Obesity and Low Income Children
July 31, 2009 by deborah
Filed under Childhood Issues
Childhood obesity continues to be a leading public health concern that disproportionately affects low-income and minority children. This week’s issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Week Review includes an article on this important public health issue.
July Edition of Alliance Alert
July 30, 2009 by ellen
Filed under Environmental Issues, Resources
The July edition of Alliance Alert, a monthly electronic newsletter by the Alliance for Healthy Homes is now available.
Keeping Children Safe!
July 28, 2009 by deborah
Filed under Childhood Issues
The Children’s Safety Network Newsletter for the week of July 27st, 2009 is now available.
Maternal and Child Health Resources for Local Health
July 24, 2009 by deborah
Filed under Childhood Issues, Federal Resources, Womens' Issues
All 50 States Now Require Newborn Screening for Cystic Fibrosis The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation recently announced that all 50 states have passed legislation that requires all newborns be screened for cystic fibrosis (CF) by the year 2010. This legislation is important because early diagnosis of CF can dramatically improve the long-term health of those born with the condition. For more information on this issue, visit
MMMM (July 13, 2009)
$40 Million in Grants Now Available for Children’s Health Insurance
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced the availability of $40 million in grants to help reach families whose children qualify but are not yet enrolled in state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP). As part of the announcement, Secretary Sebelius encouraged community organizations, state, and local governments to apply for the funds. For this and other HHS press releases, fact sheets, and other press materials, visit http://www.hhs.gov/news.
HHS (July 6, 2009)
For more news from NACCHO, visit http://www.naccho.org/publications/journals/
NIH ISSUES RESEARCH PLAN ON FRAGILE X SYNDROME AND ASSOCIATED DISORDERS
July 24, 2009 by deborah
Filed under Childhood Issues
The plan puts forward goals to guide future research, setting research priorities for each of the conditions. A major priority of the plan is to investigate the biological processes underlying all three disorders and how to better diagnose and treat them. Other priorities are studying how widespread the gene variations are in the population and how the three conditions affect families.
The report is available at: http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs_details.cfm?from=&pubs_id=5729
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Social Planners: Important Report on Program Replication!
Public/Private Ventures (P/PV) has just released the report on program replication. Laying a Solid Foundation: Strategies for Effective Program Replication is a helpful guide for policymakers, philanthropists and practitioners interested in replicating successful programs. It outlines the key structures that should be in place before wide-scale replication is considered, as well as the steps needed to ensure the replication’s success. The P/PV website also includes reports on many other issues of social importance.
Kids’ lower IQ scores linked to prenatal pollution
July 23, 2009 by deborah
Filed under Childhood Issues, Environmental Issues
Researchers for the first time have linked air pollution exposure before birth with lower IQ scores in childhood, bolstering evidence that smog may harm the developing brain.
The results are in a study of 249 children of New York City women who wore backpack air monitors for 48 hours during the last few months of pregnancy. They lived in mostly low-income neighborhoods in northern Manhattan and the South Bronx. They had varying levels of exposure to typical kinds of urban air pollution, mostly from car, bus and truck exhaust.
At age 5, before starting school, the children were given IQ tests. Those exposed to the most pollution before birth scored on average four to five points lower than children with less exposure.
Read the full story on the effects of prenatal exposure to environmental pollutants.
