Intervention and agency

cultivating & crashing

Yesterday I attended a seminar by Lise Gauvin on different public health interventions that have taken place in Montreal, Wixx and BIXI. The talk was great, and not only because I’m really interested in this kind of work. One thing that struck me was the Nuffield intervention ladder, and how it demonstrates that effectiveness of public health initiatives are inversely proportional to the amount of control they exert on the individual or group. People should not drink sugary drinks, and the most effective intervention would be to ban its sale. Yet that would trigger riots more vehement than those protesting police murders of unarmed people. Wixx and BIXI are examples of interventions that are also well received by the public, showing that a balance can be struck between intervention and acceptability.

Profile on Lise Gauvin and her work

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[Reblog] Calling all #Parents and #Carers – Do you have a child/care for a child aged 12 – 18 years

Hoping for the best for this community. A service worth looking into.
(If this is not an image of Warwickshire, please let me know!]

calflier001 [http://www.flickr.com/photos/calflier001/9483019393/]

THE RUPERT BROOKE WETHERSPOONS RUGBY WARWICKSHIRE AUG 2013

From the 27 January 2015 blog post at  safe in warwickshire

 

Sexual Exploitation is in the news a lot at the moment. The media often write about situations where a number of men, are exploiting girls in towns/cities. Children can be sexually exploited in different ways.

Warwickshire County Council is currently developing resources for parents and carers to help them keep their children and young people safe from abuse and exploitation.

To make the resources as useful as possible we would like to know what you, as parents and carers of young people would like to know and how you would like to receive this information. To do this we have created a short online survey, that should take no more than 5 minutes to complete.

…..

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• ‘More children go missing’ from foster carers
• Child sexual exploitation: police campaign is guilty of victim blaming
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• Children ‘groomed in every town’

[Reblog] A sampling of perspectives on Brill’s take on health reform

From the 23 January 2015 post at Covering Health-Monitoring the Pulse of Health Care Journalism

I’m sure a lot of you have Steven Brill’s “America’s Bitter Pill” on your bedside table by now – I’m not going to try to recap it here.

But I did want to share a few links to some of the more thoughtful (or provocative) articles and reviews, representing critics on both the left and right. I also wanted to draw your attention to another recent book providing a conservative perspective on health reform.

• Here’s a Sunday New York Times book review by Zephyr Teachout.
• Here’s Malcolm Gladwell in the New Yorker.
• And Peter Orszag (who was in the Obama administration when the bill was being written and appears in the book) at Bloomberg View writes about what he thinks Brill got wrong.
• Avik Roy at Forbes has a conservative perspective.

The second book (and I should say that while I have a copy, I loaned it to a colleague before I read it myself…) is by the Washington Examiner‘s commentary editor,  Philip Klein, who looks at the options and thoughts on the right in “Overcoming Obamacare: Three Approaches to Reversing The Government Takeover of Health Care.” It hasn’t been as widely reviewed as Brill’s book but Aaron Carroll gives it an interesting write-up in the Incidental Economist blog.

Related articles

• America’s Bitter Pill
• Obamacare = “America’s Bitter Pill”

[Reblog] What if Everything You Knew About Grains Was Wrong?

From the 19 March 2014 post by Twilight Greenaway at Civil Eats

A variety of foods made from wheat. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

First it was produce. Then the local food movement expanded to take on meat. Now it’s all about grains.

Nothing proves this point more than the packed room I found myself in last Sunday morning. At the point in the week when most people are unfurling their copy of the New York Times, or making their second leisurely café au lait, I filed in to the back of the dining area at Oliveto, a high-end Italian restaurant in Oakland, to join around 100 people gathered to discuss local grains.

The event was hosted by Community Grains, a Bay Area company founded by Oliveto owner Bob Klein, which sells local whole grain flour, pasta, polenta, and beans. It brought restaurateurs, foodies, journalists, bakers like Tartine Bakery’s Chad Robertson, who has been using local and heirloom grain varieties in recent years, and farmers such as Paul Muller from the iconic Full Belly Farm out on a Sunday morning.

