How would you frame the second hundred years of public health? ASPH wants to know. Secretary Sebelius lends support for vaccination program in Haiti and learn how a positive outlook could improve heart health. Those stories and more topping public health headlines today, Wednesday, April 18, 2012.
Call for comment: “Critical Component Elements of an Undergraduate Major in Public Health”
Working with experts, Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) has drafted a document that spells out the critical components that should be included in programs and curriculums for undergrads majoring in public health. The document is designed as guidance for educators who are starting a new undergraduate program in public health or for those who are improving an existing program. Comments are due by May 29.
USAToday – Community health centers under pressure to improve care
Hundreds of the nation’s nearly 1,200 community health centers, which serve millions of mostly poor people, fall short on key measures such as vaccinating children and helping diabetics control blood sugar, federal data show. More than 20 million sought care at the non-profit, mostly privately run centers last year — double the number a decade ago. The centers are poised to take an even more central role in the U.S. health system if President Obama’s health law is upheld, because it would give 30 million people health coverage starting in 2014.
Politico – Jobs, funding related to health care law at risk
If the Supreme Court pulls the plug on health reform, winding it down could be almost as contentious as building it up in the first place. And the hundreds of federal employees in the agencies created or expanded by the health law could find themselves at the center of a new round of fighting. Those positions rely on Affordable Care Act dollars that the court could take away by holding the whole law unconstitutional.
HealthDay – Optimism Might Cut Your Risk for Heart Attack
Being upbeat is good for your heart, a new study suggests. Many previous studies have shown that negative mental states — such as depression, anger, anxiety and hostility — can harm the heart. This Harvard School of Public Health review of more than 200 studies found that positive feelings appear to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and events such as heart attack and stroke.
MyHealthNewsDaily – Vitamin D linked with lower risk of deadly prostate cancer
Vitamin D does not protect men from getting prostate cancer, but it may lessen their chances of dying of it. In a new study, men with the highest levels of vitamin D in their blood were 57 percent less likely than men with the lowest levels to succumb to prostate cancer. However, no link was found between vitamin D levels and having prostate cancer, the researchers said.
NPR (Shots Blog) – Sebelius Lends Support To Vaccination Projects In Haiti
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is in Haiti today to support two big vaccination initiatives. One, a pilot project to prevent cholera, is already under way. The other, aimed at five childhood diseases, is set to begin later this week against. The wider campaign aims to vaccinate 211,000 infants across the country with a five-in-one vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type B, a cause of bacterial meningitis). Children will also get vaccinated against polio and rubella.
