Contagion of violence

Reblogged from Public Health--Research & Library News:

The National Academies Press has published a book, Contagion of Violence:  A Workshop Summary, based on a 2012 workshop.

The past 25 years have seen a major paradigm shift in the field of violence prevention, from the assumption that violence is inevitable to the recognition that violence is preventable. Part of this shift has occurred in thinking about why violence occurs, and where intervention points might lie.

Read more… 286 more words

Why is Hospice Still A Tough Call--Even for People Who Know?

Reblogged from As Our Parents Age:

When a person is approaching the end of life, we can find no easy answers, no solution that fits every person's or family's situation, even when they know a lot about the options available to them.

To illustrate this you will want to read For Hospice Pioneer, Still a Tough Call, by Paula Span at the New York Times New Old Age Blog…

Read more… 265 more words

Related articles

• Reports Show Hospice Saves Medicare Dollars (krextv.com)
• payment cuts and hospice (hospicesupport.wordpress.com)
• $300,000 for Hospice NZ to help improve care (national.org.nz)
• GUEST OPINION: Get acquainted with the value of hospice (tauntongazette.com)
• Hallmark, Where Are The Hospice Cards? (forbes.com)

New Database Reveals Thousands of Hospital Violation Reports New Database Reveals Thousands of Hospital Violation Reports

Hospital (Photo credit: Ralf Heß)

 

From the March 20, 2013 State Line article

 

Hospitals make mistakes, sometimes deadly mistakes.  A patient may get the wrong medication or even undergo surgery intended for another person.  When errors like these are reported, state and federal officials inspect the hospital in question and file a detailed report.

Now, for the first time, this vital information on the quality and safety of the nation’s hospitals has been made available to the public online.

A new website, www.hospitalinspections.org, includes detailed reports of hospital violations dating back to January 2011, searchable by city, state, name of the hospital and key word.  Previously, these reports were filed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS), and released only through a Freedom of Information Act request, an arduous, time-consuming process.  Even then, the reports were provided in paper format only, making them cumbersome to analyze.

Release of this critical electronic information by CMS is the result of years of advocacy by the Association of Health Care Journalists, with funding from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.  The new database makes full inspection reports for acute care hospitals and rural critical access hospitals instantly available to journalists and consumers interested in the quality of their local hospitals.

The database also reveals national trends in hospital errors. For example, key word searches yield the incidence of certain violations across all hospitals.  A search on the word “abuse,” for example, yields 862 violations at 204 hospitals since 2011. …

 

Related articles

• Series on N.C. hospitals wins national award (charlotteobserver.com)
• Medical execs dispute hospital study (krqe.com)
• Govt. To Publish Data On What Drug & Device Makers Pay To Individual Doctors & Hospitals (consumerist.com)
• Time Magazine Study Reveals Hospitals Hiking up Medical Bills (counselheal.com)

 

Why is road safety in the U.S. not on par with Sweden, the U.K., and the Netherlands? Lessons to be learned

From the 6 February 2013 summary at Full Text Reports

Source: University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute

This study compared road safety and related factors in the U.S. with those in Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, in order to identify actions most likely to produce casualty reductions in the U.S. The reviewed topics were basic country statistics, road fatalities and various fatality rates, national road-safety strategies, and selected road-safety issues. The main differences concerned structural and cultural factors (such as vehicle distance driven), and procedural factors (such as road-safety strategies and targets, alcohol-impaired driving, exceeding speed limits, and use of seat belts). The main recommendations for improving road safety in the U.S. are as follows: (1) lower states’ BAC limits to 0.5 g/l and introduce effective random breath testing, (2) reexamine the current speed-limit policies and improve speed enforcement, (3) implement primary seat-belt-wearing laws in each state that would cover both front and rear occupants, and reward vehicle manufacturers for installation of advanced seat-belt reminders, (4) reconsider road-safety target setting so that the focus is on reducing fatalities and not on reducing fatality rate per distance driven, and (5) consider new strategies to reduce vehicle distance driven.