…

The post continues with points made at the presentation, including

• Milling destroys nutrients. “The heat, oxygenation, and stress of the milling process makes the vitamins nearly impossible to recover.”
• Many whole wheat products result from bran  added back in to white flour
• “Grocery store products only need to be 51 percent whole grain to receive one of those brown and orange “Whole Grain” stamps by the Whole Grains Council.”
• “Wheat is generally much more minerally dense than other staple crops,” said Killilea. “But most nutrients get milled out. We lose half the B vitamins, and lots of the vitamin E.” This last part is important, because wheat is a source of gamma vitamin E (or gamma tocopherol), which has powerful anti-inflammatory properties.
• Today, however, Pollan has hope. He pointed to a new crop of grain farmers, like the ones working with Community Grains, such as Front Porch Farm and the Mendocino Grain Project, who are breeding wheat for flavor and old world baking. Combine this trend with innovative milling techniques, and Pollan believes we can have healthy bread that tastes good too–and not just in foodie enclaves like the Bay Area. “We need to create a whole economy, in fact a whole culture, that will make whole grain bread fantastic tasting,” he told the crowd.

– See more at: http://civileats.com/2014/03/19/what-if-everything-you-knew-about-grains-was-wrong/#sthash.mKQhYrzm.dpuf

[Press release]Health Canada Publishes Findings From Wind Turbine Noise and Health Study |

Icon of Wind Turbines (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Health Canada Publishes Findings From Wind Turbine Noise and Health Study |

From the 2014-11-06  Health Canada press release

Today, Health Canada published findings from the Wind Turbine Noise and Health Study. Launched in 2012, in collaboration with Statistics Canada, this study explored the relationship between exposure to wind turbine noise and the health effects reported by, and measured in, people living near wind turbines.

In the effort of being more open and transparent, the findings are available on Health Canada’s website. The findings provide a more complete overall assessment of the potential impacts that exposure to wind turbines may have on health and well-being.

No evidence was found to support a link between exposure to wind turbine noise and any of the self-reported or measured health endpoints examined. However, the study did demonstrate a relationship between increasing levels of wind turbine noise and annoyance towards several features (including noise, vibration, shadow flicker, and the aircraft warning lights on top of the turbines) associated with wind turbines.

It is important to note that the findings from this study do not provide definitive answers on their own and must be considered in the context of a broader evidence base.

Health Canada has consulted the Wind Turbine Noise and Health Study Expert Committee on these findings. Detailed analysis and results will be shared with Canadians and the international (scientific) community over the next several months with updates provided on the Health Canada website.

Health Canada will hold a technical background briefing with interested media at 11:00 AM EST today (Dial-in information below).

Quick Facts

• The study was conducted in Southwestern Ontario and Prince Edward Island and included 1238 households out of a possible 1,570 households living at various distances from 399 separate wind turbines in 18 wind turbine developments.
• This study is the first study related to wind turbine noise to implement the use of both self-reported and physically measured health endpoints.
• Measured health-related indicators included hair cortisol as a biomarker of stress, blood pressure, resting heart rate and sleep.

Related Products

Wind Turbine Noise and Health Study Results Pamphlet

Wind Turbine Noise

Frequently Asked Questions

Associated Links

Wind Turbine Noise and Health Study: Updated Research Design and Sound Exposure Assessment

[News article] Drugs in dirt: Scientists appeal for help

From the 20 January 2015 BBC article

US scientists are asking the public to join them in their quest to mine the Earth’s soil for compounds that could be turned into vital new drugs.

Spurred on by the recent discovery of a potential new antibiotic in soil, the Rockefeller University team want to check dirt from every country in the world.

They have already begun analysing samples from beaches, forests and deserts across five continents.

But they need help getting samples.

Which is where we all come in.

Citizen science

On their Drugs From Dirt website, they say: “The world is a big place and we can’t get get to all of the various corners of it.

“We would like some assistance in sampling soil from around the world. If this sounds interesting to you – sign up.”

