less than the screening MOE in one DWTP. Additional study, for example a national survey may be needed to determine the number of people ingesting vanadium and silicon above a level of concern. In addition, the concentrations of lithium found in treated water from several DWTPs are within the range previous research has suggested to have a human health effect. Additional investigation of this issue is necessary. Finally, new toxicological data suggest that exposure to manganese at levels in public water supplies may present a public health concern which will require a robust assessment of this information.

Human health screening and public health significance of contaminants of emerging concern detected in public water supplies.

PubMed

Benson, Robert; Conerly, Octavia D; Sander, William; Batt, Angela L; Boone, J Scott; Furlong, Edward T; Glassmeyer, Susan T; Kolpin, Dana W; Mash, Heath E; Schenck, Kathleen M; Simmons, Jane Ellen

2017-02-01

The source water and treated drinking water from twenty five drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) across the United States were sampled in 2010-2012. Samples were analyzed for 247 contaminants using 15 chemical and microbiological methods. Most of these contaminants are not regulated currently either in drinking water or in discharges to ambient water by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) or other U.S. regulatory agencies. This analysis shows that there is little public health concern for most of the contaminants detected in treated water from the 25 DWTPs participating in this study. For vanadium, the calculated Margin of Exposure (MOE) was less than the screening MOE in two DWTPs. For silicon, the calculated MOE was less than the screening MOE in one DWTP. Additional study, for example a national survey may be needed to determine the number of people ingesting vanadium and silicon above a level of concern. In addition, the concentrations of lithium found in treated water from several DWTPs are within the range previous research has suggested to have a human health effect. Additional investigation of this issue is necessary. Finally, new toxicological data suggest that exposure to manganese at levels in public water supplies may present a public health concern which will require a robust assessment of this information. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Working towards a national health information system in Australia.

PubMed

Bomba, B; Cooper, J; Miller, M

1995-01-01

One of the major administrative dilemmas facing the Australian national health care system is the need to reform practices associated with massive data-information overload. The current system is burdened with paper-based administrative forms, patient record files, referral notes and other manual methods of data organisation. An integrated computer-based information system may be perceived as an attractive solution to such burdens. However, computerisation must not be seen as a panacea with the possibility of exacerbating information overload and accentuating privacy concerns. Recent surveys in Australia [1] and the US [2] indicate a perceived causal link between computers and privacy invasion. Any moves toward a national health information system must counter this perception through macro-level education schemes of affected parties and micro-level mechanisms such as the establishment of hospital privacy officers. Such concerns may be viewed as a subset of the wider privacy debate, and information policy development should address such considerations to develop policies to prevent unauthorized access to personal information and to avoid the extraction and sale of sensitive health data. Conservative in nature and slow to change the health care sector may be forced to adopt more efficient work practices through the increasing proliferation of information technology (IT) in health care delivery and an escalating emphasis upon accountability and efficiency of the public health care dollar. The economic rationalist stance taken by governments in Australia and other nations generally will also force health care workers to adopt and develop more efficient information management practices, health indicators and best practice care methods than presently employed by this sector The benefits of a national health information system are far reaching, particularly in developing a more effective health care system through better identifying and understanding community health care

A national action plan for workforce development in behavioral health.

PubMed

Hoge, Michael A; Morris, John A; Stuart, Gail W; Huey, Leighton Y; Bergeson, Sue; Flaherty, Michael T; Morgan, Oscar; Peterson, Janice; Daniels, Allen S; Paris, Manuel; Madenwald, Kappy

2009-07-01

Across all sectors of the behavioral health field there has been growing concern about a workforce crisis. Difficulties encompass the recruitment and retention of staff and the delivery of accessible and effective training in both initial, preservice training and continuing education settings. Concern about the crisis led to a multiphased, cross-sector collaboration known as the Annapolis Coalition on the Behavioral Health Workforce. With support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, this public-private partnership crafted An Action Plan for Behavioral Health Workforce Development. Created with input from a dozen expert panels, the action plan outlines seven core strategic goals that are relevant to all sectors of the behavioral health field: expand the role of consumers and their families in the workforce, expand the role of communities in promoting behavioral health and wellness, use systematic recruitment and retention strategies, improve training and education, foster leadership development, enhance infrastructure to support workforce development, and implement a national research and evaluation agenda. Detailed implementation tables identify the action steps for diverse groups and organizations to take in order to achieve these goals. The action plan serves as a call to action and is being used to guide workforce initiatives across the nation.

The privatization of environmental health services: a national survey of practices and perspectives in local health departments.

PubMed

Keane, Christopher; Marx, John; Ricci, Edmund

2002-01-01

This article presents nationally representative data on environmental health (EH) services privatized by local public health departments, enforcement and assurance mechanisms for privatized services, and administrators' views about EH services that should not be privatized. A national sample of 380 local public health departments, stratified by jurisdiction size, was drawn from a universe of 2,488 departments. Telephone interviews were conducted with 347 administrators of departments. Results were weighted to be nationally representative. Approximately one-quarter of departments had privatized at least one EH service, almost always to for-profit organizations. The two most common reasons given for privatizing EH services were cost savings or increased efficiency and lack of capacity or expertise to carry out the service. The most rigorous, although infrequent, technique of enforcement and assurance of EH standards when services were privatized was double-testing of samples. Departments more commonly relied on state licensing and certification of contractors. When asked what services should not be privatized, 27% of respondents cited EH services. Many respondents argued against privatizing environmental services that have inherent regulatory functions. They expressed concern that privatization would fragment the public health infrastructure by impairing communication, diminishing control over performance, or weakening health departments' capacity to respond to environmental and other health crises. These findings raise serious concerns about the privatization of EH.

Perspectives and concerns of clients at primary health care facilities involved in evaluation of a national mental health training programme for primary care in Kenya

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background A cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) of a national Kenyan mental health primary care training programme demonstrated a significant impact on the health, disability and quality of life of clients, despite a severe shortage of medicines in the clinics (Jenkins et al. Submitted 2012). As focus group methodology has been found to be a useful method of obtaining a detailed understanding of client and health worker perspectives within health systems (Sharfritz and Roberts. Health Transit Rev 4:81–85, 1994), the experiences of the participating clients were explored through qualitative focus group discussions in order to better understand the potential reasons for the improved outcomes in the intervention group. Methods Two ninety minute focus groups were conducted in Nyanza province, a poor agricultural region of Kenya, with 10 clients from the intervention group clinics where staff had received the training programme, and 10 clients from the control group where staff had not received the training during the earlier randomised controlled trial. Results These focus group discussions suggest that the clients in the intervention group noticed and appreciated enhanced communication, diagnostic and counselling skills in their respective health workers, whereas clients in the control group were aware of the lack of these skills. Confidentiality emerged from the discussions as a significant client concern in relation to the volunteer cadre of community health workers, whose only training comes from their respective primary care health workers. Conclusion Enhanced health worker skills conferred by the mental health training programme may be responsible for the significant improvement in outcomes for clients in the intervention clinics found in the randomised controlled trial, despite the general shortage of medicines and other health system weaknesses. These findings suggest that strengthening mental health training for primary care staff is worthwhile even

Non-communicable diseases among children in Ghana: health and social concerns of parent/caregivers.

PubMed

Yawson, Alfred E; Abuosi, Aaron A; Badasu, Delali M; Atobra, Deborah; Adzei, Francis A; Anarfi, John K

2016-06-01

Globally, there is a progressive rise in the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). This paper examined the health and social concerns of parents/caregivers on in-patient care for children with NCDs in Ghana. This was a cross-sectional study in three large health facilities in Ghana (the largest in the South, the largest in the North and the largest in the Eastern part of Ghana. Data was collected with a structured questionnaire among 225 caregivers (≥18 years) of 149 children with NCDs in health facilities in the three regions. Data was analyzed with simple descriptive statistics. Most caregivers 169(75.0%) were women, relatively young (median age 35years), mostly married and resided in urban areas. Sickle cell disease was the commonest NCD among the children. All 169(75.0%) caregivers believed children suffer NCDs because of sins of parents/ancestors, 29(12.9%) believed herbalists/spiritualists have insights into treating NCDs and 73(32.6%) have previously used herbs/traditional medicine for child's illness. NCD in children was a burden and caused financial difficulties for families. Most caregivers (>96.0%) indicated NCDs in children should be included in national health insurance benefits package and a comprehensive national NCD policy is needed. Absence of national NCD policy for children is a major challenge. The burden of care rests mainly on the parents/caregivers. A national strategic intervention on the importance of awareness generation on the causes, risk factors, prevention and treatment of NCDs for families and communities is essential. Government support through national health and social policy initiatives are essential.

National health expenditures, 1990

PubMed Central

Levit, Katharine R.; Lazenby, Helen C.; Cowan, Cathy A.; Letsch, Suzanne W.

1991-01-01

During 1990, health expenditures as a share of gross national product rose to 12.2 percent, up from 11.6 percent in 1989. This dramatic increase is the second largest increase in the past three decades. The national health expenditure estimates presented in this article document rapidly rising health care costs and provide a context for understanding the health care financing crisis facing the Nation today. The 1990 national health expenditures incorporate the most recently available data. They differ from historical estimates presented in the preceding article. The length of time and complicated process of producing projections required use of 1989 national health expenditures—data available prior to the completion of the 1990 estimates presented here. PMID:10114934

A regional assessment of chemicals of concern in surface waters of four Midwestern United States national parks

USGS Publications Warehouse

Elliott, Sarah M.; VanderMeulen, David

2017-01-01

Anthropogenic chemicals and their potential for adverse biological effects raise concern for aquatic ecosystem health in protected areas. During 2013–15, surface waters of four Midwestern United States national parks were sampled and analyzed for wastewater indicators, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and pesticides. More chemicals and higher concentrations were detected at the two parks with greater urban influences (Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore) than at the two more remote parks (Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and Isle Royale National Park). Atrazine (10–15 ng/L) and N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (16–120 ng/L) were the only chemicals detected in inland lakes of a remote island national park (Isle Royale National Park). Bisphenol A and organophosphate flame retardants were commonly detected at the other sampled parks. Gabapentin and simazine had the highest observed concentrations (> 1000 ng/L) in three and two samples, respectively. At the two parks with urban influences, metolachlor and simazine concentrations were similar to those reported for other major urban rivers in the United States. Environmental concentrations of detected chemicals were often orders of magnitude less than standards or reference values with three exceptions: (1) hydrochlorothiazide exceeded a human health-based screening value in seven samples, (2) estrone exceeded a predicted critical environmental concentration for fish pharmacological effects in one sample, and (3) simazine was approaching the 4000 ng/L Maximum Contaminant Level in one sample even though this concentration is not expected to reflect peak pesticide use. Although few environmental concentrations were approaching or exceeded standards or reference values, concentrations were often in ranges reported to elicit effects in aquatic biota. Data from this study will assist in establishing a baseline for chemicals of concern in Midwestern national parks and

A regional assessment of chemicals of concern in surface waters of four Midwestern United States national parks.

PubMed

Elliott, Sarah M; VanderMeulen, David D

2017-02-01

Anthropogenic chemicals and their potential for adverse biological effects raise concern for aquatic ecosystem health in protected areas. During 2013-15, surface waters of four Midwestern United States national parks were sampled and analyzed for wastewater indicators, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and pesticides. More chemicals and higher concentrations were detected at the two parks with greater urban influences (Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore) than at the two more remote parks (Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and Isle Royale National Park). Atrazine (10-15ng/L) and N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (16-120ng/L) were the only chemicals detected in inland lakes of a remote island national park (Isle Royale National Park). Bisphenol A and organophosphate flame retardants were commonly detected at the other sampled parks. Gabapentin and simazine had the highest observed concentrations (>1000ng/L) in three and two samples, respectively. At the two parks with urban influences, metolachlor and simazine concentrations were similar to those reported for other major urban rivers in the United States. Environmental concentrations of detected chemicals were often orders of magnitude less than standards or reference values with three exceptions: (1) hydrochlorothiazide exceeded a human health-based screening value in seven samples, (2) estrone exceeded a predicted critical environmental concentration for fish pharmacological effects in one sample, and (3) simazine was approaching the 4000ng/L Maximum Contaminant Level in one sample even though this concentration is not expected to reflect peak pesticide use. Although few environmental concentrations were approaching or exceeded standards or reference values, concentrations were often in ranges reported to elicit effects in aquatic biota. Data from this study will assist in establishing a baseline for chemicals of concern in Midwestern national parks and highlight

An urban survey of paediatric environmental health concerns: Perceptions of parents, guardians and health care professionals

PubMed Central

Buka, Irena; Rogers, W Todd; Osornio-Vargas, Alvaro R; Hoffman, Harold; Pearce, Marni; Li, Yuen Yee

2006-01-01

OBJECTIVES To conduct a survey in Edmonton, Alberta, to gather information regarding concerns about the influence of environmental factors on children’s health and to use the information to set an agenda for the resources of the Paediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit at Misericordia Hospital (Edmonton, Alberta). METHODS Two questionnaires with 28 closed-ended questions were developed to examine parents’, guardians’ and health care professionals’ concerns. They comprised items about six environmental factors (air, water and food quality; household supplies; radiation; and waste disposal). Health care professionals were also asked four questions about their knowledge of and their needs in Paediatric Environmental Health. Parents and guardians attending the public health centres and nurses working therein received questionnaires. Physicians were surveyed by e-mail. RESULTS After verification, the questionnaire data from 400 parents or guardians and 152 health care professionals were used for analyses. Results from contingency table, Hotelling’s T2 and effect size analyses revealed similarities in the levels of concern in both groups, and the results were combined. The greatest concern of both groups was with environmental tobacco smoke, followed by pesticides in water. Concerns about six additional environmental elements were also expressed. The health care professionals showed a high level of concern about the need for resources, specific training and public education regarding paediatric environmental health. CONCLUSION A significant level of concern was consistently found between the two groups studied, regardless of professional training. The highest level of concern was with a well-documented topic (ie, environmental tobacco smoke). Less concern associated with decreased documentation calls for increasing the knowledge of society, including health care professionals, to address the adverse effects of environmental factors on children. PMID

National health expenditures, 1989

PubMed Central

Lazenby, Helen C.; Letsch, Suzanne W.

1990-01-01

Spending for health care in the United States grew to $604.1 billion in 1989, an increase of 11.1 percent from the 1988 level. Growth in national health expenditures has been edging upward since 1986, when the annual growth in the health care bill was 7.7 percent. Health care spending continues to command a larger and larger proportion of the resources of the Nation: In 1989, 11.6 percent of the Nation's output, as measured by the gross national product, was consumed by health care, up from 11.2 percent in 1988. PMID:10113559

Occupational health concerns in the welding industry.

PubMed

Korczynski, R E

2000-12-01

The Workplace Safety and Health Branch initiated a proactive study in the welding industry in Manitoba. Eight welding companies participated in this study. Health concerns raised by welders were welders' flash, sore/red/teary eyes, headaches, nosebleeds, and a black mucous discharge from their nasal membrane. Most welders expressed concern regarding excessive smoke levels in the workplace and inadequate ventilation. Types of welding identified were MIG mild steel, MIG stainless steel, and TIG aluminum. Monitoring involved an assessment of noise levels, fume composition, and carbon monoxide and ozone concentrations. Metal analyses were according to National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Method 7300. Noise dosimeters used were the Quest model 100 and Micro 14 & 15. Carbon monoxide was monitored using the Gastech Model 4700 and ozone using the AID Portable Ozone Meter Model 560. In Manitoba, a hearing conservation program is required when the equivalent sound exposure level (normalized Lex 8-hr) exceeds 80 dBA-weighted. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists' threshold limit value-time weighted average (ACGIH TLV-TWA) for iron is 5.0 mg/m3, manganese is 0.2 mg/m3, carbon monoxide is 25 ppm, and ozone is 0.05 ppm (heavy work), 0.08 ppm (moderate work), and 0.1 ppm (light work). Welders' personal exposures to manganese ranged from 0.01-4.93 mg/m3 (N = 42; AM = 0.5; GM = 0.2; SD +/- 0.9; GSD +/- 3.2) and to iron ranged from 0.04-16.29 mg/m3 (N = 42; AM = 3.0; GM = 1.4; SD +/- 3.5; GSD +/- 2.5). Noise exposures ranged from 79-98 dBA (N = 44; AM = 88.9; GM = 88.8; SD +/- 4.2; GSD +/- 1.0). Carbon monoxide levels were less than 5.0 ppm (at source) and ozone levels varied from 0.4-0.6 ppm (at source). Ventilation upgrades in the workplace were required in most welding shops. Only 7 percent of the welders wore respiratory protection. A hearing conservation program and hearing protection were required at all monitored workplaces.

Family characteristics and parents' and children's health behaviour are associated with public health nurses' concerns at children's health examinations.

PubMed

Poutiainen, Hannele; Hakulinen, Tuovi; Mäki, Päivi; Laatikainen, Tiina

2016-12-01

The study aimed to establish whether family characteristics and the health behaviour and illnesses of parents and children are associated with public health nurses' (PHNs') concerns about children's physical health and psychosocial development in the context of health examinations. Factors affecting children's health and well-being should be identified as early as possible to provide children and families appropriate support. In 2007-2009, a cross-sectional study in Finland collected information about PHNs' concerns, children's health and well-being as well as the background factors affecting them during health examinations of preschool-age children and school-aged children (n = 4795). Associations between family characteristics, parents' and children's behaviour and diseases, and PHNs' concerns were assessed using logistic regression analysis. Overweight in children, the long-term illnesses of both children and parents, and parental smoking were the factors most strongly associated with PHNs' concerns about a child's physical health whereas non-nuclear family types, the father's low educational level and unemployment, the child's lack of sleep, and bullying were associated with concerns about the child's psychosocial development. The connections found demonstrate that health examinations should address factors that affect the whole family's well-being so as to comprehensively promote children's health, growth and development. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Directory of National Organizations Concerned With Land Pollution Control.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freed Publishing Co., New York, NY.

Included in this directory are 133 national organizations, agencies, institutes and/or private groups concerned with the reduction or prevention of land pollution. Arranged in alphabetical order, each annotation gives the complete name of the organization, its address, telephone number, person to contact, and a short description of the scope of…

Addressing the Health Concerns of VA Women with Sexual Trauma

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-10-01

AWARD NUMBER: W81XWH-14-1-0368 TITLE: Addressing the Health Concerns of VA Women with Sexual Trauma PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Caron Zlotnick, PhD...develop and assess a computer-delivered intervention (Safety and Health Experiences Program; SHE) that will provide a screening and brief behavior...intervention for women veterans with any lifetime ST. More specifically, the intervention, SHE, will address interrelated health concerns for women

Perspectives on global health amongst obstetrician gynecologists: A national survey.

PubMed

Easter, Sarah Rae; Raglan, Greta B; Little, Sarah E; Schulkin, Jay; Robinson, Julian N

2018-02-01

Objective To characterize contemporary attitudes toward global health amongst board-certified obstetricians-gynecologists (Ob-Gyns) in the US. Methods A questionnaire was mailed to members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Respondents were stratified by interest and experience in global health and group differences were reported. Results A total of 202 of 400 (50.5%) surveys were completed; and 67.3% ( n = 136) of respondents expressed an interest in global health while 25.2% ( n = 51) had experience providing healthcare abroad. Personal safety was the primary concern of respondents (88 of 185, 47.6%), with 44.5% (57 of 128) identifying 2 weeks as an optimal period of time to spend abroad. The majority (113 of 186, 60.8%) cited hosting of local physicians in the US as the most valuable service to developing a nation's healthcare provision. Conclusion Despite high interest in global health, willingness to spend significant time abroad was limited. Concerns surrounding personal safety dovetailed with the belief that training local physicians in the US provides the most valuable service to international efforts. These attitudes and concerns suggest novel solutions will be required to increase involvement of Ob-Gyns in global women's health.

Health Concerns for Gay and Lesbian Teens

MedlinePlus

... Text Size Email Print Share Health Concerns for Gay and Lesbian Teens Page Content Article Body Sexual activity Most teens, whether they are gay, lesbian, bisexual , or straight, are not sexually active. ...

Food sources of total energy and overconsumed nutrients of public health concern among US adolescents: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2014

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

There is high intake of energy and overconsumed nutrients of public health concern in adolescents' diet. Overconsumed nutrients are sodium, saturated fatty acids (SFA), and added sugars. Our objective was to identify the most commonly consumed foods by adolescents as percentage of total energy, tota...

Health concerns and ethical considerations regarding international surrogacy.

PubMed

Knoche, Jonathan W

2014-08-01

Since the advent of IVF, various arrangements for child bearing and rearing have developed. With the confluence of advanced medical technology, reproductive choice, and globalization, a market in international surrogacy has flourished. However, myriad health, social, and ethical concerns abound regarding the well-being of gestational carriers and children, the infringement of autonomy and free choice, and threats to human dignity. The present paper examines the scope, health risks, and ethical concerns of cross-border surrogacy, arguing that the risks may not exceed the benefits. Copyright © 2014 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Statement of National Environmental Health Assocation on Future National Health Legislation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pohlit, Nicholas; And Others

1974-01-01

This article concerns the need for more preventative health legislation to cutback increasing curative medical costs. Preventative action would provide better nutrition, better housing, and more effective controls on food, water, and solid wastes. Environmental health specialists would play a major role in the staffing of the new health systems.…

Social media in health--what are the safety concerns for health consumers?

PubMed

Lau, Annie Y S; Gabarron, Elia; Fernandez-Luque, Luis; Armayones, Manuel

Recent literature has discussed the unintended consequences of clinical information technologies (IT) on patient safety, yet there has been little discussion about the safety concerns in the area of consumer health IT. This paper presents a range of safety concerns for consumers in social media, with a case study on YouTube. We conducted a scan of abstracts on 'quality criteria' related to YouTube. Five areas regarding the safety of YouTube for consumers were identified: (a) harmful health material targeted at consumers (such as inappropriate marketing of tobacco or direct-to-consumer drug advertising); (b) public display of unhealthy behaviour (such as people displaying self-injury behaviours or hurting others); (c) tainted public health messages (i.e. the rise of negative voices against public health messages); (d) psychological impact from accessing inappropriate, offensive or biased social media content; and (e) using social media to distort policy and research funding agendas. The examples presented should contribute to a better understanding about how to promote a safe consumption and production of social media for consumers, and an evidence-based approach to designing social media interventions for health. The potential harm associated with the use of unsafe social media content on the Internet is a major concern. More empirical and theoretical studies are needed to examine how social media influences consumer health decisions, behaviours and outcomes, and devise ways to deter the dissemination of harmful influences in social media.

National health expenditures, 1983

PubMed Central

Gibson, Robert M.; Levit, Katharine R.; Lazenby, Helen; Waldo, Daniel R.

1984-01-01

Although growing more slowly than in recent years, spending for health continued to account for an increasing share of the Nation's gross national product. In 1983, spending for health amounted to 10.8 percent of the gross national product, or $1,459 per person. Public programs financed 40 percent of all personal health care spending. Medicare and Medicaid expended $91 billion in benefits, 29 percent of all spending for personal health. New estimates of spending in calendar year 1983, along with revised measures of the benefits paid by private health insurers, are presented here. PMID:10310949

National Health Expenditures, 1979

PubMed Central

Gibson, Robert M

1980-01-01

Outlays for health care in the nation reached $212.2 billion in calendar year 1979—12.5 percent higher than in 1978, according to preliminary figures compiled by the Health Care Financing Administration. This estimate represented $943 per person in the United States and was equal to 9.0 percent of the Gross National Product. This latest report in the annual series representing national health expenditures provides detailed estimates of health care spending by type of service and method of financing. PMID:10309255

Decentralization's impact on the health workforce: Perspectives of managers, workers and national leaders

PubMed Central

Kolehmainen-Aitken, Riitta-Liisa

2004-01-01

Designers and implementers of decentralization and other reform measures have focused much attention on financial and structural reform measures, but ignored their human resource implications. Concern is mounting about the impact that the reallocation of roles and responsibilities has had on the health workforce and its management, but the experiences and lessons of different countries have not been widely shared. This paper examines evidence from published literature on decentralization's impact on the demand side of the human resource equation, as well as the factors that have contributed to the impact. The elements that make such an impact analysis exceptionally complex are identified. They include the mode of decentralization that a country is implementing, the level of responsibility for the salary budget and pay determination, and the civil service status of transferred health workers. The main body of the paper is devoted to examining decentralization's impact on human resource issues from three different perspectives: that of local health managers, health workers themselves, and national health leaders. These three groups have different concerns in the human resource realm, and consequently, have been differently affected by decentralization processes. The paper concludes with recommendations regarding three key concerns that national authorities and international agencies should give prompt attention to. They are (1) defining the essential human resource policy, planning and management skills for national human resource managers who work in decentralized countries, and developing training programs to equip them with such skills; (2) supporting research that focuses on improving the knowledge base of how different modes of decentralization impact on staffing equity; and (3) identifying factors that most critically influence health worker motivation and performance under decentralization, and documenting the most cost-effective best practices to improve them

Analysis of forest health monitoring surveys on the Allegheny National Forest (1998-2001)

Treesearch

Randall S. Morin; Andrew M Liebhold; K.W. Gottschalk; Chris W. Woodall; Daniel B. Twardus; Robert L. White; Stephen B. Horsley; Todd E. Ristau

2006-01-01

Describes forest vegetation and health conditions on the Allegheny National Forest (ANF). During the past 20 years, the ANF has experienced four severe droughts, several outbreaks of exotic and native insect defoliators, and the effects of other disturbance agents. An increase in tree mortality has raised concerns about forest health. Historical aerial surveys (1984-98...

Private finance of services covered by the National Health Insurance package of benefits in Israel.

PubMed

Engelchin-Nissan, Esti; Shmueli, Amir

2015-01-01

Private health expenditure in systems of national health insurance has raised concern in many countries. The concern is mainly about the accessibility of care to the poor and the sick, and inequality in use and in health. The concern thus refers specifically to the care financed privately rather than to private health expenditure as defined in the national health accounts. To estimate the share of private finance in total use of services covered by the national package of benefits. and to relate the private finance of use to the income and health of the users. The Central Bureau of Statistics linked the 2009 Health Survey and the 2010 Incomes Survey. Twenty-four thousand five hundred ninety-five individuals in 7175 households were included in the data. Lacking data on the share of private finance in total cost of care delivered, we calculated instead the share of uses having any private finance-beyond copayments-in total uses, in primary, secondary, paramedical and total care. The probability of any private finance in each type of care is then related, using random effect logistic regression, to income and health state. Fifteen percent of all uses of care covered by the national package of benefits had any private finance. This rate ranges from 10 % in primary care, 16 % in secondary care and 31 % in paramedical care. Twelve percent of all uses of physicians' services had any private finance, ranging from 10 % in family physicians to 20 % in pulmonologists, psychiatrists, neurologists and urologists. Controlling for health state, richer individuals are more likely to have any private finance in all types of care. Controlling for income, sick individuals (1+ chronic conditions) are 30 % in total care and 60 % in primary care more likely to have any private finance compared to healthy individuals (with no chronic conditions). The national accounts' "private health spending" (39 % of total spending in 2010) is not of much use regarding equity of and

Concern About Petrochemical Health Risk Before and After a Refinery Explosion

PubMed Central

Cutchin, Malcolm P.; Martin, Kathryn Remmes; Owen, Steven V.; Goodwin, James S.

2014-01-01

On March 23, 2005, a large explosion at an oil refinery in Texas City, Texas caused 15 deaths and approximately 170 injuries. Little is known about how such an industrial accident influences concern about environmental health risks. We used measures of environmental health concern about nearby petrochemical production with a sample of Texas City residents to understand patterns of concern and change in concern after an industrial accident, as well as individual and contextual factors associated with those patterns. Survey interviews with residents of Texas City, Texas (N =315) both pre- and postexplosion using a brief Concern About Petrochemical Health Risk Scale (CAPHRS) and other questions were used to collect pertinent predictor information. CAPHRS baseline, postexplosion, and change scores were compared and modeled using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and a mixed model. Higher preexplosion CAPHRS scores were predicted by younger adults, foreign-born Hispanics, non-Hispanic blacks, lower- and middle-income groups, and those who live with someone who has worked at the petrochemical plants. Higher CAPHRS change scores are predicted by the same variables (except income), as well as proximity to, or perception of, the explosion, and reports of neighborhood damage. Findings suggest these groups’ concern scores could indicate a greater vulnerability to psychological and physical harm generated by concern and stress arising from local petrochemical activities. A clearer understanding of concern about actual environmental health risks in exposed populations may enhance the evolving theory of stress and coping and eventually enable public health professionals to develop appropriate mitigation strategies. PMID:18643817

Mental health concerns among Canadian physicians: results from the 2007-2008 Canadian Physician Health Study.

PubMed

Compton, Michael T; Frank, Erica

2011-01-01

In light of prior reports on the prevalence of stress, depression, and other mental health problems among physicians in training and practice, we examined the mental health concerns of Canadian physicians using data from the 2007-2008 Canadian Physician Health Study. Among 3213 respondents, 5 variables (depressive symptoms during the past year, anhedonia in the past year, mental health concerns making it difficult to handle one's workload in the past month, problems with work-life balance, and poor awareness of resources for mental health problems) were examined in relation to sex, specialty, practice type (solo practice vs group or other practice settings), and practice setting (inner city, urban/suburban, or rural/small town/remote). Nearly one quarter of physicians reported a 2-week period of depressed mood, and depression was more common among female physicians and general practitioners/family physicians. Anhedonia was reported by one fifth; anesthesiologists were most likely to report anhedonia, followed by general practitioners/family physicians. More than one quarter reported mental health concerns making it difficult to handle their workload, which was more common among female physicians and general practitioners/family physicians and psychiatrists. Nearly one quarter reported poor work-life balance. Lack of familiarity with mental health resources was problematic, which was more prominent among female physicians and specialists outside of general practice/family medicine or psychiatry. Mental health concerns are relatively common among Canadian physicians. Training programs and programmatic/policy enhancements should redouble efforts to address depression and other mental health concerns among physicians for the benefit of the workforce and patients served by Canadian physicians. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Use of Health Services by Women 65 Years of Age and Over; United States. Vital & Health Statistics. Data from the National Health Survey Series 13, No. 59.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hing, Esther; Cypress, Beulah K.

As the American population increases, the health problems of older women will be of greater concern to health planners, because it is the elderly woman who most often survives to old age and has greater need of services. Data from the National Health Survey was used to determine characteristics, conditions, management, and outcomes of patients at…

Ask Dr. Sue: Center Directors Express These Health Concerns.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aronson, Susan S.

1991-01-01

A physician addresses three health concerns of child care center directors. She provides information about the increasing number of children with asthma problems, the exclusion of ill children from child care settings, and the increasing concern about lead poisoning. (GLR)

Knowledge and attitudes of primary health care personnel concerning mental health problems in developing countries.

PubMed Central

Ignacio, L L; de Arango, M V; Baltazar, J; Busnello, E D; Climent, C E; Elhakim, A; Farb, M; Guèye, M; Harding, T W; Ibrahim, H H; Murthy, R S; Wig, N N

1983-01-01

A semi-structured interview for assessing the knowledge and attitude of health workers concerning mental health problems was applied in seven developing country areas within the context of a World Health Organization coordinated collaborative study. The results indicate a lack of basic mental health training associated with a failure to recognize mental health problems, restricted knowledge concerning psychotropic drug therapy, and an inability to visualize practical forms of mental health care which could be introduced at primary care level. The results were used to design appropriate training programs, and the observations will be repeated to assess the effectiveness of training. PMID:6881406

The securitization of health in the context of the war on terror. National security and global health: the conflict of imperatives.

