THE QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC PEDIATRICIANS
Summer 2017 Issue
to Home Page
PRINT PAGE
Hot Topics in Healthcare
Louisiana Named as U.S. State Where Children are Most at Risk
According to Forbes, a report examining “threats to children in the United States and in which states kids are at greater risk of experiencing ‘childhood enders,’ was recently published as part of a larger study conducted by Save The Children. The study focused on issues such as a lack of adequate food, teen pregnancy, dropping out of school, becoming a victim of violence, or even death.” After examining data “on threats to children,” Save the Children named Louisiana as the state in the U.S. where kids are most at risk. Arizona, Nevada, Alabama, Arkansas, Alaska, Georgia, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Mississippi were named in this study as other states were children were at greatest risk.
USPSTF Recommends Screening Children Who are at Least Six-Years-Old for Obesity
Medscape (6/20) reports the USPSTF guidance states, “The USPSTF concludes with moderate certainty that the net benefit of screening for obesity in children and adolescents six years and older and offering or referring them to comprehensive, intensive behavioral interventions to promote improvements in weight status is moderate.”
In Typical U.S. Week, 25 Children Die of Gunshot Wounds, Researchers Say
The New York Times (6/19, Subscription Publication) reports that “25 children die from bullet wounds” in an average week in the United States, according to researchers who “analyzed data gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and by the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System.” The Times says researchers found that African-American children had “nearly 10 times” the annual rate of firearm homicides found among white children. The article quotes lead author and CDC behavioral scientist Katherine A. Fowler as saying, “There isn’t a single issue in isolation that increases the likelihood of gun death.”
The Los Angeles Times (6/19) also quotes Fowler as saying, “These are preventable injuries.” She added, “Ensuring that all children have safe, stable, nurturing environments remains one of our most important priorities.”
A Harvard Study Ranked 32 Countries on Health Disparities and the U.S. was in the Bottom Five
The United States between 2011 and 2013 had one of the largest disparities in health outcomes among high- and low-income residents in the world, according to a study published in Health Affairs. The study sought to determine and compare the level of disparity in each nation based on three main measures: self-reported health, access to care, and doctor visit satisfaction.
The researchers found that among U.S. residents in households with annual incomes of $22,500 or less, 38 percent said they were in "fair or poor" health—a rate more than three times the 12 percent of U.S. respondents in households with annual incomes of $47,700 per year who reported the same. According to the researchers, among the 32 nations studied, only Chile and Portugal reported a greater divide in health outcomes between high- and low-income individuals than the United States.
The study also found that 1 in 5 respondents from lower-income U.S. households said they could not access needed health care because of the cost, compared with about 1 in 25 respondents from the higher-income households. On this measure, the United States was outranked by only one nation, the Philippines.
Moreover, the study found that U.S. residents from lower-income households were more likely than those from higher-income households to say they were dissatisfied with their last visit to a doctor.
PULSE IS AVAILABLE ON YOUR SMARTPHONE AND TABLET!
JOIN ACOP TODAY!
REGISTER NOW!
ACOP Pediatric Track at OMED 2017
October 7-10, 2017
Philadelphia, PA