Category: Public Health
Many programs have been launched to try to increase physical activity in communities. But do they work?
Adults who adhered to U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines cut their risk of death — and adults who had chronic health conditions benefited even more.
The program is offering states $100 million to reward Medicaid recipients who make an effort to quit smoking or keep their weight, blood pressure or cholesterol levels in check.
Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children and teens under the age of 18 in Washington.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has detected trace amounts of radioactive iodine from Japan’s damaged nuclear reactors in drinking water in Richland and Boise.
In cities and counties across the nation, the housing bust has hit health care. In Seattle-King County, the health department in February laid off 37 workers who helped women with high-risk pregnancies. It has already eliminated immunization clinics, child-care nurse visits outside Seattle and outreach to homeless pregnant women with alcohol or drug problems.
The radioactive material from Japan that has made it to Washington represent exposures 18,000 times lower than the average daily dose from background sources of radiation, such as rocks and cosmic rays, reports Sandi Doughton.
New research indicates children are much safer in rear-facing car seats, including a 2007 study that found that children under age 2 were 75 percent less likely to die or be severely injured in a crash if they are riding rear-facing.
Are we on a slow-motion path to a six-reactor meltdown? Or will Fukushima stop short of being the worst nuclear power disaster ever, and squeeze somewhere behind Chernobyl and alongside Three Mile Island in infamy?
Seeking to reassure Washington residents, state health officials are posting the radioactivity measurements from the state’s four monitoring stations online.
UW Professor of Atmospheric Sciences and weather blogger Cliff Mass writes in his blog that the nuclear accidents in Japan should pose no threat to Washington state:
Because of public concern, the Department of Health has prepared a frequently asked question sheet about how events in Japan could affect us here in Washington State.
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
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Seattle Times Health News
Lost in translation: Lack of trained interpreters can lead to medical errors
Interpreter services at hospitals and other medical settings are often inadequate, forcing family members, including children, to step in, or the task falls to medical staff members who may not speak the language well.
Some insurers deny ER coverage to people who have been drinking
Laws in more than half the states permit insurers to deny payment for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. Faced with the prospect of not getting paid for care, some ER personnel sidestep the problem by simply not testing patients’ blood or urine for alcohol.
Travel insurance can protect your wallet — and your health on vacation
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
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