PubMed

Chung, Ryoa

2017-03-01

In this article, I want to show that the securitization of health issues in the name of national interests led to the militarization of health care in the context of the war against terrorism. However, the connection between health and security also gave way to the emergence of the notion of human security, thus, converging with the human right to health approach and the cosmopolitan discourse on global health. These two perspectives on the relation between health and security lead to conflicting imperatives in the current state of counter-terrorism operations. I argue that when the securitization of health concerns in the name of national security conflicts with the provision of health care in the name of universal human rights, the higher moral end must trump the prudential one. Moreover, it is a duty to promote the human right to health when liberal democracies in foreign policies directly violate this moral ideal in the name of national security.

Health and safety needs in early care and education programs: what do directors, child health records, and national standards tell us?

PubMed

Alkon, Abbey; To, Kim; Mackie, Joanna F; Wolff, Mimi; Bernzweig, Jane

2010-01-01

To identify the overlapping and unique health and safety needs and concerns identified by early care and education (ECE) directors, health records, and observed compliance with national health and safety (NHS) standards. Cross-sectional study. 127 ECE programs from 5 California counties participated in the study, including 118 directors and 2,498 children's health records. Qualitative data were collected using standardized ECE directors' interviews to identify their health and safety concerns; and objective, quantitative data were collected using child health record reviews to assess regular health care, immunizations, health insurance, special health care needs, and screening tests and an observation Checklist of 66 key NHS standards collected by research assistants. The overlapping health and safety needs and concerns identified by the directors and through observations were hygiene and handwashing, sanitation and disinfection, supervision, and the safety of indoor and outdoor equipment. Some of the health and safety needs identified by only one assessment method were health and safety staff training, medical plans for children with special health care needs and follow-up on positive screening tests. Comprehensive, multimethod assessments are useful to identify health and safety needs and develop public health nursing interventions for ECE programs.

The politics of environmental concern: A cross-national analysis*

PubMed Central

Nawrotzki, Raphael J.

2016-01-01

Prior research in the U.S. has found that liberals are generally more environmentally concerned than conservatives. The present study explores whether conservatives’ opposition to environmental protection is solely a U.S. or a universal phenomenon and whether this association is contingent on country-level characteristics such as development, environmental conditions, and communist history. Employing data for 19 countries from the ISSP module “Environment II,” this paper explores inter-country variations in the relationship between individual conservatism and environmental concern using multilevel modeling with cross-level interactions. The models reveal a number of intriguing associations. Most important, conservatives’ support for environmental protection varies by country. This variation is a function of country-level characteristics. The strongest opposition of conservatives’ toward environmental protection was observed in developed, capitalist nations, with superior environmental conditions. On the other hand, in less developed countries, and countries characterized by poor environmental quality, conservatives are more environmentally concerned than liberals. PMID:27616877

Is having a family member with chronic health concerns bad for young people's health? Cross-sectional evidence from a national survey of young Australians.

PubMed

Moffat, Anna K; Redmond, Gerry

2017-01-06

Young people's perspectives on the association between having a family member with a chronic health concern (FHC) and their own health are under-researched. This study used young people's reports to assess the prevalence of FHCs and their association with negative health outcomes, with an aim of identifying potential inequalities between marginalised and non-marginalised young people. Family cohesion was examined as a moderating factor. Cross-sectional data from the Australian Child Wellbeing Project survey were used. Respondents were asked whether someone in their family experienced one or more FHCs (disability, mental illness or drug/alcohol addiction). In addition, their experience of different psychosomatic symptoms (headache, sleeplessness, irritability, etc), aspects of family relationships and social and economic characteristics (disability, materially disadvantaged and Indigenous) were documented. Nationally representative Australian sample. 1531 students in school years 4 and 6 and 3846 students in year 8. A quarter of students reported having an FHC (years 4 and 6: 23.96% (95% CI 19.30% to 28.62%); year 8: 25.35% (95% CI 22.77% to 27.94%)). Significantly, more students with FHCs than those without reported experiencing 2 or more negative health symptoms at least weekly (OR=1.78; 95% CI 1.19 to 2.65; p<0.01). However, an independent relationship between FHCs and symptom load was only found in the case of FHC-drug/alcohol addiction. Marginalised students and students reporting low family cohesion had an increased prevalence of FHCs and notably higher symptom loads where FHCs were present. Level of family cohesion did not impact the relationship between FHCs and symptom load. The burden of FHCs is inequitably distributed between marginalised and non-marginalised groups, and between young people experiencing different levels of family cohesion. More work is required regarding appropriate targets for community and family-level interventions to support young

Mental health concerns of gay and bisexual men seeking mental health services.

PubMed

Berg, Michael B; Mimiaga, Matthew J; Safren, Steven A

2008-01-01

Little data exist about the mental health needs of gay and bisexual men. This is due to limitations of existing studies such as small and nonrepresentative samples, failure to assess sexual orientation, and concerns about stigmatization, possibly causing sexual minority individuals to be reluctant to disclose their sexual orientation to researchers. Fenway Community Health is a large urban health center that serves the LGBT community. The large number of gay and bisexual men who present for mental health treatment allows for a unique opportunity to gain insight into mental health, prevention, and intervention needs for this group. The current study is a review of the mental health information from all of the gay and bisexual men who reported that they were HIV-negative during their mental health intake over a six-month period at Fenway Community Health (January to June 2000; N = 92). The most frequent presenting problems were depression, anxiety, and relationship issues. Additionally, presenting problems included current or past abuse, substance abuse, finance and employment, recent loss, and family issues. The most frequent diagnoses were depression, anxiety disorders, and adjustment disorders. These findings support the notion that presenting problems and mental health concerns among gay and bisexual men are similar to those frequently reported by individuals in other mental health facilities, however, specific psychosocial stressors are unique to this population.

Succession planning in local health departments: results from a national survey.

PubMed

Darnell, Julie S; Campbell, Richard T

2015-01-01

Succession planning has received scant attention in the public health sector, despite its potential to generate operational efficiencies in a sector facing chronic budgetary pressures and an aging workforce. We examined the extent to which local health departments (LHDs) are engaged in succession planning and assessed the factors associated with having a succession plan. We conducted a national cross-sectional Web-based survey of workforce recruitment and retention activities in a sample of LHDs responding to the National Association of County & City Health Officials' 2010 Profile Study and then linked these data sets to fit a multivariable logistic regression model to explain why some LHDs have succession plans and others do not. Top executives in a national sample of LHDs. Presence or absence of succession planning. Two hundred twenty-five LHDs responded to the survey, yielding a 43.3% response rate, but no statistically significant differences between respondents and nonrespondents were detected. Only 39.5% reported having a succession plan. Performance evaluation activities are more common in LHDs with a succession plan than in LHDs without a plan. In adjusted analyses, the largest LHDs were 7 times more likely to have a succession plan than the smallest. Compared with state-governed LHDs, locally governed LHDs were 3.5 times more likely, and shared governance LHDs were 6 times more likely, to have a succession plan. Every additional year of experience by the top executive was associated with a 5% increase in the odds of having a succession plan. Local health departments that report high levels of concern about retaining staff (vs low concern) had 2.5 times higher adjusted odds of having a succession plan. This study provides the first national data on succession planning in LHDs and sheds light on LHDs' readiness to meet the workforce-related accreditation standards.

Challenges of stimulating a market for social innovation - provision of a national health account.

PubMed

Wass, Sofie; Vimarlund, Vivian

2015-01-01

Innovation in healthcare can be associated with social innovation and the mission to contribute to a shared value that benefits not only individuals or organizations but the society as a whole. In this paper, we present the prerequisites of stimulating a market for social innovations by studying the introduction of a national health account. The results show that there is a need to clarify if a national health account should be viewed as a public good or not, to clarify the financial responsibilities of different actors, to establish clear guidelines and to develop regulations concerning price, quality and certification of actors. The ambition to stimulate the market through a national health account is a promising start. However, the challenges have to be confronted in order for public and private actors to collaborate and build a market for social innovations such as a national health account.

Healthcare financing in Syria: satisfaction with the current system and the role of national health insurance--a qualitative study of householders' views.

PubMed

Mershed, Mania; Busse, Reinhard; van Ginneken, Ewout

2012-01-01

This study aims to identify the satisfaction with the current public health system and health benefit schemes, examine willingness to participate in national health insurance and review expectations and preferences of national health insurance. To this end, qualitative semi-structured interviews were carried out with 19 Syrian householders. Our results show that a need for health reform exists and that Syrian people are willing to support a national health insurance scheme if some key issues are properly addressed. Funding of the scheme is a major concern and should take into account the ability to pay and help the poor. In addition, waiting times should be shortened and sufficient coverage guaranteed. On the whole, the people would support a national health insurance with national pooling and purchasing under a public set-up, but important concerns of such a system regarding corruption and inefficiency were voiced too. Installing a quasi non-governmental organisation as manager of the insurance system under the stewardship of the Ministry of Health could provide a compromise acceptable to the people. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Directory of National Organizations Concerned with Land Pollution Control, 1971.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freed Publishing Co., New York, NY.

Included in this directory are 204 national organizations, agencies, institutes, and/or private groups concerned with the reduction or prevention of land pollution. Arranged in alphabetical order, each annotation gives the complete name of the organization, its address, telephone number, person to contact, and a short description of the scope of…

Supporting Children with Mental Health Concerns in Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Climie, Emma; Altomare, Alyssa A.

2013-01-01

There are a growing number of children who begin to develop mental concerns during the school-age years. As such, it is important that schools recognize and understand mental health issues and are actively engaged in supporting these students. This article provides a review of mental health in schools, highlighting the importance of school-health…

Family Stress and Children's Language and Behavior Problems: Results from the National Survey of Children's Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Long, Carolyn E.; Gurka, Matthew J.; Blackman, James A.

2008-01-01

The impact of language delays and behavior problems in young children on family function was assessed using data from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health. Over 50% of parents who reported concerns regarding their children's language skills also reported concerns regarding their children's behavior. Although parents reported increased…

Perceived Health and Nutrition Concerns as Predictors of Dietary Patterns among Polish Females Aged 13-21 Years (GEBaHealth Project).

PubMed

Jezewska-Zychowicz, Marzena; Wadolowska, Lidia; Kowalkowska, Joanna; Lonnie, Marta; Czarnocinska, Jolanta; Babicz-Zielinska, Ewa

2017-06-16

Health-related concerns can often be factors influencing health-related behaviours. It remains unclear whether a high level of concerns is associated with pro-healthy or unhealthy dietary behaviours and whether any associations between nutrition-related concerns and dietary behaviours exist in a population of girls and young women. The aim of the study was to investigate the associations between perceived health and nutrition concerns and dietary patterns in a representative sample of Polish young females. Data was collected in 2012 through a cross-sectional quantitative survey within the GEBaHealth (Girls Eating Behaviours and Health) project in a group of 1107 Polish girls aged 13-21 years old. Dietary patterns were identified by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) based on dietary data collected with Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQs). Nutrition and health concerns were assessed separately by two indices: Health Concern Index (HCI) and Nutrition Concern Index (NCI); both based on the Health Concern Scale (HCS). The associations between perceived health and nutrition concerns and each dietary pattern were investigated using logistic regression analysis. Displaying a higher level of health concerns increased the chances of adherence to the upper tertile of 'Fruit & vegetables' pattern (adjusted odds ratio [adj. ORs]: 1.46, 95% Confidence Interval [95% CI]: 1.02-2.10). Displaying a lower level of health concerns increased the chances of the adherence to the upper tertiles of 'Traditional Polish', 'Dairy & fats', 'Fruit and vegetables' and 'Fast food & sweets' patterns (adj. ORs: 1.87, 95% CI: 1.31-2.67; 1.66, 95% CI: 1.18-2.34; 1.57, 95% CI: 1.11-2.22; 1.52, 95% CI: 1.08-2.13; respectively). No significant associations were found between levels of nutrition concerns and dietary patterns in the adjusted model. We found associations between self-perceived health concerns and dietary patterns in our study sample, suggesting health concerns can be an

State of the Science in Autism: Report to the National Institutes of Health.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bristol, Marie M.; And Others

1996-01-01

This report on the state of the science in autism contains responses to questions posed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and recommendations concerning diagnosis, epidemiology, pathophysiology, communication/social/emotional development, medical intervention, social and behavioral intervention, and biostatistics. General recommendations…

Concern about security and privacy, and perceived control over collection and use of health information are related to withholding of health information from healthcare providers.

PubMed

Agaku, Israel T; Adisa, Akinyele O; Ayo-Yusuf, Olalekan A; Connolly, Gregory N

2014-01-01

This study assessed the perceptions and behaviors of US adults about the security of their protected health information (PHI). The first cycle of the fourth wave of the Health Information National Trends Survey was analyzed to assess respondents' concerns about PHI breaches. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the effect of such concerns on disclosure of sensitive medical information to a healthcare professional (p<0.05). Most respondents expressed concerns about data breach when their PHI was being transferred between healthcare professionals by fax (67.0%; 95% CI 64.2% to 69.8%) or electronically (64.5%; 95% CI 61.7% to 67.3%). About 12.3% (95% CI 10.8% to 13.8%) of respondents had ever withheld information from a healthcare provider because of security concerns. The likelihood of information withholding was higher among respondents who perceived they had very little say about how their medical records were used (adjusted OR=1.42; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.96). This study underscores the need for enhanced measures to secure patients' PHI to avoid undermining their trust.

Concerns and future challenges of health literacy in the Nordic countries - From the point of view of health promotion practitioners and researchers.

PubMed

Ringsberg, K C; Olander, E; Tillgren, P; Thualagant, N; Trollvik, A

2018-02-01

Health literacy is an essential social determinant for promoting and maintaining the health of a population. From a health promotion perspective, explore health literacy issues, concerns and future challenges among Nordic practitioners and researchers. Data were collected in a workshop at the 8 th Nordic Health Promotion Conference, and in a literature review, with articles from five databases. The search included title and abstract with the search terms health literacy* and health literacy as a MeSH term and all the Nordic countries. Qualitative and quantitative analysis were used. Twenty-five persons participated in the workshop. The discussions were summarized in six themes: concept of health literacy in national language; risk of victim blaming; measuring health literacy; content in school curricula on health literacy; new technologies for information and communication; communication and collaboration between different actors in support of health. Forty-three articles on health literacy were identified, mainly conducted within three fields: development, test and adaptation of instruments for measuring health literacy; measurement of health literacy among patients, or other defined target groups and on populations; and developing and evaluating methods/tools for the training of personnel groups or different target groups. There is a need for further studies providing a more in-depth understanding of the health literacy concept, knowledge on how to measure health literacy, ethical aspects, application in intersectoral collaboration as well as the adaptation to new technologies for information and communication in education supporting health literacy. As health literacy is an essential social health determinant, a concern and a future challenge must be, to make the health literacy concept familiar and visible in health promotion policies, research and practice such as health education.

Health and fracking: should the medical profession be concerned?

PubMed

Mash, Rachel; Minnaar, Jolynn; Mash, Bob

2014-02-26

The use of natural gas that is obtained from high-volume hydraulic fracturing (fracking) may reduce carbon emissions relative to the use of coal and have substantial economic benefits for South Africa. However, concerns have been raised regarding the health and environmental impacts. The drilling and fracking processes use hundreds of chemicals as well as silica sand. Additional elements are either released from or formed in the shale during drilling. These substances can enter the environment in various ways: through failures in the well casing; via alternative underground pathways; as wastewater, spills and leaks on the wellpad; through transportation accidents; and as air pollution. Although many of these chemicals and elements have known adverse health effects, there is little evidence available on the health impacts of fracking. These health concerns have not yet been fully addressed in policy making, and the authors recommend that the voice of health professionals should be part of the public debate on fracking and that a full health impact assessment be required before companies are given the go-ahead to drill. 

National health expenditures, 1985

PubMed Central

Waldo, Daniel R.; Levit, Katharine R.; Lazenby, Helen

1986-01-01

Slower price inflation in 1985 translated into slower growth of national health expenditures, but underlying growth in the use of goods and services continued along historic trends. Coupled with somewhat sluggish growth of the gross national product, this adherence to trends pushed the share of our Nation's output accounted for by health spending to 10.7 percent. Some aspects of health spending changed: Falling use of hospital services was offset by rising hospital profits and increased use of other health care services. Other aspects remained the same: Both the public sector and the private sector continued efforts to contain costs, efforts that have affected and will continue to affect not only the providers of care but the users of care as well. PMID:10311775

Perceived outcomes of public health privatization: a national survey of local health department directors.

PubMed

Keane, C; Marx, J; Ricci, E

2001-01-01

Almost three quarters of the nation's local health departments (LHDs) have privatized some services. About half of LHD directors who privatized services reported cost savings and half reported that privatization had facilitated their performance of the core public health functions. Expanded access to services was the most commonly reported positive outcome. Of those privatizing, over two-fifths of LHDs reported a resulting increase in time devoted to management. Yet, one-third of directors reported difficulty monitoring and controlling services that have been contracted out. Communicable disease services was cited most often as a service that should not be privatized. There is a pervasive concern that by contracting out services, health departments can lose the capacity to respond to disease outbreaks and other crises.

Perceived Outcomes of Public Health Privatization: A National Survey of Local Health Department Directors

PubMed Central

Keane, Christopher; Marx, John; Ricci, Edmund

2001-01-01

Almost three quarters of the nation's local health departments (LHDs) have privatized some services. About half of LHD directors who privatized services reported cost savings and half reported that privatization had facilitated their performance of the core public health functions. Expanded access to services was the most commonly reported positive outcome. Of those privatizing, over two-fifths of LHDs reported a resulting increase in time devoted to management. Yet, one-third of directors reported difficulty monitoring and controlling services that have been contracted out. Communicable disease services was cited most often as a service that should not be privatized. There is a pervasive concern that by contracting out services, health departments can lose the capacity to respond to disease outbreaks and other crises. PMID:11286093

The French National Nutrition and Health Program: 2001-2006-2010.

PubMed

Hercberg, Serge; Chat-Yung, Stacie; Chaulia, Michel

2008-01-01

Established in 2001-2005 then extended to 2010, the French National Nutrition and Health Program (PNNS) is a nutrition policy whose objective is to improve the health status of the population by acting on one of its major determinants, nutrition. Nine priority objectives focusing on diet, physical activity and nutritional status were determined. Program strategies are based on fundamental principles including food culture, pleasure, and gastronomy. This multidisciplinary program involves stakeholders from ministries, research and educational institutions, food industry, healthcare, and consumers. More than 75% of the public health actions planned were accomplished or in progress by the end of 2005, particularly those concerning nutrition communication, education, research and nutritional surveillance. Dietary guidelines were established and are now considered the official reference in France. Actions focusing on the healthcare system, economic actors and players and specific population groups need further development. The success of a public health program like the PNNS requires a combination of synergistic and complementary actions, measures, regulations and laws. A national study at the end of the PNNS will determine if objectives were achieved.

Immigration concern and the white/non-white difference in smoking: Group position theory and health.

PubMed

Samson, Frank L

2017-12-01

National data indicate that U.S. whites have a higher prevalence of smoking compared to non-whites. Group position theory and public opinion data suggest racial differences in immigration concern. This study examines whether immigration concern mediates the racial difference in smoking. Drawing on the 2012 General Social Survey, the 2012 American National Election Study, and the 2006 Portraits of American Life Study, immigration concern was associated with smoking, controlling for covariates across all three nationally representative surveys. Mediation analysis indicated that immigration concern partially mediated the higher odds of smoking among whites across all surveys. Immigration concern also presents a possible explanation for the healthy immigrant advantage and Hispanic paradox as they pertain to smoking differences.

The case of national health promotion policy in Australia: where to now?

PubMed

Smith, James A; Crawford, Gemma; Signal, Louise

2016-04-01

Issue addressed Over the last three decades there has been an incremental investment in health promotion and prevention across Australia; yet, the Commonwealth Government and some state/territory governments have more recently instigated funding cuts in health promotion and prevention. This paper argues that the role of health promotion is critical in contemporary Australia and discusses strategies needed to move forward within the context of recent disinvestments. Discussion Key areas of concern relating to recent health promotion and prevention disinvestment in Australia include the abolishment of the Australian National Preventive Health Agency, the cessation of the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health and significant cuts to Indigenous programs. These changes pose a significant threat to the health, economic and social well being of Australians and the region, particularly those that are most vulnerable. Conclusions Future health promotion and prevention efforts will require strategic leadership and action to enhance the promotion of health equity in Australia over the coming decades. We call on governments to (re)invest in health promotion and prevention both in and outside the health sector so that health promotion professionals can continue their advocacy efforts aimed at articulating their professional place in improving population health. So what? Recent changes to national health promotion and prevention policy are detrimental to the health and well being of the Australian population, particularly those most vulnerable. Sound planning to revitalise and refocus health promotion action in Australia is urgently required.

Towards National eHealth Implementation--a comparative study on WHO/ITU National eHealth Strategy Toolkit in Iran.

PubMed

Riazi, Hossein; Jafarpour, Maryam; Bitaraf, Ehsan

2014-01-01

Experiences has shown that utilization of ICT in health sector requires national commitment and planned efforts to make the best use of existing capacity. Establishing the main directions as well as planning the detailed steps needed are key to achieving longer-term goals such as health sector efficiency, reform or more fundamental transformation. Collaboration between the health and ICT sectors, both public and private, is central to this effort. As the major United Nations agencies for health and telecommunications respectively, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) have recognized the importance of collaboration for eHealth in their global resolutions, which encourage countries to develop national eHealth strategies; the National eHealth Strategy Toolkit is the proof of these recommendations. In this study a mapping of eHealth components in WHO/ITU National eHealth Strategy Toolkit and our national eHealth vision is presented.

Development of the National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project Sleep Health Surveillance Questions

PubMed Central

Morgenthaler, Timothy I.; Croft, Janet B.; Dort, Leslie C.; Loeding, Lauren D.; Mullington, Janet M.; Thomas, Sherene M.

2015-01-01

Objectives: For the first time ever, as emphasized by inclusion in the Healthy People 2020 goals, sleep health is an emphasis of national health aims. The National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project (NHSAP) was tasked to propose questions for inclusion in the next Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a survey that includes a number of questions that target behaviors thought to impact health, as a means to measure community sleep health. The total number of questions could not exceed five, and had to include an assessment of the risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Methods: An appointed workgroup met via teleconference and face-to-face venues to develop an inventory of published survey questions being used to identify sleep health, to develop a framework on which to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of current survey questions concerning sleep, and to develop recommendations for sleep health and disease surveillance questions going forward. Results: The recommendation was to focus on certain existing BRFSS questions pertaining to sleep duration, quality, satisfaction, daytime alertness, and to add to these other BRFSS existing questions to make a modified STOP-BANG questionnaire (minus the N for neck circumference) to assess for risk of OSA. Conclusions: Sleep health is an important dimension of health that has previously received less attention in national health surveys. We believe that 5 questions recommended for the upcoming BRFSS question banks will assist as important measures of sleep health, and may help to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to improve sleep health in our nation. Citation: Morgenthaler TI, Croft JB, Dort LC, Loeding LD, Mullington JM, Thomas SM. Development of the National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project sleep health surveillance questions. J Clin Sleep Med 2015;11(9):1057–1062. PMID:26235156

Changes in retiree health benefits: results of a national survey.

PubMed

de Lissovoy, G; Kasper, J D; Di Carlo, S; Gabel, J

1990-01-01

Employers are increasingly concerned by the cost of health benefits provided to retired workers. One reason is that the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the organization that establishes "generally accepted accounting principles," has proposed altering the way firms report expenditures for retiree medical coverage on financial statements. We recently completed a national survey of business firms offering retiree health benefits to address three issues: 1) What is the current structure of retiree health benefit plans? 2) What changes are firms planning to implement in the structure of their retiree health benefits? 3) To what extent are these changes due to the FASB proposal? The FASB reporting proposal is only one factor underlying these changes. More important is the real financial pressure on firms due to the accelerating cost of retiree health care.

PTSD Trajectory, Co-morbidity, and Utilization of Mental Health Services among National Guard Forces

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-01

constructed a survey for initial data collection as well as subsequent waves that contains modules on (1) risk or protective factors for psychological ...morbidity over the life course (general traumas, psychological resources, life and family concerns), (2) mental health (depression, PTSD, emotional...protective factors for psychological morbidity among National Guard force members, (b) mental health, and (c) service utilization patterns among

Eating habits, health status, and concern about health: a study among 1641 employees in the German metal industry.

PubMed

Reime, B; Novak, P; Born, J; Hagel, E; Wanek, V

2000-04-01

Nutrition has been found to be associated with sociodemographic characteristics and concern about health. There is limited knowledge, however, of associations between blue-collar worker's diet, morbidity, and health care utilization. We conducted a survey on eating habits, physical symptoms, health care utilization, health status, and concern about health in two German metal companies. A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to employees of whom 1641 participated in the study (response rate 54. 7%). Most employees were characterized by a combination of healthy and unhealthy eating elements. Using linear regression analyses adjusted for age, gender, and occupational status, healthy eating was negatively associated with stomach aches and headaches, but not with cardiovascular disease. Restricted activity days and days in hospital were associated with healthy eating, but self-assessed health status and physician consultations were not. Using stepwise multiple regression analysis, age, gender, and concern about health were strongly and morbidity was weakly related to diet. Occupational status, marital status, and number of children were not associated with nutrition. Health promotion programs should motivate younger and male employees to participate in and aim toward increasing concern about health. Copyright 2000 American Health Foundation and Academic Press.

National Health Expenditures, 1978

PubMed Central

Gibson, Robert M.

1979-01-01

Outlays for health care in the Nation reached $192.4 billion in calendar year 1978--13 percent higher than in 1977, according to preliminary figures compiled by the Health Care Financing Administration. This estimate represented $863 per person in the United States and was equal to 9.1 percent of the GNP. This latest report in the annual series representing national health expenditures provides detailed estimates of health care spending by type of service and method of financing. Revised estimates are presented extending back to 1965. PMID:10309049

78 FR 55751 - National Institutes of Health

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-11

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Eye Institute...: National Institutes of Health, Neuroscience Building, Conference Room D, 6001 Executive Boulevard...: National Institutes of Health, Neuroscience Building, Conference Room D, 6001 Executive Boulevard...

Mobile Health Application and e-Health Literacy: Opportunities and Concerns for Cancer Patients and Caregivers.

PubMed

Kim, Hyunmin; Goldsmith, Joy V; Sengupta, Soham; Mahmood, Asos; Powell, M Paige; Bhatt, Jay; Chang, Cyril F; Bhuyan, Soumitra S

2017-11-14

Health literacy is critical for cancer patients as they must understand complex procedures or treatment options. Caregivers' health literacy also plays a crucial role in caring for cancer patients. Low health literacy is associated with low adherence to medications, poor health status, and increased health care costs. There is a growing interest in the use of mobile health applications (apps) to improve health literacy. Mobile health apps can empower underserved cancer patients and their caregivers by providing features or functionalities to enhance interactive patient-provider communication and to understand medical information more readily. Despite the potentiality of improving health literacy through mobile health apps, there exist several related concerns: no equal access to mobile technology, no familiarity or knowledge of using mobile health apps, and privacy and security concerns. These elements should be taken into account for health policy making and mobile apps design and development. Importantly, mobile apps should be developed with the goal of achieving a high range of user access by considering all health literacy level and various cultural and linguistic needs.

76 FR 71047 - National Institutes of Health

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78 FR 24427 - National Institutes of Health

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2013-04-25

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Proposed Collection; 60-Day..., the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), will... Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Need and Use of Information...

Girl child marriage and its association with national rates of HIV, maternal health, and infant mortality across 97 countries.

PubMed

Raj, Anita; Boehmer, Ulrike

2013-04-01

This study was designed to assess associations between national rates of girl child marriage and national rates of HIV and maternal and child health (MCH) concerns, using national indicator data from 2009 United Nations reports. Current analyses were limited to the N = 97 nations (of 188 nations) for which girl child marriage data were available. Regression analyses adjusted for development and world region demonstrate that nations with higher rates of girl child marriage are significantly more likely to contend with higher rates of maternal and infant mortality and nonutilization of maternal health services, but not HIV.

Nonresponse in the National Survey of Children's Health, 2007.

PubMed

Skalland, Benjamin J; Blumberg, Stephen J

2012-06-01

For random-digit-dial telephone surveys, the increasing difficulty in contacting eligible households and obtaining their cooperation raises concerns about the potential for nonresponse bias. This report presents an analysis of nonresponse bias in the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health, a module of the State and Local Area Integrated Telephone Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. An attempt was made to measure bias in six key survey estimates using four different approaches: comparison of response rates for subgroups, use of sampling frame data, study of variation within the existing survey, and comparison of survey estimates with similar estimates from another source. Even when nonresponse-adjusted survey weights were used, the interviewed population was more likely to live in areas associated with higher levels of home ownership, lower home values, and greater proportions of non-Hispanic white persons when compared with the nonresponding population. Bias was found (although none greater than 3%) in national estimates of the proportion of children in excellent or very good health, those with consistent health insurance coverage, and those with a medical home. However, the level and direction of the bias depended on the approach used to measure it. There was no evidence of significant bias in the proportion of children with preventive medical care visits, those with families who ate daily meals together, or those living in safe neighborhoods.

Speech concerns at 5 years and adult educational and mental health outcomes.

PubMed

Muir, Colette; O'Callaghan, Michael J; Bor, William; Najman, Jake M; Williams, Gail M

2011-07-01

To determine if parent-reported speech concerns at 5 years predict poorer educational and mental health outcomes at 21 years independent of social context and child's receptive language, behaviour and motor concerns at 5 years. To determine if these adult outcomes are mediated by school performance at 14 years.   Information on speech concerns at 5- and 21-year outcomes was available for 3193 participants from a birth cohort of 7223 infants. At 5, child behaviour was measured using a behavioural checklist, and at 21 years, it was measured by the Young Adult Self-Report. Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised at 5 years was not available for all children. Maternal mental health and social information at 5 years and educational outcomes at 14 years and 21 years were collected prospectively by questionnaire. Potential confounding and mediating factors were analysed using logistic regression. Children with speech concerns were less likely to have completed secondary school (P < 0.01) or gained better overall position (OP) scores (P < 0.001). OP scores rank students in Queensland applying for tertiary entrance. There was no association with mental health outcomes. Findings were independent of maternal and social factors, and motor concerns, though attenuated by behaviour and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised scores. In the model adjusted for these factors, any concerns predicted OP score 1-11 (odds ratio 0.58; 95% confidence interval 0.42, 0.79), though if academic functioning at 14 was included, no associations were significant. Maternal-reported speech concerns at 5 years predict poorer educational though not adult mental health outcomes. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2011 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

Are Australians concerned about nanoparticles? A comparative analysis with established and emerging environmental health issues.

PubMed

Capon, Adam; Rolfe, Margaret; Gillespie, James; Smith, Wayne

2015-02-01

Introducing new technologies into society raises considerable public concern. We determine the public concern about nanoparticles, and compare this concern to other environmental health issues such as wind farms and coal seam gas production. A repeat cross sectional survey examining views on environmental health issues, risk, chemicals and trust was undertaken in more than 1,300 Australian residents in 2000 and 2013. Logistic regression and principal component analysis was used to investigate predictors of nanoparticle concern and identify a component structure for environmental health issues that could explain a trend of future nanoparticle concern. Australians have a relatively low level of concern about the risks of nanoparticles to health when compared to their concerns about other environmental health issues. Items associated with concern included gender, a general wish to avoid chemicals and possibly trust in politicians. Concern over nanoparticles clustered with similar views on technological risks. Current public concern over the risks of nanoparticles is low. However, a reframing of the issue towards 'chemicals' is likely to have a negative effect on risk perceptions. This paper raises questions about appropriate channels for the effective communication of risk. © 2015 Public Health Association of Australia.

