NYAM Info Notes

Walk Score

2008-08-05T12:00:00.001-04:00

Walk Score allows you to discover the most walkable neighborhoods in the United States by simply typing in an address. Walk Score also ranks over 2,500 U.S. neighborhoods in the largest 40 cities by how close your address is to stores, restaurants, schools etc.

Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce

2008-04-18T11:52:00.000-04:00

The Committee on the Future Health Care Workforce for Older Americans at The Institute of Medicine has posted an uncorrected copy of a forthcoming book titled Retooling for an Aging America: Building the Health Care Workforce. Among other things the book discusses health status and health care service utilization as well as new care models as the population ages. You can also read the summary of the report.

Survey of Homeless and Previously Homeless Youth in California

2008-03-06T11:22:00.000-05:00

California Research Bureau today published a survey titled Voices from the Street: A Survey of Homeless Youth by Their Peers, which discusses many issues faced by homeless youngsters including reasons for leaving home, life on the street, mental health experiences and ways of getting needed help.

Big Cities Health Inventory 2007

2008-03-04T11:44:00.000-05:00

NACCHO, National Association of County & City Health Officials recently published the Big Cities Health Inventory 2007, the fifth edition of health indicators from the 54 largest metropolitan areas in the United States.

Building Partnerships

2008-02-28T10:58:00.002-05:00

Knowledge dossiers on building partnerships from the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research.

Pew Internet Report: Privacy Implications of Fast, Mobile Internet Access

2008-02-28T10:43:00.001-05:00

Many Americans are jumping into the fast, mobile, participatory Web without considering all the implications. If nothing really bad has happened to someone, they tend neither to worry about their personal information nor to take steps to limit the amount of information that can be found about them online. This finding dovetails with our previous work related to spyware -- software that covertly tracks a user as they navigate the net. Internet users who said they had not encountered spyware were less likely to view it as a serious threat and more likely to say it's just part of life online.

Full Report

Mentoring Modules for Capacity Building

2008-02-28T10:37:00.002-05:00

Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research offers mentoring modules for capacity building.

Bird Flu

2007-02-22T16:40:00.000-05:00

Bird Flu from Reuters AlertNet is a timeline showing the spread of bird flu from 1996 to the present.

HEALTHmap

2007-02-22T16:04:00.000-05:00

HEALTHmap from Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology allows users to view the current state of infectious diseases globally and brings together data from a number of different sources from news sources to the WHO.

Global health: Making partnerships work

2007-02-09T12:19:00.000-05:00

United Kingdom's Overseas Development Institute has put out a briefing paper about building effective public-private partnerships in global health.

How to Promote Global Health

2007-01-25T15:07:00.000-05:00

Click here, to read the roundtable discussion on Laurie Garrett's essay "The Challenge of Global Health", which appears in the last issue of the journal Foreign Affairs.

The Challenge of Global Health

2006-12-19T16:04:00.000-05:00

In this article Laurie Garrett, Senior Fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations, writes about the need for both public and private funding to be spent on public health in general and not only on battling specific diseases. She also discusses the effects that the migration of the educated classes has on developing countries. For the full text of the article please click here.

Global Health Diagnostics

2006-12-11T12:49:00.000-05:00

A new online supplement to Nature is devoted to global health diagnostics.

2 SMRT 4 U

2006-12-04T13:02:00.000-05:00

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service has launched a website for teens about safe blogging and electronic posting habbits at 2 SMRT 4 U.

Health workforce in the U.S.

2006-11-14T16:46:00.000-05:00

Center for Health Workforce Studies represents the U.S. perspective on international health workforce issues.

Most internet users start at a search engine when looking for health information online.

2006-11-14T12:08:00.000-05:00

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, most internet users start at a search engine when looking for health information online. Very few check the source and date of the information they find.

To view the full report, visit Online Health Search 2006.

Clinical Guidelines for Physicians Treating Adults Exposed to the World Trade Center Disaster

2006-09-05T13:45:00.000-04:00

In the latest issue of "City Health Information (CHI)", the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announed new Clinical Guidelines for Physicians Treating Adults Exposed to the World Trade Center Disaster.

Five years after the World Trade Center (WTC) attack, many New Yorkers continue to suffer disaster-associated physical and mental health conditions.

Primary care providers should ask patients about WTC exposure, especially patients with respiratory symptoms, reflux disease, mental health problems, or substance use disorders.

Providers should know how to identify, evaluate, treat, and refer patients with conditions that could be associated with exposure to the disaster.

