New Titles from the National Academies Press | Health and Medicinehttp://www.nap.edu/rss?topic=2882013-06-18T22:27:35-04:00Science books from the publishers for the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine, and the National Research CouncilPriorities for Research to Reduce the Threat of Firearm-Related Violencetag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18319#prepub2013-06-05T10:49:44-04:002013-06-18T08:43:47-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Prepublication Now Available</strong></p>
<p>In 2010, more than 105,000 people were injured or killed in the United States as the result of a firearm-related incident. Recent, highly publicized, tragic mass shootings in Newtown, CT; Aurora, CO; Oak Creek, WI; and Tucson, AZ, have sharpened the American public's interest in protecting our children and communities from the harmful effects of firearm violence. While many Americans legally use firearms for a variety of activities, fatal and nonfatal firearm violence poses a serious threat to public safety and welfare.</p> <p><br /> In January 2013, President Barack Obama issued 23 executive orders directing federal agencies to improve knowledge of the causes of firearm violence, what might help prevent it, and how to minimize its burden on public health. One of these orders directed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to, along with other federal agencies, immediately begin identifying the most pressing problems in firearm violence research. The CDC and the CDC Foundation asked the IOM, in collaboration with the National Research Council, to convene a committee tasked with developing a potential research agenda that focuses on the causes of, possible interventions to, and strategies to minimize the burden of firearm-related violence. <em>Priorities for Research to Reduce the Threat of Firearm-Related Violence</em> focuses on the characteristics of firearm violence, risk and protective factors, interventions and strategies, the impact of gun safety technology, and the influence of video games and other media.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18319">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=306'>Law and Justice</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/rBBVk42QjDQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18319Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to Schooltag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18314#prepub2013-05-23T09:49:03-04:002013-05-23T09:49:30-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Prepublication Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Physical inactivity is a key determinant of health across the lifespan. A lack of activity increases the risk of heart disease, colon and breast cancer, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, osteoporosis, anxiety and depression and others diseases. Emerging literature has suggested that in terms of mortality, the global population health burden of physical inactivity approaches that of cigarette smoking. The prevalence and substantial disease risk associated with physical inactivity has been described as a pandemic.</p> <p>The prevalence, health impact, and evidence of changeability all have resulted in calls for action to increase physical activity across the lifespan. In response to the need to find ways to make physical activity a health priority for youth, the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Physical Activity and Physical Education in the School Environment was formed. Its purpose was to review the current status of physical activity and physical education in the school environment, including before, during, and after school, and examine the influences of physical activity and physical education on the short and long term physical, cognitive and brain, and psychosocial health and development of children and adolescents.</p> <p><em>Educating the Student Body</em> makes recommendations about approaches for strengthening and improving programs and policies for physical activity and physical education in the school environment. This report lays out a set of guiding principles to guide its work on these tasks. These included: recognizing the benefits of instilling life-long physical activity habits in children; the value of using systems thinking in improving physical activity and physical education in the school environment; the recognition of current disparities in opportunities and the need to achieve equity in physical activity and physical education; the importance of considering all types of school environments; the need to take into consideration the diversity of students as recommendations are developed.</p> <p>This report will be of interest to local and national policymakers, school officials, teachers, and the education community, researchers, professional organizations, and parents interested in physical activity, physical education, and health for school-aged children and adolescents.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18314">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=386'>Children's Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=349'>K-12 Education</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/r08lUyGHBOA" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18314Delivering Affordable Cancer Care in the 21st Century: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18273#final2013-05-20T00:00:00-04:002013-05-20T13:14:45-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Rising health care costs are a central fiscal challenge confronting the United States. National spending on health care currently accounts for 18 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), but is anticipated to increase to 25 percent of GDP by 2037. The Bipartisan Policy Center argues that "this rapid growth in health expenditures creates an unsustainable burden on America's economy, with far-reaching consequences". These consequences include crowding out many national priorities, including investments in education, infrastructure, and research; stagnation of employee wages; and decreased international competitiveness.In spite of health care costs that far exceed those of other countries, health outcomes in the United States are not considerably better.