Building the national health information infrastructure for personal health, health care services, public health, and research

PubMed Central

Detmer, Don E

2003-01-01

Background Improving health in our nation requires strengthening four major domains of the health care system: personal health management, health care delivery, public health, and health-related research. Many avoidable shortcomings in the health sector that result in poor quality are due to inaccessible data, information, and knowledge. A national health information infrastructure (NHII) offers the connectivity and knowledge management essential to correct these shortcomings. Better health and a better health system are within our reach. Discussion A national health information infrastructure for the United States should address the needs of personal health management, health care delivery, public health, and research. It should also address relevant global dimensions (e.g., standards for sharing data and knowledge across national boundaries). The public and private sectors will need to collaborate to build a robust national health information infrastructure, essentially a 'paperless' health care system, for the United States. The federal government should assume leadership for assuring a national health information infrastructure as recommended by the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics and the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee. Progress is needed in the areas of funding, incentives, standards, and continued refinement of a privacy (i.e., confidentiality and security) framework to facilitate personal identification for health purposes. Particular attention should be paid to NHII leadership and change management challenges. Summary A national health information infrastructure is a necessary step for improved health in the U.S. It will require a concerted, collaborative effort by both public and private sectors. If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it. Lord Kelvin PMID:12525262

Sexual Health Concerns in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease

MedlinePlus

... Patient Page Sexual Health Concerns in Patients With Cardiovascular Disease Lindsey Rosman , John M. Cahill , Susan L. McCammon , ... and difficulty achieving and maintaining an erection. 2 Cardiovascular disease and its treatment may also affect a man’s ...

Family characteristics and health behaviour as antecedents of school nurses' concerns about adolescents' health and development: a path model approach.

PubMed

Poutiainen, Hannele; Levälahti, Esko; Hakulinen-Viitanen, Tuovi; Laatikainen, Tiina

2015-05-01

Family socio-economic factors and parents' health behaviours have been shown to have an impact on the health and well-being of children and adolescents. Family characteristics have also been associated with school nurses' concerns, which arose during health examinations, about children's and adolescents' physical health and psychosocial development. Parental smoking has also been associated with smoking in adolescents. The aim of this study was to determine to what extent school nurses' concerns about adolescents' physical health and psychosocial development related to family characteristics are mediated through parents' and adolescents' own health behaviours (smoking). A path model approach using cross-sectional data was used. In 2008-2009, information about health and well-being of adolescents was gathered at health examinations of the Children's Health Monitoring Study. Altogether 1006 eighth and ninth grade pupils in Finland participated in the study. The associations between family characteristics, smoking among parents and adolescents and school nurses' concerns about adolescents' physical health and psychosocial development were examined using a structural equation model. Paternal education had a direct, and, through fathers' and boys' smoking, an indirect association with school nurses' concerns about the physical health of boys. Paternal labour market status and family income were only indirectly associated with concerns about the physical health of boys by having an effect on boys' smoking through paternal smoking, and a further indirect effect on concerns about boys' health. In girls, only having a single mother was strongly associated with school nurses' concerns about psychosocial development through maternal and adolescent girl smoking. Socio-economic family characteristics and parental smoking influence adolescent smoking and are associated with school nurses' concerns about adolescents' physical health and psychosocial development. The findings

Concern about security and privacy, and perceived control over collection and use of health information are related to withholding of health information from healthcare providers

PubMed Central

Agaku, Israel T; Adisa, Akinyele O; Ayo-Yusuf, Olalekan A; Connolly, Gregory N

2014-01-01

Introduction This study assessed the perceptions and behaviors of US adults about the security of their protected health information (PHI). Methods The first cycle of the fourth wave of the Health Information National Trends Survey was analyzed to assess respondents’ concerns about PHI breaches. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the effect of such concerns on disclosure of sensitive medical information to a healthcare professional (p<0.05). Results Most respondents expressed concerns about data breach when their PHI was being transferred between healthcare professionals by fax (67.0%; 95% CI 64.2% to 69.8%) or electronically (64.5%; 95% CI 61.7% to 67.3%). About 12.3% (95% CI 10.8% to 13.8%) of respondents had ever withheld information from a healthcare provider because of security concerns. The likelihood of information withholding was higher among respondents who perceived they had very little say about how their medical records were used (adjusted OR=1.42; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.96). Conclusions This study underscores the need for enhanced measures to secure patients’ PHI to avoid undermining their trust. PMID:23975624

Research funded by the National Institutes of Health on the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations.

PubMed

Coulter, Robert W S; Kenst, Karey S; Bowen, Deborah J; Scout

2014-02-01

We examined the proportion of studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations, along with investigated health topics. We used the NIH RePORTER system to search for LGBT-related terms in NIH-funded research from 1989 through 2011. We coded abstracts for LGBT inclusion, subpopulations studied, health foci, and whether studies involved interventions. NIH funded 628 studies concerning LGBT health. Excluding projects about HIV/AIDS and other sexual health matters, only 0.1% (n = 113) of all NIH-funded studies concerned LGBT health. Among the LGBT-related projects, 86.1% studied sexual minority men, 13.5% studied sexual minority women, and 6.8% studied transgender populations. Overall, 79.1% of LGBT-related projects focused on HIV/AIDS and substantially fewer on illicit drug use (30.9%), mental health (23.2%), other sexual health matters (16.4%), and alcohol use (12.9%). Only 202 studies examined LGBT health-related interventions. Over time, the number of LGBT-related projects per year increased. The lack of NIH-funded research about LGBT health contributes to the perpetuation of health inequities. Here we recommend ways for NIH to stimulate LGBT-related research.

Occupational mental health promotion: a prevention agenda based on education and treatment. The American Psychological Association/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Health Promotion Panel, 1990 Work and Well-Being Conference.

PubMed

1992-01-01

PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW. Psychological disorders are one of the 10 leading work-related diseases and injuries in the United States according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. This article addresses occupational metal health and preventive stress management in the workplace. The individual and organizational costs are briefly considered with concern for reducing the burden of suffering associated with these problems. SEARCH METHOD. As an American Psychological Association interdisciplinary panel, we searched the psychological, medical, public health, and organizational literature. We selected articles relevant to the problem of psychological disorders in the workplace and to enhancing occupational mental health and preventive stress management. IMPORTANT FINDINGS. The panel proposed a national agenda of education and treatment, combined with a program of evaluation research, for addressing these issues. Target populations are identified, and the need for collaboration among a variety of national constituencies is considered. Advancing occupational mental health and promoting skills in preventive stress management is considered in the context of comprehensive health promotion. MAJOR CONCLUSIONS. The panel concluded that there is a pressing need to: 1) set a 'gold' standard concerning the current state of knowledge in the domains of occupational mental health and stress management; 2) identify Diagnostically Related Groups (DRGs) which are stress-related; 3) establish assessment standards for stress and mental health; 4) set guidelines for reasonable interventions; and 5) establish acceptable post-outcome criteria.

42 CFR 489.29 - Special requirements concerning beneficiaries served by the Indian Health Service, Tribal health...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION PROVIDER AGREEMENTS AND SUPPLIER... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Special requirements concerning beneficiaries served by the Indian Health Service, Tribal health programs, and urban Indian organization health...

42 CFR 489.29 - Special requirements concerning beneficiaries served by the Indian Health Service, Tribal health...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION PROVIDER AGREEMENTS AND SUPPLIER... 42 Public Health 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Special requirements concerning beneficiaries served by the Indian Health Service, Tribal health programs, and urban Indian organization health...

Health needs and concerns of male adolescents.

PubMed

Pinch, W J; Heck, M; Vinal, D

1986-01-01

Lifestyle factors established within the family help determine health-care functioning. Adolescents first may be challenged to meet their own health needs as freshmen in college. A 153-item questionnaire was utilized to examine concerns in the areas of alcohol and other drug use, auto safety, weight and dieting, smoking, sexuality, coping and stress, and selection and utilization of health-care services. One hundred fifty-nine male college students responded. Major problems with alcohol use, auto safety, weight control, stress and sexuality were identified. Positive lifestyle factors that were strongly supported included regular exercise, nonsmoking, regular medical and dental checkups, and the development of some support systems to cope with stress. Health-care services designated by respondents to meet their own needs were significantly different from those services they pointed out as needed for their peers.

Whose policy is it anyway? International and national influences on health policy development in Uganda.

PubMed

Okuonzi, S A; Macrae, J

1995-06-01

As national resources for health decline, so dependence on international resources to finance the capital and recurrent costs is increasing. This dependence, combined with an increasing emphasis on policy-based, as opposed to project-based, lending and grant-making has been accompanied by greater involvement of international actors in the formation of national health policy. This paper explores the process of health policy development in Uganda and examines how major donors are influencing and conflicting with national policy-making bodies. Focusing on two examples of user fees and drugs policies, it argues that while the content of international prescriptions to strengthen the health system may not be bad in itself, the process by which they are applied potentially threatens national sovereignty and weakens mechanisms for ensuring accountability. It concludes by proposing that in order to increase the sustainability of policy reforms, much greater emphasis should be placed on strengthening national capacity for policy analysis and research, building up policy networks and enhancing the quality of information available to the public concerning key policy changes.

76 FR 40383 - National Institutes of Health

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-08

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Government-Owned Inventions; Availability for Licensing AGENCY: Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, HHS. ACTION: Notice... the indicated licensing contact at the Office of Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health...

Research Funded by the National Institutes of Health on the Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Populations

PubMed Central

Kenst, Karey S.; Bowen, Deborah J.; Scout

2014-01-01

Objectives. We examined the proportion of studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations, along with investigated health topics. Methods. We used the NIH RePORTER system to search for LGBT-related terms in NIH-funded research from 1989 through 2011. We coded abstracts for LGBT inclusion, subpopulations studied, health foci, and whether studies involved interventions. Results. NIH funded 628 studies concerning LGBT health. Excluding projects about HIV/AIDS and other sexual health matters, only 0.1% (n = 113) of all NIH-funded studies concerned LGBT health. Among the LGBT-related projects, 86.1% studied sexual minority men, 13.5% studied sexual minority women, and 6.8% studied transgender populations. Overall, 79.1% of LGBT-related projects focused on HIV/AIDS and substantially fewer on illicit drug use (30.9%), mental health (23.2%), other sexual health matters (16.4%), and alcohol use (12.9%). Only 202 studies examined LGBT health–related interventions. Over time, the number of LGBT-related projects per year increased. Conclusions. The lack of NIH-funded research about LGBT health contributes to the perpetuation of health inequities. Here we recommend ways for NIH to stimulate LGBT-related research. PMID:24328665

National Health Care Skill Standards.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Consortium on Health Science and Technology Education, Okemos, MI.

This document presents the National Health Care Skill Standards, which were developed by the National Consortium on Health Science and Technology and West Ed Regional Research Laboratory, in partnership with educators and health care employers. The document begins with an overview of the purpose and benefits of skill standards. Presented next are…

The impact of marital status on epilepsy-related health concerns.

PubMed

Elliott, John O; Charyton, Christine; McAuley, James W; Shneker, Bassel F

2011-08-01

Social support from marriage has been linked with better health outcomes. Persons with epilepsy (PWE) are significantly less likely to be married than persons without epilepsy. No previous studies have examined the impact of marriage on epilepsy-related health concerns. Outpatient PWE (n=267) were asked to identify their top five concerns on the Epilepsy Foundation Concerns Index. After controlling for clinical factors (seizure frequency, age of epilepsy diagnosis and disability status) PWE who were married were significantly less likely to report "Fear of being injured during a seizure" Odds Ratio (OR) 0.33, "Holding down a job" OR 0.29, "Getting the work or education you want" OR 0.29, "Medical costs of your epilepsy" OR 0.21 and "Lack of people's understanding of epilepsy" OR 0.27. Once we controlled for both clinical factors and demographic factors only one concern "Medical costs of your epilepsy" OR 0.24 remained significant. Our findings support several theories examining the health benefits of marriage related to selection, protection and economic resources. PWE are particularly prone to economic disparities due to lower educational attainment and unemployment. Earlier intervention especially for those with childhood onset epilepsy may help mitigate these disparities and their impact on social relationships and marriage. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

National health expenditures, 1991

PubMed Central

Letsch, Suzanne W.; Lazenby, Helen C.; Levit, Katharine R.; Cowan, Cathy A.

1992-01-01

Spending for health care rose to $751.8 billion in 1991, an increase of 11.4 percent from the 1990 level. National health expenditures as a share of gross domestic product increased to 13.2 percent, up from 12.2 percent in 1990. The health care sector exhibited strong growth, despite slow growth in the overall economy. This combination resulted in the largest increase in the share of the Nation's output consumed by health care in the past three decades. In this article, the authors present estimates of health spending in the United States for 1991. The authors also examine reasons for the unusually large growth in Medicaid expenditures and highlight recent trends in the hospital sector. PMID:10127445

National Health Care Skill Standards.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Far West Lab. for Educational Research and Development, San Francisco, CA.

This booklet contains draft national health care skill standards that were proposed during the National Health Care Skill Standards Project on the basis of input from more than 1,000 representatives of key constituencies of the health care field. The project objectives and structure are summarized in the introduction. Part 1 examines the need for…

Public attitudes toward health information exchange: perceived benefits and concerns.

PubMed

Dimitropoulos, Linda; Patel, Vaishali; Scheffler, Scott A; Posnack, Steve

2011-12-01

To characterize consumers' attitudes regarding the perceived benefits of electronic health information exchange (HIE), potential HIE privacy and security concerns, and to analyze the intersection of these concerns with perceived benefits. A cross-sectional study. A random-digit-dial telephone survey of English-speaking adults was conducted in 2010. Multivariate logistic regression models examined the association between consumer characteristics and concerns related to the security of electronic health records (EHRs) and HIE. A majority of the 1847 respondents reported they were either "very" or "somewhat" concerned about privacy of HIE (70%), security of HIE (75%), or security of EHRs (82%). Concerns were significantly higher (P <.05) among employed individuals 40 to 64 years old and minorities. Many believed that HIE would confer benefits such as improved coordination of care (89%). Overall, 75% agreed that the benefits of EHRs outweighed risks to privacy and security, and 60% would permit HIE for treatment purposes even if the physician might not be able to protect their privacy all of the time. Over half (52%) wanted to choose which providers access and share their data. Greater participation by consumers in determining how HIE takes place could engender a higher degree of trust among all demographic groups, regardless of their varying levels of privacy and security concerns. Addressing the specific privacy and security concerns of minorities, individuals 40 to 64 years old, and employed individuals will be critical to ensuring widespread consumer participation in HIE.

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2011-03-25

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75 FR 6044 - National Institutes of Health

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-05

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act... individual intramural programs and projects conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health...

Body weight concerns: Cross-national study and identification of factors related to eating disorders.

PubMed

Silva, Wanderson Roberto da; Santana, Moema de Souza; Maroco, João; Maloa, Benvindo Felismino Samuel; Campos, Juliana Alvares Duarte Bonini

2017-01-01

Body weight concerns are common among individuals with eating disorders, and this construct can be assessed using psychometric instruments. The Weight Concerns Scale (WCS) is commonly used to assess body weight concerns. To evaluate the psychometric properties of the WCS with Brazilian, Portuguese, and Mozambican female college students; to estimate body weight concerns; and to identify factors related to eating disorders. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed. Factorial, convergent, concurrent, and divergent validity, as well as reliability, were assessed. Cross-national invariance was tested by means of multigroup analysis. Structural models were tested using the WCS as the dependent variable, while demographic and academic variables and body mass index were used as independent variables. Logistic models were tested to estimate the likelihood of eating disorders being developed in specific groups. Participants were 2,068 female students. The psychometric properties of the WCS were adequate for the Portuguese sample; however, for the Brazilian and Mozambican samples, it was necessary to correlate the errors of two items to improve model fit. The WCS did not show cross-national invariance. The variables "thoughts about dropping out of college," "medication use because of studies," "medication and supplements use for body change," "body mass index," "socioeconomic status," "age," and "performance in course" were significant predictors of body weight concerns. Overall, 24.4% (95% confidence interval = 22.9-26.7) of the students were likely to develop eating disorders. Students under 21 years old, who use medication and supplements for body change, and who were classified as overweight/obese have increased likelihood of developing eating disorders. The WCS showed good psychometric properties with Brazilian, Portuguese, and Mozambican students; however, it did not show cross-national invariance. We identified important aspects for investigating body weight

Using eHealth Technologies: Interests, Preferences, and Concerns of Older Adults

PubMed Central

Ware, Patrick; Bartlett, Susan J; Paré, Guy; Symeonidis, Iphigenia; Tannenbaum, Cara; Bartlett, Gillian; Poissant, Lise

2017-01-01

Background The Internet and eHealth technologies represent new opportunities for managing health. Age, sex, socioeconomic status, and current technology use are some of the known factors that influence individuals’ uptake of eHealth; however, relatively little is known about facilitators and barriers to eHealth uptake specific to older adults, particularly as they relate to their experiences in accessing health care. Objective The aim of our study was to explore the interests, preferences, and concerns of older adults in using the Internet and eHealth technologies for managing their health in relation to their experiences with the current health care system. Methods Two focus groups (n=15) were conducted with adults aged 50+ years. Pragmatic thematic analysis using an inductive approach was conducted to identify the interests, preferences, and concerns of using the Internet and eHealth technologies. Results Five themes emerged that include (1) Difficulty in identifying credible and relevant sources of information on the Web; (2) Ownership, access, and responsibility for medical information; (3) Peer communication and support; (4) Opportunities to enhance health care interactions; and (5) Privacy concerns. These findings support the potential value older adults perceive in eHealth technologies, particularly in their ability to provide access to personal health information and facilitate communication between providers and peers living with similar conditions. However, in order to foster acceptance, these technologies will need to provide personal and general health information that is secure, readily accessible, and easily understood. Conclusions Older adults have diverse needs and preferences that, in part, are driven by their experiences and frustrations with the health care system. Results can help inform the design and implementation of technologies to address gaps in care and access to health information for older adults with chronic conditions who may

A case for increased private sector involvement in Ireland's national animal health services

PubMed Central

2008-01-01

Non-regulatory animal health issues, such as Johne's disease, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) and mastitis will become increasing important, with ongoing globalisation of markets in animals and animal products. In response, Ireland may need to broaden the scope of its national animal health services. However, there have been concerns about the respective roles and responsibilities (both financial and otherwise) of government and industry in any such moves. This paper argues the case for increased private sector involvement in Ireland's national animal health services, based both on theoretical considerations and country case studies (the Netherlands and Australia). The Dutch and Australian case studies present examples of successful partnerships between government and industry, including systems and processes to address non-regulatory animal health issues. In each case, the roles and responsibilities of government are clear, as are the principles underpinning government involvement. Furthermore, the roles and responsibilities (financial and otherwise) of the Dutch and Australian industry are determined through enabling legislation, providing both legitimacy and accountability. There are constraints on the use of EU and national government funds to support non-regulatory animal health services in EU member states (such as Ireland and the Netherlands). PMID:21851708

A case for increased private sector involvement in Ireland's national animal health services.

PubMed

More, Simon J

2008-02-01

Non-regulatory animal health issues, such as Johne's disease, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) and mastitis will become increasing important, with ongoing globalisation of markets in animals and animal products. In response, Ireland may need to broaden the scope of its national animal health services. However, there have been concerns about the respective roles and responsibilities (both financial and otherwise) of government and industry in any such moves. This paper argues the case for increased private sector involvement in Ireland's national animal health services, based both on theoretical considerations and country case studies (the Netherlands and Australia). The Dutch and Australian case studies present examples of successful partnerships between government and industry, including systems and processes to address non-regulatory animal health issues. In each case, the roles and responsibilities of government are clear, as are the principles underpinning government involvement. Furthermore, the roles and responsibilities (financial and otherwise) of the Dutch and Australian industry are determined through enabling legislation, providing both legitimacy and accountability. There are constraints on the use of EU and national government funds to support non-regulatory animal health services in EU member states (such as Ireland and the Netherlands).

National health expenditures, 1988

PubMed Central

1990-01-01

Every year, analysts in the Health Care Financing Administration present figures on what our Nation spends for health. As the result of a comprehensive re-examination of the definitions, concepts, methods, and data sources used to prepare those figures, this year's report contains new estimates of national health expenditures for calendar years 1960 through 1988. Significant changes have been made to estimates of spending for professional services and to estimates of what consumers pay out of pocket for health care. In the first article, trends in use of and expenditure for various types of goods and services are discussed, as well as trends in the sources of funds used to finance health care. In a companion article, the benchmark process is described in more detail, as are the data sources and methods used to prepare annual estimates of health expenditures. PMID:10113395

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2011-08-29

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Submission for OMB Review... data collection projects, the Center for Scientific Review (CSR), National Institutes of Health (NIH... for public comment. The National Institutes of Health may not conduct or sponsor and the respondent is...

Health care professionals' concerns regarding in-hospital family-witnessed cardiopulmonary resuscitation implementation into clinical practice.

PubMed

Sak-Dankosky, Natalia; Andruszkiewicz, Paweł; Sherwood, Paula R; Kvist, Tarja

2018-05-01

In-hospital, family-witnessed cardiopulmonary resuscitation of adults has been found to help patients' family members deal with the short- and long-term emotional consequences of resuscitation. Because of its benefits, many national and international nursing and medical organizations officially recommend this practice. Research, however, shows that family-witnessed resuscitation is not widely implemented in clinical practice, and health care professionals generally do not favour this recommendation. To describe and provide an initial basis for understanding health care professionals' views and perspectives regarding the implementation of an in-hospital, family-witnessed adult resuscitation practice in two European countries. An inductive qualitative approach was used in this study. Finnish (n = 93) and Polish (n = 75) emergency and intensive care nurses and physicians provided written responses to queries regarding their personal observations, concerns and comments about in-hospital, family-witnessed resuscitation of an adult. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. The study analysis yielded five themes characterizing health care professionals' main concerns regarding family-witnessed resuscitation: (1) family's horror, (2) disturbed workflow (3) no support for the family, (4) staff preparation and (5) situation-based decision. Despite existing evidence revealing the positive influence of family-witnessed resuscitation on patients, relatives and cardiopulmonary resuscitation process, Finnish and Polish health care providers cited a number of personal and organizational barriers against this practice. The results of this study begin to examine reasons why family-witnessed resuscitation has not been widely implemented in practice. In order to successfully apply current evidence-based resuscitation guidelines, provider concerns need to be addressed through educational and organizational changes. This study identified important implementation

Innovation within a national health care system.

PubMed

Young, Antony

2017-05-01

Tony is a practicing frontline National Health Service surgeon and director of medical innovation at Anglia Ruskin University and has founded 4 medical-technology start-ups. He has also cofounded the £500 million Anglia Ruskin MedTech Campus, which will become one of the world's largest health innovation spaces. In 2014, he was appointed as national clinical director for innovation at National Health Service England and in February 2016 became the first national clinical lead for innovation. In this role, he provides clinical leadership and support in delivering improved health outcomes in England, drives the uptake of proven innovations across the National Health Service, promotes economic growth through innovation, and helps make the National Health Service the go-to place on the planet for medical innovation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Knowledge of medical students on National Health Care System: A French multicentric survey.

PubMed

Feral-Pierssens, A-L; Jannot, A-S

2017-09-01

Education on national health care policy and costs is part of our medical curriculum explaining how our health care system works. Our aim was to measure French medical students' knowledge about national health care funding, costs and access and explore association with their educational and personal background. We developed a web-based survey exploring knowledge on national health care funding, access and costs through 19 items and measured success score as the number of correct answers. We also collected students' characteristics and public health training. The survey was sent to undergraduate medical students and residents from five medical universities between July and November 2015. A total of 1195 students from 5 medical universities responded to the survey. Most students underestimated the total amount of annual medical expenses, hospitalization costs and the proportion of the general population not benefiting from a complementary insurance. The knowledge score was not associated with medical education level. Three students' characteristics were significantly associated with a better knowledge score: male gender, older age, and underprivileged status. Medical students have important gaps in knowledge regarding national health care funding, coverage and costs. This knowledge was not associated with medical education level but with some of the students' personal characteristics. All these results are of great concern and should lead us to discussion and reflection about medical and public health training. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Health Effects and Environmental Justice Concerns of Exposure to Uranium in Drinking Water.

PubMed

Corlin, Laura; Rock, Tommy; Cordova, Jamie; Woodin, Mark; Durant, John L; Gute, David M; Ingram, Jani; Brugge, Doug

2016-12-01

We discuss the recent epidemiologic literature regarding health effects of uranium exposure in drinking water focusing on the chemical characteristics of uranium. While there is strong toxicologic evidence for renal and reproductive effects as well as DNA damage, the epidemiologic evidence for these effects in people exposed to uranium in drinking water is limited. Further, epidemiologic evidence is lacking for cardiovascular and oncogenic effects. One challenge in characterizing health effects of uranium in drinking water is the paucity of long-term cohort studies with individual level exposure assessment. Nevertheless, there are environmental justice concerns due to the substantial exposures for certain populations. For example, we present original data suggesting that individuals living in the Navajo Nation are exposed to high levels of uranium in unregulated well water used for drinking. In 10 out of 185 samples (5.4 %), concentrations of uranium exceeded standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Therefore, efforts to mitigate exposure to toxic elements in drinking water are warranted and should be prioritized.

Health financing in Malawi: Evidence from National Health Accounts

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background National health accounts provide useful information to understand the functioning of a health financing system. This article attempts to present a profile of the health system financing in Malawi using data from NHA. It specifically attempts to document the health financing situation in the country and proposes recommendations relevant for developing a comprehensive health financing policy and strategic plan. Methods Data from three rounds of national health accounts covering the Financial Years 1998/1999 to 2005/2006 was used to describe the flow of funds and their uses in the health system. Analysis was performed in line with the various NHA entities and health system financing functions. Results The total health expenditure per capita increased from US$ 12 in 1998/1999 to US$25 in 2005/2006. In 2005/2006 public, external and private contributions to the total health expenditure were 21.6%, 60.7% and 18.2% respectively. The country had not met the Abuja of allocating at least 15% of national budget on health. The percentage of total health expenditure from households' direct out-of-pocket payments decreased from 26% in 1998/99 to 12.1% in 2005/2006. Conclusion There is a need to increase government contribution to the total health expenditure to at least the levels of the Abuja Declaration of 15% of the national budget. In addition, the country urgently needs to develop and implement a prepaid health financing system within a comprehensive health financing policy and strategy with a view to assuring universal access to essential health services for all citizens. PMID:21062503

Arts, health & wellbeing: reflections on a national seminar series and building a UK research network

PubMed Central

Stickley, Theo; Parr, Hester; Atkinson, Sarah; Daykin, Norma; Clift, Stephen; De Nora, Tia; Hacking, Sue; Camic, Paul M; Joss, Tim; White, Mike; Hogan, Susan J

2017-01-01

Abstract An account is provided of a UK national seminar series on Arts, Health and Wellbeing funded by the Economic and Social Research Council during 2012–13. Four seminars were organised addressing current issues and challenges facing the field. Details of the programme and its outputs are available online. A central concern of the seminar programme was to provide a foundation for creating a UK national network for researchers in the field to help promote evidence-based policy and practice. With funding from Lankelly Chase Foundation, and the support of the Royal Society for Public Health, a Special interest Group for Arts, Health and Wellbeing was launched in 2015. PMID:28163778

A National Perspective of Competencies for Teachers of Individuals with Physical and Health Disabilities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heller, Kathryn Wolff; Fredrick, Laura D.; Dykes, Mary Kay; Best, Sherwood; Cohen, Elisabeth Tucker

1999-01-01

A national study involving 59 teachers instructing students with physical and health disabilities, 26 universities, 36 local school system directors, and 29 state departments of education, found over 40% of the teachers did not feel well trained in half of the competencies. Concerns regarding the effects of generic teacher certification are…

Self-reported Effects of Water on Health in First Nations Communities in Saskatchewan, Canada: Results From Community-Based Participatory Research

PubMed Central

Waldner, Cheryl L; Alimezelli, Hubert Tote; McLeod, Lianne; Zagozewski, Rebecca; Bradford, Lori EA; Bharadwaj, Lalita A

2017-01-01

Water-related health challenges on First Nations reserves in Canada have been previously documented. Our objective was to describe factors associated with self-reported health effects from tap water in 8 First Nations reserve communities in Saskatchewan, Canada. Community-based participatory approaches were used in designing and implementing cross-sectional household surveys. Individual, household, community, and contextual effects were considered in multilevel analysis. Negative health effects from tap water were reported by 28% of households (n = 579). Concerns about environmental factors affecting water quality (odds ratio [OR] = 3.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.8-6.7), rarely or never drinking tap water (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.3-6.6), insufficient tap water (OR = 3.0, 95% CI = 1.4-6.3), paying for bottled water (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.2-8.7), and dissatisfaction with tap water were associated with self-reported health effects (n = 393); however, the effect of dissatisfaction was modified by respondent age (P = .03). Quality and availability were associated with perceptions of health effects from drinking water, providing additional information on how ongoing concerns about drinking water influence self-reported health in some First Nations. PMID:28469443

Self-reported Effects of Water on Health in First Nations Communities in Saskatchewan, Canada: Results From Community-Based Participatory Research.

PubMed

Waldner, Cheryl L; Alimezelli, Hubert Tote; McLeod, Lianne; Zagozewski, Rebecca; Bradford, Lori Ea; Bharadwaj, Lalita A

2017-01-01

Water-related health challenges on First Nations reserves in Canada have been previously documented. Our objective was to describe factors associated with self-reported health effects from tap water in 8 First Nations reserve communities in Saskatchewan, Canada. Community-based participatory approaches were used in designing and implementing cross-sectional household surveys. Individual, household, community, and contextual effects were considered in multilevel analysis. Negative health effects from tap water were reported by 28% of households (n = 579). Concerns about environmental factors affecting water quality (odds ratio [OR] = 3.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.8-6.7), rarely or never drinking tap water (OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.3-6.6), insufficient tap water (OR = 3.0, 95% CI = 1.4-6.3), paying for bottled water (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.2-8.7), and dissatisfaction with tap water were associated with self-reported health effects (n = 393); however, the effect of dissatisfaction was modified by respondent age ( P = .03). Quality and availability were associated with perceptions of health effects from drinking water, providing additional information on how ongoing concerns about drinking water influence self-reported health in some First Nations.

78 FR 24760 - National Institutes of Health

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-26

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Prospective Grant of Start... Prevention in Humans AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, HHS. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: This is notice, in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(c)(1) and 37 CFR 404.7(a)(1)(i), that the National Institutes of Health...

