The News Review:
- Health Highlights: March 11 2009
- Inexpensive flooring change improves child health in urban slums
- Child care plea after baby death
- Excommunicated doctor hailed for abortion on child rape victim
Health Highlights: March 11 2009
U.S. News & World Report
Mental Health Care Gets Low ScoreMental health care services for adults in the United States received a D in a report card issued Wednesday by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). The advocacy group issued the same grade three years ago and said there hasn’t been enough improvement to warrant a better score CNN reported. In addition state budget cuts threaten to further reduce mental health care. “Ironically state budget cuts occur during a time of economic crisis when mental health services are needed even more urgently than before” Michael Fitzpatrick NAMI’s executive director said in a statement. “It’s a vicious cycle that can lead to ruin.
Inexpensive flooring change improves child health in urban slums
UC Berkeley
(Photos courtesy Center of Evaluation for Global Action)Professor Paul Gertler the Li Ka Shing Professor of Economics in the Haas School of Business and the School of Public Health at UC Berkeley led the investigation. The study detailed in the article “Housing Health and Happiness” in the February American Economic Journal: Economic Policy concludes that replacing dirt floors with cement appears to be at least as effective for health as nutritional supplements and as helpful for brain development as early childhood development programs. Not only are young children better off when their homes have concrete rather than dirt floors but the study also found that their mothers are less depressed less stressed and happier. “The reasons adults are happier may have to do with the fact that they are living in a better environment and that their children are healthier” says the report. “These results also indicate that housing has a significant effect on welfare which would not be captured by standard monetary indicators such as income consumption or assets or by the types of health outcomes used in this study. The CEGA researchers note that inadequate housing poses serious health risks around the globe for 600 million urban residents almost half of them living in slums.
Child care plea after baby death
BBC News
Just Learning in Cambourne was fined £67000 plus £78000 costs on Tuesday after admitting breaching health and safety laws. Georgia Hollick died in April 2006 when she was 10-months-old. Jason and Sharon Hollick said of Georgia: “She was a delightful daughter and sister. They said: “We would like to thank the South Cambridgeshire District Council Environmental Health team for their time and determination in this investigation. ‘Perfect daughter’”We hope that the child care industry learn from these failings to ensure our children are given a better and safer environment whilst being cared for.
Excommunicated doctor hailed for abortion on child rape victim
CNN International
The newspaper Povo reported that Temporao called on the audience to acknowledge the "brilliant" work done by a medical team in the abortion performed in Brazil’s northeastern city of Recife. The girl was pregnant with twins after being raped allegedly by her stepfather police were quoted in media reports as saying. The abuse had gone on since the girl was 6 authorities said. The abortion was performed March 4 during the fourth month of pregnancy according to media reports Archbishop Don Jose Cardoso Sobrinho of Recife excommunicated the doctor the child’s mother and the medical team involved in the procedure.
Related from Lasilla: Spain Moves Towards Abortion Law Reform