They want to hear from people from all countries and are particularly keen to receive samples from unique, unexplored environments such as caves, islands, and hot springs.

Such places, they say, could house the holy grail – compounds produced by soil bacteria that are entirely new to science.

Researcher Dr Sean Brady told the BBC: “We are not after hundreds of thousands of samples. What we really want is a couple of thousand from some really unique places that could contain some really interesting stuff. So it’s not really your garden soil we are after, although that will have plenty of bacteria in it too.”

He said they would also be interested to hear from schools and colleges that might want to get involved in the project.

From the 185 samples they have tested so far there are some promising results, the researchers say in the journal eLife.

Biosynthetic dark matter

Dr Brady and colleagues have found compounds that might yield better derivatives of existing drugs.

In a hot spring sample from New Mexico, they found compounds similar to those that produce epoxamicin – a natural molecule used as the starting point for a number of cancer drugs.

In samples from Brazil, they found genes that might offer up new versions of another important cancer drug called bleomycin.

And in soils from the American southwest, they hope to find compounds similar to the drug rifamycin that could help with treatment-resistant tuberculosis.

 ….

[Press release] Unexpected turn in diabetes research suggests reinterpretation of years of research — ScienceDaily

Unexpected turn in diabetes research suggests reinterpretation of years of research — ScienceDaily.

Excerpts from the press release

Date:January 20, 2015

Source:KU Leuven

Summary:Years of diabetes research carried out on mice whose DNA had been altered with a human growth hormone gene is now ripe for reinterpretation after a new study confirms that the gene had an unintended effect on the mice’s insulin production, a key variable in diabetes research.

Years of diabetes research carried out on mice whose DNA had been altered with a human growth hormone gene is now ripe for reinterpretation after a new study by researchers at KU Leuven confirms that the gene had an unintended effect on the mice’s insulin production, a key variable in diabetes research.

Genetically modified mice have been used in medical research for over thirty years. To expedite the cutting-and-pasting of fragments of DNA, the pioneers of the method inserted a human growth hormone gene alongside other modified DNA. Researchers assumed that the DNA of the human growth hormone would remain tightly encapsulated in the modified DNA of the mouse.

They did not expect the mice to begin producing their own human growth hormone — but that appears to be exactly what happened.

KU Leuven professors Frans Schuit and John Creemers used the genetically modified mice regularly in their lab. To their surprise, they observed that the mice showed pregnancy-like symptoms despite not being pregnant at all.

Digging deeper, the researchers discovered that this pregnancy-like state was being caused by the human growth hormone, explains Professor Schuit: “In mice, the human growth hormone has the same effect as hormones that are produced by the placenta in pregnant mice. Just as in pregnancy, the cells in the pancreas that are responsible for the production of insulin change. They increase in number and begin to produce more insulin. And that happens to be exactly what we study in diabetes research.”

…

Related articles

• Unexpected turn in diabetes research
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[Reposting] Catching up on sleep science – Science360 News Service | National Science Foundation

Catching up on sleep science – Science360 News Service | National Science Foundation.

From the 21 January 2015 article

[Unfortunately was not able to copy the accompanying 7:37 minute video here]

Humans are the only species that seems to deliberately deprive themselves of sleep. But if you’ve ever uttered a phrase like, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead,” scientists say it’s time for a wake-up call. Researchers have long known that adequate sleep is critical for good health. Insufficient sleep impairs the immune system, and is associated with everything from obesity to cardiovascular disease, stroke to cancer, depression to schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. Now scientists are several steps closer to knowing how sleep keeps us healthy.

[Press release] Model predicts public response to disease outbreaks

Model predicts public response to disease outbreaks

From the 14 January 2015  press release

David L. Chandler | MIT News Office
January 14, 2015

Illustration: Jose-Luis Olivares/MIT

Sometimes the response to the outbreak of a disease can make things worse — such as when people panic and flee, potentially spreading the disease to new areas. The ability to anticipate when such overreactions might occur could help public health officials take steps to limit the dangers.