Researching Prescription Drug Misuse among First Nations in Canada: Starting from a Health Promotion Framework

PubMed Central

Dell, Colleen Anne; Roberts, Gary; Kilty, Jennifer; Taylor, Kelli; Daschuk, Mitch; Hopkins, Carol; Dell, Debra

2012-01-01

The intentional misuse of psychotropic drugs is recognized as a significant public health concern in Canada, although there is a lack of empirical research detailing this. Even less research has been documented on the misuse of prescription drugs among First Nations in Canada. In the past, Western biomedical and individual-based approaches to researching Indigenous health have been applied, whereas First Nations’ understandings of health are founded on a holistic view of wellbeing. Recognition of this disjuncture, alongside the protective influence of First Nations traditional culture, is foundational to establishing an empirical understanding of and comprehensive response to prescription drug misuse. We propose health promotion as a framework from which to begin to explore this. Our work with a health promotion framework has conveyed its potential to support the consideration of Western and Indigenous worldviews together in an ‘ethical space’, with illustrations provided. Health promotion also allots for the consideration of Canada’s colonial history of knowledge production in public health and supports First Nations’ self-determination. Based on this, we recommend three immediate ways in which a health promotion framework can advance research on prescription drug misuse among First Nations in Canada. PMID:22879752

Psychometric Properties of the Adolescent Health Concern Inventory: The Persian Version

PubMed Central

Baheiraei, Azam; Ahmadi, Fazlollah; Foroushani, Abbas Rahimi; Ghofranipour, Fazlollah; Weiler, Robert M

2013-01-01

Objective It is important to consider the health concerns of adolescents before developing and implementing public health promotion or health education curriculum programs aimed at ameliorating priority health problems experienced by adolescents. The aim of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the original Adolescent Health Concern Inventory (AHCI) for use with an Iranian population. Methods This was a methodological study in which 50 adolescents with age range of 14-18 years were selected using convenience sampling. The translation and cultural adaptation process of The AHCI followed recognized and established guidelines. The face and content validity was established by analyzing feedback solicited from teenagers and professionals with expertise in health, sociology and psychology. Reliability was examined using test-retest and Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency reliability. Kappa and McNemar tests were used to examine test-retest reliability for each item. Results Minor cultural differences were identified and resolved during the translation process and determining the validity of the checklist. Results from Kappa and McNemar tests indicate a high degree of test-retest reliability. Internal consistency reliability as measured by Cronbach's alpha for the subscales were between 0.68 and 0.87 with total instrument reliability of 0.96 indicating considerable overall reliability. Conclusion The Persian version of the AHCI appears valid and reliable. Hence, it can be used for filling a gap in identifying the adolescents’ health concerns in the research and community settings and school health education programs in Iran to design appropriate interventions. PMID:23682249

What Factors Impact Consumer Perception of the Effectiveness of Health Information Sites? An Investigation of the Korean National Health Information Portal

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Lay public's concerns around health and health information are increasing. In response, governments and government agencies are establishing websites to address such concerns and improve health literacy by providing better access to validated health information. Since 2011, the Korean government has constructed the National Health Information Portal (NHIP) website run in collaboration with the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences (KAMS). This study therefore aimed to 1) examine consumer use of NHIP, with respect to the usage patterns, evaluation on health information provided, and perceived effectiveness of the site; and 2) identify factors that may impact perceived effectiveness of the site. An online survey was conducted with 164 NHIP users, recruited through a popup window on the main screen of the portal website from October to November 2015. The significant predicting factors supported by the data include the relevance of health information on the site, the usefulness of information in making health decisions, and the effective visualization of information. These factors can inform future efforts to design more effective health information websites, possibly based on metadata systems, to further advance the lay public's information seeking and health literacy. PMID:28581262

What Factors Impact Consumer Perception of the Effectiveness of Health Information Sites? An Investigation of the Korean National Health Information Portal.

PubMed

Choung, Ji Tae; Lee, Yoon Seong; Jo, Heui Sug; Shim, Minsun; Lee, Hun Jae; Jung, Su Mi

2017-07-01

Lay public's concerns around health and health information are increasing. In response, governments and government agencies are establishing websites to address such concerns and improve health literacy by providing better access to validated health information. Since 2011, the Korean government has constructed the National Health Information Portal (NHIP) website run in collaboration with the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences (KAMS). This study therefore aimed to 1) examine consumer use of NHIP, with respect to the usage patterns, evaluation on health information provided, and perceived effectiveness of the site; and 2) identify factors that may impact perceived effectiveness of the site. An online survey was conducted with 164 NHIP users, recruited through a popup window on the main screen of the portal website from October to November 2015. The significant predicting factors supported by the data include the relevance of health information on the site, the usefulness of information in making health decisions, and the effective visualization of information. These factors can inform future efforts to design more effective health information websites, possibly based on metadata systems, to further advance the lay public's information seeking and health literacy. © 2017 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

Trafficking in persons: a health concern?

PubMed

Zimmerman, Cathy; Kiss, Ligia; Houssain, Mazeda; Watts, Charlotte

2009-01-01

Human trafficking is a phenomenon that has now been documented in most regions in the world. Although trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is the most commonly recognised form of trafficking, it is widely acknowledged that human trafficking also involves men, women and children who are trafficked for various forms of labour exploitation and into other abusive circumstances. Despite the violence and harm inherent in most trafficking situations, there remains extremely little evidence on the individual and public health implications of any form of human trafficking. The Brazilian government has recently launched a national plan to combat human trafficking. However, because the health risks associated with human trafficking have not been well-recognised or documented, there is extremely limited reliable data on the health needs of trafficked persons to inform policy and practices.. Brazilian policy-makers and service providers should be encouraged to learn about the likely range of health impacts of trafficking, and incorporate this into anti-trafficking protection and response strategies. As well as prevention activities, the government, international and local organisations should work together with the public health research community to study the health needs of trafficked persons and explore opportunities to provide safe and appropriate services to victims in need of care.

78 FR 42967 - National Institutes of Health

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-18

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee... Resources Research, National Institutes of Health, HHS) Dated: July 12, 2013. Michelle Trout, Program...

Development of Translation Materials to Assess International Students' Mental Health Concerns

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chalungsooth, Pornthip; Schneller, Gregory R.

2011-01-01

International college students in the United States often face adjustment difficulties; therefore, cultural sensitivity is necessary to help them express their concerns. This article describes the development of translations of international students' common mental health concerns into 7 languages. Suggestions for the use of translated materials…

3 CFR - Certification Concerning U.S. Participation in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 3 The President 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Certification Concerning U.S. Participation in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan Consistent With Section 2005 of the American Servicemembers' Protection Act Presidential Documents Other Presidential Documents Memorandum of January 10, 2012 Certification Concerning U.S. Participation in the...

75 FR 71134 - National Institutes of Health

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-11-22

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U....398, Cancer Research Manpower; 93.399, Cancer Control, National Institutes of Health, HHS) Dated...

National attitudes concerning gun carrying in the United States

PubMed Central

Hemenway, D; Azrael, D; Miller, M

2001-01-01

Objectives—To determine public attitudes in the United States concerning gun carrying. Setting—In the past 15 years, many state legislatures have passed laws making it easier for United States citizens to carry concealed firearms, not only on the street but into various locations, including churches and government buildings. Methods—National random digit dial telephone surveys conducted in 1996 and 1999 asked questions concerning the public's feelings of safety as more people in their community carry firearms, and whether, in the language of the question, respondents believe "regular" citizens should be allowed to carry guns into public or government buildings. Results—Americans feel less safe rather than more safe as more people in their community begin to carry guns. By margins of at least nine to one, Americans do not believe that "regular" citizens should be allowed to bring their guns into restaurants, college campuses, sports stadiums, bars, hospitals, or government buildings. Conclusions—The public believes that increased gun carrying by others reduces rather than increases their safety. Overwhelmingly, the public believes that in many venues gun carrying should be prohibited. PMID:11770652

National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The NHIS collects data on a broad range of health topics through personal household interviews. The results of NHIS provide data to track health status, health care access, and progress toward achieving national health objectives.

Body weight concerns: Cross-national study and identification of factors related to eating disorders

PubMed Central

da Silva, Wanderson Roberto; Santana, Moema de Souza; Maroco, João; Maloa, Benvindo Felismino Samuel

2017-01-01

Background Body weight concerns are common among individuals with eating disorders, and this construct can be assessed using psychometric instruments. The Weight Concerns Scale (WCS) is commonly used to assess body weight concerns. Aims To evaluate the psychometric properties of the WCS with Brazilian, Portuguese, and Mozambican female college students; to estimate body weight concerns; and to identify factors related to eating disorders. Methods Confirmatory factor analysis was performed. Factorial, convergent, concurrent, and divergent validity, as well as reliability, were assessed. Cross-national invariance was tested by means of multigroup analysis. Structural models were tested using the WCS as the dependent variable, while demographic and academic variables and body mass index were used as independent variables. Logistic models were tested to estimate the likelihood of eating disorders being developed in specific groups. Results Participants were 2,068 female students. The psychometric properties of the WCS were adequate for the Portuguese sample; however, for the Brazilian and Mozambican samples, it was necessary to correlate the errors of two items to improve model fit. The WCS did not show cross-national invariance. The variables “thoughts about dropping out of college,” “medication use because of studies,” “medication and supplements use for body change,” “body mass index,” “socioeconomic status,” “age,” and “performance in course” were significant predictors of body weight concerns. Overall, 24.4% (95% confidence interval = 22.9–26.7) of the students were likely to develop eating disorders. Students under 21 years old, who use medication and supplements for body change, and who were classified as overweight/obese have increased likelihood of developing eating disorders. Conclusion The WCS showed good psychometric properties with Brazilian, Portuguese, and Mozambican students; however, it did not show cross-national

Access to Essential Medicines in Pakistan: Policy and Health Systems Research Concerns

PubMed Central

Zaidi, Shehla; Bigdeli, Maryam; Aleem, Noureen; Rashidian, Arash

2013-01-01

Introduction Inadequate access to essential medicines is a common issue within developing countries. Policy response is constrained, amongst other factors, by a dearth of in-depth country level evidence. We share here i) gaps related to access to essential medicine in Pakistan; and ii) prioritization of emerging policy and research concerns. Methods An exploratory research was carried out using a health systems perspective and applying the WHO Framework for Equitable Access to Essential Medicine. Methods involved key informant interviews with policy makers, providers, industry, NGOs, experts and development partners, review of published and grey literature, and consultative prioritization in stakeholder’s Roundtable. Findings A synthesis of evidence found major gaps in essential medicine access in Pakistan driven by weaknesses in the health care system as well as weak pharmaceutical regulation. 7 major policy concerns and 11 emerging research concerns were identified through consultative Roundtable. These related to weaknesses in medicine registration and quality assurance systems, unclear and counterproductive pricing policies, irrational prescribing and sub-optimal drug availability. Available research, both locally and globally, fails to target most of the identified policy concerns, tending to concentrate on irrational prescriptions. It overlooks trans-disciplinary areas of policy effectiveness surveillance, consumer behavior, operational pilots and pricing interventions review. Conclusion Experience from Pakistan shows that policy concerns related to essential medicine access need integrated responses across various components of the health systems, are poorly addressed by existing evidence, and require an expanded health systems research agenda. PMID:23717442

Describing Local Boards of Health: Insights from the 2008 National Association of Local Boards of Health Survey

PubMed Central

Patton, Dana; Moon, Charles E.; Jones, Jeff

2011-01-01

Objectives We examined findings from the 2008 National Association of Local Boards of Health Survey to provide information about this understudied entity to the public health community. Methods The survey instrument consisted of 196 items covering five parts: (1) demographics; (2) composition and organizational structure; (3) roles, responsibilities, and authorities; (4) telecommunications infrastructure; and (5) concerns and needs. The survey was sent to chairs of local boards of health (LBHs) in 2008 (n=3,276). After six months of follow-ups and reminders, and a month of data cleaning and screening, the final sample consisted of 870 respondents, for a return rate of 27%. Results LBHs tend to represent smaller communities and are primarily appointed. Governing and policy-making boards are more prevalent than advisory boards. Most boards do not have official websites or e-mail addresses of board members available to the public; however, most report the capability to receive training via webcasts. Boards express concerns and needs in a variety of areas, particularly public health law, strategic planning, and accreditation. Conclusion Little is known about the more than 3,000 LBHs across the United States that are often charged with making and enforcing public health law. This article is a first step toward providing the public health community with information about LBHs based on survey data. PMID:21553670

Senior military officers' educational concerns, motivators and barriers for healthful eating and regular exercise.

PubMed

Sigrist, Lori D; Anderson, Jennifer E; Auld, Garry W

2005-10-01

The increasing trend of overweight in the military, the high cost of health care associated with overweight, and the failure to meet some Healthy People 2000 objectives related to diet identify the need for more appropriate nutrition and fitness education for military personnel. The purpose of this study was to assess senior military officers' concerns on various health topics, educational preferences for nutrition and health topics, eating habits, and barriers and motivators for eating healthfully and exercising regularly. The survey was completed by 52 resident students at the U.S. Army War College. Fitness, weight, and blood cholesterol were top health concerns, and respondents wanted to know more about eating healthfully on the run. The primary barrier to eating healthfully and exercising regularly was lack of time, whereas health and appearance were top motivators. Health interventions for this population should include their topics of concern and should address perceived barriers and motivators.

Adolescent Health Risk Behaviors: Parental Concern and Concordance Between Parent and Adolescent Reports.

PubMed

Gersh, Elon; Richardson, Laura P; Katzman, Katherine; Spielvogle, Heather; Arghira, Adriana Cristina; Zhou, Chuan; McCarty, Carolyn A

We investigated which adolescent health risk behaviors are of concern to parents generally, according to adolescent age, gender, and in the context of perceived risk. We compared adolescent and parent reports of the presence of health-risk behaviors and factors predicting agreement. Three hundred adolescents aged 13 to 18 years (mean, 14.5 years; 52% female) who presenting for well care completed an electronic screening tool used to assess health-risk behaviors. Parents completed parallel measures of their child's behavior and parental concern. Adolescent and parent reports were compared using McNemar test. Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine predictors of agreement. High parental concern was most commonly reported for screen time and diet. When parents identified their adolescent as at-risk, high parental concern was near universal for mental health but less commonly reported for substance use. There were no differences in parental concern according to adolescent gender. Parents of older adolescents expressed more concern regarding physical activity and alcohol. Compared with adolescents, parents were more likely to report risk regarding anxiety, fruit and vegetable consumption, and physical activity, and less likely to report risk regarding screen time, sleep, and marijuana use. Younger adolescent age and higher family relationship quality were predictive of stronger parent-adolescent agreement. Parents in well-care visits commonly have concerns about adolescent lifestyle behaviors. Although parents are more likely to report concern when they know about a behavior, parental concern is not always aligned with parental awareness of risk, particularly for substance use. Parent report of higher prevalence of some risk behaviors suggests their input might assist in risk identification. Copyright © 2017 Academic Pediatric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Concerns and Responses for Integrating Health Systems Science Into Medical Education.

PubMed

Gonzalo, Jed D; Caverzagie, Kelly J; Hawkins, Richard E; Lawson, Luan; Wolpaw, Daniel R; Chang, Anna

2018-06-01

With the aim of improving the health of individuals and populations, medical schools are transforming curricula to ensure physician competence encompasses health systems science (HSS), which includes population health, health policy, high-value care, interprofessional teamwork, leadership, quality improvement, and patient safety. Large-scale, meaningful integration remains limited, however, and a major challenge in HSS curricular transformation efforts relates to the receptivity and engagement of students, educators, clinicians, scientists, and health system leaders. The authors identify several widely perceived challenges to integrating HSS into medical school curricula, respond to each concern, and provide potential strategies to address these concerns, based on their experiences designing and integrating HSS curricula. They identify two broad categories of concerns: the (1) relevance and importance of learning HSS-including the perception that there is inadequate urgency for change; HSS education is too complex and should occur in later years; early students would not be able to contribute, and the roles already exist; and the science is too nascent-and (2) logistics and practicality of teaching HSS-including limited curricular time, scarcity of faculty educators with expertise, lack of support from accreditation agencies and licensing boards, and unpreparedness of evolving health care systems to partner with schools with HSS curricula. The authors recommend the initiation and continuation of discussions between educators, clinicians, basic science faculty, health system leaders, and accrediting and regulatory bodies about the goals and priorities of medical education, as well as about the need to collaborate on new methods of education to reach these goals.

April Spotlight: National Minority Health Month

Cancer.gov

Each April, we recognize National Minority Health Month and National Minority Cancer Awareness Week. Dr. Peter Ogunbiyi shares how CRCHD’s work is related to the 2017 theme: Bridging Health Equity Across Communities.

Parental Concerns about the Health of Adolescents with Intellectual Disability: A Brief Report

PubMed Central

Tucker, Madonna; Taylor Gomez, Miriam; Rey-Conde, Therese; Lennox, Nicholas

2011-01-01

Background. Parents of adolescents with intellectual disability are concerned about the future health and well-being needs of their children. Method. Qualitative data was collected as part of a cross-sectional descriptive study and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 32 parents. The results were themed. Results. Most parents discussed areas of their children's health which made them anxious about the future. These concerns were collated into five themes. Conclusion. The health and well-being themes were dependency, general health, challenging behaviours, and increasing support needs. PMID:22295180

The influence of medical cost controls implemented by Taiwan's national health insurance program on doctor-patient relationships.

PubMed

Chiu, Jhih-Ling

2015-01-01

To prevent medical costs from rising, the National Health Insurance administration implemented the global budget system for financial reform, effective 1 July 2004. Since the implementation of this system, patients have been required to pay for some medicines to limit costs to the system. More recently, as they have faced constant increases in health insurance fees and also faced an increase in the number of medical expenses they must pay during an economic recession and a rise in unemployment, would the economic burden on the people of Taiwan not be increased? Even though National Health Insurance is a form of social insurance, does it guarantee social equality? The value of the healthcare industry is irreplaceable, so the most critical concern is whether worsening doctor-patient relationships will worsen healthcare quality. In short, while the global budget system saves on National Health Insurance costs, whether its implementation has affected healthcare quality is also worth exploring. This commentary also hopes to serve as a reference for the implementation of national health insurance in the United States. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Social inequalities in health: a proper concern of epidemiology.

PubMed

Marmot, Michael; Bell, Ruth

2016-04-01

Social inequalities are a proper concern of epidemiology. Epidemiological thinking and modes of analysis are central, but epidemiological research is one among many areas of study that provide the evidence for understanding the causes of social inequalities in health and what can be done to reduce them. Understanding the causes of health inequalities requires insights from social, behavioral and biological sciences, and a chain of reasoning that examines how the accumulation of positive and negative influences over the life course leads to health inequalities in adult life. Evidence that the social gradient in health can be reduced should make us optimistic that reducing health inequalities is a realistic goal for all societies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Environmental health concerns of the Persian Gulf War.

PubMed Central

Young, R. C.; Rachal, R. E.; Huguley, J. W.

1992-01-01

Environmental health concerns in the Persian Gulf are peculiar to the geography of the region. Prevention of heat and solar injury deserves primary consideration, but cold injury also may occur in the desert. Immunizations are recommended against a number of diseases, while malarial chemoprophylaxis is necessary in Iraq and Kuwait. In addition to malaria, other parasitic diseases deserve consideration. Diarrheal diseases, diseases from the desert dust, and products of infected desert animals are of concern. Additional natural hazards are venomous bites from scorpions and desert snakes. Finally, threats of enemy action necessitated protection from nuclear biological and chemical weapons and LASER eye/skin injury. Unexploded ordinance will constitute a continuing hazard into the future. Images Figure 2 PMID:1495114

75 FR 25259 - National Health Care Workforce Commission

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-07

... GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE National Health Care Workforce Commission AGENCY: Government... members to the National Health Care Workforce Commission, with appointments to be made not later [email protected] . Mail: GAO Health Care, Attention: National Health Care Workforce Commission Nominations, 441...

78 FR 35837 - National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Endowments

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-14

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health 42 CFR Part 52i [Docket Number NIH-2007-0931] RIN 0925-AA61 National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Endowments AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services. ACTION: Notice of...

Putting the Focus Back on the Patient: How Privacy Concerns Affect Personal Health Information Sharing Intentions

PubMed Central

Sanders, G Lawrence

2017-01-01

Background Health care providers are driven by greater participation and systemic cost savings irrespective of benefits to individual patients derived from sharing Personal Health Information (PHI). Protecting PHI is a critical issue in the sharing of health care information systems; yet, there is very little literature examining the topic of sharing PHI electronically. A good overview of the regulatory, privacy, and societal barriers to sharing PHI can be found in the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act. Objective This study investigated the factors that influence individuals’ intentions to share their PHI electronically with health care providers, creating an understanding of how we can represent a patient’s interests more accurately in sharing settings, instead of treating patients like predetermined subjects. Unlike privacy concern and trust, patient activation is a stable trait that is not subject to change in the short term and, thus, is a useful factor in predicting sharing behavior. We apply the extended privacy model in the health information sharing context and adapt this model to include patient activation and issue involvement to predict individuals’ intentions. Methods This was a survey-based study with 1600+ participants using the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) data to validate a model through various statistical techniques. The research method included an assessment of both the measurement and structural models with post hoc analysis. Results We find that privacy concern has the most influence on individuals’ intentions to share. Patient activation, issue involvement, and patient-physician relationship are significant predictors of sharing intention. We contribute to theory by introducing patient activation and issue involvement as proxies for personal interest factors in the health care context. Conclusions Overall, this study found that although patients are open to sharing their PHI

Putting the Focus Back on the Patient: How Privacy Concerns Affect Personal Health Information Sharing Intentions.

PubMed

Abdelhamid, Mohamed; Gaia, Joana; Sanders, G Lawrence

2017-09-13

Health care providers are driven by greater participation and systemic cost savings irrespective of benefits to individual patients derived from sharing Personal Health Information (PHI). Protecting PHI is a critical issue in the sharing of health care information systems; yet, there is very little literature examining the topic of sharing PHI electronically. A good overview of the regulatory, privacy, and societal barriers to sharing PHI can be found in the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act. This study investigated the factors that influence individuals' intentions to share their PHI electronically with health care providers, creating an understanding of how we can represent a patient's interests more accurately in sharing settings, instead of treating patients like predetermined subjects. Unlike privacy concern and trust, patient activation is a stable trait that is not subject to change in the short term and, thus, is a useful factor in predicting sharing behavior. We apply the extended privacy model in the health information sharing context and adapt this model to include patient activation and issue involvement to predict individuals' intentions. This was a survey-based study with 1600+ participants using the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) data to validate a model through various statistical techniques. The research method included an assessment of both the measurement and structural models with post hoc analysis. We find that privacy concern has the most influence on individuals' intentions to share. Patient activation, issue involvement, and patient-physician relationship are significant predictors of sharing intention. We contribute to theory by introducing patient activation and issue involvement as proxies for personal interest factors in the health care context. Overall, this study found that although patients are open to sharing their PHI, they still have concerns over the privacy of their PHI

78 FR 64228 - National Institutes of Health

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-28

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory... Health Sciences Special Emphasis Panel Assessment of Toxic and Carcinogenic Effects from Exposure to...

[Medical rehabilitation group-programmes concerning health promotion, patient education and psychoeducation - a 2010 national survey].

PubMed

Reusch, A; Schug, M; Küffner, R; Vogel, H; Faller, H

2013-08-01

High quality demands are being placed on concepts of educational group programmes in medical rehabilitation as well as the related trainer qualifications. A nationwide survey of German medical rehabilitation clinics in 2005 had revealed a need for improving educational practice according to these quality criteria. An updated investigation was performed in 2010 aiming at describing group programmes used in medical rehabilitation. 1 473 inpatient and outpatient medical rehabilitation clinics were invited to participate. 908 clinics reported on their training programmes. Data from clinics caring for patients with somatic disorders could be compared to the 2005 survey. Data from clinics for both psychosomatic and substance abuse disorders was collected for the first time in 2010. Overall, psychologists and physicians were reported to be the most frequent conductors of educative programmes. In somatic clinics, psychologists, dieticians and occupational therapists or physiotherapists were the most common conductors. Two-thirds of the institutions reported no training prerequisites for staff members to perform patient education. 80% of the education programmes were categorized post hoc into 3 classes: "generic health education", "disorder-specific patient education", and "psychoeducational group programmes". Almost two-thirds of all programmes were carried out with 8-15 participants, and many used several interactive didactic methods. Programmes conducted in small groups (<8 participants) used significantly more interactive methods than those conducted in larger groups did (>15 participants). Only half of the programmes were manualized. Significantly more interactive methods were used in completely manualized programmes. Only about half of the programmes were evaluated, and only very few evaluation studies were published. The institutions wished additional support by workshops especially concerning qualification of their staff and concerning educational concepts. A need

NATIONAL HEALTH PROVIDER INVENTORY

EPA Science Inventory

The National Health Provider Inventory provides data on services, location, staff, capacity, and other characteristics of selected health care providers in the United States. Information is collected via mail questionnaire with telephone follow up to all providers (100% census) o...

An analysis of electronic health record-related patient safety concerns

PubMed Central

Meeks, Derek W; Smith, Michael W; Taylor, Lesley; Sittig, Dean F; Scott, Jean M; Singh, Hardeep

2014-01-01

Objective A recent Institute of Medicine report called for attention to safety issues related to electronic health records (EHRs). We analyzed EHR-related safety concerns reported within a large, integrated healthcare system. Methods The Informatics Patient Safety Office of the Veterans Health Administration (VA) maintains a non-punitive, voluntary reporting system to collect and investigate EHR-related safety concerns (ie, adverse events, potential events, and near misses). We analyzed completed investigations using an eight-dimension sociotechnical conceptual model that accounted for both technical and non-technical dimensions of safety. Using the framework analysis approach to qualitative data, we identified emergent and recurring safety concerns common to multiple reports. Results We extracted 100 consecutive, unique, closed investigations between August 2009 and May 2013 from 344 reported incidents. Seventy-four involved unsafe technology and 25 involved unsafe use of technology. A majority (70%) involved two or more model dimensions. Most often, non-technical dimensions such as workflow, policies, and personnel interacted in a complex fashion with technical dimensions such as software/hardware, content, and user interface to produce safety concerns. Most (94%) safety concerns related to either unmet data-display needs in the EHR (ie, displayed information available to the end user failed to reduce uncertainty or led to increased potential for patient harm), software upgrades or modifications, data transmission between components of the EHR, or ‘hidden dependencies’ within the EHR. Discussion EHR-related safety concerns involving both unsafe technology and unsafe use of technology persist long after ‘go-live’ and despite the sophisticated EHR infrastructure represented in our data source. Currently, few healthcare institutions have reporting and analysis capabilities similar to the VA. Conclusions Because EHR-related safety concerns have complex

Ethical concerns and dilemmas of Finnish and Dutch health professionals.

PubMed

Hopia, Hanna; Lottes, Ilsa; Kanne, Mariël

2016-09-01

Healthcare professionals encounter ethical dilemmas and concerns in their practice. More research is needed to understand these ethical problems and to know how to educate professionals to respond to them. To describe ethical dilemmas and concerns at work from the perspectives of Finnish and Dutch healthcare professionals studying at the master's level. Exploratory, qualitative study that used the text of student online discussions of ethical dilemmas at work as data. Participants' online discussions were analyzed using inductive content analysis. The sample consisted of 49 students at master's level enrolled in professional ethics courses at universities in Finland and the Netherlands. Permission for conducting the study was granted from both universities of applied sciences. All students provided their informed consent for the use of their assignments as research data. Participants described 51 problematic work situations. Among these, 16 were found to be ethical dilemmas, and the remaining were work issues with an ethical concern and did not meet criteria of a dilemma. The most common problems resulted from concerns about quality care, safety of healthcare professionals, patients' rights, and working with too few staff and inadequate resources. The results indicated that participants were concerned about providing quality of care and raised numerous questions about how to provide it in challenging situations. The results show that it was difficult for students to differentiate ethical dilemmas from other ethical work concerns. Online discussions among healthcare providers give them an opportunity to relate ethical principles to real ethical dilemmas and problems in their work as well as to critically analyze ethical issues. We found that discussions with descriptions of ethical dilemmas and concerns by health professionals provide important information and recommendations not only for education and practice but also for health policy. © The Author(s) 2015.

Obesity epidemic in Brazil and Argentina: a public health concern.

PubMed

Arbex, Alberto K; Rocha, Denise R T W; Aizenberg, Marisa; Ciruzzi, Maria S

2014-06-01

The obesity epidemic is rapidly advancing in South America, leading to inevitable health consequences. Argentinian and Brazilian health policies try to become adapted to the new economic and social framework that follows from this epidemic. It is in incipient and ineffective control so far since the prevalence of obesity was not restrained. The Argentine national legislation is more advanced, through the so-called "Ley de Obesidad." In Brazil, there are numerous local initiatives but still not a comprehensive law. National policies relating to decisions regarding obesity are discussed in this paper. Trends in decisions issued in higher courts of Argentina (Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation--CSJN) and Brazil (Supreme Court of Justice--STF), in the last 15 years, seek to clarify the approach of each country and court's resolutions. Marked differences were found in their positions. Finally, legal and health solutions to this obesity epidemic are proposed.

Major concerns regarding lung injury and related health conditions caused by the use of humidifier disinfectant

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

A total of 221 patients were evaluated to be humidifier disinfectant associated with lung injury (HDLI) through two rounds of programs through April 2015. The humidifier disinfectant (HD) brands most often associated with HDLI were found to be Oxy (n=151, 68 %) and Cefu (n=26, 17 %). Polyhexamethylene guanidine used for disinfectant for four types of HD brands including Oxy was found to be associated with the highest number of HDLI cases (n=188). Further programs are operating to identify various health effects including lung injury which may be associated with the use of HD. Not only national agencies, but also pertinent environmental health societies should cooperate in the necessary investigations so that this tragedy can be properly addressed and future incidents concerning chemicals and chemical-containing products can be prevented. PMID:27431912

Experiences of chronic stress and mental health concerns among urban Indigenous women.

PubMed

Benoit, Anita C; Cotnam, Jasmine; Raboud, Janet; Greene, Saara; Beaver, Kerrigan; Zoccole, Art; O'Brien-Teengs, Doe; Balfour, Louise; Wu, Wei; Loutfy, Mona

2016-10-01

We measured stress, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) levels of urban Indigenous women living with and without HIV in Ontario, Canada, and identified correlates of depression. We recruited 30 Indigenous women living with HIV and 60 without HIV aged 18 years or older who completed socio-demographic and health questionnaires and validated scales assessing stress, depression and PTSD. Descriptive statistics were conducted to summarize variables and linear regression to identify correlates of depression. 85.6 % of Indigenous women self-identified as First Nation. Co-morbidities other than HIV were self-reported by 82.2 % (n = 74) of the sample. High levels of perceived stress were reported by 57.8 % (n = 52) of the sample and 84.2 % (n = 75) had moderate to high levels of urban stress. High median levels of race-related (51/88, IQR 42-68.5) and parental-related stress (40.5/90, IQR 35-49) scores were reported. 82.2 % (n = 74) reported severe depressive symptoms and 83.2 % (n = 74) severe PTSD. High levels of perceived stress was correlated with high depressive symptoms (estimate 1.28 (95 % CI 0.97-1.58), p < 0.001). Indigenous women living with and without HIV reported elevated levels of stress and physical and mental health concerns. Interventions cutting across diverse health care settings are required for improving and preventing adverse health outcomes.

76 FR 55930 - National Institutes of Health

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-09

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health Center For Scientific Review..., National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Room 6194, MSC 7804, Bethesda, MD 20892, 301-996-6208... of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, (Virtual Meeting). Contact Person: Joseph Thomas...

[Vulnerability and National Health Service].

PubMed

Lima, Cristina

2006-01-01

Safegarding health has been an objective of every learned civilization, ancient and modern. In modern times, at least in the western world, the increase in longevity associated with social isolation has created further vu1nerability for the older individua1. Today, healthcare is a social burden of extremely high cost. Among us this service is provided by the National Health Service in accordance to the Constituição da República Portuguesa (Constitution of the Portuguese Republic). Despite the constitutional guarantees of equa1ity in health there are obvious discrepancies in access to health care and the conditions that promote health such as education and wealth. In a poor country, even with limited resources, inequa1ity can be minimized via policies and practical measures founded in equa1ity and social responsibility, not only the principles of economic efficiency. Only in this way can we guarantee equa1 access to health and the distribution of available resources in accordance to health care necessities. Yet, the investment in high technology among us seems out of fase with the investment in the area concerning functional recovery from high morta1ity illness, such as stroke. In Portugal the problem is extremely bad. Life expectancy has been extended but qua1ity of life is still very low. Victims of the social order, the elderly live alone without family who can care for them; on the other hand, the lack of investment in recovery and social integration of individua1s with disabling scars, Turns the ends of their life's into a nightmare for themselves and their kin. It follows stating the necessity to analyse and define the criteria to be used when allocating resources in order to guarantee equality in health and relief from suffering and also to stop discrimination of vu1nerable populations in access to healthcare. Whatever the criteria, it must be pre-defined and its principles widely discussed, reiterating, only that longevity cannot be an acceptable criteria

Emotional, developmental, and behavioral health of American children and their families: a report from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health.

