For the Public’s Health: The Role of Measurement in Action and Accountability

Proper health care planning requires the collection and use of  good factual public health statistics. Sadly, according to this report, quality collection and application of health measurements are lacking partly because there is not enough coordination among governmental agencies  and private sector entities.

For the Public’s Health: The Role of Measurement in Action and Accountability assesses the current situation.
From the press release:

“To inform the public health community and all other sectors that contribute to population health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation commissioned the IOM to examine three major topics that influence the health of the public-measurement, laws, and funding. In this, the first of three reports, the IOM reviews current approaches for measuring the health of individuals and communities and suggests changes in the processes, tools, and approaches used to gather information about health outcomes and their determinants.”

“The IOM recommends developing an integrated and coordinated system in which all parties—including governmental and private sector partners at all levels—have access to timely and meaningful data to help foster individual and community awareness and action. “

Links to the report, report brief, and report release slides may be found here.

Related Articles

• Two Health Data Tools for Research and Surveillance : Health Indicators Warehouse and Catalogue of Surveillance Systems (jflahiff.wordpress.com)

Hygiene Habit Review Time & How to be Safe Around Animals

With the weather getting warmer (at least here in America’s Midwest), more people will be spending more time outside.
This might be a good time to review good hygiene habits.

Here are some great places to start.

• Nail hygiene is important for gardeners and anyone planning to get down and dirty with Mother Nature.
  The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has some nail hygiene advice including
• Avoid cutting cuticles, as they act as barriers to prevent infection.
• Never rip or bite a hangnail. Instead, clip it with a clean, sanitized nail trimmer.
• Going swimming in a neighborhood or other area pool? Take steps to prevent the spread of germs and illnesses
• Don’t swim when you have diarrhea. You can spread germs in the water and make other people sick.
• Don’t swallow the pool water. Avoid getting water in your mouth.
• Practice good hygiene. Shower with soap before swimming and wash your hands after using the toilet or changing diapers. Germs on your body end up in the water.
• Keep your body as clean as possible. The CDC has a great interactive human body diagram with links to preventative advice.
  Click here for additional tips on facial cleanliness.
• Planning on being around animals at the zoo, at a farm, or at someone’s house or campsite?
  Check out Proper Hygiene Around Animals with parenting tips (many useful for adults also!) that discourage these activities around animals
• Eating or drinking
• The use of strollers, toys, pacifiers, baby bottles, or spill-proof cups
• Hand-to-mouth behaviors, such as thumb-sucking and nail-biting
• Sitting or playing on the ground
• Feeding the animals, unless the contact is controlled with barriers
• Any contact with animals if an individual has open wounds
• Contact with any animal waste

Related Resources

Compendium of Measures to Prevent Disease Associated with Animals in Public Settings, 2011 (National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians, Inc. (NASPHV))

While not aimed to the general public, it does include some good tips, as

Animal Areas

• Do not allow food and beverages in animal areas.
• Do not allow toys, pacifiers, spill-proof cups, baby bottles, strollers or similar items in animal areas.
• Prohibit smoking and other tobacco product use in animal areas.
• Supervise children closely to discourage hand-to-mouth activities (e.g., nail-biting and thumb-sucking), contact with manure, and contact with soiled bedding. Children should not be allowed to sit or play on the ground in animal areas. If hands become soiled, supervise hand washing immediately.
• Ensure that regular animal feed and water are not accessible to the public.
• Allow the public to feed animals only if contact with animals is controlled (e.g., with barriers).
• Do not provide animal feed in containers that can be eaten by humans (e.g., ice cream cones) to decrease the risk for children eating food that has come into contact with animals.

Natural Unseen Hazards Blog – news about natural unseen hazards that may place outdoor enthusiasts at risk

Related articles

• A Guide to Good Personal Hygiene (everydayhealth.com)
• Swimmer’s Ear Responsible for Nearly a Half Billion in Health Care Costs (cdc.com)
• 5 men’s hygiene facts you won’t believe (holykaw.alltop.com)

AARP Health Tools

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)  now has a Health Tools page addressing with links to

• Medicare  with a search box and clickable general and specific topids
• Medicare Part D and prescription coverage
• Drug Savings Tool for finding cheaper alternatives
• Drugs A-Z to find information on prescription and over the counter medications
• Drug Compare to earn the differences and similarities between any two prescription or over-the-counter medications
• Pill Identifier to Avoid a medication mix-up. Use our tool to identify pills by color, shape and markings
• Symptom Checker – Enter your health symptoms to find out possible causes and treatments

Related Resources (from the University of Toledo Consumer Health Library Guide)

• Familydoctor.org -health information for the whole family
  Web pages include Conditions A-Z, Health Information for Seniors, Men, and Women, Healthy Living Topics, pages geared to Parents & Kids, and videos.  Numerous health tools in the left column (as health trackers, health assessments, and a Search by Symptom page. Written and reviewed by physicians and patient education professionals at the American Academy of Family Physicians.
• Mayo Clinic
  Trusted information on diseases and conditions (including a symptom checker), drugs and supplements, tests and procedures, and healthy lifestyle information. By a team of Mayo physicians, scientists, writers, and educators. 
  
