Off the Charts

By Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, editorial director

valentin ottone, via flickr

At the opening briefing at the conference of the Association of Health Care Journalists, Tom Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), unveiled a new report on state-specific tobacco control measures. As health commissioner in New York City until he took his current post last June, Frieden gained a reputation for tackling chronic health issues. (We reported in 2007 on his controversial diabetes initiative.)

Frieden says that while there is a clear change in societal attitudes towards tobacco use (for example, he says, we’ve moved from “Would you like a cigarette?” to “Do you mind if I smoke?”), progress in reducing tobacco use has been stalled since 2004. He noted the significant success of graphic “counter-marketing” efforts (ads depicting individuals who have physical disabilities, amputations, and laryngectomies as a result of tobacco use) in reducing smoking rates (though at least one study reported by the BBC has suggested that such in-your-face ads may be more likely to keep people smoking than to make them quit). However, said Frieden, “Tobacco taxation is the single most effective tool, accounting for half or more of the reduction in tobacco use.” Among the findings Frieden highlighted: Read the rest of this entry ?

“The chest pains—short, sharp, and frequent—had started in the early afternoon. I had been painting my children’s faces and pulling a picnic together at the home of my wife; we’re separated. When she appeared in the kitchen, I went home, shaved, changed into a skirt and blouse, rushed on some lipstick and foundation, and drove myself to the hospital.”

Sensationalistic NY Post outing of Ladin

I think it’s safe to say that no one likes a trip to the ED. In fact, I personally don’t like going to any health care practitioner, especially if I’m scared that something is seriously wrong.

A careful reading of the opening lines of Joy Ladin’s “Intake Interview,” this month’s Reflections essay in AJN, reveals that something out of the ordinary is happening. That’s because author Joy Ladin isn’t an ordinary woman—although that is, I’d wager, her ultimate goal. She began the long process of becoming a woman only a couple of years ago. Read the rest of this entry ?

At AllNurses.com: Can too much time be  spent on the resuscitation of a celebrity?

At NEJM: “some new hospice providers, which are predominantly for-profit, may be pursuing a business model based on maximizing length of stay, and thus profitability.”

At the NY Times, family caregiving on contract:

The elderly mother wanted to avoid a nursing home and remain in her house in Kansas City, but she needed hands-on help. The daughter, a nurse at a local hospital, was willing to shoulder responsibility for her mother’s care but couldn’t afford to lose income by substantially scaling back her work schedule.

So elder law attorney Craig Reaves drew up a care contract, specifying that the daughter would help her mother a certain number of hours each week and perform particular duties, for which her mother would pay the same hourly wage her daughter would have earned at the hospital. 

Charla Nash. Used with permission.

I’ve been very moved by the story of Charla Nash since I first heard of her being mauled by her friend’s chimpanzee, and I posted about it here more than a month ago. It’s probably because I’m both a nurse and an animal lover that it has affected me so much. I was relieved to hear that the family does not blame the chimp. Said her brother Michael, “I do not blame Travis. He is an animal that acted as a chimpanzee. Living in a cage is cruel for this animal and amounts to mental torture.” Read the rest of this entry ?

Photo by Nesster / Jussi You-S-See via Flickr

Anyone who knows me will tell you: I am not what you would call an optimist. And looking for the silver lining during times like this is hard for anybody. The recession has been stressful for many people. This kind of stress can lead to increased anxiety and depression as well as loss of sleep, increased smoking and drinking, and stress on personal relationships. Yet I can’t help but see some positive effects of the recession. Read the rest of this entry ?