| CityMatCH NewsBriefs highlights recent articles and information from MCH-related organizations, publications, and listservs. Please circulate this NewsBrief within your agency, and to others interested in these issues. |
| Women's Health |
| UNC Study: Wives of Deployed Soldiers Suffer More Depression, Sleep Disorders |
| Randomized Controlled Trial Describes Intervention that Decreases Rates of Maternal Intimate Partner Violence |
| Disparities in Health |
| Issue Focuses on Social Sources of Disparities in Health and Health Care |
| New Program Brief: AHRQ Activities Using Community-Based Participatory Research to Address Health Care Disparities |
| Overweight and Obesity |
| CDC Launches Toolkit to Accompany Physical Activity Guidelines |
| Prevalence of Abnormal Lipid Levels Among Youths - United States, 1999-2006 |
| Analyses Examine Prevalence of High Body Mass Index Among Children and Adolescents |
| First Lady to Launch Initiative to Fight Childhood Obesity |
| Columbia Study: Obesity Now Poses as Great a Threat to Health as Smoking |
| Free Theme Journal Issue on Food Systems and Public Health |
| Adolescent Health |
| One-Third of Teen Mothers Do Not Earn High School Diploma or GED |
| First National Survey of Youth in Custody Provides Estimates of Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Correctional Facilities |
| Call for Improved Public Health Surveillance of Choking Game in Youth |
| Opportunities |
| Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to Speak at AMCHP Conference - Early Bird Deadline: February 1 |
| Apply Now for the MCH-Public Health Leadership Institute - Deadline: February 15 |
| The County Health Rankings--Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health (MATCH) |
| NBPHE Webinar: How to Become Certified in Public Health: Study Tips and Tricks - February 15, 2010 |
| SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Prevention Student Internship Program - Deadline Extended: February 5, 2010 |
| Comments Sought on National Plan for Action: Health Disparities |
| Earn Certified in Public Health Continuing Education Credit |
| ASPH Announces Public Health Policy Fellowship - Deadline: March 11, 2010 |
| MCHB/CDC Training Course in MCH Epidemiology |
| Reauthorizing the Child Nutrition Act |
| Resources, Reports, Research |
| US Teen Pregnancy Rate Increases |
| Healthy Foster Care America Web Site |
| MCH-EPI Conference Materials Now Available |
| Kaiser Examines Health Reform and a National High-Risk Pool Program |
| Study Finds Daily Media Use Among Children and Teens up Dramatically from Five Years Ago |
| Study: CBO Underestimates Cost Savings from Health Reform |
| Report Provides National- and State-Level Data on Multiple Aspects of Children's Health and Well-Being |
| News of Interest |
| Coming Out of Crisis: Patient Experiences in Primary Care in New Orleans, Four Years Post-Katrina |
| Issue Brief Explains How to Put Children in the Express Lane to Health Insurance |
| Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule --- United States, 2010 |
| Article Examines Asthma and Its Link to Adjustment in 4- to 7-Year-Olds Living in a Homeless Shelter |
| Women's Health |
| UNC Study: Wives of Deployed Soldiers Suffer More Depression, Sleep Disorders |
| Wives of soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, anxiety, sleep disorders and other mental health conditions than women whose husbands are not deployed, according to a new study by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. To view article, go to: http://www.sph.unc.edu/schoolwide_news/unc_study_wives_of_deployed_soldiers_suffer_more_depression_sleep_disorders_13379_8289.html |
| ASPH Friday Letter #1605 - 25 January 2010 |
| Randomized Controlled Trial Describes Intervention that Decreases Rates of Maternal Intimate Partner Violence |
| Bair-Merritt MH, Jennings JM, Chen R, et al. 2010. "Reducing maternal intimate partner violence after the birth of a child: A randomized controlled trial of the Hawaii Healthy Start Home Visitation Program." Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 164(1):16-23. "When compared with a control group, participation in the Hawaii HSP [Healthy Start Program] was associated with significantly reduced IPV [intimate partner violence] perpetration for the child's first three years of life," state the authors of an article published in the January 2010 issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Both IPV victimization and childhood IPV exposure are associated with adverse health consequences. Despite growing understanding of the epidemiology and health consequences of IPV, studies testing effective interventions have been limited. The article presents findings from a study to estimate over two three-year intervals (during program implementation and over long-term follow-up) whether home visitation beginning after the birth of a child was associated with changes in (1) average rates of mothers' IPV victimization and perpetration and (2) rates of specific IPV types (physical assault, verbal abuse, sexual assault, and injury). -- SNIP The abstract is available at: http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/164/1/16?ct=ct. |