Because physical and mental health conditions are often intertwined, a coordinated approach to care usually works best and referral may be necessary

These guidelines are available at: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/chi/chi25-7.pdf

The Internet’s Growing Role in Life’s Major Moments

2006-05-17T11:13:00.000-04:00

Pew Internet and American Life Project
4/19/06 by John Horrigan and Lee Rainie
The internet has become increasingly important to users in their everyday lives. It is also the case that for many of online Americans, the internet has become a crucial source of information at major moments and milestones in their lives

Read the entire report at: Pew Internet and American Life Project

Finding Answers Online in Sickness and in Health

2006-05-17T11:09:00.000-04:00

Pew Internet and American Life Project
5/2/2006 Mary Madden, Susannah Fox

Recent research from the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows that, as more Americans come online, more rely on the internet for important health information. Many Americans are deepening their connections to the internet, whether for entertainment or to help a loved one through a crisis. And though the audience for the latest DVD may be larger than the audience for clinical trial information, the impact on someone’s life in the latter case may be dramatically different in scale. Fully 58% of those who found the internet to be crucial or important during a loved one’s recent health crisis say the single most important source of information was something they found online.

Read the entire study at Pew Internet and American Life Project

Validity of Peer-Review Questioned

2006-05-17T11:06:00.000-04:00

The Doctor's World
For Science's Gatekeepers, a Credibility Gap
By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN, M.D.
Published: May 2, 2006

Recent disclosures of fraudulent or flawed studies in medical and scientific journals have called into question as never before the merits of their peer-review system.
For more information, please visit The New York Times

AHRQ Announces Healthcare411 Audio Newscast Series

2006-03-27T09:32:00.000-05:00

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, has a new audio newscast series to help keep you informed of the agency's latest health care research findings, news, and information. AHRQ is the lead federal agency in the effort to improve patient safety and reduce medical errors. Visit www.healthcare411.ahrq.gov to hear the newscasts through your computer or download them to a portable digital player, such as an iPod.

Chronic Disease in Health Emergencies: In the Eye of the Hurricane

2006-03-16T10:40:00.000-05:00

This article, appearing in the CDC's Preventing Chronic Disease: Public Health Research, Practice, and Policy, explores "how a current surveillance system could be used to provide estimates of the potential needs for emergency treatment of chronic diseases in the wake of a natural disaster."

Prescription Drug Affordability: AARP Survey of Hispanic New Yorkers

2006-02-17T09:53:00.000-05:00

From AARP...

Research Report
Katherine Bridges, M.G.S., AARP Knowledge Management

Erica L. Dinger, J.D., AARP Knowledge Management

January 2006

How Hispanic residents in the New York City metropolitan area are being affected by the costs of prescription drugs and their opinions about state legislation to address affordability is examined in this survey of 800 age 18+ individuals identifying themselves as Hispanic or Latino.

Of those surveyed…

90 percent say it is important for New York to provide access to information about the safety and effectiveness of prescription drugs

88 percent support legislation that would allow the state to establish a bulk purchasing program for prescription drugs

82 percent support the state adopting a preferred drug list

73 percent support legislation that would require drug manufacturers to report how much they spend on marketing

For the full text of the report please visit Prescription Drug Affordability: AARP Survey of Hispanic New Yorkers.

The Strength of Internet Ties

2006-02-08T13:54:00.000-05:00

Pew Internet and American Life Project: REPORT
by John Horrigan, Jeffrey Boase, Lee Rainie, Barry Wellman

The internet helps maintain people's social networks, and connects them to members of their social network when they need help. 60 million Americans have turned to the internet for help with major life decisions.

View PDF of Report

When Trust in Doctors Erodes, Other Treatments Fill the Void

2006-02-08T13:49:00.000-05:00

By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: February 3, 2006

... The most telling evidence of Americans' dissatisfaction with traditional health care is the more than $27 billion they spend annually on alternative and complementary medicine, according to government estimates.

To read more, please visit The New York Times

Federal Costs Dropping Under New Medicare Drug Plan

2006-02-08T13:47:00.000-05:00

By ROBERT PEAR
Published: February 3, 2006

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 — Federal spending on the new Medicare drug benefit will be 20 percent lower than expected this year because beneficiaries are choosing prescription drug plans with lower premiums, the Bush administration said Thursday.

To read more, please visit The New York Times

Mississippi's 'Heart Man' Examines Links Between Race and Disease

2006-02-08T13:45:00.000-05:00

A Conversation With Herman Taylor

By CLAUDIA DREIFUS
Published: February 7, 2006

...From now until 2014, Dr. Taylor and his team will be following 5,302 black residents of three Mississippi counties — Hinds, Rankin and Madison — observing their lives and how their heart health is related to their environment.

To read more, please visit the New York Times

Generations Online

2006-01-23T16:51:00.000-05:00

Reports: Demographics
by Suzannah Fox & Mary Madden

Internet users ages 12 to 28 years old have embraced the online applications that enable communicative, creative, and social uses. Older users are more likely to engage in online activities that require some capital: travel reservations and online banking. Tables comparing how different generations' use the internet are included in this data memo.

