Friday, October 30, 2009
By voice vote, the U.S. Senate Thursday night confirmed Dr. Regina Benjamin to serve as Surgeon General. Benjamin, 53, was the first black woman to head a state medical society, received the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights and just last fall received a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant." In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, she rebuilt her rural health clinic in Bayou La Batre, Ala., which serves 4,400 patients who would be hard-pressed to find care elsewhere.
Benjamin was nominated by President Barack Obama in July, but a month later Republicans put a hold on all health nominees because the administration had imposed a "gag rule" on companies offering Medicare Advantage to seniors. Those companies were sending out information to customers telling them that a Democratic healthcare reform proposal would cut benefits. The Department of Health and Human Services issued a memo in mid-October telling companies they can provide information about legislation that affects them if their customers agree to receive such information.
But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) blasted Republicans on Thursday for holding up the nomination of Benjamin and other nominees for reasons "completely unrelated to their qualification." In Benjamin's case, concern had been expressed about holding up the confirmation of one of the nation's leading spokespersons on public health when the H1N1 epidemic was spreading.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
"Fun Theory" Takes on Stairs Vs. Escalator Challenge
0 comments Posted by Partnership for Prevention at 3:02 PM”Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator and feel better” is something we often hear or read in the Sunday papers. Few people actually follow that advice. Can we get more people to take the stairs over the escalator by making it fun to do? Volkswagen has sponsored an initiative called "the Fun Theory" that seeks to illustrate the principle that "fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour." The stairs vs. escalator question is one of the projects currently featured on the initiative website. Fun Theory officials are soliciting other entries by Nov. 13. They will be judged by an awards jury, and winners will receive prizes of as much as 2,500 Euros.
"Health Care vs. Sick Care" Ad Campaign Launched by Partnership and TFAH
2 comments Posted by Partnership for Prevention at 2:30 PM
"Americans don't just want a health system that treats them when they're sick. They want a health system that works to help them stay well,” said Rob Gould, PhD, President and CEO of Partnership for Prevention. “We hope Congress recognizes what we say in this ad: that real health reform starts with prevention."
“This ad campaign conveys how health reform provides a once-in-a-lifetime chance to transform our health care system from a sick care system to one that emphasizes prevention and wellness,” said Jeff Levi, PhD, Executive Director of TFAH. “The evidence is clear that prevention is the key to better health, and that well-designed and well-implemented disease prevention programs could spare millions of Americans from needless suffering.”
The ad stresses the importance of including prevention as a central pillar of health reform. It features visuals of people riding bikes, juxtaposed with an individual in a wheelchair, underscoring that real health care must involve keeping people healthy in the first place, instead of just focusing on treating them after they get sick.
The ad copy reads:
“Americans are not as healthy as they could be or should be. High rates of preventable diseases, like heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes are one of the biggest reasons the U.S. has skyrocketing health care costs. We will continue to struggle with health care costs until we do a better job of keeping people healthier. Smart, strategic investments in proven prevention programs can have a real payoff in dollars, workforce productivity, and quality of life. With an investment of $10 per person per year in proven community-based program to increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and prevent smoking and other tobacco use, the country could save more than $16 billion annually within five years. That’s a return of $5.60 for every $1 invested. REAL Health Reform Starts with Prevention. Visit www.healthyamericans.org/prevention to learn more about how a Prevention and Public Health Fund and National Prevention Strategy should be the centerpiece of health reform.”
The return on investment figures in the ad were from TFAH’s Prevention for a Healthier America: Investments in Disease Prevention Yield Significant Savings, Stronger Communities, published in July 2008 and based on a literature review by The New York Academy of Medicine and an economic model by the Urban Institute.
Key prevention and public health provisions in the House Tri-Committee bill (the America's Affordable Health Choice Act of 2009) and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions draft health reform bill (the Affordable Health Choices Act) include:
• The creation of a National Prevention and Wellness Strategy (House) or a National Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy (Senate) that clearly defines prevention objectives and offers a plan for addressing those priorities; and
• The establishment of a Public Health Investment Fund (House) or a Prevention and Public Health Fund (Senate), which would be financed through a mandatory appropriation to support expansion of public health functions and services that surround, support, and strengthen the health care delivery system. The Fund would support core governmental public health functions, population level non-clinical prevention and wellness programs, workforce training and development, disparity issues, and public health research to improve the science base of prevention efforts.