| MCH Alert - 15 January 2010 |
| Disparities in Health |
| Issue Focuses on Social Sources of Disparities in Health and Health Care |
| Volume 27 of Research in the Sociology of Health Care focuses on Social Sources of Disparities in Health and Health Care. The first section, Disparities in Health and Health Care: Basic Perspectives, reviews basic material on the topic. The second section on Racial and Ethnic Factors in Disparities in Health and Health Care Utilization includes five articles, three focused on racial and ethnic factors in disparities and two on those factors and other social factors such as SES. The next section focuses on Income, SES, and Cultural Capital in Disparities in Health and
Health Care Delivery and includes an article that focuses on the role of education, one on the impact of childhood poverty on later life health and one on the role of cultural capital in health outcomes. The fourth section includes two papers on Providers, Facilities and Health Disparities. The last section, Part 5, deals with Locally Oriented Studies in Health Disparities and includes three papers looking at community approaches for eliminating health disparities, the effects of household assets upon rural residents' self-reported physical and emotional well-being and disparities in health care among Vietnamese Americans in New Orleans and the impacts of
Hurricane Katrina. For more information, visit: http://books.emeraldinsight.com/display.asp?K=9781848558342 |
| Community-Campus Partnerships for Health/CBPR Mailing List - 18 January 2010 |
| New Program Brief: AHRQ Activities Using Community-Based Participatory Research to Address Health Care Disparities |
| The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released a new program brief on AHRQ Activities Using Community-Based Participatory Research to Address Health Care Disparities. The brief is available online at: http://www.ahrq.gov/research/cbprbrief.htm |
| Community-Campus Partnerships for Health/CBPR Mailing List - 15 January 2010 |
| Overweight and Obesity |
| CDC Launches Toolkit to Accompany Physical Activity Guidelines |
| The Youth Physical Activity Guidelines Toolkit highlights strategies that families, schools, and communities can use to support physical activity among youth. The toolkit was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to promote the guidelines for children and adolescents included in the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. A user guide provides an overview of all toolkit materials, offers suggestions for customizing components, and provides examples of use. Additional toolkit contents include fact sheets, a poster, and PowerPoint presentations on the roles of families, schools, and communities in promoting youth physical activity. The toolkit is available at: http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/physicalactivity/guidelines.htm#1. |
| MCH Alert - 22 January 2010 |
| Prevalence of Abnormal Lipid Levels Among Youths - United States, 1999-2006 |
| MMWR Weekly/Vol. 59/No. 2 "Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among adults in the United States (1). CVD risk factors, including abnormal lipid levels and elevated body mass index (BMI), often emerge during childhood and adolescence (2). In 2008, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) established recommendations for targeted screening of youths aged greater than or equal to two years for abnormal blood lipid levels (2). To provide prevalence data on abnormal lipid levels among youths, eligibility for lipid screening based on BMI, and eligibility for therapeutic lifestyle counseling among overweight youths, CDC analyzed results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for 1999--2006. This report describes the results of that analysis, which found that the prevalence of abnormal lipid levels among youths aged 12--19 years was 20.3%. This prevalence varied by BMI; 14.2% of normal weight youths, 22.3% of overweight and 42.9% of obese had at least one abnormal lipid level. Among all youths, 32% had a high BMI and therefore would be candidates for lipid screening under AAP recommendations. Given the high prevalence of abnormal lipid levels among youths who are overweight and obese in this study, clinicians should be aware of lipid screening guidelines, especially recommendations for screening youths who are overweight or obese." -- SNIP To access the article, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5902a1.htm |
| MMWR - 22 January 2010 |
| Analyses Examine Prevalence of High Body Mass Index Among Children and Adolescents |
| Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Curtin LR, et al. 2010. Prevalence of high body mass index in US children and adolescents, 2007-2008. Journal of the American Medical Association 303(3):235-241. "The results presented here indicate that the prevalence of high BMI [body mass index] in childhood has remained steady for 10 years and has not declined," state the authors of an article published in the January 20, 2010, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Since 1980, the prevalence of BMI for age at or above the 95th percentile has tripled among school-age children, and it remains high at 17 percent. However, the prevalence of BMI for age at or above the 95th percentile showed no significant changes between 1999 and 2006 among both males and females or among non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, and Mexican-Americans. The article provides estimates of high BMI among children and adolescents (ages 2-19) and high weight-for-recumbent length among infants and toddlers (from birth to age 2). The authors also analyze trends in prevalence between 1999 and 2008. -- SNIP The abstract available at: http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/303/3/242?etoc. |
| MCH Alert - 22 January 2010 |
| First Lady to Launch Initiative to Fight Childhood Obesity |
| On Wednesday, January 20, First Lady Michelle Obama announced that she would launch a major initiative in February to combat childhood obesity. Speaking at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, DC, Mrs. Obama described the obesity epidemic as one of the biggest threats to the nation's health and economy. The initiative will involve the federal government working with local officials and leaders in the business and non-profit sectors in order to provide more nutritious food in schools, allow more opportunities for kids to be physically active and give more communities access to affordable, healthy food. For more information, view the following articles: USA - http://www.usatoday.com/LIFE/usaedition/2010-01-20-michelle-obama-obesity_NU.htm?csp=34 Politico.com - http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0110/31744.html |
| ASPH Friday Letter #1605 - 22 January 2010 |
| Columbia Study: Obesity Now Poses as Great a Threat to Health as Smoking |
| As the U.S. population becomes increasingly obese while smoking rates continue to decline, the morbidity-mortality curves for smoking and obesity in the U.S. have crossed as the latter has become an equal, if not greater health threat in comparison to smoking, according to findings published in the February 2010 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
To view the article, go to: http://www.ajpm-online.net/article/S0749-3797(09)00763-6/abstract |
| ASPH Friday Letter #1605 - 22 January 2010 |
| Free Theme Journal Issue on Food Systems and Public Health |
| In December 2009, the Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition released a special ssue, "Food Systems and Public Health: Linkages to Achieve Healthier Diets and Healthier Communities." The publication presents papers from the April 2009 conference of the same name, and includes policy-relevant research and actionable recommendations. The objectives of the conference were to convene a multidisciplinary team of experts interested in food systems and public health, identify research opportunities and foster interdisciplinary research collaborations. More than 100 leading researchers and practitioners nationwide from the health, nutrition, obesity and health policy arenas - along with those from the sustainable agriculture, economics and agriculture policy
sectors - participated in the discussion. The issue was co-edited by Mary Story, PhD, RD, director of Healthy Eating Research; Michael Hamm, PhD, Michigan State University; and David Wallinga, MD, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. The 289-page publication is available free online at: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/1512497305-7334928/title~content=t792306860 |
| Community-Campus Partnerships for Health/CBPR Mailing List - 18 January 2010 |
| Adolescent Health |
| One-Third of Teen Mothers Do Not Earn High School Diploma or GED |
New Child Trends research finds that one in three (34 percent) young women who had been teen mothers did not earn a high school diploma or a GED, compared with only 6 percent of young women who had not had a teen birth. Among the other findings presented in a fact sheet entitled Diploma Attainment Among Teen Mothers:
To view the fact sheet, go to: http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2010_01_22_FS_DiplomaAttainment.pdf |
| Child Trends Research Update - 25 January 2010 |
| First National Survey of Youth in Custody Provides Estimates of Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Correctional Facilities |
| Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities Reported by Youth, 2008-2009 provides national and facility-based estimates of sexual victimization in juvenile correctional facilities. The special report presents findings from the first National Survey of Youth in Custody (NSYC), conducted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, by Westat, under a cooperative agreement with the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The NSYC represents approximately 26,550 adjudicated youth (91 percent male, 9 percent female) held nationwide in 166 state-owned or state-operated facilities and 29 large locally or privately operated facilities. Topics include juvenile facilities' rates of sexual victimization, the prevalence of sexual victimization, the experiences of victims of sexual victimization, and the circumstances surrounding sexual victimization. Information about the survey methodology, including survey items, is provided. Tables in the appendices contain data on the characteristics of participating juvenile facilities, youth reporting sexual victimization by another youth, and youth reporting staff sexual misconduct. The report is available at: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/svjfry09.pdf. |
| MCH Alert - 15 January 2010 |
| Call for Improved Public Health Surveillance of Choking Game in Youth |
| Ramowski, SK, Nystrom, RJ, Chaumeton, NR et al. "Choking Game" Awareness and Participation Among 8th Graders - Oregon, 2008. MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Vol. 59(1) January 15, 2010 "The 'choking game' is an activity in which persons strangulate themselves to achieve euphoria through brief hypoxia (1). It is differentiated from autoerotic asphyxiation (2,3). The activity can cause long-term disability and death among youths (4). In 2008, CDC reported 82 deaths attributed to the choking game and other strangulation activities during the period 1995-2007; most victims were adolescent males aged 11-16 years (4). To assess the awareness and prevalence of this behavior among 8th graders in Oregon, the Oregon Public Health Division added a question to the 2008 Oregon Healthy Teens survey concerning familiarity with and participation in this activity. This report describes the results of that survey, which indicated that 36.2% of 8th-grade respondents had heard of the choking game, 30.4% had heard of someone participating, and 5.7% had participated themselves. Youths in rural areas were significantly more likely (6.7%) to have participated than youths in urban areas (4.9%). Choking game participation was higher among 8th graders who reported mental health risk factors (4.0%), substance use (7.9%), or both (15.8%), compared with those who reported neither (1.7%). Public health surveillance of these strangulation activities among youths should be expanded to better quantify the risks and understand the motives and circumstances surrounding participation. Parents, educators, counselors, and others who work with youths should be aware of strangulation activities and their serious health effects; they should watch for signs of participation in strangulation activities, especially among youths with suspected substance use or mental health risk factors." To access the article, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5901.pdf |
| MMWR - 15 January 2010 |
| Opportunities |
| Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to Speak at AMCHP Conference - Early Bird Deadline: February 1 |
| AMCHP is pleased to announce that Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, will be speaking at AMCHP 2010! Be sure to attend this year's conference and hear the latest from Secretary Sebelius on national policies and programs related to maternal and child health, health reform, and other HHS priorities. Online registration is currently available. For the best value, register by the early bird deadline of February 1. To register, go to: http://www.regonline.com/Checkin.asp?EventId=753146 |
| Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs - 26 January 2010 |
| Apply Now for the MCH-Public Health Leadership Institute - Deadline: February 15 |
| The Maternal and Child Health-Public Health Leadership Institute (MCH-PHLI) is now accepting applications for Fellows for the 2010-2011 year. Through this program, Fellows receive--at no cost (no tuition fees) to them or their organizations--10 days of intensive leadership development, ongoing personal executive coaching, and feedback on seven of the leading psychological assessment instruments used in top leadership development programs today. The curriculum prepares leaders to advocate for policy issues, think critically, analyze situations and data around MCH issues in public health, to speak to the media, and to build effective teams and partnerships. Fellows will learn negotiation skills, how to manage difficult conversations, how to create emotionally intelligent workplaces, cultural flexibility and competence. This program is targeted to mid-to-senior level leaders in MCH Title V and Family organizations, as well as non-profits who serve MCH audiences. Each Fellow completes a Personal Leadership Project that will demonstrate impact in their area of MCH. Generous travel scholarships are available to Fellows in this first cohort. Hurry! Applications close February 15, 2010! For more information and to apply, go to: http://www.mchphli.org/ |