Related articles

• Improving road safety: Lessons from Europe (ns.umich.edu)
• 4 Reasons the U.S. Trails the World in Road Safety (theatlanticcities.com)
• US road safety: Deaths lowest in more than 60 years. How we got there – Yahoo! News (coralvillecourier.typepad.com)
• AAA Study: Drivers Who Use Cell Phones Probably Have Other Bad Habits (thecarconnection.com)
• road safety snafus (ask.metafilter.com)

 

2011 EPA Toxic Release Inventory is releaed

From the EPA Web page

The TRI National Analysis is an annual report that provides EPA’s analysis and interpretation of the most recent TRI data. It includes information about toxic chemical releases to the environment from facilities that report to the TRI Program. It also includes information about how toxic chemicals are managed through recycling, treatment and energy recovery, and how facilities are working to reduce the amount of toxic chemicals generated and released.

WASHINGTON – Total toxic air releases in 2011 declined 8 percent from 2010, mostly because of decreases in hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions, even while total releases of toxic chemicals increased for the second year in a row, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) report published today.

The annual TRI provides citizens with vital information about their communities. The TRI program collects information on certain toxic chemical releases to the air, water and land, as well as information on waste management and pollution prevention activities by facilities across the country. TRI data are submitted annually to EPA, states and tribes by facilities in industry sectors such as manufacturing, metal mining, electric utilities, and commercial hazardous waste facilities.

What’s new in the National Analysis this year?

• An investigation into declining air releases;
• More information about pollution prevention activities conducted at TRI facilities;
• Updated risk information;
• Enhanced Indian Country and Alaska Native Villages (ANVs) analysis.

What tools are available to help me conduct my own analysis?

A variety of online tools are available to help you access and analyze TRI data. When using TRI data, you may also want to explore the other data sources and information listed on the TRI Data and Tools webpage.

Where can I get downloadable files containing the data used in the 2011 National Analysis?

• Basic Data Files : Each file contains the most commonly requested data fields submitted by facilities on the TRI Reporting Form R or the Form A Certification Statement.
• Basic Plus Data Files : These files collectively contain all the data fields submitted by facilities on the TRI Reporting Form R or the Form A Certification Statement.
• Dioxin, Dioxin-Like Compounds and TEQ Data Files : These files include the individually reported mass quantity data for dioxin and dioxin-like compounds reported on the TRI Reporting Form R Schedule 1, along with the associated TEQ data.

Related articles

• EPA’s 2011 Toxics Release Inventory: Total toxic chemicals increase as result of mining (yubanet.com)
• EPA Toxic Release Inventory: Due to metal mining Alaska had the highest TRI releases in the nation (yubanet.com)
• EPA Issues Annual Report on Chemicals Released Into (suzirow.wordpress.com)
• EPA Annual Report Shows Increase of Toxic Chemicals to the Environment (ecowatch.org)
• Airborne Toxins Down, But Overall Pollutant Levels Rising: EPA (nlm.nih.gov)

[Reblog] Phone Scam About Personal Safety Devices

[Reblog from the 16 January 2013 post at As Our Parents Age]

It appears that seniors are receiving phone calls that attempt to scare them into making personal safety device purchases with a credit card, and it feels like a scam. I received one yesterday on my mobile phone.

An urgent voice asks for a senior citizen noting that break-ins, robbers, medical emergencies or falls are scary and a free solution will make them safer. Moreover, the voice offers a solution that’s supported or endorsed by the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, and the National Institute on Aging — three well-known and reputable organizations. To learn how to protect myself from all of these terrible problems the voice asks me to hit a number on my phone.

Well I am not a senior — yet — but I know a fair amount about media literacy, and I’ve spent countless hours telling my parents, my husband’s parents, and various other family members and friends, to hang up when they receive these urgent telephone calls asking them to make a purchase. However … I didn’t hang up because I was too intrigued. I pressed number one.

