December 2006
HOT OFF THE PRESS...
New Research
Studies Find Interventions Can Help Break Cycle of Dependence on Emergency Rooms in Children's Asthma
Early and consistent education during and after a visit to the emergency department is a key to successful long-term management of pediatric asthma, says recent research supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. One study, based at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., shows that educational intervention can reduce emergency department visits for asthma by 40 percent.
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Asthma More Likely Among Children and Teens Who Smoke
By Paul Jackson on NAS Online
December 7 - Children and teenagers who smoke are up to four times more likely to develop asthma than nonsmokers, and the risk more than doubles if the child’s mother smoked while pregnant, a new study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine reveals.
Researchers have known that in utero exposure to the byproducts of cigarette smoke increases the risk of developing asthma during childhood, as does childhood exposure to second-hand smoke, but there was little data about the effect of a child or teen’s own smoking on asthma development or the combination of these factors. This new study followed the smoking habits of more than 2,500 fourth- and seventh-graders as they progressed to their senior year of high school. Those who reported smoking seven cigarettes a day on average and 300 cigarettes or more in the past year were 3.9 times more likely to develop asthma than nonsmokers. Children who smoked at these rates and whose mother smoked while pregnant were 8.8 times more likely to develop asthma.
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The Asthma Epidemic
Waltraud Eder, M.D., Markus J. Ege, M.D., M.P.H., and Erika von Mutius, M.D.
N Engl J Med. 2006 Nov 23;355(21):2226-35 http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/355/21/2226?query=TOC
While the prevalence of asthma seems to have plateaued in western countries, it may be rising in developing countries. The "syndrome" of asthma has different phenotypes, but to date these can not clinically characterized. The successful management of asthma depends on understanding better the gene-environment interactions that lead to disease manifestation.
New Reports & Publications
From Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids ...
Only three states fund tobacco prevention programs at CDC-recommended minimum levels
Between tobacco taxes and proceeds from the 1998 tobacco settlement, the states stand to collect a record $21.7 billion in tobacco-generated revenue this year. All of which would be very good news indeed if a substantial portion of the revenues were to be applied to tobacco prevention and cessation efforts.
That's not the case, according to "A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement Eight Years Later," a report released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-supported Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, along with the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and American Lung Association. In fact, the states don't even come close to spending the minimal amount of $1.6 billion recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Instead, they're expected to spend just 37 percent of that amount—an anemic $597.5 million.
The report finds that only three states—Maine, Delaware and Colorado—currently fund tobacco prevention programs at minimum levels recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Five states in particular—Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire and Tennessee—spend no significant state funds on tobacco prevention at all. Learn more about the report findings:
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Perspectives on Community Participation in Research
The Children, Youth and Environments Journal announced the publication of the first part of a comprehensive two-part issue on community-based participatory research and practice – "Pushing the Boundaries: Critical International Perspectives on Child and Youth Participation." The first installment features papers from Europe, guest edited by Barry Percy-Smith and Alison Clark. Papers on other world regions will be published over the next several months; upcoming sections will focus on Australia and New Zealand, Southeast Asia and North America. This multi-region special issue of CYE is edited by Caitlin Cahill and Roger Hart. The CYE Journal is available on: http://www.colorado.edu/journals/cye/index.htm
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Guideline Development Literature
The journal Health Research Policy and Systemshas recently published a series of reviews on improving the use of research evidence in guideline development. Topics include:
- Guidelines for guidelines
- Priority setting
- Group composition and consultation process
- Determining which outcomes are important
- Deciding what evidence to include
- Synthesis and presentation of evidence
- Grading evidence and recommendations
- Integrating values and consumer involvement
- Incorporating considerations of cost-effectiveness, affordability and resource implications
- Incorporating considerations of equity
- Adaptation, applicability and transferability
- Reporting guidelines
- Disseminating and implementing guidelines
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American Academy of Pediatrics Seeks Proposals for the Community Access to Child Health Implementation Funds Program
Deadline: January 31, 2007
The American Academy of Pediatrics ( http://www.aap.org/ )
has released a 2007 Call for Proposals for the Community
Access to Child Health Implementation Funds program. CATCH
provides grants to support pediatricians in the planning or
pilot stages of the implementation of community-based child
health initiatives. Grants should lead to the initialization of implementation
projects aimed at increasing access to medical homes
( http://medicalhomeinfo.org/ ) and other needed services.