| Maternal and Child Health Public Health Leadership Institute - 26 January 2010 |
| The County Health Rankings--Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health (MATCH) |
| In February 2010, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute will release The County Health Rankings--Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health (MATCH), which is an initiative to rank the health of all counties within every state based on an index of health outcomes and a related index of health determinants. This project was initiated to increase awareness of the multiple determinants of health including socioeconomic factors, the physical environment, clinical care access and quality, and health promoting behaviors, and to foster engagement at the community level to address public health issues. CDC has been collaborating on this innovative pilot project by providing data resources and technical assistance. There is now an opportunity to enhance the utility of The County Health Rankings and accelerate health improvement by building capacity for the adoption, implementation, and evaluation of targeted evidence-based policies and interventions that address one or more of the MATCH indicators. NOTE: A Webinar for Local Health Departments, Communication Toolkits and Key Messages for the Media and Stakeholders, will be held on Tuesday, February 2, from 2:00-3:30pm CST (3:00-4:30pm EST; 12:00-1:30pm PST). The Webinar will be led by Burness Communications and UW Population Health Institute Staff. To learn more about this exciting project and to register for the Webinar, go to: http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/ |
| Robert Wood Johnson Foundation - 25 January 2010 |
| NBPHE Webinar: How to Become Certified in Public Health: Study Tips and Tricks - February 15, 2010 |
| On Monday, February 15 at 1 p.m. (Eastern), the National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE) will host a free webinar on "How to Become Certified in Public Health (CPH): Study Tips and Tricks." Staff of NBPHE, as well as CPH professionals, will share their advice for taking the exam and what they learned from the CPH experience.
For more information, visit: www.nbphe.org/about.cfm. |
| ASPH Friday Letter #1605 - 22 January 2010 |
| SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Prevention Student Internship Program - Deadline Extended: February 5, 2010 |
| The Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) announces a new internship program for graduate students and is accepting applications to select up to 30 qualified students from schools of public, behavioral and allied health. The deadline has been extended to Friday, February 5. For more information and to apply, go to: www.seiservices.com/samhsa/csap/. |
| ASPH Friday Letter #1605 - 22 January 2010 |
| Comments Sought on National Plan for Action: Health Disparities |
| The National Plan for Action, which captures the status of health disparities in our country and proposes 20 strategies for their elimination, is a thoughtful and thorough collaborative effort of representatives from community, faith-based and non-profit organizations, academic institutions, foundations and federal, state and local agencies. Initiated by the Office of Minority Health, the National Plan for Action calls for the implementation of strategies and provides a roadmap to make an impact in the elimination of health disparities. Comments on the plan are currently being sought. For more information, go to: http://www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov/npa/templates/browse.aspx?lvl=1&lvlID=31 |
| ASPH Friday Letter #1605 - 22 January 2010 |
| Earn Certified in Public Health Continuing Education Credit |
| The Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) is now offering Certified in Public Health Continuing Education (CPHCE) credits for reading Public Health Reports articles. By reading pre-approved journal articles and completing and passing a five question quiz, CPH holders can earn one full CPHCE credit. For more information, visit: www.asph.org/cphce. Additional information on maintaining certification is available on the National Board of Public Health Examiners web site at: http://www.nbphe.org/FAQs.cfm#MaintenanceofCertification |
| ASPH Friday Letter #1605 - 22 January 2010 |
| ASPH Announces Public Health Policy Fellowship - Deadline: March 11, 2010 |
| ASPH recently announced that it will accept applications for the Public Health Policy Fellowship Program. The fellowship will provide a unique opportunity for those who have recently received an MPH or doctoral degree from an ASPH-member school of public health to play a role in helping to shape U.S. public health policy. For more information, go to: http://fellowships.asph.org/apply/index.cfm |
| ASPH Friday Letter #1605 - 22 January 2010 |
| MCHB/CDC Training Course in MCH Epidemiology |
