(HealthDay News) Americans are still deeply divided over the nation's new health-care reform package, with 28 percent of adults wanting to repeal the legislation while 31 percent favor keeping all or most of the reforms.

Another 29 percent aren't sure what should be done.

Those are several key findings in a new Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll…

Two-thirds of the poll's respondents said they like the fact that the reform package prevents insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions. Another 60 percent want to keep the provision for tax credits so small businesses can afford coverage for employees. Fifty-five percent like the idea that the law allows children to stay on their parents' insurance plans until they are 26. And just over half support the idea of new insurance exchanges where people can shop for insurance.

Only one part of the new law is widely unpopular: the stipulation that people without health insurance buy it or face a penalty. Fifty-seven percent of the respondents oppose this and only 19 percent support it.

Read more.

Community: There would be a lot more support for the mandate if it had included a public option.

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(HealthDay News) Long-term use of a daily low-dose aspirin dramatically cuts the risk of dying from a wide array of cancers, a new investigation reveals.

Specifically, a British research team unearthed evidence that a low-dose aspirin (75 milligrams) taken daily for at least five years brings about a 10 percent to 60 percent drop in fatalities depending on the type of cancer…

The current observations follow prior research conducted by the same study team, which reported in October that a long-term regimen of low-dose aspirin appears to shave the risk of dying from colorectal cancer by a third.

Read more.

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(Science Daily) Humans have long taken advantage of the huge variety of medicinal compounds produced by plants. Now MIT chemists have found a new way to expand plants' pharmaceutical repertoire by genetically engineering them to produce unnatural variants of their usual products.

The researchers … have added bacterial genes to the periwinkle plant, enabling it to attach halogens such as chlorine or bromine to a class of compounds called alkaloids that the plant normally produces. Many alkaloids have pharmaceutical properties, and halogens, which are often added to antibiotics and other drugs, can make medicines more effective or last longer in the body.

The team's primary target, an alkaloid called vinblastine, is commonly used to treat cancers such as Hodgkin's lymphoma. O'Connor sees vinblastine and other drugs made by plants as scaffolds that she can modify in a variety of ways to enhance their effectiveness.

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(RealAge.com) You could cut your mortality risk dramatically if you just did this for 30 minutes: walk.

Or ride your stationary bike. Or dance. Or chase the grandkids around outside. Or shovel some snow. Or all of the above. Just be active for 30 minutes, five times a week. This simple choice cut mortality risk by nearly 20 percent in a recent study…

[P]eople who simply did nonvigorous physical activity for 2 1/2 hours a week saw their risk of dying from any cause drop by almost 20 percent compared with the couch potatoes. If there's no special activity that floats your boat, just walk. Hoofing it for 30 minutes, five times a week, is a small and easy investment to make in your long-term health. (What can walking do for you? Check out this Top 10 list.)…

When the people in the study kicked activity levels into high gear -- logging 7 hours of moderate-intensity exercise each week -- their mortality risk dropped by 25 percent compared with nonactive folks. Chalk it up to the favorable impact exercise has on weight (active people gain less over time) and blood pressure (exercise helps keep those blood vessel walls nice and relaxed). Make walking a regular part of your life with these easy strategies:

Need help getting started? Here are seven great motivators.

Just don't feel like it? Find out how the right walking gear helps get you off the couch.

Not loving it yet? Take these tunes with you on your walk and you'll never look back.

Read more.

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(Science Daily) Scientists have gained strong confirmation of the direct connection between the FTO gene and obesity, obtaining the first direct evidence that overactivity of the gene leads to overeating and obesity in mice…

The team's findings suggest that the gene could be a promising target for developing anti-obesity drugs that act by turning down the gene's activity.

Read more.

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EatingWell:

Low-Calorie Slow Cooker Recipes
If you’re trying to lose weight, consider your slow-cooker your new best friend. Our low-calorie slow cooker recipes and crock-pot recipes make it easy to cook healthy, affordable meals without having to spend hours in the kitchen.