View a PDF of Report

Poor Results End AIDS Therapy Study

2006-01-20T10:16:00.000-05:00

Published: January 19, 2006

WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (AP) - The United States government has halted enrollment in a major international study of drug-conserving AIDS therapy after patients trying the on-again, off-again medication strategy got sicker than those who never took a break from their H.I.V. drugs.

For the full article, please visit The New York Times

Health risks rise from teens to young adulthood

2006-01-20T10:08:00.000-05:00

2006-01-18 16:00:27 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Graciela Flores

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - During the transition from adolescence to adulthood, health risk increases and access to health care decreases across all race/ethnic groups, according to a study funded by the National institutes of Health.

To read the entire report, please visit Reuters Health

How Women and Men Use the Internet

2006-01-03T13:10:00.000-05:00

In Demographics

Men continue to pursue many internet activities more intensively than women. At the same time, trend data show that women are catching up in overall use and are framing their online experience with a greater emphasis on deepening connections with people.

For more information, please visit Pew Internet and American Life Project

Start of Medicare Drug Plan Sees Successes and Struggles

2006-01-03T13:06:00.000-05:00

By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 - Some Medicare beneficiaries were pleasantly surprised and saved money, but others were frustrated this week as the prescription drug benefit got off to an uneven start across the country.

For more information, please visit The New York Times website

Improving Diabetes Care for All New Yorkers

2005-12-14T22:36:00.000-05:00

N.Y. Adopts Code to Monitor Diabetics
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: December 14, 2005
NEW YORK (AP) -- Hoping to save hundreds of lives, New York adopted a health code regulation Wednesday that will make it the first American city to keep track of people with diabetes in much the same way it does with patients infected with HIV or tuberculosis

For more information, please visit Improving Diabetes Care for All New Yorkers

America's Health Rankings 2005

2005-12-14T13:43:00.000-05:00

From the foreword:

"This year's report calls out for action. While the overall health of the nation has improved 18.4 percent over the 16 years that this report has been compiled, progress has now leveled off considerably. Indeed, the past five years have seen an annual rate of aggregate improvement of only o.3 percent as compared to the 1.5 percent improvement noted in the 1990s. This stagnation is most notably accounted for by lack of progress in decreasing the prevalence of smoking, obesity, infant mortality and the percentage of children in poverty..."

For more information please see America's Health Rankings 2005

Search Engine Use Soars

2005-12-05T17:04:00.000-05:00

11/20/2005 by Lee Rainie
Search engine use shoots up in the past year and edges towards email as the primary internet application.

Search engines have become an increasingly important part of the online experience of American internet users. The most recent findings from Pew Internet & American Life tracking surveys and consumer behavior trends from the comScore Media Metrix consumer panel show that about 60 million American adults are using search engines on a typical day.

For more information, please visit Pew Internet and American Life Project

When the Doctor Is in, but You Wish He Weren't

2005-12-05T16:57:00.000-05:00

By GINA KOLATA
Published: November 30, 2005
Correction Appended
Joanne Wong's doctor correctly figured out what was wrong with her. But he would not tell her.
Full article available from The New York Times

New Guideline on Physical Activity

2005-12-05T16:55:00.000-05:00

New from the National Guideline Clearinghouse:
Increasing physical activity in schools: kindergarten through eighth grade.

All school children grades kindergarten (K) through eighth grade should participate in substantial amounts of physical activity (a minimum of 1 hour per day) and limited amounts of sedentary behavior (no more than 2 hours per day) unless medical conditions are present that prohibit these activity levels. Medical conditions should be evaluated on an individual basis in consultation with the primary healthcare provider (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2004). Students with disabilities should be offered opportunities to increase physical activity levels through individually appropriate adaptive physical education measures

For more information, visit: National Guideline Clearinghouse

C.D.C. Proposes New Rules in Effort to Prevent Disease Outbreak

2005-11-23T09:54:00.000-05:00

From the New York Times:

By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN

Published: November 23, 2005

"Federal officials yesterday proposed the first significant changes in quarantine rules in 25 years in an effort to broaden the definition of reportable illnesses, to centralize their reporting to the federal government and to require the airline and shipping industries to keep passenger manifests electronically for 60 days."

New Drug Benefit Questioned

2005-11-23T09:23:00.000-05:00

By Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 23, 2005; Page A04

"The new Medicare drug benefit fails to deliver drug prices as low as those found at the Department of Veterans Affairs, in Canada and at high-volume U.S. pharmacies, a congressional report said yesterday. It was challenged by a Medicare official as flawed and misleading.

The report, released yesterday by the Democratic staff of the House Government Reform Committee, found that the average prices of 10 popular drugs being offered to Medicare recipients through 10 well-known insurance plans were 80 percent higher than prices negotiated for the government by Veterans Affairs. The Medicare prices were 60 percent higher than average prices paid by Canadian consumers, the report found. And they were about 3 percent higher than those paid by consumers who got their drugs at Costco stores or online through Drugstore.com."

