UPMC NEWS - IDM Chair Charles Rinaldo recently received the news that a major study he directs to confidentially collect information on men living with HIV will be renewed into 2026 at nearly $4 million per year. The funding from the National Institutes of Health ensures that the Pitt Men's Study will survive into its fourth decade. But today, on HIV Long-Term Survivors Day, Rinaldo calls the remarkable milestone bittersweet.
UPMC Workpartners health coach Carol Martin-Mack (BCHS '12) recently performed health assessments at Pitt Public Health. During the visit, she focused on obtaining - and then explaining - baseline measurements on heart rate, blood pressure, weight BMI, body fat%, as well as cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility for employees. Martin-Mack provides assessments and coaching to numerous clients at the University of Pittsburgh, aiming to educate ...
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ASPPH FRIDAY LETTER - Broadband penetration rates are substantially lower in many rura counties where access to primary care physicians and psychiatrists is inadequate, which limits the potential of telemedicine to mitigate barriers to care say findings from a brief research report led by HPM's Coleman Drake.
SCIENCE - The EPA plans to quickly revap its guidelines for evaluating whether environmental contaminants can cause cancer or other ailments, a move Trump administration critics fear is part of a broader effort to weaken the basis for regulating a wide range of pollutants. "The problem is, there's no way it can be done in any serious way," said EOH's Bernard Goldstein, dean emeritus. "The danger is you'll just get it wrong and for 15 years, you'...
UK DAILY MAIL - The findings published in JAMA could explain why several recent trials of treatments for sepsis - an immune response in which the body attacks its own organs - have failed. "The next step is to find therapies that apply to the scientific types of sepsis and then desing clinical trials to test them," Said study author HPM's Derek Angus.
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ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION - The build a culture for health, we must first ensure everyone has the basics to be healthy. And when it comes to expanding opportunities for health, thinking the same approach will work universally is like expecting everyone to be able to ride the same bike. This graphic from RWJF helps to explain the work being done at our Center for Health Equity to #PromoteHealthEquity.
PSYCHOLOGY TODAY - More Americans receive treatment for depression and pay less out of pocket than they did two decades ago, according to a recent study. "States that haven't expanded Medicaid could look at these estimates and think: There's a way to expand treatment of mental health conditions like depression," says HPM's Julie Donohue.
WESA - Telemedicine has the potential to connect people in rural communities to health care providers who might otherwise take hours to reach by car. But a new study by HPM's Coleman Drake finds that many of these places lack the infrastructure to actually make telemedicine possible.
THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND - On their 2019 ParkScore ranking for the 100 largest U.S. cities, Pittsburgh ranked #22. Among other distinctions, they report that 91% of city residents live within walking distance of a park.
BCHS' Richard Garland was among the presenters at the American College of Preventive Medicine's Prevention 2019 meeting held in Pittsburgh in May. Garland was on a panel called Lessons about Gun Violence from the National Violent Death Reporting System.
The Department of Health Policy and Management gave an impressive 20 presentations at the AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting in Washington, D.C. The students and faculty joined an international audience working to improve health and health care.
PR NEWSWIRE - The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, the leading authority on children's oral health, inducted a new president and other new board officers and trustees including Angela Stout (MMPH '98). Stout is a passionate child advocate in the prevention of child abuse and neglect. She is the former chair of the PA Dental Association's Prevent Abuse and Neglect through Dental Awareness Coalition.
WDAM - U.S. health officials have reported 971 measles cases so far this year, the highest tally in 27 years, and experts say it's not clear when the wave of illnesses will stop. "What's causing these outbreaks is lack of vaccination," said HPM Chair Mark Roberts.
The 2019 cohort of Pittsburgh Summer Institute in Applied Public Health is underway. The 2019 group project will be with WIC, the Special Supplemental Nturition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. Students will canvas obtetrician and pediatrician offices on communications and WIC services, aiming to increase program enrollment.
PITTWIRE - Diego Chaves-Gnecco (MMPH '00) has been named 2019 Pediatrician of the Year by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Pennsylvania Chapter. The award recognizes a chapter member who exemplifies excellence in the profession.
WESA - Karen Hacker, director of the Allegheny County Health Department, will leave at the end of July to take a job with the CDC as director of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Hacker is also a member of our Board of Visitors and holds faculty appointments in the Departments of Health Policy and Management and Behavioral and Community Health Sciences.
PITTWIRE - HPM's Walid Gellad is using machine-learning algorithms to predict who is at risk of opioid misuse and overdose, teaming up with Allegheny County officials and national health care databanks in two separate studies.
NJ.COM - New research suggests taht even for adults who develop noticeable cognitive impairments in later life, that doesn't mean they have Alzheimer's or will progress to Alzheimer's anytime soon. Mary Ganguli (EPI '87) says the findings suggest no one should jump to hasty conclusions about people with cognitive loss.
US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT - EPI's David Brent (MSHyg '87) was one of the authors on a study published in JAMA Psychiatry that found children whose parents were prescribed opioids were twice as likely to attempt suicide as the offspring of people who did not use those drugs.
REUTERS - "Being black isn't the issue," EPI's Anthony Fabio said. "The issue is probably that there's institutionalized racism in the United States and if you're African American you're more likely to be born in a poor neighborhood, which has a whole plethora of disadvantages as you grow up and move through life."