Southwestern Three-Bean & Barley Soup

Slow-Cooker Black Bean-Mushroom Chili

Chicken & Sweet Potato Stew

French Country Beef Stew

Chinese Pork & Vegetable Hot Pot

More

MyRecipes.com:

Beef, Cheese, and Noodle Bake
This family-friendly casserole is a great way to incorporate more vegetables into children's food. For creamiest results, do not overbake.

Three-Cheese Pasta Bake

Macaroni-Mushroom Bake

Ham and Cheese Macaroni Bake with Peas

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(HealthDay News) Applying sunscreen every day to the head, neck, arms and hands reduced the chances of getting melanoma by half, a new study has found…

Participants were also given 30 mg of either the nutrient beta carotene, which has been reputed to help protect from skin cancer, or a placebo. However, the study found beta carotene had no effect.

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(Science Daily) When treating prostate cancer with radiation therapy, side effects such as urinary problems and rectal pain and bleeding are a concern, as is impact on the patient's overall quality of life. So when new, more efficient treatment methods are developed, one important question is whether better treatment comes at the cost of increased side effects and decreased quality of life.

In the case of short-course, high-dose (hypofractionated) radiation therapy, the answer is no, according [to recent research]…

[Says radiation oncologist Aruna Turaka.] "Hypofractionated IMRT not only decreases the treatment duration -- 26 days compared to 38 days for conventional IMRT -- but it also allows us to deliver a higher total dosage. Our results tell us that we can achieve these higher dosages with no change in side effect profile or quality of life."

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(Science Daily) The risk of having a heart attack is 60 per cent higher just a year after a patient has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, according to research published…

"Our findings emphasise the importance of monitoring a patient's heart risk from the moment they are diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, as the risk rises rapidly in the first few years" says lead author Marie Holmqvist.

Read more.

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(HealthDay News) Even as fewer Americans have sought psychotherapy for their depression, antidepressant prescription rates have continued to climb in recent years, a new survey reveals.

"This is an encouraging trend as it suggests that fewer depressed Americans are going without treatment," said study author Dr. Mark Olfson… "At the same time, however, the decline in psychotherapy raises the possibility that many depressed patients are not receiving optimal care."…

"For many depressed adults and youth, a combination of psychotherapy and antidepressants is the most effective approach. Yet, only about one-third of treated patients receive both treatments, and the proportion receiving both treatments is declining over time. Efforts should be made to increase the availability of psychotherapy for depression."

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(Science Daily) Livestock effluents have always been spread as fertiliser on fields. But they can also transmit diseases to humans and animals, for example, over 100 pathogenic micro-organisms (bacteria, viruses, parasites) have been identified in pig slurry. To destroy the main causes of illness and avoid epidemics, Cemagref scientists use heat exchangers for thermal treatment of the slurry, a well known technique that they are trying to make more energy efficient…

For example, a second heat exchanger is used to recycle the calories from the hot slurry as it cools. This technique recovers between 55 and 70% of the energy used to heat the slurry. Another important factor is the progressive clogging of the system, which reduces heat exchange and thus augments the cost of the process. It will be necessary to determine the best treatment strategies for the future development of the process and the best cleaning techniques, whether mechanical or chemical. Finally, there are plans to couple the process with a methanisation system to produce biogas as an energy source.

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(Science Daily) While simple falls, such as slipping while walking off a curb, may seem relatively harmless, they can actually lead to severe injury and death in elderly individuals, according to a new study published in The Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care. As the population continues to age, it is important for physicians and caregivers to be aware of and prepared to deal with this issue, which could significantly impact the overall health and wellbeing of older adults…

[T]he new study found elderly adults -- 70 years or older -- who experience ground-level falls are much more likely to be severely injured and less likely to survive their injuries compared to adults younger than 70 years. Elderly patients are three times as likely to die following a ground-level fall compared to their under-70 counterparts.

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(HealthDay News) As 2010 winds down, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced its next set of 10-year goals for improving the nation's health, including making dents in rates of obesity, smoking and deaths from cancer and heart disease…

"The Healthy People objectives are to some extent a road map for public health, cataloging the places we can and should go over the span of a decade," added Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine…

"Heart disease, for example, is widely considered to be all but eradicable with full application of what we know about just three factors: tobacco use, diet and physical activity," Katz said…

To achieve [the 2010] goals, programs that promote healthy lifestyles and new state regulations will be needed, such as more smoke-free laws, improved children's school lunches and other programs to fight obesity and reduce the number of new cases of diabetes.