For full-text of the report please see New Medicare Drug Plans Fail to Provide Meaningful Drug Price Discounts.

Bridging the Gap: The Use of Research Evidence in Policy Development

2005-10-26T13:46:00.000-04:00

From the Introduction:
"Public policy can be a messy business. Bismarck's famous observation about legislation - and what is legislation but public policy writ large - and sausage making is often quoted (one translation of Bismarck's observation: "People who love the law or good sausage should never watch either being made") because it resonates with our beliefs and experiences. Policy decisions are diffucult to evaluate at the best of times. Is a given decision good or bad? Is it effective or ineffective? What about unintended consequences? But if the outcomes are difficult to evaluate, consider how more difficult it is to evaluate the process used to arrive at a policy decision..."

For the full text of this paper from the Health Technology Assessment Unit Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Researchh please see Bridging the Gap: The Use of Research Evidence in Policy Development

Who Will Control the Internet?

2005-10-26T09:22:00.000-04:00

Kenneth Neil Cukier
From Foreign Affairs, November/December 2005

Summary: Foreign governments want control of the Internet transferred from an American NGO to an international institution. Washington has responded with a Monroe Doctrine for our times, setting the stage for further controversy.

For a full text of this article please go to
Who Will Control the Internet?

Generic drugs could have saved us $20B

2005-10-25T13:45:00.000-04:00

By THERESA AGOVINO, Associated Press
Last updated: 7:16 a.m., Tuesday, October 25, 2005

NEW YORK -- Consumers, their employers and health plans in the commercial market could have saved more than $20 billion last year through increased use of generic drugs, according to a new report by Express Scripts Inc., a pharmacy benefit manager.

For full text of the report please visit Genetic Drug Usage Report.

Hurricane Katrina Information

2005-10-11T16:35:00.000-04:00

NIH Response to Hurricane Katrina Disaster

Enviro-Health Links

Hurricane Katrina: Links to Health Information including toxicology and environmental health, SIS

MedlinePlus
Coping with Disasters

Disasters and Emergencies

First.gov

Recovery Information

NOAH

Natural Disasters

Factline: Tracking Health in Underserved Communities

2005-10-07T16:54:00.000-04:00

Factline: Tracking Health in Underserved Communities is a website sponsored by the National Library of Medicine and Meharry Medical College that highlights health disparities in underserved communities. Factline presents information about health disparities faced by women, members of minority groups, the elderly and others. The focus of the website is two-fold: presenting significant findings from scholarly research in public health on the subject of health disparities and providing bibliographic references to the literature in which these findings are established. The framework for the research is Healthy People 2010.

For more information please visit http://www.meharry.org/Fl/

An important new book added to the NCBI Bookshelf in PUBMED

2005-09-22T12:48:00.000-04:00

A new book has been added to the NCBI Bookshelf:
Health, United States, 2004.
Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2004.
Available
from:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/bv.fcgi?call=bv.View..ShowTOC&rid=healthus
04.TOC

Note the spreadsheets and powerpoint presentations within this interactive version.
------
All books on the NCBI Bookshelf are available from:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=Books

NIEHS Launches Website with global info system for assessing environmental hazards from Hurricane Katrina

2005-09-09T13:03:00.000-04:00

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
NIH News
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, September 9, 2005
CONTACT: Christine Bruske, 919-541-3665, rmackar@niehs.nih.gov
NIEHS LAUNCHES WEBSITE WITH GLOBAL INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR ASSESSING
ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS FROM HURRICANE KATRINA

A new website with a Global Information System will provide valuable
information for assessing environmental hazards caused by Hurricane Katrina.
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), one of the
National Institutes of Health, created the website to provide the most
up-to-date data to public health and safety workers on contaminants in flood
waters, infrastructure and industry maps, as well as demographic information
for local populations.
The NIEHS Hurricane Katrina Information Website accessible at
http://www-apps.niehs.nih.gov/katrina/ provides information on assessing and
evaluating hundreds of potentially hazardous environmental pollutants that
may pose a risk to human health. The website draws from information that
NIEHS has acquired from a variety of sources including its research
programs, as well as through its Superfund Basic Research Program, Worker
Education and Training Program, and Environmental Health Science Centers.
The website also includes a link to a new Global Information System (GIS)
that NIEHS is developing with several academic partners. The GIS will
contain layers of data, including the locations of refineries, oil
pipelines, industrial facilities, Superfund sites, Toxic Release Inventory
Data, agricultural operations, as well as maps and satellite images of
schools, neighborhoods, and medical facilities, that will help assess the
short and long effects of Katrina on the Gulf region.
"With a disaster of this magnitude, people need many things, including easy
access to science based information so they can make informed decisions to
further reduce their risk of harm," said NIEHS Director Dr. David Schwartz.
"Consolidating information in this new website is one vehicle that NIEHS is
using to help our fellow citizens."