Now a new computer model could provide a way of making such forecasts, based on a combination of data collected from hospitals, social media, and other sources. The model was developed by researchers at MIT, Draper Laboratory, and Ascel Bio, and is described in a paper published in the journal Interface.

The research grew out of earlier studies of how behavior spreads through social networks, explains co-author Marta Gonzalez, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at MIT. The spread of information — and misinformation — about disease outbreaks “had not been studied, and it’s hard to get detailed information on the panic reactions,” Gonzalez says. “How do you quantify panic?”

One way of analyzing those reactions is by studying news reporting on outbreaks, as well as messages posted on social media, and comparing those with data from hospital records about the actual incidence of the disease.

In many cases, the reaction to an outbreak can cause more harm than the disease itself: For example, the researchers say, curtailing travel and distribution of goods can create economic damage, or even lead to rioting and other behavior that can exacerbates a disease’s spread. Wide publicity of an outbreak can also cause health care facilities to be overrun by people concerned about minor symptoms, potentially making it difficult for those affected by the disease to obtain the care they need, the researchers add.

…

To study the phenomenon, the team looked at data from three disease outbreaks: the 2009 spread of H1N1 flu in both Mexico and in Hong Kong, and the 2003 spread of SARS in Hong Kong. The model they developed could accurately reproduce the population-level behavior that accompanied those outbreaks.

In these cases, public response was often disproportionate to actual risk; in general, the research showed, diseases that are rare or unusual frequently receive attention that far outpaces the true risk. For example, the SARS outbreak in Hong Kong produced a much stronger public response than H1N1, even though the rate of infection with H1N1 was hundreds of times greater than that of SARS.

This analysis did not specifically address the ongoing Ebola epidemic in West Africa — but once again, Gonzalez says, “The response [is] just not justified by the extent of the disease.”

 

…

[Reblog] SurroundHealth – 2015 Top 10 Predictions in Public Health

SurroundHealth – 2015 Top 10 Predictions in Public Health.

Excerpt from the 6 January 2015 post

Ready or not, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is once again heading to the Supreme Court. At stake is whether the law allows consumers purchasing insurance through the Federal portal to extend the same discounts that states provide. Eliminating the discount could gut the exchange’s value to federal consumers. In the meantime, it’s enrollment as usual for 2015. Share this this updated ACA enrollment guide from the IOM.

2. Defending Safety Net and Programs and Regulations

• Medicare Private voucher program proposal. With a new GOP majority, I expect to revisit proposals to privatize Medicare. The American Public Health Association (APHA) is on record opposing such a policy move as undermining the foundation of Medicare’s guaranteed coverage. Brace yourselves for some ideological power-plays over health care access for seniors.
• Access to Abortion Services. APHA supports Access to abortion and ensuring the availability of qualified practitioners. The access to safe and legal abortion services at the state level has narrowed rapidly across the majority of US states since 2013. Now, this sharply partisan issue is likely provoke both Congressional challenges and more states to seeking to restrict these services, especially for low-income women.
• Environmental Protections. Expect attacks on environmental regulations and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Republicans are candid that their goal is to end the EPA. Clean air standards and more may be threatened.

3. New Vaccines

• Ebola Vaccine. Likely the most fast-tracked vaccine trials ever, I’m not the only one predicting that we’ll see an ebola vaccine in 2015. Together with infection control protocols established for the affected West African countries, this will hasten the end to what had seemed an intractable crisis—though we’re not likely to snuff out ebola completely within the year.
• HPV Nonavalent Vaccine. Merck’s nine-valent HPV vaccine received FDA approval in 2014. It’s very likely that this will replace, or partially replace, their current quadrivalent (4-valent) version. The newer vaccine will increase the percentage of cancer-causing HPV types prevented from 70% to 90% and potentially prevent tens of thousands of cancers per year. It may only need 2 doses instead of the current 3. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) should make a recommendation in the first half of 2015 with rollout later in the year.

4. National Policy on Police Violence in Communities of Color

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