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From: Harvard World Health News [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2006 15:32
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Subject: The Cost (Literally) of Good Health
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HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Center for Health Communication
Jay A. Winsten, Ph.D., Associate Dean and Center Director
Highlights from this week's issue of Harvard's World Health News
www.WorldHealthNews.harvard.edu
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orldhealthnews.harvard.edu> :
The Cost (Literally) of Good Health
(The Washington Post) -- "Speed bumps. Who would have thought those annoyances
were one of the great health-care investments of our age? At a cost of $5 for
every year of life they save or year of disability they prevent, speed bumps are
a bargain that no health minister in a poor country is going to want to pass up.
It's in the same league with these exceptionally good deals: once-a-year
treatment to rid rural African children of intestinal worms -- $3 to save a year
of disability -- and having extra measles vaccine on hand in clinics so kids who
missed their shot can get one at the next visit -- $4. Not much more expensive
is making sure that people having heart attacks get a month's worth of aspirin
and beta-blocker pills -- a $14 investment for every year of life saved. Or
making sure that places such as Morocco and Oman offer a simple eyelid operation
to people whose eyesight is threatened by a disease called trachoma -- $39 to
save a year of sight. Deep-brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease? At
$31,114 for each year of life or disability saved, it's not a great choice for
countries trying to stretch their health-care dollars...This shopping list --
and much, much more -- is included in a 1,401-page book called Disease Control
Priorities in Developing Countries, Second Edition, being launched [Monday] in
Beijing. The volume is emblematic of global health strategies in the 21st
century...'What difference will this information make at the country level?'
asked Sir George Alleyne, former director of the Pan American Health
Organization and one of the book's nine editors. 'Presidents used to ask me:
"Okay, where's the beef? What should I do?" We can now say: "You will find
information in this volume that will tell you what to do." '"
Swan in Scotland Had Deadly Bird Flu
(The Guardian, London) -- "The swan which died of bird flu in Scotland has
tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, it was announced
[Thursday]. The official results are expected later today, but the Royal Society
for the Protection of Birds confirmed that the bird had tested positive for the
H5N1 strain, which can infect humans."
Swaziland: Going Under the Knife To Avoid HIV
(Chicago Tribune) -- "New studies suggest that circumcised men are 60 percent to
75 percent less likely to contract the virus that causes AIDS through sexual
contact. In Swaziland, a deeply traditional nation that has the world's highest
rate of sexually transmitted HIV infection and one of the world's lowest rates
of circumcision, that is prompting a medical revolution."
Drought Afflicts Horn of Africa: Aid Agencies' Primary Concern Is Water
(San Francisco Chronicle) -- "Getting water to people and animals in this
drought-stricken region [Garissa, Kenya] has become the primary concern of
international aid agencies. In eastern Kenya, one of the worst-affected areas,
the cost of water has soared from 10 cents for a 20-quart jug to about 50 cents,
more than most nomadic families, who constitute 90 percent of the region's
population, can afford. In parts of southern Somalia, 20 quarts of water costs
about $1, more than most people earn in a day, aid workers say."
Heart Disease, Stroke Plague Third World
(Associated Press) -- "Each year cardiovascular disease kills 13 million people
in developing countries, almost triple the number who die from AIDS,
tuberculosis and malaria combined, researchers said Wednesday."
One Year Later, Peter Jennings Still Educates Public on Smoking
(ABC News) -- "Peter Jennings's announcement a year ago that he had lung cancer
helped change people's attitudes about smoking, according to public health
advocates...Thomas J. Glynn of the American Cancer Society called the public
declaration a 'watershed event in public health.'" (Link to story and video may
be found on WHN's multimedia page)
L.A. County OKs 'Historic' Homeless Plan
(Los Angeles Times) -- "Signaling a major shift in its homeless policy, the Los
Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a $100-million plan Tuesday to
reduce the concentration of homeless services in skid row by establishing five
centers across the county that would provide temporary shelter and social
services for transients. The sweeping county plan coincides with a major push by
city and state officials to tackle crime and blight in the downtown district,
which for decades has had one of the nation's largest concentrations of homeless
people."
Massachusetts Bill Requires Health Insurance for All
(The Boston Globe) -- "Every Massachusetts resident would be required to have
health insurance on July 1, 2007, under a landmark health care bill...The
145-page bill is the result of more than four months of occasionally bitter
negotiations. It melds ideas from the House, the Senate, and [Gov. Mitt Romney],
who put forth competing health care plans last year that have often seemed
irreconcilable. The bill appears headed for law, given that Romney yesterday
called it 'exactly what we'd hoped for.'"
Federal Bill Strikes at Low-Nutrition Foods in School
(The New York Times) -- "The days when children consume two orders of French
fries in the school cafeteria and call it lunch may be numbered. A bipartisan
group in Congress plans to introduce legislation today that would prohibit the
sale in school not only of French fries but also of other fatty or sugary foods,
including soft drinks."
In Boston, an 'Antidote' for Conflict
(The Boston Globe) -- "Kyle Newson, a 9-year-old with a generous smile and great
posture, eats lots of fruits and vegetables...And, Kyle confessed to his doctor
at a recent visit, he punched a schoolmate...'It's not a big deal now, but you
don't want your teenage boys getting into fights,' [Dr. Lynne Karlson], a
pediatrician at Tufts New England Medical Center, told Kyle's parents before
handing them a brochure with advice to help children avoid fights. The brochure
is part of the American Academy of Pediatrics' new effort to use annual checkups
with the nation's 60,000 pediatricians to defuse youthful confrontations from
schoolyard fights to gang violence."
See also, in Other News & Commentary:
Post-Katrina Dialogue on Poverty Fizzles
(Associated Press) -- "With much of New Orleans still under water, President
Bush stood before the stately St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square and declared
the nation had 'a duty to confront this poverty with bold action.' Katrina was
the cataclysmic event that was supposed to launch a vigorous 'national dialogue
on poverty.' It didn't happen, many say."
Controversy Over Autism Eats at Credibility of CDC
(The Atlanta Journal-Constitution) -- "A full-page ad scheduled to run in
[Thursday's] editions of USA Today, the nation's largest circulation newspaper,
accuses the CDC of 'causing an epidemic of autism' by recommending that children
receive a series of vaccines that until 2001 contained thimerosal...But what
stings public health advocates more is a letter sent Feb. 22 by Sen. Joseph
Lieberman (D-Conn.) and seven other members of Congress. The bipartisan group
asks that the CDC not take the lead on a new study examining the vaccine-autism
issue...Agency officials said Wednesday they are proud of the CDC's work on
thimerosal safety issues and that they have looked hard to find a link as well
as to find any other cause of autism."
For links to the full text of these and other articles, go to
www.WorldHealthNews.harvard.edu
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orldhealthnews.harvard.edu> .
************
World Health News is an online news digest from the Center for Health
Communication of the Harvard School of Public Health, offering a combination of
original reporting and links to news stories and commentaries from newspapers
and magazines worldwide on pressing issues in public health. The site is
designed as a resource for an international audience of policy makers and
journalists, as well as public health researchers, practitioners, and advocates.
Contact:
Jennifer Zeis
Managing Editor
World Health News
(617) 432-1038
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Harvard World Health News . Center for Health Communication . Harvard School of
Public Health .677 Huntington Avenue . Boston . MA . 02115
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