11/07/17

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Record haul of drugs collected at DEA event, officials say

About 912,305 pounds – or 456 tons – of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs were turned in

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/opioid-epidemic-dea-prescription-drug-take-back-day/

Link seen between domestic violence and mass killings

A recent report based on FBI data shows 54 percent of mass shootings are related to domestic or family violence

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/link-between-domestic-violence-mass-killings/

Yoga May Boost Lung Cancer Patients, Caregivers

For advanced lung cancer patients, yoga appears to help improve their overall physical function, stamina and mental health.

From: https://www.webmd.com/news/20171107/yoga-may-boost-lung-cancer-patients-caregivers?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Self-Driving Cars Soon Might Save Lives

The RAND report, released online Tuesday, warns of the cost of forgoing somewhat safer self-driving cars in favor of waiting for hugely safer cars that might take many more years to develop.

From: https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/news/20171107/self-driving-cars-soon-might-save-lives?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Opioids Not the Only Answer for Pain in the ER

Motrin and Tylenol may work as well as narcotic painkillers for ER patients who suffer sprains or fractures.

From: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20171107/opioids-not-the-only-answer-for-pain-in-the-er?src=RSS_PUBLIC

Stop using antibiotics in healthy animals to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance

Stop using antibiotics in healthy animals to preserve their effectiveness

From: http://www.who.int/entity/mediacentre/news/releases/2017/antibiotics-animals-effectiveness/en/index.html

Office for Civil Rights issues opioids guidance for providers

The Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has issued guidance for health care providers about what personal health information they are allowed to share with family members, friends and legal personal representatives if a patient is in crisis and incapacitated, such as during an opioid overdose.

From: http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2017-archive/november/office-for-civil-rights-issues-opioids-guidance-for-providers

Program #6: Applications of Individualized Medicine

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-YoTskexko

Sleepless nights may affect brain as much as alcohol

Scientists say they've discovered how sleep deprivation can disrupt brain cells' ability to communicate with each other, leading to temporary mental lapses

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/study-sleepless-nights-affect-brain-as-much-as-alcohol/

Trump calls attackers "deranged," but mental health link is weak

It's a common reaction to mass violence — who in their right mind would commit these senseless crimes? But the truth is more nuanced, experts say

From: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-calls-attackers-deranged-but-mental-health-link-weak/

Mayo Clinic Minute: Fruit and veggie food safety

From: Mayo Clinic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7H1yzGi5fo

Using social media to help parents get vaccine questions answered

Follow me on Twitter @drClaire

As a pediatrician, I know that many times when parents are hesitant about vaccines, it’s because of something they read on the Internet. Sadly, much of the anti-vaccine information that is out there is either misinformation or misconstrued information — but once parents have read it, it’s not always easy to convince them that it’s misinformation or misconstrued. I’ve often wished that we could find more ways to get good vaccine information on the Internet, and give parents a way to get their questions answered and concerns allayed there, rather than getting worried.

That’s exactly what researchers from Kaiser Permanente did, in a study recently published in the journal Pediatrics. They recruited women in their last trimester of pregnancy, and randomized them into three groups. One group was given access to a website with vaccine information that had a social media component that allowed them to comment and ask questions. Another group was given access to a website with vaccine information but no social media component. The third group was a “control” group, given the usual care and not given access to the website. They gave all the women a questionnaire to see how they felt about vaccines, and found that about 14% overall were “hesitant” about vaccines.

Of the women given access to a website (they used a login so that researchers could see if they used it), 35% visited it at least once. Interestingly, 44% of the vaccine-hesitant mothers visited, which is good news. We want vaccine-hesitant parents to look for information in good places. The mothers in the group that had a social media component generated 90 comments and questions. The majority of those comments and questions were directed toward the clinicians running the study, as opposed to between the women. They wanted to talk to the clinicians about their questions and concerns.

They followed the mothers until their babies were about 6 months (200 days) old to see if the babies got their vaccines, and if they got them on time. They found that 92.5% of the babies whose mothers had access to the website with social media were fully vaccinated, as opposed to 91.3% of the ones whose mothers just had website access, and 86.6% of those who got usual care.

The differences were small, it’s true, but having the ability to get information and ask questions had a statistically significant effect.

All parents want to do the right thing. They want their children to be healthy and safe. Parents who don’t vaccinate their children are worried that vaccines might hurt their child and might not work. The evidence shows abundantly that vaccines do work, that they do save lives, and that side effects are usually either minor or nonexistent. But that’s not always what parents hear or read.

Parents need and deserve good information, and they need and deserve the opportunity to talk about all of their concerns and ask all of their questions. In the setting of a busy pediatric practice, doctors don’t always have the time to sit, listen, answer questions, and discuss vaccines. We wish we always did, but the reality is that we don’t. But it’s not okay for doctors to simply say that we don’t have time. If we want to give parents what they need, and get more children vaccinated, we are going to have to come up with some creative solutions — like a website where parents can get information and share their worries and questions.

It’s also important that doctors fully realize just how much people rely on the Internet for health information, and take responsibility for either putting good information there themselves, or directing people to sites with good information.

Parents, and expectant parents, who have any questions or concerns about vaccines should let their doctor know. When we know before a visit, it’s easier for us to find ways to help. And as for sites with good information, here are my favorites:

The post Using social media to help parents get vaccine questions answered appeared first on Harvard Health Blog.

From: Claire McCarthy, MD https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/using-social-media-help-parents-get-vaccine-questions-answered-2017110712702

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