Information in the GIS, such as the demographics of populations before
Katrina will be helpful as health officials treat displaced citizens who may
have been previously exposed to toxicants. Subsequent phases will provide
more in-depth information to fully assess exposures and make informed
decisions about risk of disease.
"This GIS has the capability of being a powerful tool to fully assess and
evaluate the short- and long-term environmental health effects of Hurricane
Katrina. It will help us all make informed decisions about the uncertainty
of risk of exposure and potentially enable us to better understand the links
between exposure and disease, "said William A. Suk, Ph.D., Director of the
NIEHS Superfund Basic Research Program.

Other partners working with NIEHS in the development of the various phases
of the GIS include Duke University, University of California at San Diego,
University of Kentucky, Johns Hopkins, University of Arizona, Boston
University, Columbia University, Research Triangle Institute and Harvard
University.
The Hurricane Katrina Information Website also provides other ongoing NIEHS
efforts related to recovery efforts, including collaborations with other
federal agencies.
The NIEHS, a component of the National Institutes of Health, supports
research to understand the effects of the environment on human health. For
more information on environmental health topics, please visit our website at
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- "The Nation's Medical Research
Agency" -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.
S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary Federal agency
for conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical
research, and investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common
and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit
http://www.nih.gov.
##
This NIH News Release is available online at:
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/sep2005/niehs-09.htm.

When a Bug Becomes a Monster

2005-08-31T15:12:00.000-04:00

By MARC SANTORA (The New York Times)
Published: August 21, 2005
Health officials in New York are working with increasing urgency to develop a defense in case a deadly strain of influenza begins to spread widely.

Read more

Rating of Health Plans

2005-08-25T10:51:00.000-04:00

National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)Health Plan Report Card

For Your Information:
"NCQA's Health Plan Report Card has results on hundreds of health plans that care for commercially insured individuals and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. You can create a customized Report Card that shows results for the health plan or plans you want to know about."-Resourceshelf, 8/25/05

http://hprc.ncqa.org

The Academy Library's Lecture Series for 2005-2006

2005-08-23T11:07:00.000-04:00

Section on the History of Medicine and Public Health
Lecture Series for 2005-6

Medicine Before Modernity
Tuesday, September 27
David Mininberg, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, “The Art of Medicine in the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean”

Opening event for rare book exhibition, “Holes in the Head: Mending Head Injuries from Pericles to Bonaparte,” curated by Miriam Mandelbaum
Reception sponsored by the Friends of the Rare Book Room

Thursday, October 27
James Allen, Metropolitan Museum of Art, “The World of Ancient Egyptian Medicine”

Tuesday, November 29
Michael McVaugh, University of North Carolina, “‘An Ailment Not to be Treated’: The Rationality of Pre-Modern Surgery"

Wednesday, December 7
Monica Green, Arizona State University, “Gynecology and Surgery: Alliances of Knowledge and Practice in the Premodern Period”

Wednesday, January 18
The Iago Galdston Memorial Lecture
David Oshinsky, University of Texas, “Polio: A Look Back at the 20th Century’s Most Feared Disease”

Thursday, February 23
The John K. Lattimer Lecture
Jim Jones, “The Decision to Put David into ‘the Bubble’: Treatment or Research?”

Thursday, March 23
Janet Golden, Rutgers University, “The Making of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome”

Wednesday, April 26
The Annual Friends of the Rare Book Room Lecture
Roger Gaskell, “Recreating the Harveian Library of the London College of Physicians”

Wednesday, May 17
The Lilianna Sauter Lecture
Amy Fairchild and Ron Bayer, Columbia University, “The Searching Eyes of Government: Public Health Surveillance in Twentieth-Century America”

All Lectures at 6 PM, Receptions at 5:30 PM
1216 Fifth Avenue ● 212-822-7314●www.nyam.org

Awash in Information, Patients Face a Lonely, Uncertain Road

2005-08-15T15:25:00.000-04:00

By JAN HOFFMAN
New York Times
Published: August 14, 2005

The modern patient copes with the blessing and burden of receiving a superabundance of information, often several treatment options and the right to choose among them.

To view the article go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/14/health/14patient.html

NIH seeks your input on broad plan....

2005-08-11T12:16:00.000-04:00

Principal Investigators on NIH Grants
The NIH is seeking broad input on this proposed plan. Please feel free to
distribute widely to interested parties inside and outside of the NIH.
************************************************
Notice Number: NOT-OD-05-055
Release Date: July 29, 2005
Response Date: September 16, 2005
Issued by:
National Institutes of Health
Office of the Director, Office of Extramural Research
(http://grants.nih.gov/grants)

The NIH is seeking input and advice from the scientific community on various
concepts associated with permitting more than one Principal Investigator to
be associated with an NIH funded grant, contract, or cooperative agreement.
This Request for Information (RFI) is being issued at the same time as a
companion RFI from the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The
RFI issued by the OSTP asks for input from the broader scientific community
about the overall concept of permitting multiple PIs on applications and
awards for Federal research support.
This RFI, issued by the NIH, asks for input on policies and issues of
special interest to the health-related research community.