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(New York Times) By any measure, the United States spends more on health care than any other nation. Yet according to the World Fact Book (published by the Central Intelligence Agency), it ranks 49th in life expectancy.

Why?

Researchers … say they know the answer. After citing statistical evidence showing that American patterns of obesity, smoking, traffic accidents and homicide are not the cause of lower life expectancy, they conclude that the problem is the health care system…

“Smoking and obesity are still major risk factors for an individual’s health,” [researcher Peter A. Muennig] said. “But they are sapping life expectancy in all countries. Whereas in the U.S. we have a highly inefficient health system that’s taking away financial resources from other lifesaving programs.”

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(UPI) In 2010, for the first time U.S. employers who provide health insurance transferred all premium increases to employees, healthcare analysts say…

"It may be that employers have drawn a line in the sand and while they pay about $10,000 per family for healthcare coverage, they may not want to take on any more healthcare costs and pass on any increases to the employee," [analyst Brian] Klepper told United Press International. "It never happened before for the employee to pay for any increases in healthcare coverage."

Employees and their families, who, on average, will make about $50,000 gross per year, are paying about $4,000, or 8 percent of that income, for health coverage, [the analysts] say.

Enrollment in private health coverage via employers dropped more than 10 percent in the last 10 years and those who still have coverage have narrower benefits with higher out-of-pocket costs than before, [they] say.

Read more.

Community: Time for a public option.

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(The New Old Age, New York Times) Retirement communities, typically nestled near beaches or golf courses, are beginning to emerge somewhere else: on university campuses. University-based retirement communities offer the educational opportunities, cultural activities and other perks of college settings, and these attractions are luring many aging Americans back to school…

Roughly 50 campus retirement communities have sprung up around the country, with another 50 planned, [Andrew Carle, an industry expert,]  estimates…

“What a lot of them say is, ‘This is like going to college all over again, only without having to worry about grades, dating or health care,’ ” said Beth Corning, director of marketing at The Forest at Duke.

Some residents, however, are encountering higher education for the first time. Charlie and Mary Klemick, who never attended college, have taken nine classes at The Village at Penn State introducing them to literature, philosophy, psychology, film and jazz.

“It makes us feel younger,” said Mr. Klemick, 85.

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(Sherisse Pham, The New Old Age, New York Times) Until recently, working after retirement sounded like an oxymoron. Aren’t those years supposed to be devoted to volunteering, traveling and visiting grandchildren? But a recent report by the Families and Work Institute and Boston College’s Sloan Center on Aging and Work found that a growing number of people continue to work for pay following their official “retirements.” And while they may be motivated by money, many like my father are finding their late-life jobs unexpectedly fulfilling.

Older workers “expect they have to, and they want to, extend their labor force participation,” said Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, director of the center and the study’s co-author. In fact, 75 percent of the participants over age 50 in the center’s study said they expect to have jobs after they “retire.” Already, roughly a quarter of older workers switch occupations after age 50, according to Richard Johnson, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C.

The federal Department of Labor estimates that between 2006 and 2016, the number of workers over age 55 will rise 36.5 percent. That increase will create the grayest labor force since the government began tracking this data, Mr. Johnson said.

Gray or not, my father strongly believes working keeps you healthy. “Any day I work, I feel good,” he said. He also believes the routine helps him sleep better.

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(RealAge.com) Want to stay faithful to your diet or lose more weight? Eat a handful of nuts when you get the munchies.

Despite their high fat and calorie count, nuts are the perfect diet food. Research shows that people who eat nuts lose more weight and are more likely to stick to their weight loss plans than people who don't…

Nuts boost weight loss efforts in three ways. First, they satisfy hunger, helping people to eat less later. Second, research shows that eating nuts helps people burn more calories at rest. And finally -- because of how the body digests them -- nuts might actually deliver fewer calories than you think (in fact, fewer calories per serving than nutrition labels suggest)…

Of course, noshing on nuts isn't a shortcut to weight loss. To drop pounds, you still need to cut calories from your day -- either by eating less or exercising more. And you need to stick to the regimen…

Check out more health news about nuts:

Find out what eating nuts once a week can do for your eyes.