PubMed

Blanchard, Laura T; Gurka, Matthew J; Blackman, James A

2006-06-01

Recent children's health surveys have documented a high prevalence of emotional, developmental, and behavioral problems among children. Data from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health provide new insights into these problems and their association with family function and community participation. These issues have become a current focus of the World Health Organization. Answers to questions of interest from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health were reported using estimates and SEs of rates. Statistical comparisons of rates with chi2 tests at the 0.05 level were made when relevant. The most commonly diagnosed problems among children 6-17 years of age were learning disabilities (11.5%), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (8.8%), and behavioral problems (6.3%); among preschoolers, speech problems (5.8%) and developmental delay (3.2%) were most common. One in 200 children was diagnosed with autism. In contrast, rates of parental concerns about emotional, developmental, or behavioral problems were much higher; for example, 41% of parents had concerns about learning difficulties and 36% about depression or anxiety. Children with developmental problems had lower self-esteem, more depression and anxiety, more problems with learning, missed more school, and were less involved in sports and other community activities. Their families experienced more difficulty in the areas of childcare, employment, parent-child relationships, and caregiver burden. The most recent National Survey of Children's Health mirrored results of previous surveys regarding rates of diagnosed emotional, developmental, and behavioral problems, including an escalating diagnosis of autism among children. Reported rates of parental concerns about these problems were much higher, suggesting possible underdiagnosis of children's problems. Children with chronic problems had diminished family functioning, more school absences, and less participation in community activities compared with

National health inequality monitoring: current challenges and opportunities.

PubMed

Hosseinpoor, Ahmad Reza; Bergen, Nicole; Schlotheuber, Anne; Boerma, Ties

National health inequality monitoring needs considerably more investment to realize equity-oriented health improvements in countries, including advancement towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Following an overview of national health inequality monitoring and the associated resource requirements, we highlight challenges that countries may encounter when setting up, expanding or strengthening national health inequality monitoring systems, and discuss opportunities and key initiatives that aim to address these challenges. We provide specific proposals on what is needed to ensure that national health inequality monitoring systems are harnessed to guide the reduction of health inequalities.

The impact of educational interventions on the empathic concern of health professional students: A literature review.

PubMed

Everson, Naleya; Levett-Jones, Tracy; Pitt, Victoria

2018-05-24

This review aimed to identify programs that promote health professional students' empathic concern. Empathic concern is a key mediator of important outcomes for both patients and health professionals. However the empathic concern of health professional students tends to decline over the course of their studies. To date studies that have evaluated the impact of educational programs on empathic concern have not been reviewed. The databases ProQuest, CINAHL and Ovid were searched for studies that had evaluated educational programs for health professional students using a validated psychometric measure of empathic concern. Studies were graded using The Quality Assessment Tool for Quantitative Studies. Of 2977 identified studies, fifteen met inclusion criteria. Seven studies separately reported empathic concern scores. Four of the fifteen studies reported increased empathy scale scores after students took part in a program. Two studies received a strong quality rating, six a moderate rating and seven a weak rating. This review did not identify any studies that clearly demonstrated an increase in students' empathic concern after taking part in an educational program. Mindfulness based stress reduction, providing empathy content at each stage of a degree, programs that incorporate the film Wit, and Balint groups, may promote empathic concern. In light of the significant impact of health professionals' levels of empathic concern on outcomes for patients and health professionals, further robustly designed research using appropriate psychometric scales is needed to inform the development of education programs in this area. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mental Health Concerns of Students on the Autism Spectrum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Jane Thierfeld; Meeks, Lisa; Rigler, Michelle

2016-01-01

This chapter introduces the reader to the autism spectrum and discusses the characteristics, traits, common concerns, and potential supports for this population. The chapter also provides some recommendations for proactive and collaborative support efforts for students with both an autism spectrum disorder and mental health issues.

Parental help-seeking in primary care for child and adolescent mental health concerns: qualitative study.

PubMed

Sayal, Kapil; Tischler, Victoria; Coope, Caroline; Robotham, Sarah; Ashworth, Mark; Day, Crispin; Tylee, Andre; Simonoff, Emily

2010-12-01

Child and adolescent mental health problems are common in primary care. However, few parents of children with mental health problems express concerns about these problems during consultations. To explore the factors influencing parental help-seeking for children with emotional or behavioural difficulties. Focus group discussions with 34 parents from non-specialist community settings who had concerns about their child's mental health. All groups were followed by validation groups or semi-structured interviews. Most children had clinically significant mental health symptoms or associated impairment in function. Appointment systems were a key barrier, as many parents felt that short appointments did not allow sufficient time to address their child's difficulties. Continuity of care and trusting relationships with general practitioners (GPs) who validated their concerns were perceived to facilitate help-seeking. Parents valued GPs who showed an interest in their child and family situation. Barriers to seeking help included embarrassment, stigma of mental health problems, and concerns about being labelled or receiving a diagnosis. Some parents were concerned about being judged a poor parent and their child being removed from the family should they seek help. Primary healthcare is a key resource for children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties and their families. Primary care services should be able to provide ready access to health professionals with an interest in children and families and appointments of sufficient length so that parents feel able to discuss their mental health concerns.

Identifying and prioritizing gaming workers' health and safety concerns using mapping for data collection.

PubMed

Keith, M M; Cann, B; Brophy, J T; Hellyer, D; Day, M; Egan, S; Mayville, K; Watterson, A

2001-01-01

This research was prompted by the clinical presentation of workers from a variety of gaming occupations with injuries and illnesses and multiple health and safety concerns. Using participatory action research principles, 51 gaming workers in Ontario and 20 gaming workers in Manitoba were consulted during a series of focus group sessions. Mapping exercises were used to survey the participants about their health concerns, perceived occupational hazards and the impact of working conditions on their personal lives. Participants were then asked to prioritize their concerns and make recommendations for improvements. Gaming workers from both provinces identified similar health, hazard and psycho-social concerns. They prioritized the issues of stress, ergonomics, indoor air quality (including second-hand smoke and temperature), biological hazards, physical hazards and noise. This study points to a need to more fully investigate and address health and safety issues in the gaming industry. It also demonstrates the effectiveness of a worker-driven, participatory consultation. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

[Structure of Relationships Formed by Occupational Health Nurses for Co-operating with Managers to Support Workers with Mental Health Concerns].

PubMed

Hatanaka, Junko; Takasaki, Masako; Hatanaka, Michiyo

2018-05-31

Occupational health staff and managers play important roles in supporting workers with mental health concerns and mutual co-operation among them is a necessary element. However, when co-operating with other professionals, several problems arise that often make such co-operation a challenge. Effective mutual actions are needed to promote such co-operation, and relationships must be formed for this purpose. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to clarify how occupational health nurses form relationships for facilitating co-operation with managers to provide support to workers with mental health concerns. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 11 occupational health nurses who provide individualized mental health support and who have at least 5 years of experience as occupational health nurses. Analysis of the recorded interviews was performed using a qualitative statistical method (KJ method). Six elements that constitute the formation of relationships were identified. When occupational health nurses form relationships for facilitating co-operation with a manager to provide support to workers, they "form relationships through strategic communication" with them and when co-operation is required, they form a relationship by "acting in a manner that suits the manager," such as his/her character and the situation. To support this relationship, occupational health nurses "provide mental support to the manager" by listening to his/her anxiety or real intention about supporting the subordinate with mental health concerns and provide relief while understanding their burdens during the co-operation. Occupational health nurses even "provide support to the manager in their activities," which assessed the situation at the workplace as the specialist and advised the manager to understand how to concern to the subordinate specifically. In addition, they "indirectly support the manager" which included coordinating with the concerned persons so as to not excessively

April Spotlight: National Minority Health Month

Cancer.gov

Each April, we recognize National Minority Health Month (NMHM) because of its direct relevance to us at the National Cancer Institute’s Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (NCI CRCHD). This year’s NMHM theme, Partnering for Health Equity, brings attention to the need for individuals, institutions, and communities to work together to address social determinants of health, including those related to access to educational, economic, and job opportunities and the quality of education and job training.

Reducing inequalities in health: political and organisational implications for the British National Health Service.

PubMed

Hunter, D J

1983-12-01

Tackling health inequalities with any hope of success requires an understanding and appreciation of a number of issues concerning the nature and operation of services. Focussing on the British experience, the paper considers notions of need and demand insofar as these have a bearing on health inequalities. Need and demand are not finite, absolute states but are relative notions which are affected by users' attitudes and knowledge and by providers' preferences and interests. Drawing upon recent work, the paper argues that the existence of the National Health Service (NHS) has not fundamentally altered the nature of health inequalities in Britain. Those living in the North of the country generally enjoy poorer health than those living in the South. Inequalities between socio-economic groups are also much in evidence. The paper considers possible policy implications and comes out in favour of process change rather than major structural change of the kind witnessed in recent years in Britain where the NHS has undergone two major upheavals within a decade. This disruption has had the effect of diverting attention away from important policy issues at all levels of service planning and provision.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Exemptions for hookah bars in clean indoor air legislation: a public health concern.

PubMed

Noonan, Devon

2010-01-01

Popularity of waterpipe smoking or hookah smoking in the United States has been growing for some time now among youth and young adults. Currently, many cities and states have exemptions that allow hookah bars to remain in operation despite the passage of clean indoor air legislation. From a public health perspective this is concerning for many reasons. One public health concern with the increase in popularity of this type of tobacco use is the associated health effects. Another concern is that hookah smoke produces a sweet smelling aroma making it less obvious that patrons and employees of hookah bars are inhaling noxious fumes from mainstream smoke, as well as the toxins from the charcoal that is used to heat the tobacco. The purpose of this paper is to discuss smoke-free air legislation in relation to hookah use, the public health implications of exempting hookah bars from current smoke-free legislation, and implications for the public health nurse in protecting the public from the dangers of second-hand smoke, and limiting this new form of tobacco use.

The Content Analysis of the News in the National Papers Concerning the Renewed Primary Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tasdemir, Adem; Kus, Zafer

2011-01-01

The news in the national papers has an important role to inform the people about the content of new primary school curriculum. This study investigated the way of function with the comparison of the studies in the literature. The news concerning the renewed curriculum appearing in the national media in the period between 2004 and 2007 was obtained…

National health information infrastructure model: a milestone for health information management education realignment.

PubMed

Meidani, Zahra; Sadoughi, Farhnaz; Ahmadi, Maryam; Maleki, Mohammad Reza; Zohoor, Alireza; Saddik, Basema

2012-01-01

Challenges and drawbacks of the health information management (HIM) curriculum at the Master's degree were examined, including lack of well-established computing sciences and inadequacy to give rise to specific competencies. Information management was condensed to the hospital setting to intensify the indispensability of a well-organized educational campaign. The healthcare information dimensions of a national health information infrastructure (NHII) model present novel requirements for HIM education. Articles related to challenges and barriers to adoption of the personal health record (PHR), the core component of personal health dimension of an NHII, were searched through sources including Science Direct, ProQuest, and PubMed. Through a literature review, concerns about the PHR that are associated with HIM functions and responsibilities were extracted. In the community/public health dimension of the NHII the main components have been specified, and the targeted information was gathered through literature review, e-mail, and navigation of international and national organizations. Again, topics related to HIM were evoked. Using an information system (decision support system, artificial neural network, etc.) to support PHR media and content, patient education, patient-HIM communication skills, consumer health information, conducting a surveillance system in other areas of healthcare such as a risk factor surveillance system, occupational health, using an information system to analyze aggregated data including a geographic information system, data mining, online analytical processing, public health vocabulary and classification system, and emerging automated coding systems pose major knowledge gaps in HIM education. Combining all required skills and expertise to handle personal and public dimensions of healthcare information in a single curriculum is simply impractical. Role expansion and role extension for HIM professionals should be defined based on the essence of

An exploration of health concerns & health-promotion behaviors in pregnant women over age 35.

PubMed

Viau, Paula A; Padula, Cynthia A; Eddy, Barbara

2002-01-01

To explore the specific health concerns and health-promotion behaviors of childbearing women 35 years of age or older. Semistructured interviews with women ( = 50) ages > or =35 in their third trimester of pregnancy. Interviews lasted approximately 1 hour, were conducted by two nursing faculty, and were scheduled to accommodate participant needs. Process recording was used to document participant responses. Verbatim statements were recorded, and subjects were redirected to clarify responses when necessary. Content analysis and coding were completed by an independent researcher, based upon techniques derived from Miles and Huberman (1994). Data reduction was accomplished by the identification of categories of responses that described the participants' meaning. Study participants reported concerns reflecting both fetal well-being and maternal health-related issues. The majority of childbearing women (86%) reported engaging in multiple health-promotion behaviors focusing on daily nutritional intake, lifestyle activities, and rest patterns. Participants reported conscientious decisions to eliminate substances recognized as harmful, and to alter exercise, employment, or daily responsibilities to accommodate physical changes during pregnancy. Participants were "proactive healthcare seekers," accessing information from a variety of sources and seeking services to meet their individualized needs. The multitude and frequency of health-promotion behaviors adopted by those > or =35 years of age during pregnancy is indicative of this group's ability to independently initiate change, and exceeds the percentages previously reported. The nurse can be influential in supporting lifestyle modifications adopted during the childbearing period as permanent health-promotion behaviors.

An evaluation of Health of the Nation Outcome Scales data to inform psychiatric morbidity following the Canterbury earthquakes.

PubMed

Beaglehole, Ben; Frampton, Chris M; Boden, Joseph M; Mulder, Roger T; Bell, Caroline J

2017-11-01

Following the onset of the Canterbury, New Zealand earthquakes, there were widespread concerns that mental health services were under severe strain as a result of adverse consequences on mental health. We therefore examined Health of the Nation Outcome Scales data to see whether this could inform our understanding of the impact of the Canterbury earthquakes on patients attending local specialist mental health services. Health of the Nation Outcome Scales admission data were analysed for Canterbury mental health services prior to and following the Canterbury earthquakes. These findings were compared to Health of the Nation Outcome Scales admission data from seven other large District Health Boards to delineate local from national trends. Percentage changes in admission numbers were also calculated before and after the earthquakes for Canterbury and the seven other large district health boards. Admission Health of the Nation Outcome Scales scores in Canterbury increased after the earthquakes for adult inpatient and community services, old age inpatient and community services, and Child and Adolescent inpatient services compared to the seven other large district health boards. Admission Health of the Nation Outcome Scales scores for Child and Adolescent community services did not change significantly, while admission Health of the Nation Outcome Scales scores for Alcohol and Drug services in Canterbury fell compared to other large district health boards. Subscale analysis showed that the majority of Health of the Nation Outcome Scales subscales contributed to the overall increases found. Percentage changes in admission numbers for the Canterbury District Health Board and the seven other large district health boards before and after the earthquakes were largely comparable with the exception of admissions to inpatient services for the group aged 4-17 years which showed a large increase. The Canterbury earthquakes were followed by an increase in Health of the Nation

Wealth and the nation's health.

PubMed

Blackburn, C

1993-07-01

Social and economic prosperity to a great extent depend on a healthy population; similarly good health depends on adequate income, writes Clare Blackburn. The government strategy for health promotion outlined most recently in The health of the nation, fails to acknowledge this. Nevertheless health visitors and school nurses cannot ignore the links between health and wealth.

Women's health nursing in the context of the National Health Information Infrastructure.

PubMed

Jenkins, Melinda L; Hewitt, Caroline; Bakken, Suzanne

2006-01-01

Nurses must be prepared to participate in the evolving National Health Information Infrastructure and the changes that will consequently occur in health care practice and documentation. Informatics technologies will be used to develop electronic health records with integrated decision support features that will likely lead to enhanced health care quality and safety. This paper provides a summary of the National Health Information Infrastructure and highlights electronic health records and decision support systems within the context of evidence-based practice. Activities at the Columbia University School of Nursing designed to prepare nurses with the necessary informatics competencies to practice in a National Health Information Infrastructure-enabled health care system are described. Data are presented from electronic (personal digital assistant) encounter logs used in our Women's Health Nurse Practitioner program to support evidence-based advanced practice nursing care. Implications for nursing practice, education, and research in the evolving National Health Information Infrastructure are discussed.

National Health Insurance and Health Education: Strategies for Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dwore, Richard B.

1980-01-01

The concept of National Health Insurance (NHI) as one of several strategies for resolving health problems in the U.S. is discussed. NHI goals include comprehensive health care, quality health care, efficient delivery systems, phased-in benefits, and consumer representation. (JD)

Modernizing the British National Health Service (NHS) -- some ideological and policy considerations.

PubMed

Bradshaw, Peter L

2003-03-01

The British National Health Service (NHS) is undergoing a seemingly unprecedented reorganization. The present Government is attempting to modernize a system of care that has been relatively unchanged for over 50 years amid a great deal of its own publicity about its achievements. This paper begins by briefly examining the ideological basis of these reforms. It proceeds to interrogate the rationale for current health policy from the perspective of the Government. It then analyses the arguments of the detractors who oppose the form these changes are taking. The paper concludes that modernization of the NHS is mainly cosmetic but its significance concerns the stimulation of a broader and radical debate about the future funding and delivery of health care in Britain.

Public health training online: the National Center for Suicide Prevention Training.

PubMed

Stone, Deborah M; Barber, Catherine W; Potter, Lloyd

2005-12-01

Suicide is a serious public health problem, and training in suicide prevention has not kept pace with recent rapid growth of the field. To address this concern, the Harvard Injury Control Research Center and Education Development Center, Inc., launched the National Center for Suicide Prevention Training (NCSPT) with funding by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources Services Administration. NCSPT offers an online professional development workshop series for public officials, service providers, and community-based coalitions involved in suicide prevention. Using a public health framework of prevention, the three workshops implemented to date have drawn over 1200 participants nationally and internationally over the past 3 years. Workshop participants completing the post-test and evaluation show consistent improvement in their knowledge of suicide, rate their online training experience positively, and report that they would take additional online courses if offered. A barrier to objective evaluation of the courses, however, is the high attrition rates of the courses, an expected feature of free online courses. Online training is a valuable option to help meet suicide prevention training needs employing flexible, easy-to-use, and inexpensive Internet technology. With its growing presence in the field, NCSPT will continue to develop new courses to improve the ability of professionals and community-based coalitions to reduce suicide and its devastating impact on public health.

Colourism: a global adolescent health concern.

PubMed

Craddock, Nadia; Dlova, Ncoza; Diedrichs, Phillippa C

2018-05-08

Colourism, a form of prejudice and discrimination based solely upon skin colour, stands to jeopardize the physical health, wellbeing and life chances of adolescents of colour, globally. Research shows that adolescents can experience colourism at school and college, in the criminal justice system, at work and in the media they consume. It is therefore unsurprising that adolescents of colour often express a desire for lighter skin tones and/or are dissatisfied with their skin tone. Although research is scarce, some studies include older adolescents in their samples of skin-lightening product users. This is significant as the evidence is clear that the unmonitored use of skin-lightening products can be harmful to physical and psychological health, with evidence linking skin-lightening use to skin damage, kidney failure and depression. Although it is evident that colourism is central to the lives of adolescents of colour, more research is needed concerning the use of skin-lightening products among adolescents. Media literacy and critical race theory offer avenues in helping attenuate the harmful impact of colourism for adolescents of colour.

Harsh Working Conditions and Poor Eating Habits: Health-Related Concerns of Female Head Porters (Kayayei) in the Mallam Atta Market, Accra, Ghana.

PubMed

Nyarko, Samuel Harrenson; Tahiru, Abdul Majeed

2018-01-01

The kaya business is known to pose significant health-related risks to female migrants. This study sought to explore the health-related concerns of female head porters in the Mallam Atta market, Accra, Ghana. A qualitative study was conducted in which twenty female head porters at the Mallam Atta market in Accra were interviewed. A thematic analysis was performed and the emerging themes were presented and supported with quotations from the respondents. Poor accommodation and eating habits, harsh working conditions, and lack of knowledge about health conditions exposed the respondents to several health-related concerns like neck pains, skin rashes, malaria, cholera, and stomach ache among other infections. The popular means of seeking health care was through purchasing drugs from pharmacies or drug peddlers instead of health facilities. Financial constraints, lack of faith in the National Health Insurance Scheme, and long waiting periods at the health facilities militated against seeking appropriate health care at the hospitals and clinics. Political willpower needs to be strengthened for poverty reduction strategies such as training of hairdressing, dress and soap making, and shea butter processing for women from the Northern regions in order to ameliorate their livelihoods and/or reduce migration to the south.

CGH observes National Women’s Health Week

Cancer.gov

This week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is observing the 17th annual National Women’s Health Week. The goal of the National Women's Health Week is to empower women to make their health a priority. In celebration, the NCI Center for Global Health held a seminar on the Knowledge Summaries for Comprehensive Breast Cancer Control: Pathways for Advanced Cancer Planning.

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

MedlinePlus

... both baby and mom. More Minorities and Mental Health: Moving Beyond the Stigma Mental illness is one ... Review Board for Multi-Site Research Resources Public Health 2016 AHRQ National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report ...

75 FR 26871 - National Women's Health Week, 2010

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-12

... Part III The President Proclamation 8516--National Women's Health Week, 2010 Proclamation 8517... National Women's Health Week, 2010 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation In recent decades, our Nation has made extraordinary progress in promoting women's health issues. However...

76 FR 44597 - National Institutes of Health

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-26

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Notice of Closed Meeting Pursuant to section 10(d) of the Federal Advisory Committee... Health, HHS) Dated: July 20, 2011. Anna P. Snouffer, Deputy Director, Office of Federal Advisory...

Overweight, obesity, and health-related quality of life among adolescents: the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.

PubMed

Swallen, Karen C; Reither, Eric N; Haas, Steven A; Meier, Ann M

2005-02-01

Childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity have increased substantially in the past 2 decades, raising concerns about the physical and psychosocial consequences of childhood obesity. We investigated the association between obesity and health-related quality of life in a nationally representative sample of adolescents. A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using the 1996 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades 7 to 12 during the 1994-1995 school year, and 4743 adolescents with direct measures of height and weight. Using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts to determine percentiles, we used 5 body mass categories. Underweight was at or below the 5th percentile, normal BMI was between the 5th and 85th percentiles, at risk for overweight was between the 85th and 95th percentiles, overweight was between the 95th and 97th percentiles + 2 BMI units, and obese was at or above the 97th percentile + 2 BMI units. Four dimensions of health-related quality of life were measured: general health (self-reported general health), physical health (absence or presence of functional limitations and illness symptoms), emotional health (the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and Rosenberg's self-esteem scale), and a school and social functioning scale. We found a statistically significant relationship between BMI and general and physical health but not psychosocial outcomes. Adolescents who were overweight had significantly worse self-reported health (odds ratio [OR]: 2.17; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.34-3.51), as did obese adolescents (OR: 4.49; 95% CI: 2.87-7.03). Overweight (OR: 1.81; 95% CI: 1.22-2.68) and obese (OR: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.24-1.95) adolescents were also more likely to have a functional limitation. Only among the youngest adolescents (ages 12-14) did we find a significant deleterious impact of overweight and obesity on depression, self-esteem, and school

Perspectives of frontline health workers on Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme before and after community engagement interventions.

PubMed

Alhassan, Robert Kaba; Nketiah-Amponsah, Edward; Spieker, Nicole; Arhinful, Daniel Kojo; Rinke de Wit, Tobias F

2016-05-28

Barely a decade after introduction of Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), significant successes have been recorded in universal access to basic healthcare services. However, sustainability of the scheme is increasingly threatened by concerns on quality of health service delivery in NHIS-accredited health facilities coupled with stakeholders' discontentment with the operational and administrative challenges confronting the NHIS. The study sought to ascertain whether or not Systematic Community Engagement (SCE) interventions have a significant effect on frontline health workers' perspectives on the NHIS and its impact on quality health service delivery. The study is a randomized cluster trial involving clinical and non-clinical frontline health workers (n = 234) interviewed at baseline and follow-up in the Greater Accra and Western regions of Ghana. Individual respondents were chosen from within each intervention and control groupings. Difference-in-difference estimations and propensity score matching were performed to determine impact of SCE on staff perceptions of the NHIS. The main outcome measure of interest was staff perception of the NHIS based on eight (8) factor-analyzed quality service parameters. Staff interviewed in intervention facilities appeared to perceive the NHIS more positively in terms of its impact on "availability and quality of drugs (p < 0.05)" and "workload on health staff/infrastructure" than those interviewed in control facilities (p < 0.1). Delayed reimbursement of service providers remained a key concern to over 70 % of respondents in control and intervention health facilities. Community engagement in quality service assessment is a potential useful strategy towards empowering communities while promoting frontline health workers' interest, goodwill and active participation in Ghana's NHIS.

Environmental Health concerns in natural and man-made environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bergtholdt, C. P.

1975-01-01

Industrial hygene and environmental health aspects of ground operation at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory were investigated. Major areas of concern are: (1) toxic substances, (2) noise pollution, (3) electromagnetic radiation; and (4) biohazards and sanitation. Each of these categories are also studied in a closed environment, such as encountered aboard of a spacecraft.

Impact of school health management committees on health services delivery in Ghana: A national level assessment.

PubMed

Bowman, Angela S; Owusu, Andrew; Trueblood, Amber B; Bosumtwi-Sam, Cynthia

2018-05-07

To examine the prevalence, determinants, and impact of local school health management committees on implementation of minimum-recommended school health services delivery among basic and secondary schools in Ghana. National level cross-sectional data from the first-ever assessment of Ghana Global-School Health Policies and Practices Survey was utilized. Complex sample analyses were used to quantify school-level implementation of recommended minimum package for health services delivery. Of 307 schools, 98% were basic and government run, and 33% offered at least half of the recommended health service delivery areas measured. Schools with a school health management committee (53%) were 4.8 (95% CI = 3.23-5.18) times as likely to offer at least 50% of the minimum health services package than schools that did not. There is significant deficit concerning delivery of school health services in schools across Ghana. However, school health management committees positively impact implementation of health service delivery. School health management committees provide a significant impact on delivery of school health services; thus, it is recommended that policy makers and programmers place greater emphasis on the value and need for these advisory boards in all Ghanaian schools. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

“Stains” on their self-discipline: Public health, hygiene, and the disciplining of undocumented immigrant parents in the nation's internal borderlands

PubMed Central

Horton, Sarah; Barker, Judith C.

2009-01-01

Histories of the role of public health in nation building have revealed the centrality of hygiene to eugenic mechanisms of racial exclusion in the turn-of-the-20th-century United States, yet little scholarship has examined its role in the present day. Through ethnography in a Mexican migrant farmworking community in California's Central Valley, we explore the role of oral-hygiene campaigns in racializing Mexican immigrant parents and shaping the substance of their citizenship. Public health officials perceive migrant farmworkers' children's oral disease as a “stain of backwardness,” amplifying Mexican immigrants' status as “aliens.” We suggest, however, that the recent concern with Mexican immigrant children's oral health blends classic eugenic concerns in public health with neoliberal concerns regarding different immigrant groups' capacity for self-governance. PMID:20161433

Disability and Hospital Care Expenses among National Health Insurance Beneficiaries: Analyses of Population-Based Data in Taiwan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Lan-Ping; Lee, Jiunn-Tay; Lin, Fu-Gong; Lin, Pei-Ying; Tang, Chi-Chieh; Chu, Cordia M.; Wu, Chia-Ling; Lin, Jin-Ding

2011-01-01

Nationwide data were collected concerning inpatient care use and medical expenditure of people with disabilities (N = 937,944) among national health insurance beneficiaries in Taiwan. Data included gender, age, hospitalization frequency and expenditure, healthcare setting and service department, discharge diagnose disease according to the ICD-9-CM…

Social Relationships and Health: The Meaning of Social "Connectedess" and How It Relates to Health Concerns for Rural Scottish Adolescents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hendry, Leo B.; Reid, Marylou

2000-01-01

Discusses social belonging as both a health-related goal and an antidote for emotional crises. Examines how social connectedess represents both a content and process variable in Northern Scottish young people's discussion of their health concerns. Analyses reveal both the potency of all these concerns and participants' belief that skills acquired…

78 FR 53466 - Modification of Two National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) Tests Concerning Automated...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-29

... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY U.S. Customs and Border Protection Modification of Two National Customs Automation Program (NCAP) Tests Concerning Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Document Image System (DIS) and Simplified Entry (SE); Correction AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department...

Sexual Health Concerns Among Cancer Survivors: Testing a Novel Information-Need Measure Among Breast and Prostate Cancer Patients.

PubMed

Crowley, Sheila A; Foley, Sallie M; Wittmann, Daniela; Jagielski, Christina H; Dunn, Rodney L; Clark, Patricia M; Griggs, Jennifer J; Peterson, Catherine; Leonard, Marcia; An, Lawrence C; Wei, John T; Montie, James E; Janz, Nancy K

2016-09-01

While it is recognized that cancer treatment can contribute to problems in sexual function, much less is currently known about the specific sexual health concerns and information needs of cancer survivors. This study tested a new instrument to measure cancer survivors' sexual health concerns and needs for sexual information after cancer treatment. The Information on Sexual Health: Your Needs after Cancer (InSYNC), developed by a multidisciplinary team of experts, is a novel 12-item questionnaire to measure sexual health concerns and information needs of cancer survivors. We tested the measure with a sample of breast and prostate cancer survivors. A convenience sample of 114 cancer survivors (58 breast, 56 prostate) was enrolled. Results of the InSYNC questionnaire showed high levels of sexual concern among cancer survivors. Areas of concern differed by cancer type. Prostate cancer survivors were most concerned about being able to satisfy their partners (57 %) while breast cancer survivors were most concerned with changes in how their bodies worked sexually (46 %). Approximately 35 % of all cancer survivors wanted more information about sexual health. Sexual health concerns and unmet information needs are common among breast and prostate cancer survivors, varying in some aspects by type of cancer. Routine screening for sexual health concerns should be included in comprehensive cancer survivorship care to appropriately address health care needs. The InSYNC questionnaire is one tool that may help clinicians identify concerns facing their patients.

National electronic health records and the digital disruption of moral orders.

PubMed

Garrety, Karin; McLoughlin, Ian; Wilson, Rob; Zelle, Gregor; Martin, Mike

2014-01-01

The digitalisation of patient health data to provide national electronic health record systems (NEHRS) is a major objective of many governments. Proponents claim that NEHRS will streamline care, reduce mistakes and cut costs. However, building these systems has proved highly problematic. Using recent developments in Australia as an example, we argue that a hitherto unexamined source of difficulty concerns the way NEHRS disrupt the moral orders governing the production, ownership, use of and responsibility for health records. Policies that pursue digitalisation as a self-evident 'solution' to problems in healthcare without due regard to these disruptions risk alienating key stakeholders. We propose a more emergent approach to the development and implementation of NEHRS that supports moral re-ordering around rights and responsibilities appropriate to the intentions of those involved in healthcare relationships. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Social relationships and health: the meaning of social "connectedness" and how it relates to health concerns for rural Scottish adolescents.

PubMed

Hendry, L B; Reid, M

2000-12-01

Adolescence has been posited as an important period for the onset of mental health problems and for the need to adapt successfully to many psychosocial changes. The assumption has been made that social belonging is both a health-related goal and an antidote for other sorts of emotional crises, but there is little research on how normal adolescents themselves view connections between social relationships and their physical and mental health. This qualitative study examines how social connectedness represents both a content and process variable in northern Scottish young people's discussion of their health concerns, that is, it was both a source of distress and implicated as a helpful or harmful factor in relation to other health concerns. Analyses revealed both the potency of all of these concerns and participants' belief that skills acquired now could affect their future life goals and health. Suggestions are given for building new approaches for conceptualizing rural young people's health problems and helping them cope with the social contexts involved within and around them. Copyright 2000 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents.

National Minority Health Month Spotlight: Career Development

Cancer.gov

April is National Minority Health Month and in support of the 2016 theme, Accelerating Health Equity for the Nation, the NCI Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities (CRCHD) is highlighting how diversity training and career development opportunities are contributing to efforts to reduce the unequal burden of cancer in our society.

DataView: National Health Expenditures, 1998

PubMed Central

Cowan, Cathy A.; Lazenby, Helen C.; Martin, Anne B.; McDonnell, Patricia A.; Sensenig, Arthur L.; Stiller, Jean M.; Whittle, Lekha S.; Kotova, Kimberly A.; Zezza, Mark A.; Donham, Carolyn S.; Long, Anna M.; Stewart, Madie W.

1999-01-01

In 1998, national health care expenditures reached $1.1 trillion, an increase of 5.6 percent from the previous year. This marked the fifth consecutive year of spending growth under 6 percent. Underlying the stability of the overall growth, major changes began taking place within the Nation's health care system. Public payers felt the initial effects of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA), and private payers experienced increased health care costs and increased premium growth. PMID:11481774

Bioactive contaminants of emerging concern in National Park waters of the northern Colorado Plateau, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Weissinger, Rebecca H; Blackwell, Brett R.; Keteles, Kristen; Battaglin, William A.; Bradley, Paul M.

2018-01-01

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), wastewater indicators (WWIs), and pesticides (herein, Contaminants of Emerging Concern [CECs]) have been documented in surface waters throughout the world and have associated risks to aquatic life. While much research has focused on temperate and urbanized watersheds, less is known about CEC presence in semi-arid landscapes, where water availability is limited and populations are low. CEC presence in water and sediment is reported for 21 sites in eight U.S. national parks in the northern Colorado Plateau region. From 2012 to 2016, at least one PPCP and/or WWI was detected at most sites on over half of sampling visits, indicating that CECs are not uncommon even in isolated areas. CEC detections were generally fewer and at lower concentrations than in urbanized or agricultural watersheds. Consistent with studies from other U.S. regions, the most frequently detected CECs in this study include DEET, caffeine, organophosphorus flame retardants, and bisphenol A in water and fecal indicators and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediment. Maximum concentrations in this study were generally below available water quality benchmarks, sediment quality guidelines, and risk assessment thresholds associated with vertebrates. Additional work is needed to assess the potential activity of hormones, which had high reporting limits in our study, and potential bioactivity of environmental concentrations for invertebrates, microbial communities, and algae. Potential sources of CEC contamination include upstream wastewater effluent discharges and National Park Service invasive-plant-control herbicide applications. CEC occurrence patterns and similarities between continuous and isolated flow locations suggest that direct contamination from individual visitors may also occur. While our data indicate there is little aquatic health risk associated with CECs at our sites, our results demonstrate the ubiquity of CECs on the landscape and a

75 FR 33983 - Establishing the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-16

... 13544 of June 10, 2010 Establishing the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council... of Health and Human Services, the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council... Health and Human Services; (4) the Secretary of Transportation; (5) the Secretary of Education; (6) the...

The USGS National Wildlife Health Center: Advancing wildlife and ecosystem health

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moede Rogall, Gail; Sleeman, Jonathan M.

2017-01-11

In 1975, the Federal government responded to the need for establishing national expertise in wildlife health by creating the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC), a facility within the Department of the Interior; the NWHC is the only national center dedicated to wildlife disease detection, control, and prevention. Its mission is to provide national leadership to safeguard wildlife and ecosystem health through active partnerships and exceptional science. Comparisons are often made between the NWHC, which strives to protect the health of our Nation’s wildlife, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which strive to protect public health. The NWHC, a science center of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) with specialized laboratories, works to safeguard the Nation’s wildlife from diseases by studying the causes and drivers of these threats, and by developing strategies to prevent and manage them. In addition to the main campus, located in Madison, Wisconsin, the NWHC also operates the Honolulu Field Station that addresses wildlife health issues in Hawaii and the Pacific Region.

Postdeployment military mental health training: cross-national evaluations.

PubMed

Foran, Heather M; Garber, Bryan G; Zamorski, Mark A; Wray, Mariane; Mulligan, Kathleen; Greenberg, Neil; Castro, Carl Andrew; Adler, Amy B

2013-05-01

Deployments increase risk for adjustment problems in service members. To mitigate this increased risk, mental health training programs have been developed and implemented in several nations. As part of a coordinated effort, three nations adapted a U.S. mental health training program that had been validated by a series of group randomized trials demonstrating improvement in postdeployment adjustment. Implementation of evidence-based programs in a new context is challenging: How much of the original program needs to remain intact in order to retain its utility? User satisfaction rates can provide essential data to assess how well a program is accepted. This article summarizes service member ratings of postdeployment mental health training and compares ratings from service members across four nations. The participating nations (Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States) administered mental health training to active duty military personnel in their respective nations. Following the training, military personnel completed an evaluation of the training. Overall, across the four nations, more than 70% of military personnel agreed or strongly agreed that they were satisfied with the mental health training. Although some differences in evaluations were observed across nations, components of training that were most important to overall satisfaction with the training were strikingly similar across nations. Fundamentally, it appears feasible that despite cultural and organizational differences, a mental health training program developed in one nation can be successfully adapted for use in other nations. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Forest health monitoring: 2007 national technical report

Treesearch

Barbara L. Conkling

2011-01-01

The Forest Health Monitoring Program produces an annual technical report that has two main objectives. The first objective is to present information about forest health from a national perspective. The second objective is to present examples of useful techniques for analyzing forest health data new to the annual national reports and new applications of techniques...

Forest health monitoring: 2009 national technical report

Treesearch

Kevin M. Potter; Barbara L. Conkling

2012-01-01

The annual national technical report of the Forest Health Monitoring Program of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, presents forest health status and trends from a national or multi-State regional perspective using a variety of sources, introduces new techniques for analyzing forest health data, and summarizes results of recently completed Evaluation...

Canada deserves a national health system.

PubMed

Noseworthy, T W

1997-01-01

A defining--some would say peculiar--feature about Canada and Canadians is the strong position that we give social programs within our national identity. FORUM presents an essay by Dr. Thomas Noseworthy based on an address to the annual meeting of the Association of Canadian Medical Colleges in April 1996. In it, Dr. Noseworthy calls for a national health system. He sees the federal government retaining an important role in preserving medicare and, in fact, strengthening its powers in maintaining national consistency and standards. Dr. Noseworthy's views are contrary to the governmental decentralization and devolution of powers occurring across the country. In a "point/counterpoint" exchange on this issue, we have invited commentaries from three experts. Raisa Deber leads off by noting that while a national health system may be desirable, constitutional provisions would be an obstacle. Governments, says Deber, have an inherent conflict of interest between their responsibility for maintaining the health care system and their desire to shift costs. Michael Rachlis reminds us that medicare fulfills important economic as well as social objectives. It helps to support Canada's business competitiveness among other nations. The problem, say Rachlis, is that public financing of health care does not ensure an efficient delivery system. Michael Walker offers some reality orientation. He observes that Canada's health care system is based upon ten public insurance schemes with widely different attributes. While he supports a minimum standard of health care across the country, citizens should be able to purchase private medical insurance and have access to a parallel private health care delivery system. Ultimately, this debate is about who should control social programs: the provinces or the federal government? We'll let you, the readers, decide.

National action for European public health research.

PubMed

McCarthy, Mark; Zeegers Paget, Dineke; Barnhoorn, Floris

2013-11-01

Research and innovation are the basis for improving health and health services. The European Union (EU) supports research through multi-annual programmes. Public Health Innovation and Research in Europe (PHIRE) investigated how European countries cooperate for action in public health research. In PHIRE, following stakeholder workshops and consultations, a national report on public health research was created for 24 of 30 European countries. The report template asked five questions, on national links to European public health research and on national research through the Structural Funds and Ministry of Health. The national reports were assessed with framework analysis, and the country actions were classified strong/partial/weak or none. There were responses to the five questions sufficient for this analysis for between 14 and 20 countries Six countries had public health research aligned with the EU, while three (large) countries were reported not aligned. Only two countries expressed strong engagement in developing public health research within Horizon 2020: most Ministries of Health had no position and only had contact with EU health research through other ministries. Only two countries reported use of the 2007-13 Structural Funds for public health research. While seven Ministries of Health led research from their own funds, or linked with Ministries of Science in six, the Ministries of Health of seven countries were reported not to be involved in public health research. Ministries of Health and stakeholders are poorly engaged in developing public health research, with the Horizon 2020 research programme, or the Structural Funds. The European Commission should give more attention to coordination of public health research with member states if it is to give best value to European citizens.

Design of the national health security preparedness index.

PubMed

Uzun Jacobson, Evin; Inglesby, Tom; Khan, Ali S; Rajotte, James C; Burhans, Robert L; Slemp, Catherine C; Links, Jonathan M

2014-01-01

The importance of health security in the United States has been highlighted by recent emergencies such as the H1N1 influenza pandemic, Superstorm Sandy, and the Boston Marathon bombing. The nation's health security remains a high priority today, with federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local governments, as well as nongovernment organizations and the private sector, engaging in activities that prevent, protect, mitigate, respond to, and recover from health threats. The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR), led an effort to create an annual measure of health security preparedness at the national level. The collaborative released the National Health Security Preparedness Index (NHSPI(™)) in December 2013 and provided composite results for the 50 states and for the nation as a whole. The Index results represent current levels of health security preparedness in a consistent format and provide actionable information to drive decision making for continuous improvement of the nation's health security. The overall 2013 National Index result was 7.2 on the reported base-10 scale, with areas of greater strength in the domains of health surveillance, incident and information management, and countermeasure management. The strength of the Index relies on the interdependencies of the many elements in health security preparedness, making the sum greater than its parts. Moving forward, additional health security-related disciplines and measures will be included alongside continued validation efforts.

National Health Expenditures, 19801

PubMed Central

Gibson, Robert M.; Waldo, Daniel R.

1981-01-01

The United States spent an estimated $247 billion for health care in 1980 (Figure 1), an amount equal to 9.4 percent of the Gross National Product (GNP). Highlights of the figures that underlie this estimate include the following: Health care expenditures in 1980 accelerated at a time when the economy as a whole exhibited sluggish growth. The 9.4 percent share of the GNP was a dramatic increase from the 8.9 percent share in 1979.Health care expenditures amounted to $1,067 per person in 1980 (Table 1). Of that amount, $450, or 42.2 percent, came from public funds.Expenditures for health care included $64.9 billion in premiums to private health insurance, $70.9 billion in Federal payments, and $33.3 billion in State and local government funds (Table 2).Hospital care accounted for 40.3 percent of total health care spending in 1980 (Table 3). These expenditures increased 16.2 percent between 1979 and 1980, to a level of $99.6 billion.Spending for the services of physicians increased 14.5 percent to $46.6 billion, 18.9 percent of all health care spending.All third parties combined—private health insurers, governments, philanthropists, and industry—financed 67.6 percent of the $217.9 billion spent for personal health care in 1980 (Table 4), ranging from 90.9 percent of hospital care services to 62.7 percent of physicians' services and 38.5 percent of the remainder (Table 5).Direct payments by consumers reached $70.6 billion in 1980 (Table 6). This accounted for 32.4 percent of all personal health care expenses.Outlays for health care benefits by the Medicare and Medicaid programs totaled $60.6 billion, including $35.8 billion for hospital care. The two programs combined to pay for 27.8 percent of all personal health care in the nation (Table 7). PMID:10309470

Forest health monitoring: 2008 national technical report

Treesearch

Kevin M. Potter; Barbara L. Conkling

2012-01-01

The Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program’s annual national technical report has three objectives: (1) to present forest health status and trends from a national or a multi-State regional perspective using a variety of sources, (2) to introduce new techniques for analyzing forest health data, and (3) to report results of recently completed evaluation monitoring...

Nursing and the national policy of education for health care professionals for the Brazilian national Health System.

PubMed

Haddad, Ana Estela

2011-12-01

The objective of the present article is to identify the aspects and characteristic of creating and implementing the national policy for the administration of health education, over the last six years, with particular emphasis on the central role of nursing undergraduate studied and the profession as a field of knowledge that structures the management of care and the working process in health. The advancements and the current challenges that are posed to implement the National Health System and the role of connecting health care and education administrators and establishing an interfederal network to assure the success of the ongoing initiatives.

75 FR 48853 - National Health Center Week, 2010

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-11

... Part IV The President Proclamation 8545--National Health Center Week, 2010 #0; #0; #0..., 2010 National Health Center Week, 2010 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation America's community health centers are a vital component of our health care system, providing underserved...

77 FR 47765 - National Health Center Week, 2012

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-09

... Health Center Week, 2012 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation For nearly half a century, health centers have helped make primary care services available and affordable for... lives. During National Health Center Week, we recognize the professionals who power our Nation's health...

'Not waving but drowning': a study of the experiences and concerns of midwives and other health professionals caring for obese childbearing women.

PubMed

Schmied, Virginia A; Duff, Margie; Dahlen, Hannah G; Mills, Annie E; Kolt, Gregory S

2011-08-01

to explore the experiences and concerns of health professionals who care for childbearing women who are obese. obesity is increasing nationally and internationally and has been described as an epidemic. A number of studies have highlighted the risks associated with obesity during childbirth, yet few studies have investigated the experiences and concerns of midwives and other health professionals in providing care to these women. a descriptive qualitative study using focus groups and face-to-face interviews to collect data. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. three maternity units in New South Wales, Australia. participants included 34 midwives and three other health professionals. three major themes emerged from the data analysis: 'a creeping normality', 'feeling in the dark' and 'the runaway train'. The findings highlight a number of tensions or contradictions experienced by health professionals when caring for childbearing women who are obese. These include, on the one hand, an increasing acceptance of obesity ('a creeping normality'), and on the other, the continuing stigma associated with obesity; the challenges of how to communicate effectively with pregnant women about their weight and the lack of resources, equipment and facilities ('feeling in the dark') to adequately care for obese childbearing women. Participants expressed concerns about how quickly the obesity epidemic appears to have impacted on maternity services ('the runaway train') and how services to meet the needs of these women are limited or generally not available. it was clear in this study that participants felt that they were 'not waving but drowning'. There was concern over the fact that the issue of obesity had moved faster than the health response to it. There were also concerns about how to communicate with obese women without altering the relationship. Continuity of care, training and skills development for health

76 FR 37114 - Determination Concerning a Petition To Add a Class of Employees to the Special Exposure Cohort

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-24

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Determination Concerning a Petition To Add a Class of Employees to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health... determination concerning a petition to add a class of employees from the Linde Ceramics Plant in Tonawanda, New...

77 FR 76490 - Determination Concerning a Petition to Add a Class of Employees to the Special Exposure Cohort

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-28

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76 FR 37114 - Determination Concerning a Petition To Add a Class of Employees to the Special Exposure Cohort

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2011-06-24

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77 FR 9251 - Determination Concerning a Petition To Add a Class of Employees to the Special Exposure Cohort

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78 FR 98 - Determination Concerning a Petition To Add a Class of Employees to the Special Exposure Cohort

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76 FR 37115 - Determination Concerning a Petition To Add a Class of Employees to the Special Exposure Cohort

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76 FR 37115 - Determination Concerning a Petition To Add a Class of Employees to the Special Exposure Cohort

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78 FR 64501 - Determination Concerning a Petition to Add a Class of Employees to the Special Exposure Cohort

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2013-10-29

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77 FR 58383 - Determination Concerning a Petition To Add a Class of Employees to the Special Exposure Cohort

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2012-09-20

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78 FR 64502 - Determination Concerning a Petition To Add a Class of Employees to the Special Exposure Cohort

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2013-10-29

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76 FR 37115 - Determination Concerning a Petition To Add a Class of Employees to the Special Exposure Cohort

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-24

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Determination Concerning a Petition To Add a Class of Employees to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health... determination concerning a petition to add a class of employees from the Chapman Valve Manufacturing Company (i...

National Health Expenditures, 1996

PubMed Central

Levit, Katharine R.; Lazenby, Helen C.; Braden, Bradley R.; Cowan, Cathy A.; Sensenig, Arthur L.; McDonnell, Patricia A.; Stiller, Jean M.; Won, Darleen K.; Martin, Anne B.; Sivarajan, Lekha; Donham, Carolyn S.; Long, Anna M.; Stewart, Madie W.

1997-01-01

The national health expenditures (NHE) series presented in this report for 1960-96 provides a view of the economic history of health care in the United States through spending for health care services and the sources financing that care. In 1996 NHE topped $1 trillion. At the same time, spending grew at the slowest rate, 4.4 percent, ever recorded in the current series. For the first time, this article presents estimates of Medicare managed care payments by type of service, as well as nursing home and home health spending in hospital-based facilities. PMID:10179997

A novel system architecture for the national integration of electronic health records: a semi-centralized approach.

PubMed

AlJarullah, Asma; El-Masri, Samir

2013-08-01

The goal of a national electronic health records integration system is to aggregate electronic health records concerning a particular patient at different healthcare providers' systems to provide a complete medical history of the patient. It holds the promise to address the two most crucial challenges to the healthcare systems: improving healthcare quality and controlling costs. Typical approaches for the national integration of electronic health records are a centralized architecture and a distributed architecture. This paper proposes a new approach for the national integration of electronic health records, the semi-centralized approach, an intermediate solution between the centralized architecture and the distributed architecture that has the benefits of both approaches. The semi-centralized approach is provided with a clearly defined architecture. The main data elements needed by the system are defined and the main system modules that are necessary to achieve an effective and efficient functionality of the system are designed. Best practices and essential requirements are central to the evolution of the proposed architecture. The proposed architecture will provide the basis for designing the simplest and the most effective systems to integrate electronic health records on a nation-wide basis that maintain integrity and consistency across locations, time and systems, and that meet the challenges of interoperability, security, privacy, maintainability, mobility, availability, scalability, and load balancing.

Cross-national diffusion of mental health policy

PubMed Central

Shen, Gordon C

2014-01-01

Background: Following the tenets of world polity and innovation diffusion theories, I focus on the coercive and mimetic forces that influence the diffusion of mental health policy across nations. International organizations’ mandates influence government behavior. Dependency on external resources, namely foreign aid, also affects governments’ formulation of national policy. And finally, mounting adoption in a region alters the risk, benefits, and information associated with a given policy. Methods: I use post-war, discrete time data spanning 1950 to 2011 and describing 193 nations’ mental health systems to test these diffusion mechanisms. Results: I find that the adoption of mental health policy is highly clustered temporally and spatially. Results provide support that membership in the World Health Organization (WHO), interdependence with neighbors and peers in regional blocs, national income status, and migrant sub-population are responsible for isomorphism. Aid, however, is an insufficient determinant of mental health policy adoption. Conclusion: This study examines the extent to which mental, neurological, and substance use disorder are addressed in national and international contexts through the lens of policy diffusion theory. It also adds to policy dialogues about non-communicable diseases as nascent items on the global health agenda. PMID:25337601

Powerlessness, marginalized identity, and silencing of health concerns: voiced realities of women living with a mental health diagnosis.

PubMed

Van Den Tillaart, Susan; Kurtz, Donna; Cash, Penny

2009-06-01

Using a feminist qualitative approach, this study substantiated many earlier research findings that document how women with a mental health diagnosis experience unequal access to comprehensive health care compared to the general population. Accounts of this disparity are documented in the literature, yet the literature has failed to record or attend to the voices of those living with mental health challenges. In this paper, women living with a mental health diagnosis describe their experiences as they interface with the health-care system. The participating women's stories clearly relate the organizational and interpersonal challenges commonly faced when they seek health-care services. The stories include experiences of marginalized identity, powerlessness, and silencing of voiced health concerns. The women tell of encountered gaps in access to health care and incomplete health assessment, screening, and treatment. It becomes clear that personal and societal stigmatization related to the mental health diagnosis plays a significant role in these isolating and unsatisfactory experiences. Lastly, the women offer beginning ideas for change by suggesting starting points to eliminate the institutional and interpersonal obstacles or barriers to their wellness. The concerns raised demand attention, reconsideration, and change by those in the health-care system responsible for policy and practice.

Patient-provider discussion of online health information: results from the 2007 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS).

PubMed

Chung, Jae Eun

2013-01-01

Increasing numbers of people have turned to the Internet for health information. Little has been done beyond speculation to empirically investigate patients' discussion of online health information with health care professionals (HCPs) and patients' perception of HCPs' reactions to such discussion. The author analyzed data from the 2007 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) to identify the characteristics of patients (a) who search for health information on the Internet, (b) who discuss the information found on the Internet with HCPs, and (c) who positively assess HCPs' reaction to the online information. Findings show that men were more likely than were women to have a conversation on online information with HCPs. It is unfortunate that patients who had trouble understanding or trusting online health information were no more likely to ask questions to or seek guidance from HCPs. Reactions of HCPs to online information were perceived as particularly negative by certain groups of patients, such as those who experienced poor health and those who had more concerns about the quality of their searched information. Results are discussed for their implications for patient empowerment and patient-HCP relationships.

Transparency of Mandatory Information Disclosure and Concerns of Health Services Providers and Consumers

PubMed Central

Yan, Yu-Hua; Kung, Chih-Ming; Fang, Shih-Chieh; Chen, Yi

2017-01-01

Background: This study analyzed differences between transparency of information disclosure and related demands from the health service consumer’s perspective. It also compared how health service providers and consumers are associated by different levels of mandatory information disclosure. Methods: We obtained our research data using a questionnaire survey (health services providers, n = 201; health service consumers, n = 384). Results: Health service consumers do not have major concerns regarding mandatory information disclosure. However, they are concerned about complaint channels and settlement results, results of patient satisfaction surveys, and disclosure of hospital financial statements (p < 0.001). We identified significant differences in health service providers’ and consumers’ awareness regarding the transparency of information disclosure (p < 0.001). Conclusions: It may not be possible for outsiders to properly interpret the information provided by hospitals. Thus, when a hospital discloses information, it is necessary for the government to consider the information’s applicability. Toward improving medical expertise and information asymmetry, the government has to reduce the burden among health service consumers in dealing with this information, and it has to use the information effectively. PMID:28075362

Transparency of Mandatory Information Disclosure and Concerns of Health Services Providers and Consumers.

PubMed

Yan, Yu-Hua; Kung, Chih-Ming; Fang, Shih-Chieh; Chen, Yi

2017-01-09

This study analyzed differences between transparency of information disclosure and related demands from the health service consumer's perspective. It also compared how health service providers and consumers are associated by different levels of mandatory information disclosure. We obtained our research data using a questionnaire survey (health services providers, n = 201; health service consumers, n = 384). Health service consumers do not have major concerns regarding mandatory information disclosure. However, they are concerned about complaint channels and settlement results, results of patient satisfaction surveys, and disclosure of hospital financial statements ( p < 0.001). We identified significant differences in health service providers' and consumers' awareness regarding the transparency of information disclosure ( p < 0.001). It may not be possible for outsiders to properly interpret the information provided by hospitals. Thus, when a hospital discloses information, it is necessary for the government to consider the information's applicability. Toward improving medical expertise and information asymmetry, the government has to reduce the burden among health service consumers in dealing with this information, and it has to use the information effectively.

Forest health monitoring: 2004 national technical report

Treesearch

John W. Coulston; Mark J. Ambrose; Kurt H. Riitters; Barbara L. Conkling

2005-01-01

The Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program’s annual national technical report presents results of forest health analyses from a national perspective using data from a variety of sources. Results presented in the report pertain to the Santiago Declaration’s Criterion 1— Conservation of Biological Diversity and Criterion 3—Maintenance of Forest Ecosystem Health and...

National Health Expenditures, 1993

PubMed Central

Levit, Katharine R.; Sensenig, Arthur L.; Cowan, Cathy A.; Lazenby, Helen C.; McDonnell, Patricia A.; Won, Darleen K.; Sivarajan, Lekha; Stiller, Jean M.; Donham, Carolyn S.; Stewart, Madie S.

1994-01-01

This article presents data on health care spending for the United States, covering expenditures for various types of medical services and products and their sources of funding from 1960 to 1993. Although these statistics show a slowing in the growth of health care expenditures over the past few years, spending continues to increase faster than the overall economy. The share of the Nation's health care bill funded by the Federal Government through the Medicaid and Medicare programs steadily increased from 1991 to 1993. This significant change in the share of health expenditures funded by the public sector has caused Federal health expenditures as a share of all Federal spending to increase dramatically. PMID:10140156

National Health Expenditures, 19811

PubMed Central

Gibson, Robert M.; Waldo, Daniel R.

1982-01-01

The United States spent an estimated $287 billion for health care in 1981 (Figure 1), an amount equal to 9.8 percent of the Gross National Product (GNP). Highlights of the figures that underly this estimate include the following: Health care expenditures continued to grow at a rapid rate in 1981, at a time when the economy as a whole exhibited sluggish growth. The 9.8 percent share of the GNP was a dramatic increase from the 8.9 percent share seen just two years earlier.Health care expenditures amounted to $1,225 per person in 1981 (Table 1). Of that amount, $524, or 42.7 percent, came from public funds.Hospital care accounted for 41.2 percent of total health care spending in 1981 (Table 2). These expenditures increased 17.5 percent from 1980, to a level of $118 billion.Spending for the services of physicians increased 16.9 percent to $55 billion—19.1 percent of all health care spending.Public sources provided 42.7 percent of the money spent on health in 1981, including Federal payments of $84 billion and $39 billion in State and local government funds (Table 3).All third parties combined—private health insurers, governments, private charities, and Industry—financed 67.9 percent of the $255 billion in personal health care in 1981 (Table 4), covering 89.2 percent of hospital care services, 62.1 percent of physicians' services, and 41.3 percent of the remainder (Table 5).Direct patient payments for health care reached $82 billion in 1981, accounting for 32.1 percent of all personal health care expenses (Table 6). Consumers and their employers paid another $73 billion in premiums to private health insurers, $67 billion of which was returned in the form of benefits.Outlays for health care benefits by the Medicare and Medicaid programs totaled $73 billion, including $42 billion for hospital care. The two programs combined paid for 28.6 percent of all personal health care in the nation (Table 7). PMID:10309718

Establishing and delivering pulmonary rehabilitation in rural and remote settings: The opinions, attitudes and concerns of health care professionals.

PubMed

Johnston, Catherine L; Maxwell, Lyndal J; Alison, Jennifer A

2016-04-01

Pulmonary rehabilitation is recommended for people with chronic lung disease however access remains limited in rural and remote settings. The aim of this project was to explore the perspectives of rural and remote health care professionals regarding the establishment and delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation. Rural (NSW) and remote (NT) Australian healthcare settings. Health care professionals (n = 25) who attended a training program focussing on the delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation. Surveys with open written questions were completed by participants following the training program. Key informants also participated in face-to-face interviews. Thematic analysis was undertaken of data collected on participant opinions, attitudes and concerns regarding the establishment and delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation in their individual situation. Participating health care professionals (predominantly nurses and physiotherapists) identified a number of issues relating to establishing and delivering pulmonary rehabilitation; including staffing, time and case load constraints, patient and community attitudes, lack of professional knowledge and confidence and inability to ensure sustainability. The practicalities of delivering pulmonary rehabilitation, particularly exercise prescription and training, were also important concerns raised. Lack of health care professional staffing, knowledge and confidence were reported to be factors impacting the establishment and delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation. This study has facilitated a greater understanding of the issues surrounding the establishment and delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation in rural and remote settings. Further research is required to investigate the contribution of health professional training and associated factors to improving the availability and delivery of pulmonary rehabilitation in rural and remote settings. © 2015 National Rural Health Alliance Inc.

Nursing diagnoses associated with the national policy for health promotion.

PubMed

Maciel Diniz, Camila; de Lima Ferreira, Gabriele; Cavalcante Martins, Mariana

2017-01-01

To identify the relationships between nursing diagnoses proposed by NANDA-I taxonomy II and the priority themes (PT) of the National Policy for Health Promotion (PNPS in Portuguse). An integrative literature review was carried out in the Scopus, Cinahl and SciELO databases, using the descriptors: health promotion, food habits, traffic accidents, drugs abuse, environment and public health. The search considered scientific articles published between 2000 and 2016. Twelve articles were selected to identify and explore nursing actions related to PT. It was identified that although the said taxonomy offers a Domain called Health promotion, there is a need to relate the diagnoses of other domains to include the health actions described in the aforementioned Policy. It was observed that there is an attention and concern of the nursing professionals to address topics such as the training of managers and the promotion of healthy eating. In relation to the priority themes promotion of safe mobility and sustainable development, no nursing diagnoses were identified due to the scarcity of diagnoses related to them in the mentioned taxonomy. Although the NANDA-I taxonomy presents a specific domain on health promotion, these are not sufficient to meet the needs of the priority themes proposed by PNPS. Copyright© by the Universidad de Antioquia.

The use of quality benchmarking in assessing web resources for the dermatology virtual branch library of the National electronic Library for Health (NeLH).

PubMed

Kamel Boulos, M N; Roudsari, A V; Gordon, C; Muir Gray, J A

2001-01-01

In 1998, the U.K. National Health Service Information for Health Strategy proposed the implementation of a National electronic Library for Health to provide clinicians, healthcare managers and planners, patients and the public with easy, round the clock access to high quality, up-to-date electronic information on health and healthcare. The Virtual Branch Libraries are among the most important components of the National electronic Library for Health. They aim at creating online knowledge based communities, each concerned with some specific clinical and other health-related topics. This study is about the envisaged Dermatology Virtual Branch Libraries of the National electronic Library for Health. It aims at selecting suitable dermatology Web resources for inclusion in the forthcoming Virtual Branch Libraries after establishing preliminary quality benchmarking rules for this task. Psoriasis, being a common dermatological condition, has been chosen as a starting point. Because quality is a principal concern of the National electronic Library for Health, the study includes a review of the major quality benchmarking systems available today for assessing health-related Web sites. The methodology of developing a quality benchmarking system has been also reviewed. Aided by metasearch Web tools, candidate resources were hand-selected in light of the reviewed benchmarking systems and specific criteria set by the authors. Over 90 professional and patient-oriented Web resources on psoriasis and dermatology in general are suggested for inclusion in the forthcoming Dermatology Virtual Branch Libraries. The idea of an all-in knowledge-hallmarking instrument for the National electronic Library for Health is also proposed based on the reviewed quality benchmarking systems. Skilled, methodical, organized human reviewing, selection and filtering based on well-defined quality appraisal criteria seems likely to be the key ingredient in the envisaged National electronic Library for

The Use of Quality Benchmarking in Assessing Web Resources for the Dermatology Virtual Branch Library of the National electronic Library for Health (NeLH)

PubMed Central

Roudsari, AV; Gordon, C; Gray, JA Muir

2001-01-01

Background In 1998, the U.K. National Health Service Information for Health Strategy proposed the implementation of a National electronic Library for Health to provide clinicians, healthcare managers and planners, patients and the public with easy, round the clock access to high quality, up-to-date electronic information on health and healthcare. The Virtual Branch Libraries are among the most important components of the National electronic Library for Health . They aim at creating online knowledge based communities, each concerned with some specific clinical and other health-related topics. Objectives This study is about the envisaged Dermatology Virtual Branch Libraries of the National electronic Library for Health . It aims at selecting suitable dermatology Web resources for inclusion in the forthcoming Virtual Branch Libraries after establishing preliminary quality benchmarking rules for this task. Psoriasis, being a common dermatological condition, has been chosen as a starting point. Methods Because quality is a principal concern of the National electronic Library for Health, the study includes a review of the major quality benchmarking systems available today for assessing health-related Web sites. The methodology of developing a quality benchmarking system has been also reviewed. Aided by metasearch Web tools, candidate resources were hand-selected in light of the reviewed benchmarking systems and specific criteria set by the authors. Results Over 90 professional and patient-oriented Web resources on psoriasis and dermatology in general are suggested for inclusion in the forthcoming Dermatology Virtual Branch Libraries. The idea of an all-in knowledge-hallmarking instrument for the National electronic Library for Health is also proposed based on the reviewed quality benchmarking systems. Conclusions Skilled, methodical, organized human reviewing, selection and filtering based on well-defined quality appraisal criteria seems likely to be the key ingredient

The Social Distribution of Reports of Health-Related Concerns among Adolescents in Sao Paulo, Brazil

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Moura, S. L.