</p> <p>With the goal of ensuring that patients have access to high-quality, affordable cancer care, the Institute of Medicine's (IOM's) National Cancer Policy Forum convened a public workshop, Delivering Affordable Cancer Care in the 21st Century, October 8-9, 2012, in Washington, DC. <em>Delivering Affordable Cancer Care in the 21st Century</em> summarizes the workshop.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18273">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=387'>Cancer</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/5e8y3VaHp6c" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18273Countering the Problem of Falsified and Substandard Drugstag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18272#final2013-05-20T00:00:00-04:002013-05-20T12:57:53-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The adulteration and fraudulent manufacture of medicines is an old problem, vastly aggravated by modern manufacturing and trade. In the last decade, impotent antimicrobial drugs have compromised the treatment of many deadly diseases in poor countries. More recently, negligent production at a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy sickened hundreds of Americans. While the national drugs regulatory authority (hereafter, the regulatory authority) is responsible for the safety of a country's drug supply, no single country can entirely guarantee this today.</p> <p>The once common use of the term counterfeit to describe any drug that is not what it claims to be is at the heart of the argument. In a narrow, legal sense a counterfeit drug is one that infringes on a registered trademark. The lay meaning is much broader, including any drug made with intentional deceit. Some generic drug companies and civil society groups object to calling bad medicines counterfeit, seeing it as the deliberate conflation of public health and intellectual property concerns. <em>Countering the Problem of Falsified and Substandard Drugs</em> accepts the narrow meaning of counterfeit, and, because the nuances of trademark infringement must be dealt with by courts, case by case, the report does not discuss the problem of counterfeit medicines.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18272">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=390'>Global Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/NMZ4qzNG4FI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18272Interprofessional Education for Collaboration: Learning How to Improve Health from Interprofessional Models Across the Continuum of Education to Practice: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13486#prepub2013-05-13T09:25:21-04:002013-05-13T09:38:01-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Prepublication Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Every year, the Global Forum undertakes two workshops whose topics are selected by the more than 55 members of the Forum. It was decided in this first year of the Forum's existence that the workshops should lay the foundation for future work of the Forum and the topic that could best provide this base of understanding was "interprofessional education." The first workshop took place August 29-30, 2012, and the second was on November 29-30, 2012. Both workshops focused on linkages between interprofessional education (IPE) and collaborative practice. The difference between them was that Workshop 1 set the stage for defining and understanding IPE while Workshop 2 brought in speakers from around the world to provide living histories of their experience working in and between interprofessional education and interprofessional or collaborative practice.</p> <p>A committee of health professional education experts planned, organized, and conducted a 2-day, interactive public workshop exploring issues related to innovations in health professions education (HPE). The committee involved educators and other innovators of curriculum development and pedagogy and will be drawn from at least four health disciplines. The workshop followed a high-level framework and established an orientation for the future work of the Global Forum on Innovations in Health Professional Education. Interprofessional Education for Collaboration: Learning How to Improve Health from Interprofessional Models Across the Continuum of Education to Practice summarizes the presentations and small group discussions that focused on innovations in five areas of HPE:</p> <p>1. Curricular innovations - Concentrates on what is being taught to health professions' learners to meet evolving domestic and international needs;<br /> 2. Pedagogic innovations - Looks at how the information can be better taught to students and WHERE education can takes place;<br /> 3. Cultural elements - Addresses who is being taught by whom as a means of enhancing the effectiveness of the design, development and implementation of interprofessional HPE; <br /> 4. Human resources for health - Focuses on how capacity can be innovatively expanded to better ensure an adequate supply and mix of educated health workers based on local needs; and<br /> 5. Metrics - Addresses how one measures whether learner assessment and evaluation of educational impact and care delivery systems influence individual and population health.