Discover what nut is best for heart health.

Pair nuts with this treat and you'll probably live longer.

Read more.

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(RealAge.com) Marinate your meat or poultry in oils and spices? Heck no! Not when you can do these dishes a healthy and delicious turn with this twist: wine or fruit juice marinades.

Oil-based marinades can make a high-fat meal even fattier. But a low-fat marinade that relies on fruit for flavor can add moist taste, help control calories, and even cut down on harmful by-products produced by high-heat cooking.

The key is to choose a marinade that is light on oil and high in spices and relies on vinegar, wine, or diluted juice for the majority of the liquids…

The authors of The Mayo Clinic Diet have a host of great cooking and baking ideas that help make holiday favorites better for your waistline. Just think how great it will feel to be ahead of the game when the New Year's race to lose weight hits!

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(MyHealthNewsDaily) People are easily swayed by the size labels on our food, and will eat more if they believe they're consuming a "small" as opposed to a "large." And to make things worse, consumers aren't aware of their overindulgence.

This distorting effect, on both perception and eating behavior, is worse for people who aren't much concerned with their nutrition, and for those whose minds are distracted by other tasks, the study found.

The findings suggest size labels are contributing the to the country's obesity epidemic, the researchers said. Over the last several decades, food portion sizes have increased dramatically, along with people's waistlines.

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(Science Daily) Unlike conventional cigarettes, which burn tobacco, e-cigarettes vaporize nicotine, along with other compounds present in the cartridge, in the form of aerosol created by heating, but do not produce the thousands of chemicals and toxicants created by tobacco combustion. Nothing is known, however, about the chemicals present in the aerosolized vapors emanating from e-cigarettes.

"As a result, some people believe that e-cigarettes are a safe substitute for conventional cigarettes," said Prue Talbot…, whose lab led the research. "However, there are virtually no scientific studies on e-cigarettes and their safety. Our study -- one of the first studies to evaluate e-cigarettes -- shows that this product has many flaws, which could cause serious public health problems in the future if the flaws go uncorrected."

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(Science Daily) A widely used arthritis drug reduces the incidence of non-melanoma skin cancers -- the most common cancers in humans -- according to a study…

Celecoxib, a prescription-strength nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), reduced basal cell carcinomas by 68 percent and squamous cell carcinomas by 58 percent in patients at high risk for skin cancer. The decrease in the incidence of these cancers is much greater than that achieved through the use of sunscreen, which provides only moderate protection against squamous cell and basal cell carcinomas.

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(UPI) U.S. researchers are calling on doctors to prescribe low-dose -- rather than high-dose -- hormone therapy for menopausal women.

Researchers … say doctors across the United States are still giving menopausal patients higher-dose hormone therapy despite evidence low dose therapy works just as well and has fewer risks.

The study … indicates that as of 2009, physicians' practices have not kept up with clinical evidence and U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommendations about lower hormone doses.

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(MyHealthNewsDaily) In recent years, we've been bombarded with studies about the hormone oxytocin — researchers have demonstrated it increases trust and helps aid in social bonding. It has even garnered a reputation as the "love hormone." But what good is it for? Despite all these findings, the hormone's medical use remains limited to obstetrics — it is used to induce labor and aid in breastfeeding.

But researchers are now trying to apply these findings, and are investigating oxytocin as a treatment for psychiatric illnesses. They say its unique ability to adjust our wiring could remedy symptoms of schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD) and anxiety, and improve social abilities among those with autism…

Oxytocin has not been approved to treat any psychiatric disorder, but evidence that it may be effective is building.

A small study published Oct. 1 in the journal Biological Psychiatry found that patients with schizophrenia who took oxytocin for three weeks along with their regular antipsychotic medication improved in their symptoms and hallucinated less than those who took a placebo with their antipsychotic…

Oxytocin is also being tested in clinical trials as a treatment for depression, borderline personality disorder and alcohol withdrawal…

How does oxytocin work?

One hypothesis is that oxytocin dampens the activity of the brain's fear center, the amygdala, thereby easing stress and anxiety.

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(Science Daily) Could information technology and data mining techniques be used to improve the diagnosis and treatment of depression? That's the question scientists in Australia hope to have answered in a forthcoming [article]…

The team has developed a system that integrates three different kinds of patient data as well as the data describing mental health of therapists and their interaction with the patients. This system can be data-mined using standard techniques as well as modern tree-mining techniques so that patterns can be seen in the onset, treatment and management of depression…

The patterns that emerge from data mining this information will not only improve our understanding of this disease, but could give practitioners new insights into prevention and treatment.

Read more.

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(AP) Suicide prevention groups are increasingly focusing their attentions online, partly to fight back against Internet websites they say can facilitate suicide.

In an article published Friday in the medical journal Lancet, senior editor Niall Boyce examines strategies by charities to strengthen their anti-suicide messages on the web, fearing it may be acting as a vehicle through which suicide pacts are being formed.

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(New York Times) First, the bad news: Americans are suffering from an acute case of “outdoor deprivation disorder,” and the effects on physical and mental health are rising fast…

The resulting lack of physical activity and a growing disconnect with the natural environment have been linked in a host of studies to obesity and obesity-related diseases in children and adults, including Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, asthma and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, as well as vitamin D deficiency, osteoporosis, stress, depression, attention deficit disorder and myopia. Dr. Daphne Miller, a family physician…, calls them “diseases of indoor living.”

Now, the good news: There’s a simple remedy — get outside and start moving around in green spaces near and far, most of which are free. A consortium of physicians, health insurers, naturalists and government agencies have banded together to help more people of all ages and economic strata engage in health-enhancing physical activity in parks and other natural environments…

Dr. Miller said that the aim was to “turn our public lands into public health resources. Doctors around the country are beginning to realize that getting patients out of doors has benefits even beyond getting people to exercise.

“It’s a lot cheaper to go outside and move than it is to build gyms and a lot of hospitals,” she said.

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(Well, New York Times) Studies consistently have found that active video games, although they require more energy than simply watching television or playing passive video games, are not nearly as physically demanding as real sports and physical activities…

Exergaming can be an adjunct to other activities, she and other experts say. It can be worthwhile if it replaces time sitting on the couch. But by themselves, active video games do not result in enough energy expenditure to keep children and teenagers fit.

But there may be another, unexpected group for whom exergaming might be extremely beneficial: grandparents. The number of research studies examining elderly exergame users remains small (as does the number of elderly exergamers). But the available results are provocative. ..

So perhaps we should consider redirecting those newly purchased Wii Fit or Kinect systems? Maybe we should be giving them to our parents, and having our children visit to set them up and stay to bowl or box with their grandparents. So perhaps we should consider redirecting those newly purchased Wii Fit or Kinect systems? Maybe we should be giving them to our parents, and having our children visit to set them up and stay to bowl or box with their grandparents.

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(Julie's Health Club, Chicago Tribune) Your mind is a muscle you can train; meditation is the tool used to focus it or quiet it down. Every day thousands of thoughts zip through our heads, something Gerlach likens to a jar of dirty water: Keep shaking up the jar — or your head — and it will remain clouded. But "if we set the jar down, letting the dirt particles settle to the bottom, it leaves clarity at the top," she said.

Meditation will not stop your thoughts. It will not empty your mind. Instead, proponents say, it teaches you how to replace the mental chatter in your head with stillness. This ability helps us live more consciously in the present moment.

"Through more mindful attention, we can make wise choices," said Joseph Goldstein, who has been leading meditation retreats worldwide since 1974 and co-founded the Insight Meditation Society. "As the Vietnamese meditation master Thich Nhat Hanh remarked, 'Happiness is available. Please help yourselves to it.'"

Still confused? Take a long, slow, deep belly breath and read on.

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(Science Daily) The hormone oxytocin, which is known to be important in trust, may also be involved in a sense of well-being. According to new research, women who show large increases in oxytocin when they are trusted also report being more satisfied with life and less depressed…

"Our findings reveal that the biological basis for social connections -- oxytocin -- is part of the brain mechanisms that serve to make us happy," said Paul Zak, PhD…, the senior author of the study.

