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Excellence In Oncology Awards 2009 Now Open For Entry
The Excellence in Oncology Awards (EinO) 2009 are now open for entry. The Awards, now in their fourth year, recognise and reward best practice in oncology management, education and patient care throughout the UK. Winners will be announced at a prestigious dinner on 6 October 2009 during the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference.
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Wanted: Healthy Food For Indigenous Communities
Food supplementation programs for women, infants and children are among the strategies that should be trialled to improve nutrition in Indigenous communities, according to an editorial published in the May 18 Indigenous Health issue of the Medical Journal of Australia.
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Many Americans Support Increased Domestic Funding To Address HIV/AIDS, Report Says
Many Americans support increased funding to address HIV/AIDS in the U.S. according to a report released Wednesday for the National AIDS Coordinating Committee with support from the MAC AIDS Fund, Reuters Health reports.The report -- titled "Impressions of HIV/AIDS in America: A Report on Conversations With People Throughout the Country" -- aimed to provide a better understanding of perceptions regarding HIV/AIDS among average U.S. residents. For the report, researchers interviewed "people in five focus groups, which featured a cross-section of Americans living in urban, suburban and rural settings. Several experts in HIV/AIDS also contributed to the report," according to Reuters. Focus group participants were generally supportive of increased domestic funding for HIV/AIDS programs, particularly prevention, education and vaccine research programs. The report found that HIV/AIDS has fallen "off the radar" of many Americans but that many people are sympathetic to HIV-positive people. The report also found that some people continue to attach a stigma to HIV and do not understand how the virus is transmitted. Many participants also said HIV-positive people have "risky lifestyles," the report found. "Many people we spoke with had inconsistent views of HIV/AIDS," lead researcher Jonathan Rochkind said, adding, "Even though most people were aware of the primary ways HIV is transmitted, when presented with the idea of being in casual contact with people who are HIV-positive, they often said it was a possibility HIV could be transmitted that way and that they were concerned about the risk." Rebecca Haag, CEO and president of the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, said the report "highlights the empathy people have for those living with HIV/AIDS, and an understanding that access to medical care and drug treatment is critical." Haag added, "Unfortunately, the reality in this country is that about one-half of those living with HIV/AIDS are not in care and treatment" (Reuters Health, 5/13).
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Special Issue Of Medical Decision Making Explores Bioterrorism And Disaster Preparedness

According to a study in a special issue of Medical Decision Making, a large-scale, covert anthrax attack on a large city would overwhelm hospital res even with an extremely effective public health response, primarily because of expected delays in detecting the attack and initiating a response to it. The article "Predicting Hospital Surge after a Large-Scale Anthrax Attack: A Model-Based Analysis of CDC"s Cities Readiness Initiative Prophylaxis Recommendations," examines one of the CDC"s principal bioterrorism-response programs, the Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI), a program that recommends the medical countermeasures necessary to minimize the hospital surge resulting from anthrax-related illness and response in the first two days after a major bioterrorism attack. The researchers found that a CRI-compliant prophylaxis campaign starting two days after exposure would protect as many as 86% of exposed individuals from illness. However, each additional day needed to complete the campaign would result in as much as 3% more hospitalizations in the exposed population. Unsustainable levels of hospitalizations would result from delays in detecting and initiating response to large-scale, covert aerosol anthrax releases in a major city, even with highly effective mass prophylaxis campaigns. The article, written by Nathaniel Hupert, incorporates some of the latest type of modeling techniques scientists use in the disaster preparedness.field. Such models have become increasingly important to public health officials and hospital administrators. To improve the consistency and quality of these models, the Society for Medical Decision Making convened experts to recommend best practices for modeling the public health response to a terror attack. Their article, also published in the current issue of Medical Decision Making, is entitled * "Recommendations for Modeling Disaster Responses in Public Health and Medicine: A Position Paper of the Society for Medical Decision Making" The authors examined a large selection of published mathematical and simulation health sector disaster response models to generate a set of best practice guidelines. They made several recommendations, including striking the appropriate balance between simplicity and complexity, designing a plan to evaluate the many uncertainties inherent in disaster response, and good model reporting of the disaster response. * "Evaluating the Capability and Cost of a Mass Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccination Clinic via Computer Simulation" This research set out to determine the best way a clinic could vaccinate as many as 15,000 clients in 17 hours, including such factors as how to best configure the personnel to maximize the number of clients vaccinated; and to estimate the costs and revenue of such an undertaking. The researchers found that it was possible for the clinic to reach its target and that using a computer simulation could help them determine the most efficient use of staff, machinery, supplies, and time. "How hospitals and public health agencies are prepared for an attack--and how they respond to the surge in patients seeking care - will determine our success in containing an attack if one happens." said Mark Helfand, editor of Medical Decision Making. These articles in the July/August issue of Medical Decision Making on "Bioterrorism and Disaster Preparedness" are being made freely available by SAGE for a limited time at: "Predicting Hospital Surge after a Large-Scale Anthrax Attack: A Model-Based Analysis of CDC"s Cities Readiness Initiative Prophylaxis Recommendations" by Nathaniel Hupert, MD, MPH, Daniel Wattson, BS, Jason Cuomo, MPH, Eric Hollingsworth, BS, Kristof Neukermans, BA, MBA, and Wei Xiong, PhD http://mdm.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/29/4/424 "Recommendations for Modeling Disaster Responses in Public Health and Medicine: A Position Paper of the Society for Medical Decision Making" by Margaret L. Brandeau, PhD, Jessica H. McCoy, MS, Nathaniel Hupert, MD, MPH, Jon-Erik Holty, MD, MS, Dena M. Bravata, MD, MS http://mdm.sagepub.com/cgi/rapidpdf/0272989X09340346v1 "Evaluating the Capability and Cost of a Mass Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccination Clinic via Computer Simulation" by Michael L. Washington, PhD http://mdm.sagepub.com/cgi/rapidpdf/0272989X09333126v1 Jim Gilden SAGE Publications


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