A pediatrician must lead the project and be significantly
involved in proposal development and project activities.
Priority will be given to projects serving communities with
the greatest demonstrated healthcare access needs and health
disparities.Grants of up to $10,000 each are awarded each year on a com-
petitive basis to pediatricians who want to address the local
needs of children in the community. This is a six-month
implementation grant. Grant funds must be used for initial
implementation activities only. For more information:
http://www.aap.org/catch/implementgrants.htm
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Sandler Program for Asthma Research Invites Applications
Deadline: February 8, 2007
The Sandler Program for Asthma Research seeks to develop important
new pathways of investigation in basic research on the patho-
genesis of asthma. Because the program seeks groundbreaking ideas, outstanding
investigators from outside the field of asthma are particularly
encouraged to apply. Preliminary results are not required.
Investigators with prior experience in asthma research are
eligible to apply, but they must demonstrate that the proposed
work represents a departure from their current and past research.
Early Excellence Awards provide $150,000 per year for three
years. Senior Investigator Awards provide $250,000 per year for
three years. Awardees may allocate all funds for project support
if desired. The sum of salaries for investigators (not including postdoctoral
fellows or technicians) is limited to $50,000 per year plus
fringe benefits. RFP Link: http://www.sandlerresearch.org/
American Community Survey Alert, Number 43
The Census Bureau released 2005 ACS estimates on selected race,
Hispanic origin and ancestry populations.
The 2005 ACS data provide key socioeconomic and housing characteristics for
about 200 selected population groups at the national and state levels. It
allows for easy comparisons across groups and access to a range of data
from age, marital status and fertility, to language spoken at home and
educational attainment. The data may be found on the Census Bureau’s American FactFinder Website
at: http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en
A guide to other new related products from the Census Bureau can be found at:
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Products/users_guide/index.htm
Events
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS); Workshop: Children’s Environmental Health: Past, Present and Future Research Strategies
On January 22-23, 2007, the NIEHS is hosting a workshop titled “Children’s Environmental Health Research: Past, Present, and Future” at the NIEHS in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.The goal of this workshop is to develop new strategies for research, exposure and effects monitoring, intervention and prevention in children’s environmental health. Specific objectives are to maximize the effectiveness of scientific research—basic science, exposure monitoring/biomonitoring, epidemiology, toxicology, clinical medicine and multidisciplinary studies—and to enhance the translation of research to the bedside, to the community and to public policy. This meeting is open to the public with attendance limited only by the space available. Time will be set aside for public discussion. Additional information about the workshop and on-line registration are available from the NIEHS Web site at http://www.apps.niehs.nih.gov/conferences/od/cehr/.
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The 4th annual Guidelines International Network (G-I-N) conference, will be held August 22-25, 2007. G-I-N is an international not-for-profit association of organizations and individuals involved in clinical practice guidelines. AHRQ is a founding member of GIN and a co-sponsor of this conference. The theme of the conference is Collaboration in Clinical Practice Guidelines. Special focus will be given to increasing demands for guideline transparency and efficiency, promoting guideline adoption and keeping them up-to-date, and collaboration between relevant stakeholders and organizations. For further information and details about registration, please visit the G-I-N Conference Web site.
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Webcast: Poverty, Culture and Social Injustice: Determinants of Health Disparities (12/5/2006)
This fourth event in the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services Public Health Grand Rounds series examines health disparities.
Please visit: http://www.kaisernetwork.org/fe.cfm?id=4499
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