• Drugs, Supplements, and Herbal Information (from a MedlinePlus page)
  Prescription and over-the-counter medication information contains answers to many general questions including topics as what a drug is used for, precautions, side effects, dietary instructions, and overdoses. From the American Society of Health System Pharmacists
• Drug Information Portal
  A good central source of drug information by the US government (the National Institutes of Health). It links you to information on over 12,000 drugs from trusted consumer drug information sources, the US Food and Drug Information, and LactMed (summary of effects on breastfeeding), It also gives any summaries from medical and toxicological articles (however, the whole article may not be for free on the Internet)
  
  

Related Articles

• Drugs: The Price Is Right (american.com)
• The New Medicare Part D: Which RA Drugs Will It Cover? (everydayhealth.com)

Natural Resources Defense Council: Smarter Living

The Natural Resources Defense Council is environmental action group of 1.3 million members including more than 350 lawyers, scientists and other professionals.

The home page tabs provide access to News, Issues, Policies, Smarter Living options, and more.

The Smarter Living sections  include a wide range of resources and information, including

• A  searchable Chemical Index to learn about chemicals commonly used in everyday products, find out what the health concerns and sources of exposure are, and how to stay safe.
• An eating local section with maps to local farmer’s markets, search box for produce in season by state, food label information, and more
• Food tips and news, including recipes and shopping wise advice
• Health tips and news, including health reports and pet care advice
• Home and yard tips and news under topics as energy, water & air, yard & garden
• Smart Shopper’s Guides

Related Resources

• Household Products Databases – This database links over 8,000 consumer brands to health effects from Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) provided by the manufacturers and allows scientists and consumers to research products based on chemical ingredients
• ToxNet – Databases on toxicology, hazardous chemicals, environmental health, and toxic releases

Related Articles

• Great News! (chefann.com)
• Keeping Your Food and Water Safe (everydayhealth.com)
• 42 Disease Clusters Identified In U.S. (huffingtonpost.com)
• “Natural Resources Defense Council: One out of three counties in the US lower 48 states faces an increased risk of water shortages due to climate change” and related posts (coyotegulch.wordpress.com)
• Poll: Most Americans Support EPA and Clean Energy (doyourpart.com)
• Eating Environmentally (everydayhealth.com)
• Do you live in one of the nation’s ‘smartest regions for transportation’? (grist.org)

Children and War

The Children and War Foundation was established in 2000 to “improve children’s lives after wars and disasters”.

The home page reflects current efforts, from the effect of trauma and stress on Palestinian children to a Disaster Bereavement Manual to rescue and acute efforts in Japan.

The toolbar Projects option leads to summaries of  current efforts in Africa, America, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

The foundation has developed a number of Measures to screen and quantify the effects of war, disaster and trauma on children.

For example, the Children’s Revised Impact of Event Scale is “a widely used screening tool measuring children at risk for post traumatic stress symptoms, and is designed to be used in children aged 8 and above. It has been applied in a variety of cultures as post traumatic stress symptoms in children are more similar than they are different from one culture to the other.”

On a more human level, the Stories link on the home page’s left column provides narratives of children caught up in wars and disasters, and given assistance by the foundation.

Elizabeth of Uganda was kidnapped and used as a slave by Ugandan government soldiers. Luay of Iraq was traumatized by carrying the dead out of bombed ruins.

Related Articles

• When a Loved One Has PTSD (everydayhealth.com)
• How Trauma Leads to Depression (everydayhealth.com)
• Depression and Anxiety After a Natural Disaster (everydayhealth.com)
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Diagnostic Criteria (brighthub.com)
• Help for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (everydayhealth.com)
• Child soldier trauma in Uganda shares similarities with Northern Ireland (eurekalert.org)
• Psychological Scarring to Palestinian and Israeli Children when Exposed to War (hellerbrittani.wordpress.com)
• Teachers-based intervention provides stress resistance in war-exposed children (eurekalert.org)
• How to Help Children Cope With a Dangerous World (health.usnews.com)