2004-01-01

This study investigated the health-related concerns of adolescents living on streets as compared to poor and privileged adolescents living with their families in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The different groups of respondents were similar in terms of individuals' fear of disease and lack of concern about health in old age. AIDS and cancer were feared by…

Evaluation of a Leadership in Mental Health course for Pacific Island Nation delegates.

PubMed

Charlson, Fiona; Redman-MacLaren, Michelle; Hunter, Ernest

2015-12-01

We report the background to and preliminary evaluation of the Leadership in Mental Health: Island Nations course, run for the first time in Cairns in conjunction with Creating Futures 2015. The course was well attended and well received, with increased confidence in key areas demonstrated and concerns regarding local application identified. In addition to positive comments, content and delivery issues were raised. Future opportunities for expanding upon this initial course are discussed. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.

Barriers to Mental Health Service Use and Preferences for Addressing Emotional Concerns among Lung Cancer Patients

PubMed Central

Mosher, Catherine E.; Winger, Joseph G.; Hanna, Nasser; Jalal, Shadia I.; Fakiris, Achilles J.; Einhorn, Lawrence H.; Birdas, Thomas J.; Kesler, Kenneth A.; Champion, Victoria L.

2014-01-01

Objective This study examined barriers to mental health service use and preferences for addressing emotional concerns among lung cancer patients (N=165) at two medical centers in the midwestern United States. Methods Lung cancer patients completed an assessment of anxiety and depressive symptoms, mental health service use, barriers to using these services, and preferences for addressing emotional concerns. Results Only 45% of distressed patients received mental health care since their lung cancer diagnosis. The most prevalent patient-reported barriers to mental health service use among non-users of these services (n=110) included the desire to independently manage emotional concerns (58%) and inadequate knowledge of services (19%). In addition, 57% of distressed patients who did not access mental health services did not perceive the need for help. Seventy-five percent of respondents (123/164) preferred to talk to a primary care physician if they were to have an emotional concern. Preferences for counseling, psychiatric medication, peer support, spiritual care, or independently managing emotional concerns also were endorsed by many patients (range=40%–50%). Older age was associated with a lower likelihood of preferring to see a counselor. Conclusions Findings suggest that many distressed lung cancer patients underuse mental health services and do not perceive the need for such services. Efforts to increase appropriate use of services should address patients' desire for autonomy and lack of awareness of services. PMID:24493634

Toward a national health risk management approach in Australia.

PubMed

O'Donnell, Carol

2002-01-01

There has been increasing international consensus about the importance of competition for achieving national growth and community well-being. The Australian government accordingly has introduced policies to promote such competition. Major legislative review and many public inquiries have assisted implementation of national competition policy and the development of national goals and standards related to international agreements to promote health and sustainable development. Since the 1980s, Australia has had legislation that requires the identification and control of health risks arising at work. The management structures necessary for coordinated delivery of national programs designed for effective identification and control of health risks arising in communities to achieve national health and development goals are still being developed, however. Major difficulties related to this development are discussed. National health development programs should be approached primarily through establishment of regional partnerships between bodies responsible for managing community health, local government, and employment placement, in consultation with other relevant organizations and the community. Related research and evaluation programs are required.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) in health care: privacy and security concerns limiting adoption.

PubMed

Rosenbaum, Benjamin P

2014-03-01

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has been implemented in a wide variety of industries. Health care is no exception. This article explores implementations and limitations of RFID in several health care domains: authentication, medication safety, patient tracking, and blood transfusion medicine. Each domain has seen increasing utilization of unique applications of RFID technology. Given the importance of protecting patient and data privacy, potential privacy and security concerns in each domain are discussed. Such concerns, some of which are inherent to existing RFID hardware and software technology, may limit ubiquitous adoption. In addition, an apparent lack of security standards within the RFID domain and specifically health care may also hinder the growth and utility of RFID within health care for the foreseeable future. Safeguarding the privacy of patient data may be the most important obstacle to overcome to allow the health care industry to take advantage of the numerous benefits RFID technology affords.

'Is it normal to feel these questions ...?': a content analysis of the health concerns of adolescent girls writing to a magazine.

PubMed

Kang, Melissa; Cannon, Bianca; Remond, Louise; Quine, Susan

2009-06-01

There is a mismatch between presenting concerns of adolescents to GPs and behaviours that lead to adolescent morbidity and mortality. Better understanding of health concerns of this target group would enhance communication between health professionals and adolescent patients. To explore and categorize the health concerns of adolescent girls sending unsolicited emails to a teenage girls' magazine. We conducted a content analysis of 1000 systematic randomly selected unsolicited emails submitted to the health column of an Australian adolescent girls' magazine over a 6-month period. Three main foci of concern were identified: Context of Concern, Health Issue of Concern and Advice Sought for Concern. Within Health Issue of Concern, there were five categories: body (47.5%), sex (31.9%), relationship (14.7%), mind (4.7%) and violence and/or safety (1.2%). Concerns within the body and sex categories ranged enormously, but frequently expressed intimate descriptions of anatomy, feelings, sexual practices and relationships. Many concerns occurred in the context of adolescents' relationships with others. The proportion of concerns about physical or psychological symptoms or health issues commonly associated with the adolescent age group (such as health risk behaviours, mental health, pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections) was relatively small. GPs and other health professionals might engage more readily with adolescent patients with a deeper understanding of the concerns that adolescents have about their bodies, relationships and overall health. Seemingly 'trivial' issues, such as normal puberty, could be used as discussion triggers in health consultations to help alleviate anxiety and build rapport.

NATIONAL ORAL HEALTH SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM (NOHSS)

EPA Science Inventory

National Oral Health Surveillance System (NOHSS) is a collaborative effort between CDC's Division of Oral Health and The Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD). NOHSS is designed to help public health programs monitor the burden of oral disease, use of the ...

Rural youth violence: it is a public health concern!

PubMed

Kulig, Judith C; Nahachewsky, Deana; Hall, Barry L; Kalischuk, Ruth Grant

2005-01-01

Youth violence is a significant issue for public health because of the potential for long-term impacts on individuals, families and communities. Limited exposure to violence is seen as a component of healthy living. However, there is limited understanding of violence from a public health perspective within rural communities. Rural refers to those communities with a population less than 10,000 outside the main commuting zone of a large urban area. Population health approaches, including the social determinants of health, are well supported by public health officials. Generating information about rural youth violence from a Canadian perspective would add to our understanding of these social determinants while providing guidance for policy and program development. Current understandings of youth violence are limited to an urban, and oftentimes, American perspective. An ongoing two-phase Canadian study on rural youth violence included qualitative interviews with 52 youth and the completion of a questionnaire that had been developed from the qualitative responses. The questionnaire has been completed by a larger sample of rural youth. The findings generated from this ongoing study will be useful in linking violence with social factors that impact health and thereby guide population health programs and policies. In this way, the role of public health to develop policies and implement programs will be directly influenced by evidence while addressing an ongoing public health concern.

Obesity Epidemic in Brazil and Argentina: A Public Health Concern

PubMed Central

Rocha, Denise R.T.W.; Aizenberg, Marisa; Ciruzzi, Maria S.

2014-01-01

ABSTRACT The obesity epidemic is rapidly advancing in South America, leading to inevitable health consequences. Argentinian and Brazilian health policies try to become adapted to the new economic and social framework that follows from this epidemic. It is in incipient and ineffective control so far since the prevalence of obesity was not restrained. The Argentine national legislation is more advanced, through the so-called “Ley de Obesidad.” In Brazil, there are numerous local initiatives but still not a comprehensive law. National policies relating to decisions regarding obesity are discussed in this paper. Trends in decisions issued in higher courts of Argentina (Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation—CSJN) and Brazil (Supreme Court of Justice—STF), in the last 15 years, seek to clarify the approach of each country and court's resolutions. Marked differences were found in their positions. Finally, legal and health solutions to this obesity epidemic are proposed. PMID:25076669

National Health Insurance by Regulation: Mandated Employee Benefits,

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-04-01

A0AO95 050 RANW CORP SANTA MONICA CA F/0 S/I1 NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE BY REKULATION: MANDATED EMPLOYEE NE-TC(U) APR 80 C E PI4ELPS LICLASSIFIED...31 ! 9 : I NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE BY REGULATION: MANDATED EMPLOYEE BENEFITS 1 I. INTRODUCTION Social issues have often been solved...offer a variety of insurance packages to employees , iThis paper was presented at the Conference on "National Health Insurance: Ihat Now, What Later, What

Assessing health information technology in a national health care system--an example from Taiwan.

PubMed

Chi, Chunhuei; Lee, Jwo-Leun; Schoon, Rebecca

2012-01-01

The purpose of this article is to investigate one core research question: How can health information technology (HIT) be assessed in a national health care system context? We examine this question by taking a systematic approach within a national care system, in which the purpose of HIT is to contribute to a common national health care system's goal. to promote population health in an efficient way. Based on this approach we first develop a framework and our criteria of assessment, and then using Taiwan as a case study, demonstrate how one can apply this framework to assess a national system's HIT. The five criteria we developed are how well does the HIT (1) provide accessible and accurate public health and health care information to the population; (2) collect and provide population health and health care data for government and researchers to analyze population health and processes and outcomes of health care services, (3) provide accessible and timely information that helps to improve provision of cost-effective health care at an institutional level and promotes system-wide efficiency; (4) minimize transaction and administrative costs of the health care system; and (5) establish channels for population participation in governance while also protecting individual privacy. The results indicate that Taiwan has high levels of achievement in two criteria while falling short in the other three. Major lessons we learned from this study are that HIT exists to serve a health care system, and the national health care system context dictates how one assesses its HIT. There is a large body of literature published on the implementation of HIT and its impact on the quality and cost of health care delivery. The vast majority of the literature, however, is focused on a micro institutional level such as a hospital or a bit higher up, on an HMO or health insurance firm. Few have gone further to evaluate the implementation of HIT and its impact on a national health care system

Forest health monitoring: 2002 national technical report

Treesearch

John W. Coulston; Mark J. Ambrose; Kurt H. Riitters; Barbara L. Conkling

2005-01-01

The Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) Program’s annual national technical report presents results of forest health analyses from a national perspective using data from a variety of sources. This annual report focuses on “Criterion 3—Maintenance of Forest Ecosystem Health and Vitality” from the “Criteria and Indicators of Sustainable Forestry of the Santiago Declaration”...

The National Mental Health Registry (NMHR).

PubMed

Aziz, A A; Salina, A A; Abdul Kadir, A B; Badiah, Y; Cheah, Y C; Nor Hayati, A; Ruzanna, Z Z; Sharifah Suziah, S M; Chee, K Y

2008-09-01

The National Mental Health Registry (NMHR) collects information about patients with mental disorder in Malaysia. This information allows us to estimate the incidence of selected mental disorders, and to evaluate risk factors and treatment in the country. The National Mental Health Registry (NMHR) presented its first report in 2004, a year after its establishment. The report focused on schizophrenia as a pioneer project for the National Mental Health Registry. The development of the registry has progressed with data collected from government-based facilities, the academia and the private sector. The 2003-2005 report was recently published and distributed. Since then the registry has progressed to include suicides and other mental illnesses such as depression. The NMHR Report 2003-2005 provides detailed information about the profile of persons with Schizophrenia who presented for the first time to various psychiatry and mental health providers throughout Malaysia. More detailed description regarding pharmacotherapy is reported and few cross tabulations done in an effort to provide better understanding and more clinically meaningful reports.

The health concerns and behaviours of primigravida: comparing advanced age pregnant women with their younger counterparts.

PubMed

Loke, Alice Yuen; Poon, Chung Fan

2011-04-01

This study was to describe and compare the health concerns, behaviours and anxiety of advanced age pregnant women (35 years and older) with their younger counterparts. Women have specific health concerns and behaviours during pregnancy. Delayed childbearing has an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and advanced age pregnant women may have more health concerns than younger ones. A cross-sectional study. Primigravidae Chinese women aged 35 or older (n = 47) and 188 younger than aged 35 were recruited in February and March of 2005 by convenient sampling from the antenatal clinic of a regional hospital in Hong Kong to complete a questionnaire. Advanced age pregnant women when compared with their counterparts were more likely to have tertiary education (42·6% vs. 28·7%) and a higher family monthly income of Hong Kong $40,001 or more (40·5% vs. 15·4%). They were more likely to be concerned the possibility of miscarriage (63·8% vs. 45·9%) and the physical demands of caring for the newborn (61·7% vs. 45·4%) but were more likely to take up healthy behaviours such as 'eating nutritious food' (100%) and avoiding 'wearing tight clothing and high-heel shoes'(100%). Advanced age women were more likely to be concerned about their 'recovery after childbirth' (63·8% vs. 42·7%), Down's syndrome (70·2% vs. 37·8%) and structural defects of their foetus (78·7% vs. 54·1%). The results of this study provide a background for improving prenatal care catering for the specific health concerns of the advanced aged and promotion of health behaviours among younger pregnant women. Antenatal, obstetric and community health nurses have the responsibility to provide education and support services catering to the special concerns of pregnant women at different ages. Health professionals should promote the prime time for childbearing and deliver messages regarding the potential problems associated with later childbearing at premarital counselling. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing

Homeless Health Concerns

MedlinePlus

... make it worse. That's why the health of homeless people in the United States is worse than that of the general population. Common health problems include Mental health problems Substance abuse ... and skin infections Many homeless women are victims of domestic or sexual abuse. ...

Forest health monitoring: 2006 national technical report

Treesearch

Mark J. Ambrose; Barbara L. Conkling

2009-01-01

The Forest Health Monitoring Program’s annual national technical report presents results of forest health analyses from a national perspective using data from a variety of sources. The report is organized according to the Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests of the...

Forest health monitoring: 2005 national technical report

Treesearch

Mark J. Ambrose; Barbara L. Conkling

2007-01-01

The Forest Health Monitoring program's annual national technical report presents results of forest health analyses from a national perspective using data from a variety of sources. The report is organized according to the Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests of the Santiago Declaration. The results...

Public Health Systems Research: Setting a National Agenda

PubMed Central

Lenaway, Dennis; Halverson, Paul; Sotnikov, Sergey; Tilson, Hugh; Corso, Liza; Millington, Wayne

2006-01-01

The Institute of Medicine has recommended that policy decisions about improvement of national public health systems be guided by sound scientific evidence. However, to date there is no national research agenda to help guide public health systems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was called upon to lead a collaborative consensus-based process to define key research questions and establish a framework to create opportunities to better coordinate, leverage, and identify public health resources, which are increasingly scarce. The public health systems research agenda that emerged from this process has 14 overarching priority research themes. This national agenda should stimulate and guide research to meet the urgent need to improve the nation’s public health systems. PMID:16449601

The completeness of cancer treatment data on the National Health Collections.

PubMed

Gurney, Jason; Sarfati, Diana; Dennett, Elizabeth; Koea, Jonathan

2013-08-30

The New Zealand Ministry of Health (MoH) maintains a number of National Collections, which contain data on diagnoses, procedures and service provision for patients. There are concerns that these collections may underestimate the provision of cancer treatment, but the extent to which this is true is largely unknown. In this brief report, we focus on the Auckland region to illustrate the extent to which the National Collections undercount receipt of surgery in patients with breast, colon or renal cancer, and receipt of chemo- and/or radiotherapy for breast cancer patients with regional extent of disease (all diagnosed 2006-2008). We collected treatment data from the National collections and augmented this with data from Cancer Centres, breast cancer registers, private hospitals and personal clinician databases. The National Collections were used to determine 'baseline' treatment data, and we then compared receipt of treatment to that observed on the augmented dataset. We found that the National Collections undercounted receipt of surgery by 13-19%, and receipt of chemo- or radiotherapy for breast cancer patients by 18% and 16% respectively. Our observations clearly point toward (1) a non-reporting private hospital 'effect' on surgery data completeness; and (2) underreporting of adjuvant therapy to the MoH by service providers.

Roles and challenges of the health information management educator: a national HIM faculty survey.

PubMed

Houser, Shannon H; Tesch, Linde; Hart-Hester, Susan; Dixon-Lee, Claire

2009-01-01

Health information technology initiatives created the framework for a national health information infrastructure that concomitantly fostered a need to build intellectual capacity within our current and future health information management (HIM) work force. Results from the 2008 HIM Educator Survey are discussed. Developed for voluntary electronic participation, the survey comprised a series of questions about educators' professional interests and responsibilities. Summary data from the 402 respondents are provided and highlight areas such as academic rank, teaching status, salary range, levels of interest in various issues, and use of virtual learning tools. Data from this survey provide insights into the concerns and challenges many HIM educators face in today's training institutions and suggest implications for future directions in work force training and professional development within the HIM field.

NATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE SUSTAINABILITY OF HEALTH KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION INITIATIVES IN UGANDA.

PubMed

Basaza, Robert; Kinegyere, Alison; Mutatina, Boniface; Sewankambo, Nelson

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to provide evidence about the design and implementation of policies for advancing the sustainability of knowledge translation (KT) initiatives and policies in Uganda's health system. We searched for and reviewed evidence about KT sustainability issues in Uganda, the impacts of options, barriers to implementing these options, and implementation strategies to address such barriers. In instances where the systematic reviews provided limited evidence, these were supplemented with relevant primary studies. Documents such as the government reports and unpublished literature were also included in the search. Key informant interviews and a policy dialogue were conducted, and an expert working group guided the study. The KT sustainability issues identified were: the absence of a specific unit within the health sector to coordinate and synthesize research; health worker not familiar with KT activities and not often used. Furthermore, Uganda lacks a mechanism to sustain its current national health frameworks or platforms, and does not have a system to ensure the sustained coordination of existing national health KT platforms. The policy options proposed include: (i) the identification of a KT champion; (ii) the establishment of an operational KT framework; (iii) KT capacity building for researchers and research users, as well as policy and decision makers. The sustainability of KT will be influenced by the prevailing context and concerns within healthcare both in Uganda and internationally. Furthermore, the availability of resources for KT advocacy, communication, and program design will impact on the sustainability of Uganda's KT activities.

National Institutes of Health eliminates funding for national architecture linking primary care research.

PubMed

Peterson, Kevin A

2007-01-01

With the ending of the National Electronic Clinical Trial and Research Network (NECTAR) pilot programs and the abridgement of Clinical Research Associate initiative, the National Institutes of Health Roadmap presents a strategic shift for practice-based research networks from direct funding of a harmonized national infrastructure of cooperating research networks to a model of local engagement of primary care clinics performing practice-based research under the aegis of regional academic health centers through Clinical and Translational Science Awards. Although this may present important opportunities for partnering between community practices and large health centers, for primary care researchers, the promise of a transformational change that brings a unified national primary care community into the clinical research enterprise seems likely to remain unfulfilled.

Physician privacy concerns when disclosing patient data for public health purposes during a pandemic influenza outbreak

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Privacy concerns by providers have been a barrier to disclosing patient information for public health purposes. This is the case even for mandated notifiable disease reporting. In the context of a pandemic it has been argued that the public good should supersede an individual's right to privacy. The precise nature of these provider privacy concerns, and whether they are diluted in the context of a pandemic are not known. Our objective was to understand the privacy barriers which could potentially influence family physicians' reporting of patient-level surveillance data to public health agencies during the Fall 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza outbreak. Methods Thirty seven family doctors participated in a series of five focus groups between October 29-31 2009. They also completed a survey about the data they were willing to disclose to public health units. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the amount of patient detail the participants were willing to disclose, factors that would facilitate data disclosure, and the consensus on those factors. The analysis of the qualitative data was based on grounded theory. Results The family doctors were reluctant to disclose patient data to public health units. This was due to concerns about the extent to which public health agencies are dependable to protect health information (trusting beliefs), and the possibility of loss due to disclosing health information (risk beliefs). We identified six specific actions that public health units can take which would affect these beliefs, and potentially increase the willingness to disclose patient information for public health purposes. Conclusions The uncertainty surrounding a pandemic of a new strain of influenza has not changed the privacy concerns of physicians about disclosing patient data. It is important to address these concerns to ensure reliable reporting during future outbreaks. PMID:21658256

Physician privacy concerns when disclosing patient data for public health purposes during a pandemic influenza outbreak.

PubMed

El Emam, Khaled; Mercer, Jay; Moreau, Katherine; Grava-Gubins, Inese; Buckeridge, David; Jonker, Elizabeth

2011-06-09

Privacy concerns by providers have been a barrier to disclosing patient information for public health purposes. This is the case even for mandated notifiable disease reporting. In the context of a pandemic it has been argued that the public good should supersede an individual's right to privacy. The precise nature of these provider privacy concerns, and whether they are diluted in the context of a pandemic are not known. Our objective was to understand the privacy barriers which could potentially influence family physicians' reporting of patient-level surveillance data to public health agencies during the Fall 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza outbreak. Thirty seven family doctors participated in a series of five focus groups between October 29-31 2009. They also completed a survey about the data they were willing to disclose to public health units. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the amount of patient detail the participants were willing to disclose, factors that would facilitate data disclosure, and the consensus on those factors. The analysis of the qualitative data was based on grounded theory. The family doctors were reluctant to disclose patient data to public health units. This was due to concerns about the extent to which public health agencies are dependable to protect health information (trusting beliefs), and the possibility of loss due to disclosing health information (risk beliefs). We identified six specific actions that public health units can take which would affect these beliefs, and potentially increase the willingness to disclose patient information for public health purposes. The uncertainty surrounding a pandemic of a new strain of influenza has not changed the privacy concerns of physicians about disclosing patient data. It is important to address these concerns to ensure reliable reporting during future outbreaks.

Migration, settlement change and health in post-apartheid South Africa: triangulating health and demographic surveillance with national census data.

PubMed

Collinson, Mark A; Tollman, Stephen M; Kahn, Kathleen

2007-08-01

World population growth will be increasingly concentrated in the urban areas of the developing world; however, some scholars caution against the oversimplification of African urbanization noting that there may be "counter-urbanization" and a prevailing pattern of circular rural-urban migration. The aim of the paper is to examine the ongoing urban transition in South Africa in the post-apartheid period, and to consider the health and social policy implications of prevailing migration patterns. Two data sets were analysed, namely the South African national census of 2001 and the Agincourt health and demographic surveillance system. A settlement-type transition matrix was constructed on the national data to show how patterns of settlement have changed in a five-year period. Using the sub-district data, permanent and temporary migration was characterized, providing migration rates by age and sex, and showing the distribution of origins and destinations. The comparison of national and sub-district data highlight the following features: urban population growth, particularly in metropolitan areas, resulting from permanent and temporary migration; prevailing patterns of temporary, circular migration, and a changing gender balance in this form of migration; stepwise urbanization; and return migration from urban to rural areas. Policy concerns include: rural poverty exacerbated by labour migration; explosive conditions for the transmission of HIV; labour migrants returning to die in rural areas; and the challenges for health information created by chronically ill migrants returning to rural areas to convalesce. Lastly, suggestions are made on how to address the dearth of relevant population information for policy-making in the fields of migration, settlement change and health.

Why some countries have national health insurance, others have national health services, and the U.S. has neither.

PubMed

Navarro, V

1989-01-01

This article presents a discussion of why some capitalist developed countries have national health insurance schemes, others have national health services, and the U.S. has neither. The first section provides a critical analysis of some of the major answers given to these questions by authors belonging to the schools of thought defined as 'public choice', 'power group pluralism' and 'post-industrial convergence'. The second section puts forward an alternative explanation rooted in an historical analysis of the correlation of class forces in each country. The different forms of funding and organization of health services, structured according to the corporate model or to the liberal-welfare market capitalism model, have appeared historically in societies with different correlations of class forces. In all these societies the major social force behind the establishment of a national health program has been the labor movement (and its political instruments--the socialist parties) in its pursuit of the welfare state. In the final section the developments in the health sector after World War II are explained. It is postulated that the growth of public expenditures in the health sector and the growth of universalism and coverage of health benefits that have occurred during this period are related to the strength of the labor movement in these countries.

Bioactive contaminants of emerging concern in National Park waters of the northern Colorado Plateau, USA.

PubMed

Weissinger, Rebecca H; Blackwell, Brett R; Keteles, Kristen; Battaglin, William A; Bradley, Paul M

2018-05-02

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), wastewater indicators (WWIs), and pesticides (herein, Contaminants of Emerging Concern [CECs]) have been documented in surface waters throughout the world and have associated risks to aquatic life. While much research has focused on temperate and urbanized watersheds, less is known about CEC presence in semi-arid landscapes, where water availability is limited and populations are low. CEC presence in water and sediment is reported for 21 sites in eight U.S. national parks in the northern Colorado Plateau region. From 2012 to 2016, at least one PPCP and/or WWI was detected at most sites on over half of sampling visits, indicating that CECs are not uncommon even in isolated areas. CEC detections were generally fewer and at lower concentrations than in urbanized or agricultural watersheds. Consistent with studies from other U.S. regions, the most frequently detected CECs in this study include DEET, caffeine, organophosphorus flame retardants, and bisphenol A in water and fecal indicators and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediment. Maximum concentrations in this study were generally below available water quality benchmarks, sediment quality guidelines, and risk assessment thresholds associated with vertebrates. Additional work is needed to assess the potential activity of hormones, which had high reporting limits in our study, and potential bioactivity of environmental concentrations for invertebrates, microbial communities, and algae. Potential sources of CEC contamination include upstream wastewater effluent discharges and National Park Service invasive-plant-control herbicide applications. CEC occurrence patterns and similarities between continuous and isolated flow locations suggest that direct contamination from individual visitors may also occur. While our data indicate there is little aquatic health risk associated with CECs at our sites, our results demonstrate the ubiquity of CECs on the landscape and a

Assessment of Behavioral Health Concerns in the Community Affected by the Flint Water Crisis - Michigan (USA) 2016.

PubMed

Fortenberry, Gamola Z; Reynolds, Patricia; Burrer, Sherry L; Johnson-Lawrence, Vicki; Wang, Alice; Schnall, Amy; Pullins, Price; Kieszak, Stephanie; Bayleyegn, Tesfaye; Wolkin, Amy

2018-06-01

The Flint Community Resilience Group (Flint, Michigan USA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; Atlanta, Georgia USA) assessed behavioral health concerns among community members to determine the impact of lead contamination of the Flint, Michigan water supply. A Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) was conducted from May 17 through May 19, 2016 using a multi-stage cluster sampling design to select households and individuals to interview. One-half of households felt overlooked by decision makers. The majority of households self-reported that at least one member experienced more behavioral health concerns than usual. The prevalence of negative quality of life indicators and financial concerns in Flint was higher than previously reported in the Michigan 2012 and 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey. The following can be considered to guide recovery efforts in Flint: identifying additional resources for behavioral health interventions and conducting follow-up behavioral health assessments to evaluate changes in behavioral health concerns over time; considering the impact of household economic factors when implementing behavioral health interventions; and ensuring community involvement and engagement in recovery efforts to ease community stress and anxiety. FortenberryGZ, ReynoldsP, BurrerSL, Johnson-LawrenceV, WangA, SchnallA, PullinsP, KieszakS, BayleyegnT, WolkinA. Assessment of behavioral health concerns in the community affected by the Flint water crisis - Michigan (USA) 2016. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(3):256-265.

Epidemiology of health concerns among collegiate student musicians participating in marching band.

PubMed

Hatheway, Melissa; Chesky, Kris

2013-12-01

Participation in marching band requires intense physical and mental requirements, altered and potentially elevated biomechanical demands related to performing musical instruments while marching, routine exposures to elevated noise levels and at times hazardous weather conditions, and time commitments for practice and travel. Unfortunately, there are no known epidemiologic studies that systematically examine the perception of health-related consequences among college students participating in a collegiate marching band. There are no known studies that attempt to understand if the perceived consequences of marching band are different for students majoring in music compared to non-music major students. In response to this deficiency, this study collected and characterized occupational health patterns and concerns associated with participation in a collegiate marching band. Members of a large collegiate marching band (n=246/310, 76%) responded to a 70-item epidemiologic survey. Results reveal patterns of health concerns and how they differ when compared across music majors vs non-music majors and instrument groups.

Forest health monitoring: 2003 national technical report

Treesearch

John W. Coulston; Mark J. Ambrose; Kurt H. Riitters; Barbara L. Conkling; William D. Smith

2005-01-01

The Forest Health Monitoring Program’s annual national reports present results from forest health data analyses focusing on a national perspective. The Criteria and Indicators for the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests are used as a reporting framework. This report has five main sections. The first contains introductory material....

Coping experience of health concerns and physical disability for older Chinese people: A qualitative, descriptive study.

PubMed

Mei, He; Turale, Sue

2017-12-01

In this qualitative, descriptive study, we explored the perspectives of older, community-dwelling Chinese people regarding their experiences of coping with a physical disability and their health concerns. Twenty participants were interviewed in-depth, and data were analyzed using content analysis. Five themes with 13 subthemes emerged that described older people's experiences of coping with health concerns and disability: (i) ignoring health concerns; (ii) managing self; (iii) seeking medical help; (iv) living with physical disability; and (v) relying on limited resources. Most participants did not have sufficient access to health services due to physical disability and financial deficits, so they tended to ignore their health conditions or tackle them independently before seeking medical help. At the same time, they were impacted on by social and cultural factors. Policies are required that offer more resources to community-dwelling people with disabilities in China. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Safety and health perceptions and concerns of custom harvesters.

PubMed

Steffen, R W; Frazier, K W; Watson, D G; Harrison, T V

2007-11-01

This study elicited the perceptions and concerns of custom harvesters regarding safety and health issues faced in their operations, self-perceived knowledge of selected regulations, and self-perceived ability to train employees on the safe operation of equipment. The average age of custom harvesters' (CH) employees was 22 to 25 years (47.2%). The most common length of the harvest season was 5 to 6 months (70.9%). The most common responses to length of work day were 9 to 11 hours (34.5%) and 12 to 14 hours (54.5%). In general, CH ranked combine operation experience as most important when hiring employees. The CH felt inexperience was the leading contributor to lost-time incidents. They were most concerned about DOT regulations and Worker's Compensation rules, but also felt they had a good knowledge of those areas.

The National Adolescent Student Health Survey: Survey Replication Booklet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

American School Health Association, Kent, OH.

The National Adolescent Student Health Survey (NASHS), initiated in 1985, is conducted to examine the health-related knowledge, practices, and attitudes of the nation's youth in the following health areas: AIDS; Nutrition; Consumer Health; Sexually Transmitted Disease; Drug and Alcohol Use; Suicide; Injury Prevention; and Violence. Findings…

Explanatory models concerning the effects of small-area characteristics on individual health.

PubMed

Voigtländer, Sven; Vogt, Verena; Mielck, Andreas; Razum, Oliver

2014-06-01

Material and social living conditions at the small-area level are assumed to have an effect on individual health. We review existing explanatory models concerning the effects of small-area characteristics on health and describe the gaps future research should try to fill. Systematic literature search for, and analysis of, studies that propose an explanatory model of the relationship between small-area characteristics and health. Fourteen studies met our inclusion criteria. Using various theoretical approaches, almost all of the models are based on a three-tier structure linking social inequalities (posited at the macro-level), small-area characteristics (posited at the meso-level) and individual health (micro-level). No study explicitly defines the geographical borders of the small-area context. The health impact of the small-area characteristics is explained by specific pathways involving mediating factors (psychological, behavioural, biological). These pathways tend to be seen as uni-directional; often, causality is implied. They may be modified by individual factors. A number of issues need more attention in research on explanatory models concerning small-area effects on health. Among them are the (geographical) definition of the small-area context; the systematic description of pathways comprising small-area contextual as well as compositional factors; questions of direction of association and causality; and the integration of a time dimension.

77 FR 27469 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Closed Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-10

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental... clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Institute of Mental Health... Extramural Activities, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 6001 Executive...