| The MCHB and CDC are offering a Training Course in Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Epidemiology as part of their ongoing effort to enhance the analytic capacity of state and local health agencies. This national program is aimed primarily at professionals in state and local health departments who have significant responsibility for collecting, processing, analyzing, and reporting maternal and child health data. Faculty members working with state MCH departments also are eligible for the course. While some review is provided, the course is geared to individuals with at least moderate skills in using statistical and epidemiologic methods, preferably in MCH or a related field. The training curriculum is designed to build conceptual, technical, and analytic skills for using data effectively and focuses on applications that are relevant to the day-to-day work of participants. The training is an intensive five-day program combining lectures, discussion, and hands-on exercises. The course will be held from Monday afternoon, May 10th to Friday afternoon, May 14th in Chicago IL. MCHB will pay for the lodging, breakfast, and luncheon costs of trainees. A limited number of scholarships for airfare are available. To apply, go to: www.positiveoutcomes.net |
| Maternal and Child Health Bureau and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - 21 January 2010 |
| Reauthorizing the Child Nutrition Act |
| Please join Dialogue4Health (D4H) for a dynamic interactive Web Forum on the future of the National School Lunch Program - the nation's largest meal program. Reauthorizing the Child Nutrition Act:
What'll It Take to Fix the School Lunch Program? Putting Children's Health On The Table will be presented on Monday, February 1, from 10:00 - 11:30 am Pacific Standard Time (12:00 Noon EST).
In an unprecedented effort, health and culinary professionals will be joining forces so their voices can be heard by Congress as it considers the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act. Learn about the essential changes needed to make school lunches more nutritious; the complex factors influencing the country's largest nutrition program; and specific measures to improve school lunch program funding in order to provide healthy meals to our children. This Web Forum is hosted by Les Dames d'Escoffier's Green Table's initiative and Dialogue4Health. To register for the Web Forum, go to: http://www.dialogue4health.org/webforums/2_1_10.html |
| Dialogue4Health - 15 January 2010 |
| Resources, Reports, Research |
| US Teen Pregnancy Rate Increases |
| The Guttmacher Institute has issues a new report: U.S. Teenage Pregnancies, Births and Abortions:
National and State Trends and Trends by Race and Ethnicity. The report reveals that the
gap between blacks and hispanics has closed, but rates among both groups remain significantly higher than among non-Hispanic Whites. To view the report, go to: http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/USTPtrends.pdf |
| The Guttmacher Institute - 26 January 2010 |
| Healthy Foster Care America Web Site |
| In 2007, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) created the Task Force on Foster Care (TFOFC) with the charge to increase the awareness, knowledge, and skills of pediatricians regarding the needs of children and teens in foster care. The ultimate goal is to improve the health and well-being of children and teens in foster care. Recently, the TFOFC launched the Healthy Foster Care America Web site to engage communities and their leaders in supporting children, teens, and their families with an effective, multidisciplinary, integrated, and comprehensive continuum of care. It was developed as a place where professionals and partner organizations can find the latest tools, resources, facts, and figures on the health and well-being of children and teens in foster care. The Web site has the following features:
www.aap.org/fostercare. |
| American Academy of Pediatrics - 25 January 2010 |
| MCH-EPI Conference Materials Now Available |
| HRSA has posted materials from the MCH-EPI conference and they are now avail from MCHCOM.com. Be sure to take a look at CityMatCH's PPOR Workshop! To access materials directly, go to http://webcast.hrsa.gov/conferences/mchb/mchepi_2009/index.htm |
| Health Resources and Services Administration - 25 January 2010 |
| Kaiser Examines Health Reform and a National High-Risk Pool Program |
| The Kaiser Family Foundation has issued two reports examining health reform and the prospective creation of a national high-risk pool insurance program. Such a program would offer health coverage to otherwise uninsurable individuals during the interim period between the enactment of legislation and the implementation of broader health care reform. State High-Risk Pools: An Overview and Issues for Structuring Interim High-Risk Pools discusses the structure, operation, benefits and challenges of state high-risk pool programs and reviews the key issues involved in implementing a temporary national high-risk pool as part of health reform. Both papers are among the many resources on health reform topics available on the Foundation's health reform gateway page, which features the Foundation's research, analysis and polling on health reform issues. To access the gateway page, go to: http://healthreform.kff.org/ The latest data on high-risk pools is available at: statehealthfacts.org. |
