Search | The EDU Ledger

Welcome to The EDU Ledger.com! We’ve moved from Diverse.

Welcome to The EDU Ledger! We’ve moved from Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.

Section: Health

Administration Overhauls Medicare Website

The Trump administration is rolling out new online tools to help seniors compare the differences between traditional Medicare plans and those offered by private health insurance. The latest installment to the Medicare.gov website, called eMedicare, has a new feature allowing beneficiaries to chat online with government staffers to ask questions as they are looking at […]

October 10, 2018

Healthcare Law Takes Center Stage in Midterms

WASHINGTON—Missouri Democratic senator Claire McCaskill is taking an approach in her fight for re-election that would have been unthinkable in her race six years ago — she’s defending the health care law. The two-term, red-state senator has attacked her opponent, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, for joining a suit brought by conservative state officials seeking […]

October 10, 2018

healthcarevoter

6 Minnesota Children Contract ‘Polio-Like’ Disease

Six Minnesota children under the age of 10 have been diagnosed with a rare disease described as “polio-like” since mid-September, according to state officials. The Minnesota Department of Health said it is investigating six cases of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a serious condition that affects the spinal cord and nervous system and causes muscles to […]

October 10, 2018

Addressing Sickle Cell

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced in a recent press release the launch of a new “Cure Sickle Cell Initiative” to help accelerate cures for sickle cell disease. The goal of the Initiative is to advance the development of the latest gene- and cell-based therapies safely into clinical trials for sickle cell disease within […]

October 8, 2018

sickle-cell-cc-ed-uthman

Cheaper Insurance Policies Have Big Gaps

If you’re looking for cheaper health insurance, a whole host of new options will hit the market starting Tuesday. But buyer beware! If you get sick, the new plans – known as short-term, limited duration insurance — may not pay for the medical care you need. Read More

October 8, 2018

Morehouse Med School Fights Cancer with Research

Some of the highest cancer morbidity and mortality rates in United States exist in Georgia, according to American Cancer Society. Racial and ethnic cancer health disparities undermine our communities and our health care system. African Americans are more likely to suffer from cancer health inequities and get sicker, develop complications, and die from cancer, than […]

October 8, 2018

543498562-gabrielle-barry-a-research-specialist-at-the-aids_jpg_CROP_promo-xlarge2

Study Underscores Link between Poor Diet, Hypertension

New findings suggest that diet is a major contributor for the increased risk of hypertension in black compared to white Americans. The results, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, are part of the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, which looks at the incidence of stroke in approximately […]

October 8, 2018

Study: 1 in 3 American Adults Eat Fast Food Daily

NEW YORK — A government study has found that 1 in 3 U.S. adults eat fast food on any given day. That’s about 85 million people. It’s the first federal study to look at how often adults eat fast food. An earlier study found a similar proportion of children and adolescents ate it on any […]

October 8, 2018

Judge’s Ruling Means Missouri Clinic Can’t Resume Abortions

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A federal judge denied Planned Parenthood’s request for a mid-Missouri clinic to be temporarily exempted from certain abortion regulations, ensuring that the Columbia clinic will not be able to resume abortions. U.S. Western District Court Judge Brian Wimes wrote in his ruling late Wednesday that even if he did lift the […]

October 8, 2018

Researchers Use App in Diagnosing Parkinson’s

Two researchers are using smartphone data to try to diagnose Parkinson’s disease. In a paper published Thursday, Patrick Schwab and Walter Karlen of the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems in Switzerland proposed using smartphone data and machine learning to help diagnose Parkinson’s disease. The idea is to use data collected by a smartphone and […]

October 8, 2018

‘Dr. Miracle’ Shares Nobel Peace Prize

He’s known as “Dr. Miracle” because of his skill and his devotion to helping victims of gang rape during conflict in his country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. For several years, the gynecologist Dr. Denis Mukwege has been mentioned as a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize. And this year, he has been awarded […]

October 8, 2018

The Promise of Cultural Competence and Higher Education for our Health

I have made this point consistently in previous posts and will make it again: our health is our wealth and therefore an exceedingly important problem to solve. Higher education is uniquely poised to play a role in this. Yet, practical health curriculum is the exception rather than the rule.

October 4, 2018

Advancing Diversity

It is no secret there are incredible gaps in our health care system today. In many major cities, you can go from neighborhood to neighborhood and see the average life expectancy drop by several decades. When you look at the underserved communities hit the hardest by health inequity, many are made up of diverse populations. […]

October 2, 2018

3 Inmates Hospitalized, 1 Dead In Meningitis Outbreak

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Public health and corrections officials are responding to an illness outbreak at an Alabama prison that left one inmate dead. The Alabama Department of Public Health reported a pneumococcal disease outbreak at the Ventress Correctional Facility in Barbour County. Three inmates were hospitalized, and one inmate died after developing meningitis. Health officials […]

October 2, 2018

Contraception ‘Deserts’ Widen under Trump Policy

When Nikia Jackson needed to be screened for a sexually transmitted disease, she wanted a clinic that was reputable, quick and inexpensive. After searching online, Jackson, 23, ended up at the Obria Medical Clinics’ sparkling new facility in an office park in suburban Atlanta. She was unaware that the clinic does not offer condoms or […]

October 2, 2018

Bill Addresses Racial Disparities in Maternal Deaths

A piece of legislation before the U.S. Senate would aim to address racial disparities in maternal mortality and morbidity. Senators Tim Kaine and Kamala D. Harris introduced the Maternal care Access and Reducing Emergencies Act. According to a release, the United States is one of only 13 countries in the world where the rate of […]

October 2, 2018

Complaint Alleges Racial Bias in Failure to Address Sewage Risk

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An advocacy group claims Alabama health officials are discriminating against residents of a poor, mostly black county by failing to address sanitation problems that led to an outbreak of a parasite most common in underdeveloped countries. San Francisco-based Earthjustice said it filed a civil rights complaint with the federal government on behalf […]

October 2, 2018

Study: Minority Medical Residents Routinely Face Racism

(Reuters Health) – Minority doctors in training routinely deal with bias, sometimes subtle, sometimes not so subtle, a new study suggests. Researchers found that resident physicians from racial and ethnic minorities face a daily barrage of microaggressions as well as overt prejudice, according to the study published in JAMA Network Open. Read More

October 2, 2018