Medicare $$ Needed to Help State-Licensed Emergency Centers Survive, Lawmakers Told
If freestanding emergency centers (FECs) are to survive and help underserved rural communities, they should be allowed to receive Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, which they cannot currently do, an FEC executive told members of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Monday. “The model doesn’t work unless we can get Medicare and Medicaid,” Robert Morris, […]
Small-scale octopus fisheries can provide sustainable source of vital nutrients for tropical coastal communities
Undernourished coastal communities in the tropics — where children’s growth can be stunted by a lack of micronutrients — can get the vitamins and minerals they need from sustainable small-scale octopus fisheries, say researchers. Research led by Cambridge scientists, and published today in Nature Food, shows that tropical small-scale octopus fisheries offer a sustainable source […]
This Is What Discrimination Does To Your Brain And Body
The unfortunate reality for marginalized communities is that discrimination is hardly ever a surprise. It can be disappointing, scary and infuriating, but it’s rarely shocking. When someone has experienced years of bias, prejudice and unfair treatment, it can eventually feel like a perpetual state of waiting for the other shoe to drop ― a sense […]
Opinion | Can Healthcare Deserts Be Transformed Into Oases?
Providing first-rate healthcare to underserved rural and urban communities is one of the great unmet challenges of recent decades. These low-income neighborhoods have been left behind and feel the pain of healthcare shortages most acutely. The root of this problem is a misaligned system of incentives. Healthcare providers have had little financial motivation to offer […]
Communities with higher levels of racial prejudice have worse health outcomes: Area-level racial prejudice drives health inequities, research finds
People who live in communities with higher levels of racial prejudice have worse health outcomes, including more heart disease and mental health problems and higher overall mortality rates, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. The researchers conducted a systematic review of fourteen papers that used data gathered from Google, Twitter and other […]
Researchers identify potential approaches to modify the vaginal microbiome: Insights may lead to more effective treatments for bacterial vaginosis and improve women’s health outcomes globally
The female genital tract is naturally colonized by mixed communities of bacteria, known as the vaginal microbiome. When these communities are dominated by species such as Lactobacillus crispatus, they provide important protective functions in genital health. But overgrowth of certain other bacterial species is linked to a condition known as bacterial vaginosis (BV). BV affects […]
Sustainable groundwater use could be answer to Africa’s water issues
Tapping into groundwater can help communities in Africa diversify their water supply and strengthen their drought defenses, according to a study led by The University of Texas at Austin. The research, which was published in Environmental Research Letters, tracked long term water storage gains and losses across Africa’s 13 major aquifers and found opportunities for […]
Coastal ecosystem being destabilized by climate change
Ecological communities on the Oregon coast are being subtly destabilized by the pressures of climate change despite giving an appearance of stress resistance, new research by Oregon State University shows. The findings are important because assessing and understanding how plants, animals and other life forms respond to a warming planet is critical to human welfare, […]
New health benefits of red seaweeds unveiled
Red seaweeds have been prevalent in the diets of Asian communities for thousands of years. In a new study, published in Marine Drugs, researchers have shown how these algae confer health benefits. “In the past, people have wondered why the number of colon cancer patients in Japan is the lowest in the world,” said Yong-Su […]
Indigenous and local communities key to successful nature conservation
Indigenous Peoples and local communities provide the best long-term outcomes for conservation, according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and partners in France. Lead author, Dr Neil Dawson of UEA’s School of International Development, was part of an international team conducting a systematic review that found conservation success is “the exception […]