A recent study that calls into question the “widely held belief that uninsured people are clogging the nation’s” emergency departments to receive no-cost care for minor ailments “leaves another troublesome implication: that many uninsured patients are simply going without needed care until they become so sick that they can’t stay away,” a New York Times editorial states. According to the editorial, “There are many causes of emergency room crowding,” including ED closures, a shortage of primary care physicians, a “concomitant rise in the number of patients turning to emergency rooms and a shortage of inpatient beds into which the sickest patients can be moved.” The editorial continues, “These problems need to be solved with an infusion of money and resources,” adding that it also “remains critical to provide health coverage for some 45 million uninsured Americans.” The editorial states, “The new study suggests that many of them may not ‘just go to an emergency room’ for the care they need” (New York Times, 10/30).

Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation.В  All rights reserved.

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is intensifying the international training of doctoral researchers. At its autumn meeting in Bonn the Grants Committee responsible for Research Training agreed to the establishment of 13 additional Research Training Groups, 7 of which are International Research Training Groups. These enable doctoral researchers to cooperate closely with foreign universities. “We are particularly pleased about the first International Research Training Group involving an Indian university. This means that our young researchers will come into even closer contact with this fast devel-oping scientific country,” said DFG President Professor Matthias Kleiner. Apart from this milestone, there are other new International Research Training Groups that build upon existing cooperation arrangements with the USA, Japan, Russia, Spain and South Korea within this funding programme.

The new Research Training Groups offer large numbers of doctoral researchers the opportunity to obtain a doctorate in a structured research and qualification programme at a technically advanced level. They will therefore play a crucial role, especially in view of the current debate about the quality of doctorates awarded at German universities. The 13 newly ap-proved Research Training Groups will each receive project funding of between approximately 344,000 euros to 1,123,000 euros annually. They involve such topics as novel connections between quantum and gravitational field theories, new ideas for the bionic implementation of concepts derived from nature in modern technology, and work on better treatments for ischemic heart disease. Other topics deal with changes in the clerically based social system in the wake of European unification and the development of a self-organised mobile communication system in disaster scenarios.

In the Grants Committee meeting it became clear that the DFG’s increased commitment to promoting equal opportunities in science has already been put into practice. All those involved – from the applicants and the reviewers to the members of the Grants Committee – are increasingly aware of this issue and consider it important to implement concrete measures. “It is pleasing to see how many convincing strategies, in some cases based on the DFG’s new research-oriented standards on gender equality, already exist,” underlined DFG President Kleiner.

In addition to the 13 new institutions, which will initially be funded for four and a half years, the Grants Committee also approved the renewal of 17 Research Training Groups for a further period. This brings the number of Research Training Groups currently funded by the DFG to a total of 247, 64 of which are International Research Training Groups.

The new Research Training Groups in detail:

(listed in alphabetical order by host university)
Using mountains as drinking water reservoirs is the subject of the International Research Training Group “Complex Terrain and Ecological Heterogeneity” at the University of Bayreuth and the Kangwon National University, Korea. The German and Korean scientists are researching various parameters of the mountain landscapes that supply drinking water for more than half of humanity. With the models resulting from this work, they want to better understand the interaction of socio-economic and ecological aspects in the protection of drinking water distribution and land usage. (Host university: University of Bayreuth; Spokes-person: Professor Dr. John Tenhunen; Collaboration partner: Kangwon National University, Korea)

The aim of the Research Training Group “Mass, Spectrum, Symmetry: Particle Physics in the Era of the Large Hadron Collider,” established at the Humboldt University of Berlin and Dresden University of Technology, is to create closer links among the broad theoretical and experimental expertise in the various research fields of elementary particle physics and to clearly point out the collaborative character of their research area for the doctoral researchers. The experimental basis of this comes from the participation in the ATLAS experiment of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN and the search for new physics taking place there, along with collaboration in international neutrino experiments. From a theoretical point of view, a broad spectrum of research on quantum field theory is also being studied, while at the same time building a bridge between astroparticle physics and particle physics in accelerators. (Host universities: Humboldt University of Berlin, Dresden University of Technology; Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Jan Plefka)

The International Research Training Group “Self-Assembled Soft-Matter Nanostructures at Interfaces” is working at the interface of chemistry and physics. German and American scientists are working together to study the fundamental principles of self-organisation in microscopic structures of organic and biomolecular material at interfaces, so-called nanostructures. Under the leadership of the Berlin Institute of Technology, a joint research project with the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces and the Humboldt University will build on the already existing successful collaboration with North Carolina State University and the Uni-versity of Pennsylvania. (Host university: Berlin Institute of Technology; Spokesperson: Pro-fessor Dr. Martin Schoen; Collaboration partners: North Carolina State University, University of Pennsylvania)

The Research Training Group “Bionics – Interactions Across Boundaries to the Environment” at the University of Bonn is dealing with the transfer of biological phenomena into technical areas. The participants in the Group, from biology and computer science, are focusing on bio-logical interactions across boundaries such as those of the skin and sensory organs with their environment. Whether it be adhesion properties, infrared vision or optical orientation: exam-ples from nature will be studied and implemented in technical systems. In this project the re-searchers from Bonn are cooperating with engineers from the Research Centre JГјlich and the RWTH Aachen as well as external industrial partners. (Host university: Rheinische Friedrich Wilhelms University, Bonn; Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Gerhard von der Emde)

A better understanding of mathematical structures of equations in different applications of fluid mechanics is the goal of the International Research Training Group “Mathematical Fluid Dynamics”, in which Darmstadt University of Technology is collaborating closely with the Japanese University of Tokyo and Waseda University. The researchers in this Group, who come from various disciplines, intend to link together various branches of mathematics and engineering in a productive way. (Host university: Darmstadt University of Technology; Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Matthias Hieber; Collaboration partners: University of Tokyo, Waseda University)

“The Dynamic Response of Plants to A Changing Environment” is the title of the Interna-tional Research Training Group in plant science at the University of DГјsseldorf. In close co-operation with Michigan State University in the USA, the complex adaptation processes of plants to non-constant temperature and light conditions are to be investigated. The interdisciplinary research ranges from genomics and population ecology to bioinformatics and cell biology and biochemistry. (Host university : Heinrich-Heine University, DГјsseldorf; Spokes-person: Professor Dr. Andreas P. M. Weber; Collaboration partner: Michigan State Univer-sity)

In its International Research Training Group with Spanish scientists in the field of medicine, the University of Giessen is working on the topic of vascular diseases. Its focus is on ischemic heart disease, which is the most common cause of death in industrialised countries. Under the title “Protecting the Heart from Ischemia” the interdisciplinary project is concerned with the causes and effects of the disease and also with possible therapeutic approaches. (Host university : Justus-Liebig University, Giessen; Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Hans Michael Piper; Collaboration partner: Universitat AutГІnoma de Barcelona)

The European “Expert Cultures of the 12th to 16th Centuries” are the topic of a Research Training Group at the University of GГ¶ttingen. In this project, doctoral researchers from the fields of history, theology and philosophy will investigate the ambivalent relationship that arose in the late Middle Ages between experts and society, in which the non-experts devel-oped a very diverse set of attitudes, ranging from trust in experts to criticism of them. (Host university: Georg-August University, GГ¶ttingen; Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Frank Rexroth)

The Research Training Group “Self-organised Mobile Communication Systems for Disaster Scenarios” aims to overcome the restrictions of existing, highly static communication sys-tems. The young team of researchers from the Technical University of Ilmenau is developing more flexible types of communication technology to this end. At the forefront of this is the creation of improved organisational networks. As a specific objective, the scientists want to create mechanisms for the dynamic self-organising coordination of future means of communi-cation. (Host university: Technical University of Ilmenau; Spokesperson: Professor Dr.-Ing. Andreas Mitschele-Thiel)

A unique and highly complex connection between various research fields in physics is the aim of the Research Training Group “Quantum and Gravitational Fields” at the University of Jena. In close collaboration between physicists and mathematicians the Group is making use of the interface between field theory and differential geometry. The aim is therefore to exploit the innovative cross-fertilisation of physics and mathematics to search for completely new discoveries in physics. The results of fundamental interactions of elementary particle physics are essential for the construction of theories beyond the standard model, and also have practical importance for other fields such as micro and nano-technology. (Host university: Friedrich-Schiller-University, Jena; Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Andreas Wipf)

“The Christian Churches and the Challenge of Europe” – this is the title of a Research Train-ing Group at the University of Mainz researching the changes in the Christian dominated social model together with the churches in European countries with regard to the notion of European unification and the actual process of “Europeanisation”. The researchers, from the disciplines of religious studies, politics, history and law, will be concentrating on the period from the Wilhelminian era to the present day. (Host university: Johannes Gutenberg Univer-sity, Mainz; Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Heinz Duchhardt)

The International Research Training Group “Regulation and Evolution of Cellular Systems” aims to work in a way that promotes dialogue. The intention is not only to increase German-Russian dialogue between the two Munich universities and the Lomonosov Moscow State University – but also to improve the level of communication between theoretical bioinformat-ics and practical life sciences as a foundation for the future. German and Russian research groups from specialist disciplines such as bioinformatics, computer science, proteomics, biol-ogy and biochemistry will therefore be working in close knit teams. (Host universities: Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Technical University of Munich; Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Dmitrij Frishman, Professor Dr. Ralf Zimmer; Collaboration partner: Lo-monosov Moscow State University)

In the first ever German-Indian International Research Training Group, scientists from the University of MГјnster and the University of Hyderabad are carrying out joint research in the field of glyco-science. Under the title “Molecular and Cellular Glyco-Sciences” the international group composed of biologists, chemists and medical researchers is studying the carbo-hydrate-containing bio-molecules. These are increasingly being recognised as information-bearing molecules which perform important signalling and regulatory functions within and between cells and organisms. The important interaction of carbohydrates and proteins is to be studied in the cell for its molecular and biochemical aspects. (Host university: Westphalian Wilhelms University, MГјnster; Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Bruno Moerschbacher, Collabo-ration partner: University of Hyderabad)

###

Further information on the DFG’s Research Training Groups can be found at: dfg.de/gk

Source: Dr. Eva-Maria Streier

dfg.de/
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

A majority of patients are satisfied with the care they receive during a hospital stay but many are unsatisfied with communication and pain control, according to a study published on Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, USA Today reports. Authors examined data collected by the federal government in an ongoing patient survey at all hospitals that receive Medicare payments. In the study’s first year, which ended Sept. 30, about 40% of eligible hospitals did not report their data.

Patients in the study, which was sponsored by the Commonwealth Fund, rated six areas on a scale of zero to 10, including communication by physicians, nurses, and about medications and the quality of nursing services, discharge information and pain management. Overall, 63% of respondents rated the quality of their care a nine or 10 and 26% rated it a seven or eight. The study found that about one-third of patients gave low scores for pain control and one-fifth gave low scores for discharge instructions. Researchers found that hospitals that ranked well on standard measures of quality had higher patient ratings. The study also linked a high nurses-to-patient ratio with higher patient satisfaction. In addition, the study found that teaching hospitals were rated higher than non-teaching hospitals, and not-for-profit hospitals were rated higher than for-profit facilities.

Lead author Ashish Jha, an assistant professor of health policy at the Harvard School of Public Health, said, “These data really represent a sea change,” adding, “We’ve been talking about [health care] quality for 20 years, but patients’ experiences have not been part of the discussion.” Anne-Marie Audet, vice president for quality improvement and efficiency at CWF, said the negative responses to pain control and communication show that in those areas “no one is doing … great” (Rubin, USA Today, 10/29).

The study is available online.

Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation.В  All rights reserved.

Consumer Health
Sciences, a leading international provider of comprehensive consumer
health information and patient reported outcomes, presented
groundbreaking data at the 15th Annual Conference of the International
Society for Quality of Life Research, Montevideo, Uruguay, October 25,
2008. Findings demonstrated a significant impact of having prediabetes
on the quality of life and work productivity of patients.

The results demonstrated that prediabetic patients have a lower health
related quality of life and higher levels of work productivity
impairment when compared to a healthy non-diabetic population. The
presentation further quantified the loss of work productivity as 5.6
weeks per year for each prediabetic patient compared to their healthy
counterparts.

“These results truly highlight the need for better diagnosis and new
treatments for patients with prediabetes as a way to help slow the
growing epidemic of diabetes and its impact on the patient and
society,” said Michael Fronstin, Chief Operating Officer of Consumer
Health Sciences. “Less than 40% of all prediabetic patients are even
aware of their condition and therefore can’t take the steps necessary
to prevent it from progressing to a full diabetes diagnosis.”

The results were based on an analysis of 63,000 patients from the 2007
National Health and Wellness Survey in the USA. Prediabetic patients
were identified and compared to patients with and without diabetes
using validated patient reported health outcomes scales. Further
analyses of these prediabetes patients are being conducted by the
scientific team at Consumer Health Sciences to more deeply understand
the demographic, attitudinal and epidemiology differences of this
important patient group.

About Consumer Health Sciences

Consumer Health Sciences is a leading source of disease-specific
consumer health information for the pharmaceutical and life science
industries. Its flagship product, the annual National Health and
Wellness Survey (NHWS) database, is the largest self-reported patient
database of its kind, providing market sizing, demographic,
attitudinal, quality of life, resource utilization and treatment
information in more than 100 therapeutic categories in the U.S., Europe
and Japan.

Consumer Health Sciences

A new deal reached today between the Government and the
pharmaceutical industry means that more patients will benefit from a
wider range of innovative drug treatments at a fair price to the NHS.

The flexible pricing scheme agreed will ensure that medicines fairly
reflect their value to patients, branded drugs will see their price
cut, and industry innovations will be encouraged and rewarded. As a
result, patients will have faster access to new medicines that are
clinically and cost effective.

Today’s agreement with the pharmaceutical industry meets commitments
set out both in Lord Darzi’s review of the NHS earlier this year and
the National Cancer Director’s review of access to medicines. It also
reflects the Office of Fair Trading’s recommendation that value
should be better reflected through the PPRS.

The headline agreements with industry include:

– a cut in the cost of drugs sold to the NHS: a 3.9 per cent price
cut will be introduced starting in February 2009.

– a further price cut of 1.9 per cent will be introduced in January
2010;

– Subject to discussion with affected parties, the Department of
Health will also introduce generic substitution from January 2010.
There would be further price adjustments on January of each year
aimed as the proportion of savings from generic substitution varies
with time;

– action to support innovation so patients have faster access to new
medicines that are clinically and cost-effective;

– a new non-contractual voluntary scheme providing stability and
predictability in Pharmaceutical Pricing for the next 5 years;

– new and more flexible pricing arrangements that will enable drug
companies to supply drugs to the NHS at lower initial prices, with
the option of higher prices if value is proven at a later date; and

– the more systematic use of patient access schemes by drug companies
to allow access to medicines which have not initially been assessed
as cost or clinically effective by NICE.

Alan Johnson said:

“A more flexible approach to pricing is in everyone’s interest. It
gets clinically and cost effective drugs to more patients – providing
cheaper options where clinically appropriate – delivers value for
money for the NHS and the tax payer, and creates a better market for
the pharmaceutical industry while supporting research and innovation.

“Patient access schemes together with flexible pricing of
pharmaceuticals will also enable the NHS to offer more patients a
wider range of more expensive drugs as recommended by the National
Cancer Director Mike Richards in his recent Report on improving
access to medicines for NHS Patients.”

Dr Richard Barker, Director General of the ABPI said: “This landmark
deal marks a turning point for patients, the NHS and the
pharmaceutical industry. For the first time, the PPRS is much more
than a simple economic agreement that looks at price alone.

“It is an all-encompassing package that encourages the discovery of
new, more effective medicines, while at the same time allowing NHS
patients to access these treatments more quickly.

“With the Department of Health, we have developed a solution that
addresses the immediate needs of patients and their families, and the
NHS.

1. Today’s announcement follows agreement on the new 2009
Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS). PPRS is the voluntary
agreement between Government and industry on pricing of branded drugs
in the UK.

2. The first two measure outlined above are different from the key
components of the heads of agreement announced in June 2008. These
changes have been made with a view to simplifying the scheme, whilst
still ensuring that the intent of the original deal has been met.

3. In September 2005 OFT launched a market study into the PPRS. The
OFT’s key recommendation is that the Government reforms the PPRS,
replacing it with a value-based approach to pricing which would
ensure the price of drugs reflect their clinical and therapeutic
value to patients and the broader NHS.

4. Companies with sales of ВЈ25 million or less in 2007, the first ВЈ5
million sales will be exempt from the price cut. As with the current
PPRS, companies would have freedom of pricing for new products and be
able to modulate prices. There will be an independent dispute
resolution mechanism.

5. The innovation package includes:

– establishment of a single horizon scanning process for new drugs in
development, with more systematic industry involvement, to support
better forward planning;

– piloting extension of prescribing incentive schemes with PCTs, to
promote uptake of innovative products and better use of existing
levers in Payment by Results;

– development of new metrics for uptake of clinically and
cost-effective medicines starting with a number of drugs positively
appraised by NICE, and publication of comparative international data.

Department of Health
, UK

When daylight savings ends Sunday
morning, roads may become more dangerous, says The National Road Safety
Foundation, Inc. a non-profit that provides free driver safety films and
programs for schools and other organizations.

“Once we move the clocks back this weekend, the drive home from work or
school for many will likely be in the dark,” says Michelle Anderson of The
National Road Safety Foundation. “The time change and earlier nightfall are
a combination that’s a formula for drowsy driving — a condition many
drivers fail to recognize. It can be as dangerous as drinking and driving.”

A recent study by the National Sleep Foundation last year show 60
percent of U.S. motorists have driven while sleepy, and nearly 37 percent
admit to having fallen asleep at the wheel. The risk of drowsy driving is
especially prevalent among teens, who tend to keep late hours and think
they can function on minimal sleep.

The National Road Safety Foundation has a free teaching program,
“Recognizing the Drowsy Driver,” that includes two films with real-life
vignettes of drowsy drivers, as well as discussion guides for classroom
use.

The program teaches drivers to be alert to the signs of drowsiness
while driving:

– Difficulty focusing, frequent blinking, rubbing eyes

– Daydreaming or not remembering the last few miles driven

– Head snaps, yawning

– Drifting out of your lane, tailgating or hitting shoulder rumble
strips

If you experience any of these warning signs, pull over to a safe area
and take a break, have a cup or two of coffee or a caffeinated snack and,
if possible, take a 20-minute nap. Allow 30 minutes for the caffeine to
enter your bloodstream.

“Recognizing the Drowsy Driver” and other free programs can be ordered
or downloaded at nationalroadsafety.

The National Road Safety Foundation
nationalroadsafety

Eighteen Tanzanian media houses on Sunday launched HIV/AIDS workplace policies in response to news from the Tanzania Health Index Survey that the country could lose 9% of its most economically productive population to the disease by 2020, the Tanzania Daily News reports. According to Fatima Mrisho, chair of the Tanzania Commission for AIDS, the policies will focus on prevention, treatment, care, support, and the reduction of stigma and discrimination.

Halima Shariff, country director for USAID’s Health Policy Initiative, said that her organization over the past year has collaborated with the AIDS Business Coalition of Tanzania and the Media Owners Association of Tanzania to launch the workplace policies. Shariff added that an assessment of media houses in 2006 — which was conducted in collaboration with the Association of Journalists Against HIV/AIDS in Tanzania — “revealed that despite their commendable role in promoting HIV/AIDS education and advocacy, media houses lacked defined HIV/AIDS workplace programs and policies.” Following the assessment — which also found “gaps” such as low HIV/AIDS knowledge and risky behaviors and practices — HPI distributed the findings to media houses and other stakeholders, according to Shariff.

