LGBT health
The Human Rights Campaign in April released “Revisiting Your Hospital’s Visitation Policy,” a hospital guide to help hospitals satisfy new requirements banning discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered patients and their families. These changes include an option for all patients to choose who may visit them and who may represent them. For more information, visit www.hrc.org.
Behavioral research
The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research at the National Institutes of Health and the New England Research Institute joined forces in March and created e-Source, a central online resource for behavioral and social science research. The resource aims to collaborate between research findings and public health activities. For more information, visit e-Source at www.esourceresearch.org.
Adults and emergencies
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in March released a guide that aims to help public health professionals identify at-risk older adults during public health emergencies. The guide includes recommendations for caregiver preparedness and sheltering. The guide is online at www.cdc.gov/aging/emergency.
Chronic fatigue syndrome
The International Association for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in May updated its care guidelines for primary care physicians and other health care providers. The primer highlights the effects of chronic fatigue syndrome, a diagnostic worksheet and treatment suggestions. Access the document at www.iacfsme.org/Home/Primer/tabid/509/Default.aspx.
Asthma and kids
The American Lung Association in May launched Lungtropolis, an interactive Web-based learning game that helps children ages 5–10 control their asthma and offers parents tips on caring for children with asthma. The launch coincided with World Asthma Day and National Asthma Awareness Month. For more information, visit www.lung.org/associations/states/california/for-the-media/american-lung-association-4.html.
Hospital quality
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in January released a free toolkit designed to guide hospitals through the process of learning quality and patient safety indicators that can improve care. The toolkit is organized into sections that focus on change, prioritizing hospital improvements, implementation, monitoring progress and analyzing investment returns. Download the toolkit at www.ahrq.gov/qual/qitoolkit.
Alcohol advertising
The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health created a free online tool in April to determine the extent of exposure to radio alcohol advertisements among young people ages 12–20 in 75 media markets. The tool provides three important measures: the percent of alcohol ads out of compliance with the standard, the percent that exceed the proportional standard and how many ads in each market were more likely to be heard by youth than adults. For more information, visit www.camy.org.
Rehospitalization
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement offers a free, downloadable readmission diagnostic worksheet designed to help hospitals identify opportunities for improvement based on reviews of the five most recent rehospitalizations. The worksheet includes chart reviews and interviews with readmitted patients and families. Download the readmission diagnostic worksheet at www.ihi.org/Pages/default.aspx.
Oral health
The National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center at Georgetown University recently developed two resources to improve oral health services for pregnant women, infants, children and adolescents. “Oral Health in Head Start: A Resource Guide” offers descriptions of journal articles from peer-reviewed literature and lists other federal resources. “Resource Highlights: Focus on Fluoride Varnish” identifies high quality materials and websites. For more information, visit www.mchoralhealth.org.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
