SiCKO

Last Thursday evening (6/21), I had the privilege of attending the Chicago premiere of Michael Moore's new film "SiCKO". The Health and Medicine Policy Research Group (HMPRG) co-sponsored a rally with Moore in Millennium Park and provided tickets to the film's premiere Chicago showing to Chicago health professionals and activists. I was lucky enough to snag 2 tix and brought my sister-in-law along to the film.

Not surprisingly, SiCKO has drawn the attention of the media, health care activists, community organizers, public health professionals, social service providers, and the American public. As is described in this NY Times article, Moore uses the film to call for a universal single-payer health care system, with the U.S. federal government as the provider. During the film, Moore cites the successful universal care systems of Canada, England, France, and Cuba as welcome models for a revamped U.S. health care system.

Take a look at the article to learn more, and definitely see the film when it opens to the public on June 29!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/us/politics/24sicko.html?ex=1340424000&en=5c553f406f9fb72c&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

New guidelines on prenatal screening for Down Syndrome

Until recently, prenatal screening for Down Syndrome was limited to pregnant women ages 35 and older, as they were deemed "higher" risk for the extra chromosome. But in January, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) released a new set of recommendations, including screening of all pregnant women regardless of age.

According to researchers, about 90% of couples who receive a positive prenatal screening for Down Syndrome opt to end the pregnancy. The New York Times health section provides some interesting videos on this topic - families of children with Down Syndrome have organized to work with OB-GYNs to make improvements to the screening and diagnosis, and prenatal counseling process.

http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=75b21d45037ddde30bf24171111b1ab53bebc333

Physical Activity and Disability

To be inclusive of individuals with mobility impairments and physical disabilities, the WOMAN Challenge (www.womenshealth.gov/woman) provides a limited supply of arm-band pedometers. However, I cannot help chuckling at the ridiculousness of the name of these tools -arm-band pedometers - a fundamentally flawed name that fails to acknowledge the contraptions differences from standard pedometers that measure lower body movement in steps.

The WOMAN Challenge refers participants with disabilities to the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability (www.ncpad.org), but it never feels like this is quite enough. How do individuals with physical disabilities maintain a healthy, active lifestyle? and how can we help them to do this?

According to Fitness a Struggle for Disabled People, this is a significant challenge:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Fitness-Disabilities.html.

Finally!

Finally we have some research to back up our crazy rants about the futility of abstinence-only sex education - maybe we really are getting somewhere!

According to a study ordered by Congress, "students who participated in sexual abstinence programs were just as likely to have sex as those who did not".

Are we surprised to hear that the $176 million a year that the Federal government has spent on these abstinence-only programs has no positive measurable outcomes to show for it? Not in the slightest. Unfortunately, Federal officials responded to the study by suggesting that "the abstinence message should be reinforced in subsequent years" in order to increase the dose of this intervention! AHHHH!!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/15/washington/15sex.html?ex=1334289600&en=98df6c82fb4cb8d9&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

2007 WOMAN Challenge!

The website for the 2007 WOMAN Challenge (Women and girls Out Moving Across the Nation) has launched! Visit www.womenshealth.gov/woman to learn more about the 8-week, internet-based physical activity challenge and to register. You can even get a free pedometer (while supplies last).

Happy National Public Health Week!

http://www.nphw.org/2007/home.htm

Hooray for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation!

I was grinning ear to ear when I saw that "the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation plans to spend more than $500 million over the next five years to reverse the increase in childhood obesity" (Strom S., NYTimes, 4/4/07).

The article does a good job of drawing a link between the RWJF's epic fight against big tobacco and their current uphill struggle with childhood obesity. Also, I was glad to see that Strom highlighted public health's current reliance on philanthropic foundations, now more than ever (another little interest of mine).

I can't help wondering though, just because I read the NYTimes Health section religiously, does an article like this make it onto many people's radars?

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/04/health/04obesity.html?ex=1333339200&en=1e99d141050b1677&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink