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Partnership Pulse | March 2012 |
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Partnership Briefs HHS Leaders on Ranking of Preventive Services | |
Leaders from Partnership met with Dr. 
Howard Koh, assistant secretary for health, to discuss Partnership's new ranking of clinical preventive services. The ranking is developed under the auspices of the National Commission on Prevention Priorities (NCPP) and provides comparative information on the health impact and cost-effectiveness of clinical preventive services. The meeting addressed strategies for linking the ranking, which is nearing completion, with the Healthy People 2020 national health objectives and the Leading Health Indicators. Participating in the meeting were Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, Jud Richland, and Jennifer Jenson, Partnership's chair, president, and staff director of the NCPP, respectively. |
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Partnership's Immediate Past Chair Gives Extraordinary Contribution to Support Public Health | |
Dr. Jonathan Fielding, a cofounder of Partnership and .jpg)
its immediate past Board of Directors chairman, gave
$50 million to UCLA in an extraordinary show of generosity. The donation ensures that the new Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health can continue its tradition of teaching, research, and service. Dr. Fielding is the director of public health for Los Angeles County and one of the world's leaders in public health and prevention.
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ActionToQuit Interviews Leader at CUNY about Campus Tobacco Policy | | Partnership's ActionToQuit initiative interviewed the director of mental health and wellness at the City University of New York (CUNY) about a new tobacco free policy on campus. CUNY is the nation's largest urban university and the policy will impact over half a million students, faculty, and staff. Starting in September 2012, tobacco use will be prohibited in all indoor and outdoor facilities across campus, including around entrances and exits and in parking lots. The policy will also prohibit industry marketing and promotion of tobacco products at athletic events. Read the transcript to learn more about this comprehensive tobacco-free policy. Visit www.actiontoquit.org for more tobacco cessation resources. |
Partnership's Aspirin Council Presents at Preventive Medicine 2012 Conference | | Members of Partnership's Council on Aspirin for Health and Prevention (CAHP) presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Preventive Medicine. Drs. Andy Chan, Michael Pignone, and Randall Stafford led a session on the risks and benefits of aspirin for preventing cardiovascular disease and cancer. The session also described recent evidence that aspirin therapy may prevent colon cancer and discussed the importance of engaging patients in decision-making during counseling on aspirin therapy. |
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In February, Partnership joined others in advocating for policy change relating to tobacco, physical activity, and nutrition.
Tobacco: Partnership and others responded to the Essential Health Benefits Bulletin released in December and urged Secretary Sebelius to make changes to ensure all Americans who smoke have insurance coverage for tobacco cessation treatment.
Physical activity: Partnership joined the Safe Routes to School National Partnership and more than 130 other organizations to urge the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to vote for maintaining dedicated funding for walking and bicycling. The transportation reauthorization underway has eliminated dedicated funding for the Safe Routes to School and the Transportation Enhancements programs. These two programs fund projects that support healthy communities by creating safe opportunities for people to walk or bicycle to destinations.
Nutrition: Partnership joined nutrition and consumer advocates in recommending Burger King change its policy to make low-fat milk, 100% fruit juice, or bottled water the default beverages served with children's meals. Arby's and Subway have similar policies that provide soda with children's meals only upon request. Soda is a significant source of added sugars in children's diets and is contributing to the childhood obesity epidemic.
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HHS Encourages Use of Leading Health Indicators | | The Department of Health and Human Services is encouraging leaders in a wide variety of sectors to take action to implement the Healthy People 2020 Leading Health Indicators. At a February 14 workshop, senior HHS officials and other public health leaders noted that the Leading Health Indicators will bring attention to high priority public health challenges, including eliminating significant health disparities across the population. For more information about the Leading Health Indicators, visit http://healthypeople.gov/2020/LHI/default.aspx. |
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Congress Votes to Cut Prevention Fund | |
Congress voted in February to cut $250 million in 2013 and $6.25 billion over the next 10 years from the Prevention and Public Health Fund. This action was decried by the public health world. The amount cut this year will be used to stave off reduced Medicare physician payments for 10 months. Communities across the country rely on the Prevention Fund to run programs and initiatives to reduce tobacco use and obesity, two primary drivers of chronic disease and poor health. The Prevention Fund was established under the Affordable Care Act to support communities in reducing chronic disease. |
New Vaccine Recommendations | |
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued new guidelines that recommend boys also receive the HPV vaccine. The AAP previously recommended the HPV vaccine only for girls, but expanded the recommendation after reviewing new evidence showing that the vaccine also benefits boys. Click here for more information about the recommendation and guidance for medical practices.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is recommending adults aged 65 and older get vaccinated for whooping cough (pertussis) if they have not been vaccinated as adults. Children have been getting vaccinated against pertussis for decades, but evidence is mounting that immunological protection wears off, leaving adults at risk for contracting the disease. Adults can also spread the infection to infants and children.
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Research, Reports, and Resources |
Research Confirms that Colonoscopies Reduce Cancer Deaths | | New research is confirming that colonoscopies save lives. The procedure can detect polyps in the colon that doctors then remove, which lowers the risk for later colorectal cancer. Despite being recommended for adults aged 50 and older, only about half of eligible adults get the procedure. Colorectal cancer is the 2nd leading of cause of cancer death. |
Study Shows Kids Still Eating Too Much Added Sugar | | New CDC data shows that children and adolescents are eating less sugar, but still consume too much. Approximately 16% of children's and teens' total caloric intake came from added sugars, a decrease from 22% estimated in 2000. Added sugars are found in a surprising array of foods, including bread and pasta sauce, and do not include naturally occurring sugars found in fruit and dairy products. Boys consumed more added sugar than girls (equaling more than 400 calories a day from sugars alone), and foods contributed more added sugar to children's diets than beverages. |
IOM Releases New Workshop Report on Obesity | | The Institute of Medicine has released a new obesity workshop report. It summarizes the presentations and discussions from a recent meeting of the Committee on Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention. This committee is charged with identifying a critical set of future actions and recommending indicators to monitor progress in addressing obesity. Download or purchase the report here. |
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Smoking Cessation Program for Pregnant Women | | SCRIPT is an award-winning, evidence-based program shown to be effective in helping thousands of pregnant women quit smoking. It is designed to be a component of a patient education program for prenatal care providers, and is cited by the Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality's Smoking Cessation Clinical Practice Guidelines. The Program is distributed by SOPHE, the Society for Public Health Education, a nonprofit professional organization founded in 1950 to provide global leadership to the profession of health education and health promotion and to promote the health of all people. Order Program materials by calling SOPHE at 202-408-9804 or visiting http://www.sophe.org/Sophe_Resources.cfm. |
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Partnership for Prevention was founded in 1991 by leaders dedicated to making disease prevention and health promotion a national priority and America a healthier nation. Partnership seeks to increase understanding and use of clinical preventive services and population-based prevention to improve health. |
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