By Leslie Mancuso Imagine being diagnosed with a preventable disease in a country where access to quality health care services is not available to you. Not because you live in a remote area or because people don’t care, but because the training was not available for the skilled healthcare providers treating you.  Now imagine being […]

You might have heard this advice before, but the National Safety Council has just made it official: They call on motorists to stop using cell phones – even those with hands-free attachments – while driving. They’re also urging state governments to pass laws banning phoning and text messaging while behind the wheel. NSC President and […]

by revere, cross-posted at Effect Measure Many of you were readers here when science bloggers and scienceblogs in particular played a pivotal role in the case of the Tripoli 6, medics under sentence of death in Libya over trumped up charges of infecting children with HIV. Another urgent matter now confronts the worldwide scientific community […]

Word is out that Obama will probably nominate Sanjay Gupta, a neurosurgeon and television correspondent, for the post of U.S. Surgeon General. Reactions in my office yesterday weren’t very positive, but several bloggers have pointed out that Gupta’s high profile and credibility with the general public can help him advance the administration’s health priorities. First, Revere […]

One of our favorite bloggers, BrooklynDodger, has returned to blogging after an extended break. Dodger is a scientific paper hawk, finding and commenting on important papers in journals we wish we had time to read. We always learn something in Dodger’s posts.  Recently, for example, he had this (and more) to say about a new […]

As the unemployment rate climbs, many of the newly unemployed are losing insurance coverage. Candice Choi of the Associated Press summarizes the options for replacing employer-sponsored health insurance: extending benefits for up to 18 months through COBRA; getting an individual policy; and, for those who qualify, getting coverage under a government program like Medicaid.  As […]

The Pump Handle will be on vacation for the remainder of the year. Comments are still welcome, especially on Progressive Public Health posts. We wish all of our readers and friends a healthy, peaceful 2009.

I received an email today from Leo Gerard, the Int’l President of the United Steelworkers, the 850,000 person-strong union of men and women employed in Canada and the U.S. who work in the metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service industries.  His email simply read: Excellent video celebrating 60th anniversary of UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  Please watch and […]

by revere cross-posted at Effect Measure The Holiday Season is upon us so we won’t post daily on the Public Health Conversation series. But you can join in at any time, in two ways.  Effect Measure and The Pump Handle, the two blog sites hosting the discussion, have comment threads for each post.  You can […]

by revere, cross-posted at Effect Measure A couple of ideas are floating around in the comment threads as part of an initial conversation about public health. I’m not surprised they seem to be on different topics and have the feel of talking past each other.  We are not used to discussing basic assumptions and have […]