| Kaiser Family Foundation - 25 January 2010 |
| Study Finds Daily Media Use Among Children and Teens up Dramatically from Five Years Ago |
| A national survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that with technology allowing nearly 24-hour media access as children and teens go about their daily lives, the amount of time young people spend with entertainment media has risen dramatically, especially among minority youth. Today, 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes (7:38) to using entertainment media across a typical day (more than 53 hours a week). And because they spend so much of that time 'media multitasking' (using more than one medium at a time), they actually manage to pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes (10:45) worth of media content into those 7½ hours. The increase in media use is driven in large part by ready access to mobile devices like cell phones and iPods. Over the past five years, there has been a huge increase in ownership among 8- to 18-year-olds: from 39% to 66% for cell phones, and from 18% to 76% for iPods and other MP3 players. During this period, cell phones and iPods have become true multi-media devices: in fact, young people now spend more time listening to music, playing games, and watching TV on their cell phones (a total of :49 daily) than they spend talking on them (:33). Generation M 2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds is the third in a series of large-scale, nationally representative surveys by the Foundation about young people's media use. It includes data from all three waves of the study (1999, 2004, and 2009), and is among the largest and most comprehensive publicly available sources of information about media use among American youth. The findings were presented at a Washington, DC briefing which also included a panel discussion about children's media use. To view the briefing online, go to: http://www.kff.org/entmedia/mh012010pkg.cfm |
| Kaiser Family Foundation Weekly Update - 22 January 2010 |
| Study: CBO Underestimates Cost Savings from Health Reform |
| When faced with the challenge of projecting the economic impact of health reform measures, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has historically underestimated savings and overestimated costs, a new Commonwealth Fund-supported study finds. The problem, according to the study, lies with the agency's "cautious methods." To view the study, go to: http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Publications/Issue-Briefs/2010/Does-the-Congressional-Budget-Office-Underestimate-Savings.aspx |
| The Commonwealth Fund e-Alert - 21 January 2010 |
| Report Provides National- and State-Level Data on Multiple Aspects of Children's Health and Well-Being |
| The Health and Well-Being of Children: A Portrait of States and the Nation 2007 presents indicators of the health and well-being of children as well as the factors in the family environment and aspects of the neighborhood that may support or undermine children's and families' health. The report, published by the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau, is based on data from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health. National-level indicators present basic information on children's health status and risk and protective factors and show the subpopulations at particular risk in each area. Key indicators for each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia -- including indicators related to the child's health, health care, and activities; the child's family; and the child's and family's neighborhood -- are presented in comparison with national statistics. Because some of the survey questions were revised to improve the quality of the data obtained and may have influenced parents' responses, the authors note where current (2007) findings cannot be compared with those reported in 2003. The report is available at: http://mchb.hrsa.gov/nsch07/index.html. Print copies are also available from the HRSA Information Center's Web site at: http://ask.hrsa.gov, or by phone at (888) ASK-HRSA or (703) 442-9051. More information about the survey and its findings and other resources are available from the Data Resource Center on Child and Adolescent Health's Web site at: http://www.childhealthdata.org. The public use data set is also available from the National Center for Health Statistics' Web site at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhcs.htm. |
| MCH Alert - 8 January 2010 |
| News of Interest |