Next a reassuring woman’s voice explains that the Senior Emergency Care company – with a AAA rating from the Better Business Bureau and endorsements from all of the above organizations — is offering me free equipment and free registration and shipping — equipment that will help me avoid or prevent scary life situations such as crime and health emergencies. The personal safety device that she is selling would, she told me, can be worn around my neck and will make me feel and be safer.

The woman continues the call by explaining how the devices helps by calling emergency responders in any of those worrisome situations, and if I am wearing it I  will also receive a wellness check phone call once a day. While the equipment is free, she said, a monthly fee of 34.95 will pay the people who respond to the emergencies and make the wellness calls. She wanted me to buy my device right then and there and even put a little pressure on me to give her my credit card. I declined. I told the woman I would think about it and also talk with my parents, and I hung up.

Then I Googled Senior Emergency Care, the name she gave me when I asked about the company’s identity, I could not find it. But I did find this story about this phone pitch, Warning Over Personal Safety Systems Pitch, in the December 21, 2012  Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Journal Sentinel. So I also did a quick check of the Better Business Bureau, but could not find the company.

Sounds like a scam to me.

Personal safety devices are available through hospitals, through a variety of senior organization — in fact you can even purchase them at Costco.  Make sure that your family and friends purchase personal safety devices are from a trusted source and not from a cold phone call.

Feel free to share my description with other people who might be interested.

 

If you receive this call you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or your state fraud protection agencies.

 

[Reblog] Finding the Truth About Guns

[Reblog] Finding the Truth About Guns.  Posted by Bryan HayesJanuary 15, 2013

Not sure what to believe in the debate on public safety and guns?

On one side, you have the NRA, many Republicans, and conservative pundits / newscasters.  Their central claim is that more guns in the hands of responsible, hard-working citizens is a deterrent to criminals and as a result there is less violent crime and less overall crime.  They argue that an individual has the right to defend themself and their family from violent criminals.  This view is anchored by the perception of natural rights as well their interpretation of the Second Amendment to the US Constitution.

Wayne LaPierre, a prominent NRA official, said that a reason there has been mass shootings in schools, for instance, is that the government created and designated them as gun-free zones which make them easy targets for those that wish to create the most destruction with the least risk.  He went as far as say that we are “advertising them as killing zones” recently in response the tragedy in Newton.

It is often stated that though gun violence and gun homicides are less in the UK, where guns are not legal,but that their violent crime rate is considerably higher than ours in the US.  In fact, it has been recently reported that the UK is the violent crime capital of Europe.

“The worst violent crime and murder rates in America occur in places with the strictest gun control already in places(like) Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, and Washington D.C. Strict gun control clearly does not work…The FBI reports 386 violent crimes per 100,000 in the USA. The UK Home Office reports 1,361 violent crimes per 100,000 in England. Gun control may be a failure, but the UK experience proves that outright gun bans are an unmitigated disaster.” Wayne Allyn Root (W.A.R) is a former Presidential candidate, the 2008 Libertarian Vice Presidential nominee, and a Tea Party favorite. Link

President Obama, most Democrats, university professors / researchers, and their pundits / newscasters as well as many mayors and police chiefs share the view that more guns equals more violent crime.  They say the statistics of gun homicides and violent crimes is extremely higher in the US compared with the UK and other similar countries and states with strict gun enforcement.

The difference on violent crime data comes from what is considered a violent crime.  Burglary, domestic violence, even bicycle theft are classified as a violent crimes in  the UK.  The US classifies violent crime using four categories  Murder, rape, robbery(by force, threat of force, or violence), and aggravated assault.

Here is the comparison:

U.S. 2009 robbery rate: 133 per 100,000.

U.K. 2009 robbery rate: 164 per 100,000.

U.S. 2009 burglary rate: 716.3 per 100,000

U.K. 2009 burglary rate: 523 per 100,000.