Read more.

Community: However, a recent NOVA episode, “Dogs Decoded”, reported that dogs and their owners both produce more oxytocin when interacting. And there are other ways boost our oxytocin levels naturally. However, see below for a caveat.

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(HealthDay News) A study involving men and their mothers suggests a new function for the "love hormone" oxytocin in human behavior.

Men who inhaled a synthetic form of oxytocin, a naturally occurring chemical, recalled intensified fond memories of their mothers if, indeed, Mom was all that caring.

But if men initially reported less close relationships with Mom, oxytocin seemed to encourage them to dwell on the negative…

"There's a popular idea that oxytocin has these ubiquitous positive effects on social interactions, but this suggests that it depends on the person to whom it's given and the context in which it's given," said study lead author Jennifer Bartz. "It's not this universal attachment panacea."

Read more.

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Recipes for Health, New York Times:

Turkey and Mizuna Salad
This salad has spicy Asian flavors and lots of crunch.

Risotto With Turkey, Mushrooms and Peas
Turkey makes an unexpected but welcome addition to this traditional risotto.

SouthBeachDiet.com:

Santa Fe Steak
This delicious steak recipe features the heady flavors of the Southwest: cumin, garlic, and poblano peppers. If poblanos are not available, use a bell pepper (any color) and add a drop or two of hot sauce.

MyRecipes.com:

Sesame Pork Rice
Brightly flavored with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and rice vinegar, this fried rice cooks in 10 minutes, which is certainly faster than take-out.

EatingWell:

Curried Chicken Thighs
These saucy curried chicken thighs makes a great dish for a big easy family supper. There’s plenty of curry sauce, so serve with brown rice or whole-wheat egg noodles.

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(Baltimore Sun) One of the current buzzwords in health care technology is "mHealth," for mobile health. At its simplest, the concept encompasses regular text messages to pregnant mothers charting the baby's growth.

But boosters envision more complex applications that would integrate medical devices, wireless networks and mobile phones to reach large segments of the population and help them manage their health and ailments…

Software designers, medical device manufacturers, wireless providers, hospitals and insurance companies are targeting different aspects of the complex effort — including learning how to tap the potential of mobile devices in health care and getting the technology to "talk" to each other. They are asking: How would a blood-pressure monitor communicate with a smart phone?

Industry observers are excited about the potential and say the key is finding ways that consumers can easily use and widely adopt the mobile health technologies.

Read more.

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(Booster Shots, Los Angeles Times) Researchers … found that mice and humans with Alzheimer's disease have unusually low levels of an enzyme called EphB2 in the parts of the brain that control memory… The scientists used gene therapy to experimentally change EphB2 levels in the mice. When levels were reduced in healthy mice, they had memory problems similar to those seen in mice with Alzheimer's. Increasing levels of the enzyme in the mice with a predisposition to Alzheimer's disease, however, prevented memory and behavior problems.

The study showed that amyloid proteins, the substance that causes the sticky plaque that is a hallmark characteristic of Alzheimer's disease, bind to EphB2 and cause it to degrade and levels to drop.

"Based on our results, we think that blocking amyloid proteins from binding to EphB2 and enhancing EphB2 levels or functions with drugs might be of benefit in Alzheimer's disease," the senior author of the study, Dr. Lennart Mucke, said in a news release.

Read more.

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(HealthDay News) A new anti-clotting pill, rivaroxaban (Xarelto), may be an effective, convenient and safer treatment for patients coping with deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), a pair of new studies indicate.

According to the research…, the drug could offer a new option for these potentially life-threatening clots, which most typically form in the lower leg or thigh.

Read more.

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(AP) Heath care providers are pledging to stop the overuse of radiation on patients during medical exams in a new, nationwide safety effort launched this week in Chicago.

The first step in the Image Wisely campaign is a pledge — signed so far by nearly 700 health care providers — to use the least radiation necessary on patients for a procedure. An expert panel at a radiology meeting Thursday said the campaign may lead to more review of protocols, more accreditation of imaging facilities and more widely shared standards on proper radiation doses.