For the complete announcement, see
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-05-055.html

Health Coaches to AId Medicare Patients

2005-08-09T15:46:00.000-04:00

Health Coaches to Aid Medicare Patients
RAMESH SANTANAM, Associated Press WriterMon Aug 8,11:54 PM ET

An article of interest appears at this link on health coaches for medicare patients -a program supported by the federal government. Please check this link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050809/ap_on_he_me/health_coaches

or go to yahoo.com's health news for Monday, August 8, 2005.

Also:
Medicare Health Support: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/medicarereform/ccip/

Survey Uncovers Surprising Attitudes Towards HIV Vaccine Research

2005-08-09T11:41:00.000-04:00

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
NIH News
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, August 8, 2005
CONTACT: Linda Joy, 301-402-1663, ljoy@niaid.nih.gov

SURVEY UNCOVERS SURPRISING ATTITUDES TOWARDS HIV VACCINE RESEARCH
A survey of U.S. adults has found that a majority believe that HIV vaccines
are the best hope for controlling the global AIDS epidemic and are confident
such vaccines can be made. But while most of those surveyed felt it
personally important to help support HIV vaccine research, a majority
expressed reluctance to support a friend or family member's participation in
an HIV vaccine clinical trial.
These were among the conflicting findings of a telephone survey of more than
3,500 adults to assess attitudes, knowledge and awareness of HIV vaccine
research in the United States. The survey, conducted by members of the HIV
Vaccine Communications Campaign of the National Institute of Allergy and
Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health,
points to the ongoing challenges HIV vaccine researchers face. A paper on
the survey results is available online now and will be published in an
upcoming print issue of the "Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndromes".
"Tens of thousands of volunteers are required for the more than 30 HIV
vaccine clinical trials currently planned or under way," says NIAID director
Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "It is essential that current and future trials
involve volunteers from diverse communities to enable us to find a vaccine
that works for all populations."
"It is clear that we have a lot of work to do in explaining HIV vaccine
research," adds paper co-author Matthew Murguía, director of the Office of
Program Operations and Scientific Information in the NIAID Division of AIDS.
"We must develop strong partnerships with communities highly impacted by
HIV/AIDS so individuals from these communities can make informed decisions
about participating in HIV vaccine research."
The survey, conducted between December 2002 and February 2003, polled 2,008
U.S. adults aged 18 years of or older randomly selected from the general
population. An additional 1,501 U.S. adults interviewed were randomly
selected from each of three specific subpopulations highly affected by HIV
-- African Americans, Hispanics and men who have sex with men.
The survey uncovered some unexpected attitudes and beliefs:
-- 47 percent of African Americans, 26 percent of Hispanics, 13 percent of
men who have sex with men, and 18 percent of the general population believe
that an HIV vaccine already exists but is being kept a secret.
-- Most subpopulation respondents -- 78 percent of African Americans, 68
percent of men who have sex with men and 57 percent of Hispanics -- either
do not know whether or incorrectly believe that the vaccines being tested
can cause HIV infection. Only 24 percent of the general population responded
comparably.
-- Among men who have sex with men, 77 percent cited HIV/AIDS as the most
urgent health problem. Only a small percentage of the other groups surveyed,
however, agreed: 11 percent of Hispanics, 15 percent of the general
population and 22 percent of African Americans.
-- In general, women had less knowledge and awareness than men about HIV
vaccine research.
-- High percentages of each group felt it was important to personally
support HIV vaccine research: 89 percent of both Hispanics and of men who
have sex with men, 86 percent of African Americans and 73 percent of the
general population. Nonetheless, many were reluctant to express strong
support for friends or family members volunteering for HIV vaccine trials.
Only 29 percent of the general population and 35 percent of African
Americans said they would be extremely or very supportive. Hispanics and men
who have sex with men were more inclined to be supportive: 46 percent and 68
percent, respectively.
The NIAID team also assessed trust in the U.S. government's ability to
protect HIV vaccine trial volunteers. While about half of three groups --
men who have sex with men (50 percent), African Americans (55 percent) and
the general population (57 percent) -- said they could trust the government
to protect HIV vaccine trial volunteers, the rate of trust among Hispanics
was significantly higher at 78 percent.
Based on interviews, focus groups and media analysis, NIAID team members
first developed five key messages on vaccine research. They then designed
the survey to determine whether these key messages were the most important
ones for the HIV Vaccine Communications Campaign to address. These key
messages were:
-- There is currently no vaccine to prevent HIV infection.
-- Only HIV-negative individuals can volunteer for a preventive HIV vaccine
trial.
-- You cannot become infected with HIV from the vaccines being tested.
-- All populations must be involved in HIV vaccine research.
-- An HIV preventive vaccine, complemented by strong behavioral prevention
programs and AIDS care and treatment, is the best way to end the epidemic.
The results of the survey, says Mr. Murguía, have helped identify which
populations researchers need to target for better understanding of HIV
vaccine research, as well as which messages need to be tailored to specific
populations. The NIAID team will work to lower the barriers that inhibit
potential volunteers from diverse populations from participating in HIV
vaccine trials and to increase community support for those who volunteer for
a trial.
NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIAID supports basic and
applied research to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious diseases such as
HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, influenza, tuberculosis,
malaria and illness from potential agents of bioterrorism. NIAID also
supports research on transplantation and immune-related illnesses, including
autoimmune disorders, asthma and allergies.
News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available
on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- "The Nation's Medical Research
Agency" -- is comprised of 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of
the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary Federal
agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational
medical research, and investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for
both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its
programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Reference: M Allen et al. Assessing the attitudes, knowledge, and awareness
of HIV vaccine research among adults in the United States. "Journal of
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes". Published on-line before print on
July 28, 2005.
--------------------------------------------------------------