And in the U.S., you were nearly four times as likely to be murdered:

U.S. 2009 murder rate: 5 per 100,000.

U.K. 2009 murder rate: 1.49 per 100,000

The truth is that violent crime is much higher in the US than in the UK.  There are more murders and rapes in the US compared with the UK. Bottom line is that you, your family, your neighbors, and your friends are considerably more likely to be murdered or raped in the US than in any other comparable country, including the UK.

Does having a gun for protection make you safer?

According to the American Journal of Public Health, Investigating the Link Between Gun Possession and Gun Assault, “individuals in possession of a gun were 4.46 (P < .05) times more likely to be shot in an assault than those not in possession. Among gun assaults where the victim had at least some chance to resist, this adjusted odds ratio increased to 5.45 (P < .05) more likely to be shot. Read More.  You are nearly five times more likely to be shot if you have a gun during an assault than if you do not.

What about the claim that the worst violent crime and murders occur in cities and States with the strictest gun control laws?

Harvard Injury Control Research Center

• Across states, more guns = more homicide

From Harvard School of Public Health: “Using a validated proxy for firearm ownership, we analyzed the relationship between firearm availability and homicide across 50 states over a ten-year period (1988-1997).  After controlling for poverty and urbanization, for every age group, people in states with many guns have elevated rates of homicide, particularly firearm homicide…Children in states with many guns have elevated rates of unintentional gun deaths, suicide and homicide.  The state rates of non-firearm suicide and non-firearm homicide among children are not related to firearm availability”

• Where there are more guns there is more homicide  
• Guns are not used millions of times each year in self-defense  ”false positive”  

“We find that the claim of many millions of annual self-defense gun uses by American citizens is invalid.”

•  Gun ownership creates external psychic costs.  

By a margin of more than 3 to 1, Americans would feel less safe, not safer, as others in their community acquire guns

What about arming teachers and custodians with guns?

Columbine High School and Virginia Tech were protected by armed guards prior to two of the deadliest attacks at education institutions in U.S. history.

Family members of the victims in recent shootings are taking a stand against the NRA and are urging law makers to take meaningful action to reduce and limit the amount and type of guns that are currently legally available.

‘“It’s different now because children are being butchered in schools,’ said Dave Hoover, a police officer in Lakewood, Colo., whose nephew A.J. Boik was one of the 12 people killed in Aurora. ‘Because kids were killed at a movie. Because families went to church and were gunned down.”’

He added: “I don’t understand why we are even arguing about this.”

I could not find any studies that show there is a positive correlation to the amount of guns and the safety of the residents.  Not saying they don’t excises but where are they? This letter from 100 public health researchers may offer a clue:  The Letter https://crimelab.uchicago.edu/sites/crimelab.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/Biden%20Commission%20letter_20130110_final.pdf

What are your views?  Please share.

 

[Free Webcast] Evidence for Violence Prevention Across the Lifespan and Around the World-A Workshop

Found this while “surfing” the Institute of Medicine Web page (the primary source for an article in one of my RSS feeds).
I think I share a concern with gun violence with many of you dear readers.There has to be a better way to prevent gun violence than simply arming more folks. For example, a school system to the west of my hometown of Toledo, OH believes arming its janitors will curb violence. (Montpelier schools OKs armed janitors***). My gut reaction? If I had children in the school I would  pull them out. Homeschool them if there were no other ways to educate them. And if the teachers were armed? Same reaction.

Meanwhile I’m going to be participating in a [local] Community Committee Against Gun Violence (MoveOn.org). For the past several years I’ve been very concerned about gun violence. Time to start to do something…hopefully not too late.

Yes, this webcast might be viewed as just another talking heads exercise. I am hoping some good will come out of it. If nothing else, keep a conversation alive on how to address prevention of violence through nonviolence.