| Coming Out of Crisis: Patient Experiences in Primary Care in New Orleans, Four Years Post-Katrina |
| A new Commonwealth Fund survey of safety-net clinic patients in New Orleans finds that, despite being disproportionately low-income and uninsured, these patients had fewer problems affording care and fewer instances of medical debt and inefficient care than most U.S. adults. The findings suggest that the locally based clinics could serve as a model for delivering primary care to vulnerable populations elsewhere. To view the survey results, go to: http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Publications/Fund-Reports/2010/Jan/Coming-Out-of-Crisis.aspx |
| The Commonwealth Fund Connection - 22 January 2010 |
| Issue Brief Explains How to Put Children in the Express Lane to Health Insurance |
| The Kaiser Family Foundation's Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured has issued the third in a series of issue briefs that examine one of the new tools that the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) provides to states to reach and enroll the estimated five million eligible but uninsured low-income children into Medicaid and CHIP. The tool is Express Lane Eligibility (ELE), which allows state Medicaid and CHIP agencies to borrow and rely on eligibility findings from other need-based programs, such as Head Start and the National School Lunch Program, to determine and/or renew Medicaid or CHIP eligibility for children. Under the ELE initiative, Congress gives states significant flexibility to design and build enrollment and retention initiatives that meet their unique needs. Thus, in designing an ELE initiative, there are a number of key decision points a state will face, and this brief provides an overview of what those are. This brief is the third in a new series called Putting Children on the Express Lane to Health Insurance and is available online at: http://event.netbriefings.com/event/kff/Live/20jan10media/ |
| Kaiser Family Foundation Weekly Update - 22 January 2010 |
| Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule --- United States, 2010 |
| MMWR Weekly January 15, 2010/59(01);1-4. "The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) annually reviews the recommended Adult Immunization Schedule to ensure that the schedule reflects current recommendations for the licensed vaccines. In October 2009, ACIP approved the Adult Immunization Schedule for 2010, which includes several changes. A bivalent human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV2) was licensed for use in females in October 2009. ACIP recommends vaccination of females with either HPV2 or the quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV4). HPV4 was licensed for use in males in October 2009, and ACIP issued a permissive recommendation for use in males. Introductory sentences were added to the footnotes for measles, mumps, rubella, influenza, pneumococcal, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and meningococcal vaccines. Clarifications were made to the footnotes for measles, mumps, rubella, influenza, hepatitis A, meningococcal, and Haemophilus influenza type b vaccines, and schedule information was added to the hepatitis B vaccine footnote." To view online, go to: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5901a5.htm Additional information is available as follows: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/adult-schedule.htm Adult vaccination: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/default.htm ACIP statements for specific vaccines: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccine/pubs/acip-list.htm Reporting adverse events: http://www.vaers.hhs.gov By telephone: 800-822-7967. |
| MMWR Weekly - 15 January 2010 |
| Article Examines Asthma and Its Link to Adjustment in 4- to 7-Year-Olds Living in a Homeless Shelter |
| Cutuli JJ, Herbers JE, Rinaldi M, et al. 2010. "Asthma and behavior in homeless 4- to 7-year-olds." Pediatrics 125(1):145-151. "Homeless children showed elevated rates of asthma [greater than or equal to] 3 times the national and state prevalences. Their conditions seemed to be severe and poorly managed," write the authors of an article published in the January 2010 issue of Pediatrics. Asthma is the most common chronic childhood illness in the United States, with a prevalence of 8.9 percent nationwide and 7.8 percent in Minnesota. There are disparities in childhood asthma diagnoses, with higher rates among minority children, especially those of low socioeconomic status in urban areas. There are also differences in asthma severity, management/types of service use, and mortality by racial group, and asthma prevalence is high among homeless children, a group in which ethnic minorities are overrepresented. The study described in this article examined asthma and its link to adjustment in young children who resided in a homeless shelter. -- SNIP The abstract is available at: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/125/1/145?rss=1. |
| MCH Alert - 15 January 2010 |