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 Derek Angus (BCHS '92), chair of Pitt's critical care medicine and an HPM distinguished professor.
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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, head of Pitt's Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing, 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."
UPMC - Much like cancer, sepsis isn't simply one condition but rather many conditions that could benefit from different treatments, according to the results of a Pitt study reported in JAMA involving more than 60,000 patients, featuring Derek Angus (BCHS '92), chair of Pitt's Department of Critical Care Medicine and Pitt Public Health's distinguished professor of health policy and management.
Reversibly paralyzing and heavily sedating hospitalized patients with severe breathing problems do not improve outcomes in most cases, according to an NIH-funded clinical trial conducted at dozens of North American hospitals and led by clinician-scientists at Pitt -- including Derek Angus (BCHS '92), chair of critical care medicine and distinguished professor of health policy and management -- and the University of Colorado.
UPMC - Backed by a five-year, $6.7 million NIH grant, PHDL's Wilbert Van Panhuis plans to lead a culture shift in data-sharing rippling through scientific fields and harness it to improve global knowledge of infectious diseases.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EXERCISE SCIENCE - Kristie Rupp, Sharon Taverno Ross, Tiffany Gary-Webb, Thomas Akiva, and John M. Jakicic found that support for physical activity in the household for adolescents with higher BMI's may be warranted.