National Children's Study
Contracts have been awarded to six institutions to pilot and complete the first phases of the largest study undertaken by the federal government to assess the effects of the environment on child and adult health. “The National Children's Study would follow more than 100,000 children, from before birth, and, in some cases, even before pregnancy,” said Duane Alexander, M.D., director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, one of the National Institutes of Health. The six centers, selected through a competitive process, had successfully demonstrated advanced clinical research and data collection capabilities. Researchers plan to examine such factors as the food children eat, the air they breathe, their schools and neighborhoods, their frequency of medical visits, and even the composition of the dust in their homes. The project will enroll participants—women of childbearing age—in mid-2007, said Sarah Keim, deputy director of the program office. “The women will be tracked and their subsequent children will be tracked until the age of 21.”
Abstinence Education
The federal government is awarding $37 million to 63 abstinence education grantees, the Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families announced. The awards, from the Community-Based Abstinence Education program, are designed to encourage youth to remain abstinent until marriage. “The only way to be 100% certain that kids avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases is to stay abstinent until marriage,” said Wade F. Horn, Ph.D., assistant secretary for Children and Families. In a statement issued this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics didn't encourage abstinence until marriage, but said pediatricians should encourage adolescents to postpone early sexual activity.
Junk Food Prevalent in Schools
Most schools continue to sell “competitive foods,” foods that are not part of federally reimbursable school meals, the General Accountability Office reported in its review of six school districts. The nutritional value of these foods is highly unregulated, and students can purchase them, in addition to, or instead of, regular school meals. The findings show “little doubt about the proliferation of junk foods in America's schools,” said Margo G. Wootan, nutrition policy director with the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “Despite pockets of progress around the country, the GAO report shows that nearly 9 out of 10 schools offer junk foods to kids out of vending machines, school stores, and “a la carte” lines. All six of the school districts were making efforts to substitute healthy items for less- nutritious competitive foods, although some faced opposition because of concerns about revenue losses.
Public Favors EHRs
Nearly three-fourths of Americans favor establishing a nationwide electronic information exchange to allow patient health records to be shared quickly among health professionals via the Internet, according to a survey of 800 adults sponsored by the Markle Foundation. However, 79% said it was important to make sure sharing could take place only after patients gave permission. “Americans use digital information technology to … pay bills, book flights, and customize the music they listen to, and our research shows they now want to use health information technology to get the best care possible for themselves,” said Zoe Baird, the foundation's president.
Pinpointing Side Effects
In a bid to more quickly pinpoint potential side effects of drugs on the market, the Food and Drug Administration has contracted with several organizations to access their prescription drug data. Ingenix Inc., a unit of UnitedHealth Group Inc.; the Kaiser Foundation Research Institute; Vanderbilt University; and the privately held Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Inc. each won contracts of about $1.35 million to provide the data. Under the agreements, FDA scientists will be able to search each organization's database of medical claims and prescription drug use. The databases include information from patients enrolled in private insurance plans and state Medicaid programs. “These proactive efforts should enhance the FDA's ability to identify and assess issues and potential risks related to pharmaceutical agents in a more timely fashion than ever,” said Terri Madison, Ph.D., president of i3 Drug Safety (an Ingenix company), which will lead the Ingenix program. In a statement, Alan Goldhammer, Ph.D., associate vice president for regulatory affairs with the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said PhRMA supported “new approaches to improving pharmacovigilance.” The group called on the Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics to hold a workshop on this topic.