Chemical information and the Jan 2014 West Virginia Elk River chemical release

From TOXNET: You may be aware from multiple news sources that little information was available about 4-methylcyclohexanemethanol at the time of the spill in West Virginia's Elk River earlier this month. Since the spill, government and private sector scientists have contributed to collecting and verifying information about the chemical. As a result, there is now … Continue reading Chemical information and the Jan 2014 West Virginia Elk River chemical release →

New edition of Health Communication Science Digest

From the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC): This month in the Digest there are several papers reporting the effectiveness of public health communication messaging (Auchincloss et al; Beales & Kulick; Chang [2 papers]; Dillard & Main; Glanz et al; Huang & Yang; Lee, J.). Other reports examine audience segmentation and targeting (McInnes et … Continue reading New edition of Health Communication Science Digest →

E-cigarette poisonings & more in the new edition of Public Health Law News

From the CDC's Office for State, Tribal, Local, & Territorial Support: The new edition of Public Health Law News reprints an article from USA Today on the rise in reports of poisonings in children by e-cigarettes. Other stories include reports from the states on changes in public health laws and an interview with Chester Antone, … Continue reading E-cigarette poisonings & more in the new edition of Public Health Law News →

Hospital preparedness and the Boston Marathon bombing

From the CDC's Public Health Matters Blog: In the last eight years, Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston has conducted 78 large scale emergency drills. On the afternoon of April 15, immediately following the two bombs set off during the Boston marathon, it was time to put their well-practiced plans into action. Brigham and Women’s … Continue reading Hospital preparedness and the Boston Marathon bombing →

CDC Finds Childhood Obesity Declined

Here’s some good news from the CDC to start your day! According to a report released earlier this month, childhood obesity among low income preschoolers is on the decline. Here’s the breakdown: Nineteen states saw decreases. Florida, Georgia, Missouri, New Jersey, South Dakota, and the U.S. Virgin Islands showed the greatest decreases Twenty states and … Continue reading CDC Finds Childhood Obesity Declined →

Public health’s wicked problems: Can InfoVis save lives?

From the CDC's Office of Infectious Diseases: Call for submissions Public health is charged with assessing current and emerging health threats and issues, developing effective population-based policies and interventions to address these problems, and monitoring delivery and outcomes of public health actions (IOM, 2010 & 2008). Many public health problems, such as the … Continue reading Public health’s wicked problems: Can InfoVis save lives? →

CDC Spends $626,00 on the Future of First Responder Training

In my never ending quest to find innovative uses for technology in healthcare, I came across an article on the CDC’s most recent use of virtual reality for the training of their emergency responders. Apparently they value virtual reality tools a lot- $626,000 worth. As part of phase III of “Protecting the health, safety, resilience … Continue reading CDC Spends $626,00 on the Future of First Responder Training →

New Health Communication Science Digest available

This month in the Digest several papers explore the uses, benefits, and limitations of new media in public health communication. Other studies examine how media news and entertainment content may shape public perceptions ofhealth risks and healthy lifestyle behaviors. Health message design and presentation is the focus of many studies. Aspects of health literacy and risk communication are discussed in others. The June issue of the … Continue reading New Health Communication Science Digest available →