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13486">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=390'>Global Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=282'>Education</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=351'>Medical Training and Workforce</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/Q9gqIrpytlM" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13486Best Care at Lower Cost: The Path to Continuously Learning Health Care in Americatag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13444#final2013-05-10T00:00:00-04:002013-05-10T11:50:21-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>America's health care system has become too complex and costly to continue business as usual. <em>Best Care at Lower Cost</em> explains that inefficiencies, an overwhelming amount of data, and other economic and quality barriers hinder progress in improving health and threaten the nation's economic stability and global competitiveness. According to this report, the knowledge and tools exist to put the health system on the right course to achieve continuous improvement and better quality care at a lower cost. </p> <p>The costs of the system's current inefficiency underscore the urgent need for a systemwide transformation. About 30 percent of health spending in 2009--roughly $750 billion--was wasted on unnecessary services, excessive administrative costs, fraud, and other problems. Moreover, inefficiencies cause needless suffering. By one estimate, roughly 75,000 deaths might have been averted in 2005 if every state had delivered care at the quality level of the best performing state. This report states that the way health care providers currently train, practice, and learn new information cannot keep pace with the flood of research discoveries and technological advances.</p> <p>About 75 million Americans have more than one chronic condition, requiring coordination among multiple specialists and therapies, which can increase the potential for miscommunication, misdiagnosis, potentially conflicting interventions, and dangerous drug interactions. <em>Best Care at Lower Cost</em> emphasizes that a better use of data is a critical element of a continuously improving health system, such as mobile technologies and electronic health records that offer significant potential to capture and share health data better. In order for this to occur, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, IT developers, and standard-setting organizations should ensure that these systems are robust and interoperable. Clinicians and care organizations should fully adopt these technologies, and patients should be encouraged to use tools, such as personal health information portals, to actively engage in their care.</p> <p>This book is a call to action that will guide health care providers; administrators; caregivers; policy makers; health professionals; federal, state, and local government agencies; private and public health organizations; and educational institutions.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13444">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/Qs6FDXDJH-0" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13444Sharing Clinical Research Data: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18267#final2013-05-07T00:00:00-04:002013-03-29T08:46:34-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Pharmaceutical companies, academic researchers, and government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health all possess large quantities of clinical research data. If these data were shared more widely within and across sectors, the resulting research advances derived from data pooling and analysis could improve public health, enhance patient safety, and spur drug development. Data sharing can also increase public trust in clinical trials and conclusions derived from them by lending transparency to the clinical research process. Much of this information, however, is never shared. Retention of clinical research data by investigators and within organizations may represent lost opportunities in biomedical research. Despite the potential benefits that could be accrued from pooling and analysis of shared data, barriers to data sharing faced by researchers in industry include concerns about data mining, erroneous secondary analyses of data, and unwarranted litigation, as well as a desire to protect confidential commercial information. Academic partners face significant cultural barriers to sharing data and participating in longer term collaborative efforts that stem from a desire to protect intellectual autonomy and a career advancement system built on priority of publication and citation requirements. Some barriers, like the need to protect patient privacy, pre- sent challenges for both sectors. Looking ahead, there are also a number of technical challenges to be faced in analyzing potentially large and heterogeneous datasets.</p> <p>This public workshop focused on strategies to facilitate sharing of clinical research data in order to advance scientific knowledge and public health. While the workshop focused on sharing of data from preplanned interventional studies of human subjects, models and projects involving sharing of other clinical data types were considered to the extent that they provided lessons learned and best practices. The workshop objectives were to examine the benefits of sharing of clinical research data from all sectors and among these sectors, including, for example: benefits to the research and development enterprise and benefits to the analysis of safety and efficacy. <em>Sharing Clinical Research Data: Workshop Summary</em> identifies barriers and challenges to sharing clinical research data, explores strategies to address these barriers and challenges, including identifying priority actions and "low-hanging fruit" opportunities, and discusses strategies for using these potentially large datasets to facilitate scientific and public health advances.