Following the 2006 assessment, Shariff said that MOAT executives committed to “join forces in ensuring that media houses instituted workplace policies and/or programs.” Meetings were held among senior media managers to garner support and determine methods of engaging media houses, according to Shariff. MOAT Executive Secretary Henry Muhanika noted that the new policies will create awareness; help fight stigma; teach about HIV/AIDS treatment; encourage voluntary counseling and testing; and teach how to maintain confidentiality. ABCT CEO Richard Kasesera said, “We need to sensitize the media and since media are on the forefront of communication, once we sensitize them, we can also educate the nation” (Tanzania Daily News, 11/16).

Reprinted with kind permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

© 2008 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

The activity and excitement of the holidays tend to make people less careful when they should be more cautious. Dr. Roger Yurt, director, and Robert Dembicki, R.N., M.S., patient care director of the Hearst Burn Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, urge you to take care all of the time, and offer these special tips for the holiday season:

– Trees: Remember that trees cut early in the season quickly dry out to become fire hazards. Never put a tree in front of an exit.

– Candles: Never leave religious, or any, candles burning unattended.

– Decorations: Never decorate your holiday tree with candles, even if you do not intend to light them.

– Lights: Only buy holiday lights that have been inspected by the Underwriters Laboratory (UL). Inspect and test lights each year before using them.

– Wires: Never leave holiday lights on when you leave the house. If a wire should short, you might return to find your house on fire!

– Fireplaces: Never place a tree near a fireplace. If there is no other place to put it, do not use the fireplace until after the tree has been removed and the needles have been cleaned up.

NewYork Presbyterian Hospital

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, based in New York City, is the nation’s largest not-for-profit, non-sectarian hospital, with 2,242 beds. The Hospital has nearly 2 million inpatient and outpatient visits in a year, including more than 230,000 visits to its emergency departments — more than any other area hospital. NewYork-Presbyterian provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine at five major centers: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Allen Pavilion and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division. One of the largest and most comprehensive health-care institutions in the world, the Hospital is committed to excellence in patient care, research, education and community service. It ranks sixth in U.S.News & World Report’s guide to “America’s Best Hospitals,” ranks first on New York magazine’s “Best Hospitals” survey, has the greatest number of physicians listed in New York magazine’s “Best Doctors” issue, and is included among Solucient’s top 15 major teaching hospitals. The Hospital’s mortality rates are among the lowest for heart attack and heart failure in the country, according to a 2007 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report card. The Hospital has academic affiliations with two of the nation’s leading medical colleges: Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. For more information, visit nyp.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
nyp

The holidays are often as wonderful as they are stressful not only for parents, but for kids as well. It can be easy to skip meals, eat too many treats, and loaf around. University of Rochester Medical Center eating disorders and childhood obesity experts, alike, say we should be careful not to lose our healthy eating habits.

“Focus on being with family, friends and loved ones, rather than ‘what’s to eat, ‘” said Richard E. Kreipe, M.D., professor of the pediatrics in the Division of Adolescent Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics at Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong and an eating disorders expert. Model healthy eating and promote family activities to ensure a happy and healthy holiday environment for kids and their families.

Model Healthy Eating

Healthy eating is a lifestyle. “Kids who are taught from a young age to eat well and note their hunger level are much more prepared to make healthy choices later in life,” said Stephen R. Cook, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor for the Department of Pediatrics at Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong.

Bring the kids into the kitchen while preparing healthy holiday meals. By watching adults prepare foods, kids can get some tips on healthy eating and engage in a family activity.

At the dinner table, adults should encourage small portions of a variety of foods and lots of fruits and vegetables. “Encourage water as the beverage of choice between meals,” said Kreipe. Milk is another nutrient-rich beverage.

Express Excitement

It is important not to overemphasize healthy habits. Pressuring kids to eat things they do not like and prohibiting certain foods can be frustrating and stressful to kids. “Talk with children ahead of time about taking small portions, eating single-servings and sharing desserts,” advised Cook.

“The single most important thing that parents can do is lead by example,” stressed Kreipe. “Listen twice as much as you talk and don’t talk about food in the same breath as calories, guilt, or ‘paying the price.’” Turn healthy eating into a positive experience by showing excitement about trying a variety of healthy foods in small portions.