• First-dollar coverage of clinical preventive services provided by Medicaid, with deductibles and co-pays prohibited.
The ad is available on TFAH’s Web site at: www.healthyamericans.org and additional information about prevention and public health in health reform is available at www.healthyamericans.org/prevention.
Additional information about the Partnership for Prevention’s ongoing REAL Health Reform Starts with Prevention initiative is available on their Web site at http://www.prevent.org/ .
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Because What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Your Lungs...
0 comments Posted by Partnership for Prevention at 1:12 PM
Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights has developed some new tools for its Smokefree Casinos campaign. A 4-page backgrounder includes information about NIOSH's report on environmental tobacco smoke and casino dealers, current smokefree gaming laws, quotes from supportive poker champions, and more.
Also, ANR also has Smokefree Casino banners available for use on websites, like the one shown on the left (the other version has an image of dice on a green background). The banners are already proving useful. They were used on the Navajo Nation earlier this month, and are now headed to the National League of Cities meeting. From there, they will go to the ANR booth at the Global Gaming Expo in Vegas next month.
The National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) approved a landmark resolution in January 2009 encouraging state lawmakers to ensure that casinos are smokefree workplaces.
The heart attack gap between men and women is narrowing in good and bad ways for women. Two new studies show that the number of heart attacks is rising among middle-aged women and falling among men, but the risk of death after a heart attack is improving more for women than for men.
Could an Internet search engine be used to improve early detection of the flu epidemic? The folks at Google say the answer appears to be "yes." That's because there are more flu-related searches during flu season, more allergy-related searches during allergy season, and more sunburn-related searches during the summer. Below is an overlay of how past flu activity has tracked with Google's estimates based on flu-information seeking on the web:
United States Flu Activity
United States Data
Google Flu Trends estimate
United States: Influenza-like illness (ILI) data provided
publicly by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
World Cup Malaria Campaign, Failure to Counsel Cancer Survivors Named "Best, Worst Prevention Ideas of the Week"
0 comments Posted by Partnership for Prevention at 11:44 AMA campaign using the World Cup to push for action against malaria was named Partnership for Prevention’s “Best Prevention Idea of the Week,” while doctors’ reported failure to advise cancer patients about smoking cessation was named “Worst Prevention Idea of the Week.”
The Best/Worst Idea awards are a regular feature of Prevention Matters, the blog of Partnership for Prevention. Each week, Partnership for Prevention's staff will choose the designees based on nominations of items in the previous week's news submitted by members, staff and the public at large. To submit a nomination or for more information, contact Damon Thompson at dthompson@prevent.org.
NOTE: After we recently awarded “Best Idea” honors to a Virginia health care system for instituting a drive-through flu shot program, we received word that it was not the first instance of such a program. We congratulate those who have also done such drive-throughs, and assure you that we meant no disrespect. Our honors are based upon nominations that we receive, and we hope anyone with an idea that is worth considering will let us know about it so we can put it to our staff for review.
Soccer-Players Kick off World Cup Anti-Malaria Fight
Soccer players are teaming up with governments, companies and international health campaigners to push for action against malaria ahead of next year's World Cup finals in South Africa. The 'United Against Malaria' campaign, which will start next month and run until the end of the World Cup, has won the backing of singer Bono, actress Ashley Judd and philanthropist Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft founder Bill. Players such as U.S. captain Landon Donovan and the Ivory Coast team have already said they are behind the campaign, while other prominent footballers backing the movement will be revealed when the campaign is officially launched. Malaria, which spreads through the bites from infected mosquitoes, kills nearly one million people a year, almost all in Africa where a child dies from the disease every 30 seconds. The United Nations is trying to get universal access to diagnostic tests, mosquito nets and malaria medicine as part of its bid to cut the number of deaths to zero by 2015.
WORST
Many cancer survivors who smoke not advised about quitting
In a study of cancer survivors, more than a quarter who smoke say they didn't receive any advice about quitting from their healthcare provider. Researchers examined evaluations from 1,825 men and women, average age 67, who took part in the 2005 National Health Interview Survey, an annual U.S. health survey. All the participants had been diagnosed with cancer at least one year prior, and they reported on their current smoking patterns. A vast majority of all study participants -- 95% -- said they had visited their healthcare provider in the last year, but less than half (41%) said they had been asked about their smoking habits.;;
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