77 FR 29675 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Closed Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-18

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental... unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Institute of Mental Health Special... Extramural Activities, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 6001 Executive...

75 FR 82408 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Closed Meetings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-30

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental... unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Institute of Mental Health Initial... Extramural Activities, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, 6001 Executive...

76 FR 77239 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-12

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental... U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of a meeting of the National Advisory Mental Health Council... clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Advisory Mental Health...

75 FR 51276 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-19

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental... U.S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of a meeting of the National Advisory Mental Health Council... clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Advisory Mental Health...

78 FR 77692 - National Institute of Mental Health Notice of Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-24

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES National Institutes of Health National Institute of Mental....S.C. App.), notice is hereby given of a meeting of the National Advisory Mental Health Council. The... clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Name of Committee: National Advisory Mental Health...

ADHD and Health Services Utilization in the National Health Interview Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cuffe, Steven P.; Moore, Charity G.; McKeown, Robert

2009-01-01

Objective: Describe the general health, comorbidities and health service use among U.S. children with ADHD. Method: The 2001 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) contained the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; used to determine probable ADHD), data on medical problems, overall health, and health care utilization. Results: Asthma…

Addressing Parental Vaccine Concerns: Engagement, Balance, and Timing

PubMed Central

Glanz, Jason M.; Kraus, Courtney R.; Daley, Matthew F.

2015-01-01

The recent United States measles epidemic has sparked another contentious national discussion about childhood vaccination. A growing number of parents are expressing concerns about the safety of vaccines, often fueled by misinformation from the internet, books, and other nonmedical sources. Many of these concerned parents are choosing to refuse or delay childhood vaccines, placing their children and surrounding communities at risk for serious diseases that are nearly 100% preventable with vaccination. Between 10% and 15% of parents are asking physicians to space out the timing of vaccines, which often poses an ethical dilemma for physicians. This trend reflects a tension between personal liberty and public health, as parents fight to control the decisions that affect the health of their children and public health officials strive to maintain high immunization rates to prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. Interventions to address this emerging public health issue are needed. We describe a framework by which web-based interventions can be used to help parents make evidence-based decisions about childhood vaccinations. PMID:26252770

Health Concerns of Northeastern Pennsylvania Residents Living in an Unconventional Oil and Gas Development County.

PubMed

McDermott-Levy, Ruth; Garcia, Victoria

2016-11-01

This study was conducted to describe the health concerns of residents of an unconventional oil and natural gas development (UOGD) community and identify methods to best disseminate health information to the residents. A qualitative descriptive study of 27 residents of Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, was conducted. Residents described their health concerns in terms of their changing community as a result of UOGD, their feelings of stress and powerlessness related to these changes, and the limited response of their local policymakers and protective agencies. There were indications of misinformation related to routine environmental health and UOGD environmental risks. Web-based educational programs with downloadable printed materials to bridge the knowledge gaps of residents and health professionals are recommended. Recommendations include public health nurses providing education to communities and other health professionals regarding environmental health risks, working with communities to advocate for health-protective regulations, and adopting a community-based participatory approach to meet the needs of community members. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

National Institutes of Health Funding in Rhode Island.

PubMed

Mao, George; Ramratnam, Bharat

2017-07-05

We present an overview of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding in Rhode Island through analysis of 935 NIH grants received during the fiscal years of 2012 to 2016. NIH funded over 2,600 grants from 2012 to 2016, of which approximately 900 were new grant awards, and the remainder were annual grant renewals. The most funded type of research in Rhode Island is mental health and substance abuse, followed by infectious disease, neurology, and public health. Research funding of cardiovascular diseases, on a per capita basis, are on par with the rest of the nation, while cancer research funding is less than one half the national average. The largest NIH institutional funding source is the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), followed by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). While research grants (R01s) remain the predominant source of NIH funding, investigators in Rhode Island have secured additional funding through program project (P) grants with the aim of bolstering research resources and collaboration throughout the state. [Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2017-07.asp].

Towards a feminist global bioethics: addressing women's health concerns worldwide.

PubMed

Tong, R

2001-01-01

In this paper I argue that a global bioethics is possible. Specifically, I present the view that there are within feminist approaches to bioethics some conceptual and methodological tools necessary to forge a bioethics that embraces the health-related concerns of both developing and developed nations equally. To support my argument I discuss some of the challenges that have historically confronted feminists. If feminists accept the idea that women are entirely the same, then feminists present as fact the fiction of the essential "Woman." Not only does "Woman" not exist, -she" obscures important racial, ethnic, cultural, and class differences among women. However, if feminists stress women's differences too much, feminists lose the power to speak coherently and cogently about gender justice, women's rights, and sexual equality in general. Analyzing the ways in which the idea of difference as well as the idea of sameness have led feminists astray, I ask whether it is possible to avoid the Scylla of absolutism (imperialism, colonialism, hegemony) on the one hand and the Charybdis of relativism (postmodernism, fragmentation, Balkanization) on the other. Finally, after reflecting upon the work of Uma Narayan, Susan Muller Okin, and Martha Nussbaum, I conclude that there is a way out of this ethical bind. By focusing on women's, children's, and men's common human needs, it is possible to lay the foundation for a just and caring global bioethics.

Projections of national health expenditures through the year 2000

PubMed Central

Sonnefeld, Sally T.; Waldo, Daniel R.; Lemieux, Jeffrey A.; McKusick, David R.

1991-01-01

In this article, the authors present a scenario for health expenditures during the 1990s. Assuming that current laws and practices remain unchanged, the Nation will spend $1.6 trillion for health care in the year 2000, an amount equal to 16.4 percent of that year's gross national product. Medicare and Medicaid will foot an increasing share of the Nation's health bill, rising to more than one-third of the total. The factors accounting for growth in national health spending are described as well as the effects of those factors on spending by type of service and by source of funds. PMID:10114931

Assessing environmental attitudes and concerns about a contaminated site in a densely populated suburban environment.

PubMed

Burger, Joanna

2005-02-01

Considerable attention has been devoted to the concerns and perceptions of people residing around contaminated facilities, both brownfields in urban areas and others located in remote and lightly populated areas. This paper examines the concerns of recreationists and sportsmen residing near the Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, in central Long Island, one of the most densely populated regions in the United States, where tourism is of prime importance. On an open-ended question, the greatest concern was pollution, followed by environmental health as a global concern, and human health as a concern for Brookhaven. Accidents/spills, loss of public health, and loss of ecological health were rated highest among a list of concerns, and change in property values was rated lowest. When asked to rank seven concerns, protecting human health was ranked the highest, and economic interests were ranked the lowest. For future land use at Brookhaven, recreational uses were rated the highest, while building houses and factories, and storage of nuclear material were rated the lowest. These data can be used by managers, decision and policy makers, and the general public to assess and manage local and regional environmental concerns and to consider future land uses for decommissioned lands, such as those at Brookhaven.

Growing concerns and controversies to Taiwan's National Health Insurance-what are the lessons from mainland China, South Korea and Singapore?

PubMed

Lee, Yen-Han; Ang, Ting Fang Alvin; Chiang, Timothy C; Kaplan, Warren A

2018-01-01

It has been over 20 years since Taiwan's implementation of its National Health Insurance (NHI) program. Under this program, the health insurance coverage rate has reached approximately 99% of the population. Despite guaranteeing the residents of Taiwan equal access regardless of socioeconomic status and background, critical problems and controversies persist, and they continue to challenge the NHI. We analyze the primary issues facing the NHI program with emphasis on financial and consumer behavioral aspects. Furthermore, we apply models from mainland China, South Korea and Singapore to discuss what Taiwan could learn from the systems employed by these countries to modify the NHI. Targeting the needs of the NHI, we have three policy recommendations: separating the NHI scheme into different target populations, strengthening the NHI referral system and regulating the access of overseas citizens to health services while in Taiwan. After two decades in existence, problems persist and there is a continuing need to improve Taiwan's NHI. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Cross-cultural variation in disease-related concerns among patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

PubMed

Levenstein, S; Li, Z; Almer, S; Barbosa, A; Marquis, P; Moser, G; Sperber, A; Toner, B; Drossman, D A

2001-06-01

The aim of this work was to study cross-cultural variations in the impact of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) on health-related quality of life by an international comparison of disease-related concerns. Item and factor scores on the Rating Form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patient Concerns and overall mean concern levels were compared by analysis of variance among 2002 IBD patients in eight countries. The overall level of concern varied from 51 out of 100 in Portugal to 19 in Sweden, with intermediate scores for Italy (43), Canada (40), United States (39), France (39), Austria (33), and Israel (25). Having surgery, an ostomy, the uncertain nature of the disease, and medication side effects were each rated among the first five in importance in six countries. Other items varied considerably. For example, concern regarding pain and suffering was high in Israel and low in Portugal, whereas concern over developing cancer was low in Italy. Concern over financial issues and access to high-quality health care were inversely associated with measures of national economic prosperity. 1) Cross-cultural comparisons of patient concerns related to IBD are feasible using translated scales. 2) Reporting tendencies vary greatly; within Europe, patients from southern countries report greater overall concern. 3) The complications and the variable evolution of disease elicit general concern, but the importance of specific issues varies among countries. 4) The reasons for national differences may have social, cultural, and/or economic determinants with relevance to the patient-physician relationship, patient education, and therapeutic decision making.

Policy silences: why Canada needs a National First Nations, Inuit and Métis health policy.

PubMed

Lavoie, Josée G

2013-12-27

Despite attempts, policy silences continue to create barriers to addressing the healthcare needs of First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The purpose of this article is to answer the question, if what we have in Canada is an Aboriginal health policy patchwork that fails to address inequities, then what would a Healthy Aboriginal Health Policy framework look like? The data collected included federal, provincial and territorial health policies and legislation that contain Aboriginal, First Nation, Inuit and/or Métis-specific provisions available on the internet. Key websites included the Parliamentary Library, federal, provincial and territorial health and Aboriginal websites, as well as the Department of Justice Canada, Statistics Canada and the Aboriginal Canada Portal. The Indian Act gives the Governor in Council the authority to make health regulations. The First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) of Health Canada historically provided health services to First Nations and Inuit, as a matter of policy. FNIHB's policies are few, and apply only to Status Indians and Inuit. Health legislation in 2 territories and 4 provinces contain no provision to clarify their responsibilities. In provinces where provisions exist, they broadly focus on jurisdiction. Few Aboriginal-specific policies and policy frameworks exist. Generally, these apply to some Aboriginal peoples and exclude others. Although some Aboriginal-specific provisions exist in some legislation, and some policies are in place, significant gaps and jurisdictional ambiguities remain. This policy patchwork perpetuates confusion. A national First Nation, Inuit and Métis policy framework is needed to address this issue.

The Relationship between Radon Knowledge, Concern and Behavior, and Health Values, Health Locus of Control and Preventive Health Behaviors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Cassondra Jeanne

1991-01-01

A survey returned by 300 homeowners (50 percent) in a community at risk for high home radon concentrations found that, although 64 percent were concerned, only 7 percent tested their homes. Findings indicate the need for more education about radon and its health effects. (JOW)

The national financial adjustment policy and the equalisation of health levels among prefectures.

PubMed

Takano, T; Nakamura, K

2001-10-01

The objectives of this study were to examine (1) trends concerning financial assistance from the national government to local governments, (2) trends regarding death rates and life expectancies among prefectures, and (3) the effect of the national financial adjustment policy in equalising both the revenues of local governments and variations in the health levels among prefectures in terms of death rates and life expectancies. The study analysed prefectural income, the amount of national taxes collected, financial assistance from the national government to local governments, and age adjusted death rates and life expectancies of all of the prefectures in Japan during the period from 1965 through 1995. (1) Under the financial adjustment policy, financial assistance from the national government to the local governments, which consists of the sum of the local allocation tax and treasury disbursements, increased from 1831 billion yen in 1965 to 31 116 billion yen in 1995. (2) During the same period, the age adjusted death rate per 100 000 people decreased from 1168.9 (1965) to 545.3 (1995). The range of variation in the age adjusted death rate among prefectures diminished as the coefficient of variation of the death rate declined from 0.060 in 1965 to 0.043 in 1995. (3) There was a significant statistical correlation between higher prefectural incomes and lower mortality rates during from 1965 until 1975 (p < 0.05), whereas this correlation was indistinct in the 1980s and has not been observed since 1990. (4) The relative health level of Tokyo has declined in terms of its ranking among all the prefectures with regard to life expectancy, from being the best in 1965 to below average in 1995. The national financial adjustment policy to balance the revenues of local governments has increased the health levels of rural prefectures. It is probable that the policy reduced the disparity in death rates and life expectancies among prefectures throughout the country. However, the

The importance of establishing a national health security preparedness index.

PubMed

Lumpkin, John R; Miller, Yoon K; Inglesby, Tom; Links, Jonathan M; Schwartz, Angela T; Slemp, Catherine C; Burhans, Robert L; Blumenstock, James; Khan, Ali S

2013-03-01

Natural disasters, infectious disease epidemics, terrorism, and major events like the nuclear incident at Fukushima all pose major potential challenges to public health and security. Events such as the anthrax letters of 2001, Hurricanes Katrina, Irene, and Sandy, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and West Nile virus outbreaks, and the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic have demonstrated that public health, emergency management, and national security efforts are interconnected. These and other events have increased the national resolve and the resources committed to improving the national health security infrastructure. However, as fiscal pressures force federal, state, and local governments to examine spending, there is a growing need to demonstrate both what the investment in public health preparedness has bought and where gaps remain in our nation's health security. To address these needs, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (PHPR), is creating an annual measure of health security and preparedness at the national and state levels: the National Health Security Preparedness Index (NHSPI).

The israeli virtual national health record: a robust national health information infrastructure based on a firm foundation of trust.

PubMed

Saiag, Esther

2005-01-01

In many developed countries, a coordinated effort is underway to build national and regional Health Information Infrastructures (HII) for the linking of disparate sites of care, so that an access to a comprehensive Health Record will be feasible when critical medical decisions are made [1]. However, widespread adoption of such national projects is hindered by a series of barriers- regulatory, technical, financial and cultural. Above all, a robust national HII requires a firm foundation of trust: patients must be assured that their confidential health information will not be misused and that there are adequate legal remedies in the event of inappropriate behavior on the part of either authorized or unauthorized parties[2].The Israeli evolving National HII is an innovative state of the art implementation of a wide-range clinical inter-organizational data exchange, based on a unique concept of virtually temporary sharing of information. A logically connection of multiple caregivers and medical organizations creates a patient-centric virtual repository, without centralization. All information remains in its original format, location, system and ownership. On demand, relevant information is instantly integrated and delivered to the point of care. This system, successfully covering more than half of Israel's population, is currently evolving from a voluntary private-public partnership (dbMOTION and CLALIT HMO) to a formal national reality. The governmental leadership, now taking over the process, is essential to achieve a full potential of the health information technology. All partners of the Israeli health system are coordinated in concert with each other, driven with a shared vision - realizing that a secured, private, confidential health information exchange is assured.

Guidelines for developing effective health education service in a national health agency.

PubMed

Ochor, J O

1983-01-01

The constraints facing health education include: the fragmentation and dispersal of health-educational services among different agencies and personnel; lack of policy guidelines; ineffectively organized and inefficiently managed health education systems; poor hierarchical status and inadequacy of resources. To resolve these constraints, national health education systems in health agencies should be developed on the basis of stipulated guidelines that could ensure their viability, efficiency and effectiveness. A study at the African Regional Health Education Centre, Ibadan, Nigeria, has yielded thirty synthesized guidelines. The "guidelines" were empirically tested as an evaluation tool by assessing the operational and organizational status of Oyo State Health Education Unit, Ibadan, Nigeria. These guidelines are adaptable to local conditions to enhance the re-organization, re-orientation and consolidation of health education in national health agencies.

[Public health research in obstetrics coordinated by the Italian National Health Institute.

PubMed

Donati, Serena

2017-10-01

The Italian National Institute of Health (ISS) has set up a population-based surveillance system for maternal mortality and severe morbidity that covers 75% of total births and promotes the prevention of avoidable outcomes through knowledge-based action. The surveillance system promotes the continuous training of health professionals by distance learning, provides recommendations for clinical practice under the auspices of the ISS - National Guidelines System and strengthens a "no blame" culture among health professionals.

Concerning National Competency Examinations in Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shoemaker, David M.

1979-01-01

Several aspects of national competency tests are discussed: two conceptualizations; arguments pro and con; the federal perspective; a distillation of support and opposition to arguments judged unique to national competency tests; and a hypothetical procedure for implementation. (MH)

Nutrients in the Nation?s streams and groundwater: National Findings and Implications

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dubrovsky, Neil M.; Hamilton, Pixie A.

2010-01-01

A comprehensive national analysis of the distribution and trends of nutrient concentrations in streams and groundwater from 1992 through 2004 is provided by the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Findings describe the distribution and causes of varying nutrient concentrations in streams and groundwater throughout the Nation and examine the primary sources that contribute to elevated concentrations. Results show that excessive nutrient enrichment is a widespread cause of ecological degradation in streams and that nitrate contamination of groundwater used for drinking water, particularly shallow domestic wells in agricultural areas, is a continuing human-health concern. Finally, despite major Federal, State and local nonpoint-source nutrient control efforts for streams and watersheds across the Nation, USGS trend analyses for 1993?2003 suggest limited national progress to reduce the impacts of nonpoint sources of nutrients during this period. Instead, concentrations have remained the same or increased in many streams and aquifers across the Nation, and continue to pose risks to aquatic life and human health. This Fact Sheet highlights selected national findings and their implications, and serves as a companion product to the complete analysis reported in the USGS Circular titled ?The Quality of Our Nation?s Waters?Nutrients in the Nation?s Streams and Groundwater, 1992?2004.?

Role Stress, Coping Effectiveness and Health Concerns of Physical Education Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haney, Colleen J.; Long, Bonita C.

1989-01-01

The relationship of role conflict, role ambiguity, role overload, and perceived coping effectiveness to health concerns was studied for 70 elementary and secondary school physical education teachers and 70 other teachers through a survey questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses indicated that role overload was the best predictor of perceived…

78 FR 54477 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2013-09-04

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77 FR 61011 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2012-10-05

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Medical Research: National Research Service Awards for Research in Primary Medical Care. Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Health and the Environment, Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

General Accounting Office, Washington, DC.

This report was written in response to quesions from the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment concerning the implementation by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of National Research Service Awards (NRSAs) in each of the fiscal years 1986, 1987, and 1988 made available for research in primary medical care. Discussions in this report…

Health Experiences, Concerns, and Interactions with Effectiveness of Secondary Agriculture Teachers in the United States.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Jasper S.; Westrom, Lyle E.

This publication summarizes the findings of several initiatives in studying the health aspects of secondary agriculture teachers in the United States. The study was specifically conducted to determine the health experiences of secondary agriculture teachers, the health problems that cause them to miss work, their health care concerns, personal…

School Nurses' Descriptions of Concerns Arising during Pupils' Health Check-Ups: A Qualitative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poutiainen, Hannele; Holopainen, Arja; Hakulinen-Viitanen, Tuovi; Laatikainen, Tiina

2015-01-01

Objective: To describe the concerns and modes of action of Finnish school nurses during pupils' health check-ups. Methods: Focus group interviews with 17 school nurses were performed in 2011 and again in 2013. Data were analysed using inductive content analysis. Results: School nurses' concerns were mostly associated with the psychosocial…

Detached concern of forensic mental health nurses in therapeutic relationships with patients the application of the early recognition method related to detached concern.

PubMed

Fluttert, Frans; van Meijel, Berno; Nijman, Henk; Bjørkly, Stål; Grypdonck, Mieke

2010-08-01

Improvement of the interaction between forensic mental health nurses and patients may lead to a reduction of inpatient violence. The concept under study is detached concern, which refers to nurses' skills to neutralize the emotional appeal of patients by a balanced attitude between objectivity and emotional involvement. The Patient Contact Questionnaire (PCQ) aims at measuring the degree of concern of nurses for their patients. The PCQ was applied in a pretest-posttest design, evaluating the effects of the Early Recognition Method (ERM). This method aims at the prevention of inpatient violence in forensic psychiatry. Subjects were 116 forensic mental heath nurses working on 16 wards of a large Dutch forensic hospital. First, the baseline scores were compared to scores reported in an earlier study conducted in general psychiatry. Second, pretest-posttest comparisons were carried out for all nurses, and for subgroups of nurses with regard to gender, educational level, years of working experience, and patient population. Third, pretest-posttest comparisons were made on the PCQ item level. The baseline scores of male nurses indicated significantly higher levels of concern than those of female nurses. In addition, more experienced nurses scored significantly higher with regard to concern than less experienced nurses. When comparing the scores before and after applying ERM, no significant differences were found. However, the sores of female nurses showed a tendency toward more concern after implementation of ERM. Detached concern may be a meaningful concept in forensic mental health nursing in measuring nurses' concern for their patients. Levels of detached concern did not change significantly after application of ERM. However, the application of the PCQ could contribute to a better understanding of the interaction between nurses and their patients. 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The UK National Health Service's 'innovation agenda': lessons on commercialisation and trust.

PubMed

Sterckx, Sigrid; Cockbain, Julian

2014-01-01

The UK National Health Service (the 'NHS'), encouraged by the 2011 report Innovation Health and Wealth, Accelerating Adoption and Diffusion in the NHS, and empowered by the Health and Social Care Act 2012, is in the process of adopting a new agenda for stimulating innovation in healthcare. For this, the bodies, body materials, and confidential health information of NHS patients may be co-opted. We explain why this brings the NHS into a moral conflict with its basic goal of providing a universal healthcare service. Putting NHS databases at the disposal of industry, without addressing ethical concerns regarding the privacy, autonomy, and moral integrity of patients and without requiring a 'kick-back' to enhance the service that the NHS provides, is inappropriate. As this article shows, with reference to the commercial arena of direct-to-consumer genetic testing, it is crucial that patient and public trust in the NHS is not eroded. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Dutch National Atlas of Public Health.

PubMed

Zwakhals, S L N; Giesbers, H; Mac Gillavry, E; van Boven, P F; van der Veen, A A

2004-09-01

The Dutch National Atlas of Public Health (http://www.zorgatlas.nl) maps the regional distribution of demand and usage of health care, public health status and influencing factors. The Atlas provides answers to locational questions, e. g. 'Where are the highest mortality rates?', 'Where are the longest waiting lists?' and 'Where are hospitals located?' Maps play a pivotal role in the Atlas. Texts, graphics and diagrams support the interpretation of the maps. The information in the Atlas specifically targets policy makers at the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. For them, the Atlas is a tool for problem detection, policy making and policy evaluation. The Atlas is also aimed at all professionals in health care. In practice, also the general public appears to access and use the Atlas. The Atlas is part of the Dutch Public Health Status and Forecasts (PHSF). The PHSF is made by the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment mandated by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.

Addressing the Health Concerns of VA Women With Sexual Trauma

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-01

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT Lifetime ST disproportionately affects women veterans and can threaten their health and wellbeing. PTSD, IPV, and...alcohol use are closely interrelated and significant concerns for women veterans with lifetime ST . Providing effective and low-cost interventions to...address ST -related risks among women veterans with lifetime ST would advance clinical care for these women in an important area. 15. SUBJECT TERMS

76 FR 82313 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2011-12-30

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78 FR 54478 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Closed Meeting

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2013-09-04

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75 FR 53320 - National Institute of Mental Health; Notice of Closed Meetings

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2010-08-31

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77 FR 24207 - National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics: Teleconference

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2012-04-23

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76 FR 20989 - National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics: Meeting

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77 FR 55214 - National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics: Meeting

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76 FR 4696 - National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics: Meeting

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2011-01-26

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Community-based health insurance knowledge, concern, preferences, and financial planning for health care among informal sector workers in a health district of Douala, Cameroon.

PubMed

Noubiap, Jean Jacques N; Joko, Walburga Yvonne A; Obama, Joel Marie N; Bigna, Jean Joel R

2013-01-01

For the last two decades, promoted by many governments and international number in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2005 in Cameroon, there were only 60 Community-based health insurance (CBHI) schemes nationwide, covering less than 1% of the population. In 2006, the Cameroon government adopted a national strategy aimed at creating at least one CBHI scheme in each health district and covering at least 40% of the population with CBHI schemes by 2015. Unfortunately, there is almost no published data on the awareness and the implementation of CBHI schemes in Cameroon. Structured interviews were conducted in January 2010 with 160 informal sectors workers in the Bonassama health district (BHD) of Douala, aiming at evaluating their knowledge, concern and preferences on CBHI schemes and their financial plan to cover health costs. The awareness on the existence of CHBI schemes was poor awareness schemes among these informal workers. Awareness of CBHI schemes was significantly associated with a high level of education (p = 0.0001). Only 4.4% of respondents had health insurance, and specifically 1.2% were involved in a CBHI scheme. However, 128 (86.2%) respondents thought that belonging to a CBHI scheme could facilitate their access to adequate health care, and were thus willing to be involved in CBHI schemes. Our respondents would have preferred CBHI schemes run by missionaries to CBHI schemes run by the government or people of the same ethnic group (p). There is a very low participation in CBHI schemes among the informal sector workers of the BHD. This is mainly due to the lack of awareness and limited knowledge on the basic concepts of a CBHI by this target population. Solidarity based community associations to which the vast majority of this target population belong are prime areas for sensitization on CBHI schemes. Hence these associations could possibly federalize to create CBHI schemes.

Impact of innovations in national public health markets in Europe.

PubMed

McCarthy, Mark; Alexanderson, Kristina; Voss, Margaretha; Conceição, Claudia; Grimaud, Olivier; Narkauskaité, Laura; Katreniakova, Zuzana; Saliba, Amanda; Sammut, Marvic

2013-11-01

Social innovations can contribute to health and wellbeing. PHIRE (Public Health Innovation and Research in Europe) investigated the impacts at national level of innovation projects funded by the European Union Public Health Programme. Through the European Public Health Association, experts assessed the uptake of the eight public health projects, for 30 European countries. Their reports were assembled by country and, thereafter, national public health associations reviewed the reports. Following stakeholder workshops, or internal and external consultations, 11 national reports were produced which included discussion on the impacts of the public health innovations in national product markets. In 11 countries, there were reports on the eight innovations for 45 (51%) of the possible public health markets. The innovations contributed positively to policy, practice and research, across different levels and in different ways, in 35 (39%) market, while competing innovation activities were recorded in 10 (11%) markets. The workshops also discussed contributing factors and limitations in dissemination and timing for policy cycles. The impacts of European Union social innovations in public health markets can be identified through national discussions. Further attention should be given to understanding drivers and incentives for successful public health innovations.

42 CFR 124.515 - Compliance alternative for community health centers, migrant health centers and certain National...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., migrant health centers and certain National Health Service Corps sites. 124.515 Section 124.515 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT... certain National Health Service Corps sites. (a) Period of effectiveness. For each fiscal year for which a...

42 CFR 124.515 - Compliance alternative for community health centers, migrant health centers and certain National...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

..., migrant health centers and certain National Health Service Corps sites. 124.515 Section 124.515 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT... certain National Health Service Corps sites. (a) Period of effectiveness. For each fiscal year for which a...

42 CFR 124.515 - Compliance alternative for community health centers, migrant health centers and certain National...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., migrant health centers and certain National Health Service Corps sites. 124.515 Section 124.515 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT... certain National Health Service Corps sites. (a) Period of effectiveness. For each fiscal year for which a...

42 CFR 124.515 - Compliance alternative for community health centers, migrant health centers and certain National...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., migrant health centers and certain National Health Service Corps sites. 124.515 Section 124.515 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT... certain National Health Service Corps sites. (a) Period of effectiveness. For each fiscal year for which a...

Why it's time for a national health program in the United States.

PubMed Central

Waitzkin, H

1989-01-01

The United States lacks a coherent national health program. Current programs leave major gaps in coverage and recently have become more restrictive. Influential policies that have failed to correct crucial problems of the health-care system include competitive strategies, corporate intervention, and public-sector cutbacks with bureaucratic expansion. A national health program that combines elements of national health insurance and a national health service is a policy that would help solve current health-care problems. Previous proposals for national health insurance contained weaknesses that would need correction under a national program. Based on the experiences of other economically advanced countries, a national health program could provide universal entitlement to health care while controlling costs and improving the health-care system through structural reorganization. Current proposals for a national health program contain several basic principles dealing with the scope of services, copayments, financing, cost controls, physician and professional associations, personnel and distribution, prevention, and participation in policy making. Support for a national health program is growing rapidly. Such a program would help protect all people who live in this country from unnecessary illness, suffering, and early death. PMID:2735021

NATIONAL EMPLOYER HEALTH INSURANCE SURVEY (NEHIS)

EPA Science Inventory

The National Employer Health Insurance Survey (NEHIS) was developed to produce estimates on employer-sponsored health insurance data in the United States. The NEHIS was the first Federal survey to represent all employers in the United States by State and obtain information on all...

The Italian National Health Service expenditure on workplace prevention and safety (2006-2013): a national-level analysis.

PubMed

Signorelli, C; Riccò, M; Odone, A

2016-01-01

The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that countries' health policies should give high priority to primary prevention of occupational health hazards. Scant data are available on health expenditure on workplace prevention and safety services and on its impact on occupational health outcomes in Italy and in other European countries. objective of the present study was to systematically retrieve, analyse and critically appraise the available national-level data on public health expenditure on workplace prevention and safety services as well as to correlate them with occupational health outcomes. National-level data on total public health expenditure on prevention services, its share spent on workplace prevention and safety services as well as on number of workers receiving appropriate health surveillance were derived from the national public health expenditure monitoring system over a 8-year study period (2006-2013). An analytic approach was adopted to explore the association between health expenditure and occupational health services supply. The Italian National Health Service spends almost € 5 billion per year on preventive care, of which 13.3% are spent on workplace prevention and safety programmes (€ 645 million, € 10.6 per capita). There is wide heterogeneity between Italian regions. Our findings are useful for health systems and policies analysis, national and international comparisons as well as for health policy makers to plan, implement and monitor occupational health prevention programmes.

Future Directions for the National Health Accounts

PubMed Central

Huskamp, Haiden A.; Newhouse, Joseph P.

1999-01-01

Over the past 15 years, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has engaged in ongoing efforts to improve the methodology and data collection processes used to develop the national health accounts (NHA) estimates of national health expenditures (NHE). In March 1998, HCFA initiated a third conference to explore possible improvements or useful extensions to the current NHA projects. This article summarizes the issues discussed at the conference, provides an overview of three commissioned papers on future directions for the NHA that were presented, and summarizes suggestions made by participants regarding future directions for the accounts. PMID:11481786

The Predictive Effects of Work Environment on Stigma Toward and Practical Concerns for Seeking Mental Health Services.

PubMed

Yamawaki, Niwako; Kelly, Clinton; Dresden, Brooke E; Busath, Gregory L; Riley, Christina E

2016-11-01

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate factors in the work environment of the U.S. military that influence barriers toward seeking help from mental health. In particular, this study investigated the effects of gender, pay grade, satisfaction of work, coworkers, leaders, and perceived hostility in the workplace on practical concerns for and stigma toward seeking help from mental health services. A sample of 22,792 was drawn from the 2012 Workplace and Gender Relations Survey. The results revealed the crucial roles of work environments for stigma toward seeking help from mental health services. Being female or an officer are significant predictors for greater stigma toward and practical concerns that impede seeking help from mental health professionals in comparison to being male or an enlisted officer. Furthermore, higher workplace hostility, lower satisfaction toward leaders, coworkers, and one's work were all significant predictors for greater stigma toward and practical concerns for seeking help. This study revealed the vital roles of work environments in the military that influence stigma toward and practical concerns for seeking help from mental health professionals. Some implications and recommendations for prevention and intervention for underutilization of mental health services are discussed. Reprint & Copyright © 2016 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.