Law to create online list of drug prices

2005-08-08T09:20:00.000-04:00

"New Yorkers will soon be able to compare prices for prescription drugs online. The state is preparing an online database that officials say is the first in the nation to list the prices for the most popular drugs at every pharmacy in the state." - Source: WGRB

Read the announcement

Protect Against West Nile Virus: New Information from NYC Dept. Of Health & Mental Hygiene

2005-08-04T16:12:00.000-04:00

August 4th, 2005
West Nile virus (WNV) is spread to people by infected mosquitoes. WNV can cause serious or even fatal illness, especially in people older than 50. The Protect Against West Nile Virus Health Bulletin tells you how to protect yourself, your home and your community from West Nile virus infection.

This bulletin is one in a series that we publish on topics of critical importance to New Yorkers. Health Bulletins on other topics can be found on our website at http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/alerts/alert1.shtml.

Study Shows Value of Women's Fitness

2005-08-04T10:09:00.000-04:00

Women whose exercise capacity is less than 85 percent of what was determined as normal in standard stress tests are twice as likely as other women to die within eight years, researchers are reporting today. Source: The New York Times

Original study in The New England Journal of Medicine, 2005, 353(5):468-475.

The Internet at School

2005-08-03T14:27:00.000-04:00

From the latest report published by the Pew Internet and American Life Project

The internet is an important element in the overall educational experience of many teenagers. Schools are a common location where online teens access the web, although very few online teenagers rely exclusively on their school for that web access. Further, there is widespread agreement among teens and their parents that the internet can be a useful tool for school. However, 37% of teens say they believe that “too many” of their peers are using the internet to cheat. And there is some disagreement among teens and their parents about whether children must be web-literate by the time they begin school. Additionally, large numbers of teens and adults have used the web to search for information about colleges and universities.

See: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/163/report_display.asp

NYS Employment Review Discontinues in Print

2005-08-02T10:07:00.000-04:00

To NYLINE subscribers:
Employment Review, the monthly statistical compilation from the New York State Department of Labor, has ceased with the publication of Vol. 57 No. 12 (December 2004). This paper-document depository item, available at dozens of libraries around New York, will be continued by searchable "Workforce Industry Data" files linked at <http://www.labor.state.ny.us/workforceindustrydata/er_index.shtm>.
The PDF editions of the most recent 10 years of Employment Review volumes are available from the New York State Library's digital document management system at <http://purl.org/net/nysl/nysdocs/2242225>.
This notice is one in a series of regular announcements that the New York State Library is posting to NYLINE to improve access to New York State government information. These messages contain a brief description of a New York State document of interest and links to related online information.
Posted August 1, 2005

Medicare and Medicaid at 40

2005-07-28T16:08:00.000-04:00

Source: Kaiser Family FoundationMedicare and Medicaid at 40"The Kaiser Family Foundation has some new resources that examine how Medicare and Medicaid came into existence and how they have evolved over the past 40 years. You will find new documentaries and extended interviews with key policymakers and government officials examining the origins of Medicare and Medicaid, new interactive historical timelines, a chart pack of key information and statistics."-Resourceshelf.com

Health Care Delivery

2005-07-22T12:50:00.000-04:00

This report, Building a Better Delivery System: A New Engineering/Health Care Partnership, is the culmination of the joint NAE/IOM study and concludes that U.S. health care industry has neglected engineering strategies and technologies that have revolutionized quality, productivity, and performance in many other industries.