Too much radiation can cause cancer. The average American's total radiation exposure has increased in recent decades because of the increased use of new imaging tests, particularly CT scans, raising questions about possible increased cancer risk.

Read more.

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(UPI) A safe hospital, one where nurses are not afraid to raise concerns with doctors, is achievable and would not cost "tons of money," a U.S. safety expert says…

The study … describes a comprehensive, unit-based safety program implemented at the 1,000-bed Johns Hopkins Hospital. Unit staff were taught to identify, measure and report problems, implement corrections and measure again.

The program employed an electronic event-reporting system and monthly executive/unit meetings.

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(Booster Shots, Los Angeles Times) Hospitals all over the country have been using amenities to lure patients – and the healthcare dollars spent by their insurers. Facilities have a lot to gain by treating a high volume of patients, and if it takes hotel-like luxuries to attract them, so be it.

For at least some patients, amenities are actually more important than quality of medical care. The researchers looked at data on Los Angeles-area Medicare patients who needed hospital treatment for pneumonia between 2000 and 2004. Many of them chose not to go to the hospital closest to them, but the ones they did pick weren’t necessarily the ones with the best “risk-adjusted rates of death,” they wrote. Something else, presumably including amenities, was the draw.

The researchers also cited a recent survey that found patients believe that a hospital’s “nonclinical experience” matters twice as much as its “clinical reputation.” How could this be? The researchers have one theory: Traditional measures of clinical quality are hard for lay people to understand. “Consumers may be making choices on the basis of amenities because they are easier to understand,” they wrote.

Read more.

Community: We can’t understand? Please! They think we’re stupid, friends. Maybe what we really think is that that if hospitals care enough to create a pleasant environment, they care enough to be careful about our care.

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(Science Daily) University of Georgia research has provided new clues on surviving to be 100 years old, finding that how we feel about ourselves and our ability to adapt to an accumulation of challenging life experiences may be as or more important than health factors…

The research found that critical life events and personal history, along with how people adapt to stressful situations and cope with them are crucial to explaining successful aging.

"Understanding health in these terms has huge implications for quality of life," said Leonard Poon…, lead author of the study. "What is happening to you matters, but more importantly, it is your perception of what is happening to you that is really important for your individual health."…

An individual confronted with a stressful situation can either find a quick emotional solution or ruminate on the problem, explained Poon. "One is very destructive in terms of general well-being," he said, "and the other is very adaptive."

Read more.

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(SouthBeachDiet.com) With the countdown to the holidays in full swing, chances are you’re logging more time at the shopping mall. Even as you brave the crowds — and try to ignore the tempting aromas from the food court — keep in mind there are many ways you can turn your shopping experience into a healthy outing. Try these tips the next time you’re mall bound.

Plan ahead. Have a [healthy] meal before you hit the mall so you’re not tempted to indulge in the unhealthy choices at the food court. Also, pack easy, portable snacks (such as nuts or some reduced-fat string cheese…; or a few dried apricots, a piece of fresh fruit, or popcorn, … to munch on mid-morning or mid-afternoon.

Shop early. Hit the mall early in the morning. Not only will it be less crowded, but you’ll also avoid the tempting smells of lunch at the food court.

Work in extra walking. You may have heard this before, but we’ll remind you again: Parking in a spot that’s farthest from the mall entrance is a great way to log in extra steps. (Just make sure it’s well lit if you’ll be heading home when it’s dark.) And whenever you can, skip the escalator and elevator in favor of the stairs.

Do intervals while you shop. Before you begin shopping or while you’re going from store to store, squeeze in a few intervals of really fast walking. In addition to getting your heart pumping, this will clear your head before diving into the in-store fray.

Boost your self-esteem. Most likely your focus is on finding gifts for friends and family, but if you pass a great outfit, why not try it on in your new smaller size to see just how far you've come on your weight-loss journey? This will not only boost your self-esteem but also your commitment to [healthy eating] as you face the challenges of the holidays.

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(UPI) Elderly people who remain physically active have a life expectancy almost four years greater than those who are no longer active, researchers in Germany say…

The study … found older runners do not have to train any harder than their younger rivals to maintain their fitness.

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