Here’s some information about the Webcast directly from the Institute of Medicine web site

Evidence for Violence Prevention Across the Lifespan and Around the World-A Workshop

When: January 23, 2013 – January 24, 2013 (8:00 AM Eastern)

Where: Keck Center (Keck 100) • 500 Fifth St. NW, Washington, DC 20001 Map

Topics: Global Health, Children, Youth and Families, Substance Abuse and Mental Health, Public Health

Activity: Forum on Global Violence Prevention

Boards: Board on Global Health, Board on Children, Youth, and Families

This workshop will be webcast. Register to attend in-person or register to watch the webcast.

  [My note...registration is now closed for in-person attendance, they've reached seating capacity]

Evidence shows that violence is not inevitable, and that it can be prevented. Successful violence prevention programs exist around the world, but a comprehensive approach is needed to systematically apply such programs to this problem.  As the global community recognizes the connection between violence and failure to achieve health and development goals, such an approach could more effectively inform policies and funding priorities locally, nationally, and globally.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) will convene a 2-day workshop to explore the evidentiary basis for violence prevention across the lifespan and around the world. The public workshop will be organized and conducted by an ad hoc committee to examine: 1) What is the need for an evidence-based approach to violence prevention across the world? 2) What are the conceptual and evidentiary bases for establishing what works in violence prevention? 3) What violence prevention interventions have been proven to reduce different types of violence (e.g., child and elder abuse, intimate partner and sexual violence, youth and collective violence, and self-directed violence)?  4) What are common approaches most lacking in evidentiary support? and 5) How can demonstrably effective interventions be adapted, adopted, linked, and scaled up in different cultural contexts around the world?

The committee will develop the workshop agenda, select and invite speakers and discussants, and moderate the discussions. Experts will be drawn from the public and private sectors as well as from academic organizations to allow for multi-lateral discussions. Following the conclusion of the workshop, an individually-authored summary of the event will be prepared by a designated rapporteur.

Related articles

• Comprehensive public health approach urged to curb gun violence in U.S. (mwoods228.wordpress.com)
• Harvard Researchers: Tackle Gun Violence Like Smoking, Car Deaths (wbur.org)
• Biden: Executive action can be taken on guns (politico.com)
• Vice President Biden Meets with Groups to Discuss Violence Prevention (salem-news.com)
• Analyst: No “Single Solution” to Gun Violence (voicerussia.com)
• Comprehensive Public Health Approach Urged to Curb Gun Violence in U.S. (emberbranch.wordpress.com)
• Violence plays role in shorter US life expectancy (newsobserver.com)
• Giffords launches anti-gun violence site (cnn.com)
• Montpelier OKs armed school janitors (toledoblade.com)

 

*** I did respond to the newspaper article. The response is online. I am expecting some rather strong responses, perhaps about how naive I am (sigh).

“Now I know, more than ever, that I have to get more involved in addressing violence through nonviolent means. For starters, am going to get better prepared for a nonviolent workshop our Pax Christi USA section is sponsoring next month. Also am going to do my best to follow through with a local Community Committee Against Gun Violence (http://civic.moveon.org/event/events/index.html?rc=homepage&action_id=302). Guess it’s time to be part of the solution…these two events are steps that are challenging, don’t solve things overnight, but in my heart of hearts…I feel called to participate in actions like these….(am thanking teachers here, esp those at St. Catherine’s(1960-1969) and Central Catholic (1969-1973).”

 

The role of alcohol in health costs

This blog post brought to mind a dear friend of mine, deceased now about 8 years. She was staying at our house, basically to get out of an abusive relationship. She had a myriad of health problems…Once I came home and she was passed out. I thought it was one of her many medical conditions that was the main factor…and somehow with the help of neighbors got her in my car and we sped to the emergency room. To make a long story short, it turned out her blood alcohol was extremely high….I know now the alcoholism not only “translated” into high medical costs for her, but also a short life.
May she rest in peace, rest in peace….