This "collective inattention" has contributed to serious consequences in health care -- nearly 100,000 preventable deaths per year, outdated procedures, about a half-trillion dollars wasted annually through inefficiency, costs rising at roughly three times the rate of inflation, and 43 million people uninsured. According to the committee, health care professionals and engineers should work more closely together to address these challenges. Source: The IOM.

Summary of the report.

Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals

2005-07-22T10:45:00.000-04:00

The National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals provides an ongoing assessment of the U.S. population's exposure to environmental chemicals using biomonitoring. Biomonitoring is the assessment of human exposure to chemicals by measuring the chemicals or their metabolites in human specimens such as blood or urine.

This Third Report presents first-time exposure information for the U.S. population for 38 of the 148 chemicals included in the Report. The Report also includes the data from the Second Report; that is, data for 1999-2000. Source: CDC.

Medicare Chart book for 2005

2005-07-21T13:06:00.000-04:00

Medicare Chart Book 2005
This updated resource features more than 80 charts and tables with detailed information about the Medicare program and the 42 million seniors and younger people with disabilities who rely on the program for health insurance coverage. It covers a wide range of relevant data, including state-by-state information when available. Each section can be accessed individually, or the full chartbook can be downloaded in its entirety.

See: www.kff.org/medicare/7284.cfm

Thirty Percent of Americans Expect Private Insurance to Cover Long-Term Care, Reports Finds

2005-07-21T10:07:00.000-04:00

Thirty Percent of Americans Expect Private Insurance to Cover Long-Term Care, Report Finds
Three in ten adults say they would expect private insurance to be the main source of funds if they or a family member needed nursing home care, a new report by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds.
According to the report, The Public's View on Long-Term Care, private insurance pays for only a small share of nursing home expenses (8 percent), while Medicaid pays nearly half of those costs nationwide. Overall, nearly half (46 percent) of all Americans say they have had a family member or close friend in a nursing home in the past three years.
The report also found that slightly more than one in three (35 percent) people believe that nursing homes are doing a "good job" serving consumers — far fewer than the number who believe the same about nurses (84 percent), doctors (69 percent), and hospitals (64 percent). Nursing homes also ranked below pharmaceutical companies (43 percent) but just above health insurance companies (34 percent) and HMOs (30 percent).

To read or download the complete report (18 pages, PDF), visit: http://www.kff.org/healthpollreport/june_2005.
“Report Shows Americans' Expectations About Long-Term Care Costs and Views on Quality.” Kaiser Family Foundation Press Release 7/14/05.

New report on health disparities

2005-07-20T15:57:00.000-04:00

The report documents the persistent problems experienced by communities of color attempting to access health care services across the nation. With a review of the latest research on health disparities, in-depth field research and comprehensive case studies, Closing the Gap reinvigorates the debate over what may be the nation's greatest public health challenge—the persistent racial divide in access to comprehensive, quality health services... Source: Applied Research Center.

Two BU scholars to criticize Romney health plan

2005-07-20T15:49:00.000-04:00

Two Boston University professors plan today to release a
report critical of Governor Mitt Romney's health-care plan, arguing that it does not address the state's soaring medical costs and that it does not provide full insurance coverage to everyone... Source: The Boston Globe.

Harlem May Elect a White Council Member...

2005-07-20T12:34:00.000-04:00

How Harlem Could Elect a White Council Member-by Jonathan Hicks....

For the last few generations, central Harlem has been the home turf of City Council members who were among the powerhouses of black politics in New York, including Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and J. Raymond Jones, the master organizer known as the "Harlem Fox." C. Virginia Fields, who in most polls is running second among Democratic mayoral candidates, held the seat during the 1990's.
But as the district prepares to select a new council member this November, there is a chance that its representative will be white. The candidate, Cynthia Doty, a Democratic candidate-may well benefit from a split black vote....read all about it....

Harris Survey: Many Patients Discuss Online Health Information with Docs

2005-07-20T12:16:00.000-04:00

Survey: Many Patients Discuss Online Health Info with Docs July 20, 2005
Fifty-seven percent of people who have searched for health information online have discussed the information with their physician, according to a survey by Harris Interactive for the Wall Street Journal. According to they survey, 73% of respondents who often use the Internet to search for health information have discussed their findings with their physicians, compared with 57% of those who sometimes discuss the information and 33% of respondents who hardly ever search for health information online.The survey found that 27% of those who often search for health information online never discuss Internet research with their physician, compared with 42% who sometimes search for health information online and 66% who hardly search for such information online.Results are based on a June survey of 1,015 U.S. adults.
Source: Harris Interactive/Wall Street Journal

Medicare Rx Education Network

2005-07-20T10:57:00.000-04:00

Medicare Rx Education Network: http://www.medicarerxeducation.org

Medicare's slow-to-catch-on prescription drug program, available next January, is getting a push from organizations that want to help it succeed. See article in YAHOO for July 20 on "Medicare gets some help...."