Be Active

Cold weather doesn’t have to limit activity during holiday seasons. There is plenty that families can do to get off the couch and enjoy one another’s company. “Going for a nice brisk walk, especially after eating a heavy meal, can be refreshing and relaxing,” Kreipe said.

“Play family games together, play music and dance,” encouraged Cook. “Engaging in activities that don’t center on food invites everyone to participate. Plus, it is a healthier alternative to watching the game with a bowl of chips.” Make the holidays about more than just eating and gift-giving. Get creative and carve out fun activities to do with the entire family for a fulfilling and memorable holiday season.

University of Rochester Medical Center
601 Elmwood Ave., Box 643
Rochester
NY 14642
United States
urmc.rochester.edu

Eighteen new projects will have access to a ВЈ5.5 million pot to come
up with innovative new ways of helping people from marginalised
communities cope with diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease,
Care Services Minister Phil Hope announced today.

The projects form the second wave of ‘Pacesetters’ – a scheme set up
in 2007 to improve the health and wellbeing of people in deprived
areas. The new Pacesetters are free to come up with innovative ideas
but must focus on specific serious conditions.

The first wave of the Pacesetters programme has already been
successful in tackling health inequalities from marginalised
communities.

Successful projects in wave one include:

– designing services for deaf communities through the first British
Sign Language (BSL) care plans.

– increasing breast screening rates for women with learning
disabilities in Walsall; and

– improving experiences for people with learning disabilities staying
in hospital

Pacesetter trusts in wave one of the programme worked on testing new
ways to improve access to services for vulnerable communities. The
second wave of the programme focuses on making an impact for families
affected by diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Speaking at an event for SHAs and other NHS organisations today, Care
Services Minister Phil Hope said:

“Pacesetters is a ground breaking project which tackles health
inequalities in marginalised communities. With this phase, our aim is
to help families affected by serious diseases.

“The first round of projects have proven very successful. For
example, in Walsall, of the women with learning disabilities who
agreed to breast screening, 100 per cent have now been screened, with
appropriate support, compared to a national average of 17 per cent. I
am confident the next round of projects can bring similar successes.”

The next wave of Pacesetters projects will provide further case
studies and evidence to help other trusts tackle health inequalities
in their areas.

Care Services Minister, Phil Hope was speaking today at an event at
Church House Conference Centre in Westminster. He spoke to an
audience of representatives from participating SHAs and other related
NHS organisations.

Pacesetters is a partnership between the NHS, the Department of
Health and local communities who experience health inequalities such
as people with disabilities or BME communities.

Funding for Pacesetters started in 07/08, for three years. The
funding is to kick start local initiatives which are then
self-sustaining.

Pacesetters Wave one worked with six Strategic Health Authorities:
West Midlands, East Midlands, London, SE Coast, South West, Yorks &
Humber

The trusts joining the programme in Wave two are:

– Lewisham PCT
– Ealing PCT
– Eastern & Coastal Kent PCT
– SEC Ambulance Service Trust
– Ashford & St Peter’s Hospital NHS Trust (conditional)
– South Birmingham PCT
– Birmingham East & North PCT
– Stoke on Trent PCT (conditional)
– Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT
– Gloucestershire PCT
– NHS Plymouth
– Swindon PCT
– Leeds PCT
– Bradford & Airedale Teaching PCT
– Doncaster PCT
– Lincolnshire Teaching PCT
– Nottingham City PCT
– Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust

The projects involved in Wave one were:

– Leeds Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
– Sheffield PCT
– Yorkshire Ambulance Service
– Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust
– Walsall Integrated Learning Disability Service
– Wolverhampton City PCT
– Bristol PCT
– South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust
– University Hospitals of Leicester
– East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust
– Leicester City PCT
– Kings College Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
– Newham PCT
– East London NHS Foundation Trust
– Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust
– Surrey & Borders Partnership NHS Trust
– Hastings and Rother PCT
– East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust

Department of Health, UK