From the 6 January 2012 post by EDMUND KWOK, MD at KevinMD.com

Defined as someone “having the faculties impaired by alcohol, those of us who work in an acute healthcare facility are witness to many illustrious examples of drunk patients coming through our doors.

 

Underaged kids passed out at a house party? Yup. Raging alcoholics who are brought into the ER at least once a week? Sure. Elderly women who secretly binges on wine at home and falls down the stairs repeatedly? You betcha. What they all have in common is an apparent complete oblivion/ignorance to the source of the problem, and the associated ill effects on themselves.

Sometimes I wonder if the healthcare/political/legal system itself is “drunk”, in its own oblivion and inaction towards the impact alcohol abuse is having on our society.

The average sober Canadian would be shocked to hear of the types of alcohol-related ER visits that come through a hospital’s doors every weekend.

Empirical data supports this theory of absurd and inefficient healthcare dollar usage on alcohol abuse related hospital visits. As reported in the Recommendations for a National Alcohol Strategy published in 2007, “the economic impact of alcohol-related harm in Canada totaled $14.6B, taking into account the costs associated with lost productivity, health care, and enforcement. This amount is slightly less than the estimated cost of tobacco at $17B, but nearly double the cost attributed to illegal drugs at $8.2B”.

Anecdotal evidence reports many unnecessary ER visits where drunk patients simply take up an acute care bed for the night to sober up, eat a free breakfast in the morning and then get discharged. It is estimated that 0.6% of all U.S. ER visits are made by people who have no other problems beside being drunk, translating to over 900 million dollars just for ER visits alone….

 

 

Related articles

• LOOK: Your Body On Alcohol (huffingtonpost.com)
• Russia in a Froth? Beer Now Labeled as Alcohol (livescience.com)
• Marine Corps attacks alcohol abuse (utsandiego.com)
• UK teens: Cheaper to get drunk than go to cinema (standard.co.uk)
• Paul Heenan And Our Drinking Culture (dekerivers.wordpress.com)
• Should I stop drinking alcohol in January? (guardian.co.uk)
• Do alcohol and marijuana mix? Colorado is about to find out (denverpost.com)
• Booze calories too often ignored (bbc.co.uk)
• Decide yourself about Drinking Alcohol (draggarwal.org)

 

[Reblogged Infographic] Concussed – Masters in Health Care

Concussed | Masters in Health Care.

From Concussed at Masters in Health Care

Any sort of injury, from a little scrape to a serious bone-break, is a nuisance. But some types of injuries are far more traumatizing to deal with than others. If you or a loved one has ever had the misfortune to suffer from a concussion, you know that this particular injury can be highly painful, lingering, and difficult to deal with. Concussions can be the result of many varying accidents, and they happen more frequently than many people realize. There are 3.8 million concussions in the US every year, and many of them happen as a result of youth sports-related injuries. In the past, concussions were often dismissed to the tune of “walk it off,” and concussed individuals typically didn’t receive the proper treatment. In recent years, however, the true danger of any sort of concussion, from serious to mild, has become more widely recognized among healthcare professionals. Concussions can have a longer, more lingering effect than many people previously realized, and the legacy left by a severe concussion is something medical professionals are seeing more and more in the world of sports. A great deal of NFL players, for instance, are more aware of concussion symptoms, as well as how these symptoms may play out later in life. You may not be a head-injury prone athlete, but if you have any loved ones who are involved in contact sports, the following infographic provides helpful insight into the medical field’s growing awareness of the danger of a concussion.

 

 

Related articles

• The Hidden Risk for Student Athletes (infographicsking.wordpress.com)
• Michael Vick’s Concussion: Effects of Repeated Injury Are Validating NFL Policy (bleacherreport.com)
• Concussion rates for female athletes are just as much a concern as those for males (enterprisenews.com)
• Parents urged to see doctor if suspect concussion (jsonline.com)
• Hillary Clinton suffers concussion (bigpondnews.com)
• Concussions are Serious Matters (alexdoman.com)