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18267">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=391'>Health Sciences</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=423'>Policy for Science and Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=471'>Research and Data</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/F_G4epKOdbI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18267Fostering Independence, Participation, and Healthy Aging Through Technology: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18332#prepub2013-04-18T08:47:16-04:002013-04-18T08:47:24-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Prepublication Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the National Research Council (NRC) have had prominent roles in discussions of aging, disability, and technology for decades. In 1978, Aging and Medical Education (IOM, 1978) raised national awareness of the challenges to physicians posed by the aging of the U.S. population. Thirty years later, Retooling for an Aging America highlighted concerns for the entire health care workforce in view of the aging of the population, including the role of technology in caring for older populations. The 1988 report <em>The Aging Population in the 21st Century</em> examined social, economic, and demographic changes among older adults, as well as many health-related topics: health promotion and disease prevention; quality of life; health care system financing and use; and the quality of care— especially long-term care. In 1991, the landmark report Disability in America laid out a national agenda to prevent disability and improve the lives of people with disabling conditions. The 1997 report Enabling America: Assessing the Role of Rehabilitation Science and Engineering examined the knowledge base of rehabilitation science and engineering and proposed ways to translate scientific findings into interventions that produce better health. And the 2007 report The Future of Disability in America examined progress made since the earlier reports and looked at continuing barriers that limit the independence, productivity, and participation in community life of people with disabilities.</p> <p>All these reports were produced by committees appointed in accordance with guidelines of the National Academies and met multiples times to compile and review evidence, reach consensus on conclusions and recommendations, draft a report of the committee, and then modify that draft report in response to comments from outside reviewers. The IOM and NRC have also held several workshops related to aging, disability, and technology and published summary reports, such as Technology for Adaptive Aging and Grand Challenges of Our Aging Society. The IOM and NRC also convene groups that take a different approach to issues of pressing national and international importance. Often known as forums or roundtables, these groups meet regularly to foster dialogue and confront issues of mutual interest and concern among a broad range of stakeholders. They can convene workshops, initiate cooperative projects among members, commission independently authored articles, and generate ideas for independent consensus studies. </p> <p>In 2012 the IOM and NRC joined together to establish the Forum on Aging, Disability, and Independence to provide a neutral venue for broad-ranging discussions among the many stakeholders involved with aging and disability. The goals of the forum are to highlight areas in which the coordination of the aging and disability networks is strong, examine the challenges involved in aligning the aging and disability networks, explore new approaches for resolving problem areas, elevate the visibility and broaden the perspectives of stakeholders, and set the stage for future policy actions. Forum sponsors and members include federal agencies, health professional associations, private sector businesses, academics, and consumers. <em>Fostering Independence, Participation, and Healthy Aging Through Technology </em>summarizes this workshop.</p> <p> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18332">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=385'>Aging</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/g0HFvrSRyLc" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18332Reducing Tobacco-Related Cancer Incidence and Mortality: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13495#final2013-04-16T00:00:00-04:002013-04-17T08:01:29-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in United States, causing more than 440,000 deaths annually and resulting in $193 billion in health-related economic losses each year--$96 billion in direct medical costs and $97 billion in lost productivity. Since the first U.S. Surgeon General's report on smoking in 1964, more than 29 Surgeon General's reports, drawing on data from thousands of studies, have documented the overwhelming and conclusive biologic, epidemiologic, behavioral, and pharmacologic evidence that tobacco use is deadly. This evidence base links tobacco use to the development of multiple types of cancer and other life-threatening conditions, including cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Smoking accounts for at least 30 percent of all cancer deaths, and 80 percent of lung cancer deaths. Despite the widespread agreement on the dangers of tobacco use and considerable success in reducing tobacco use prevalence from over 40 percent at the time of the 1964 Surgeon General's report to less than 20 percent today, recent progress in reducing tobacco use has slowed. An estimated 18.9 percent of U.S. adults smoke cigarettes, nearly one in four high school seniors smoke, and 13 percent of high school males use smokeless tobacco products.</p> <p>In recognition that progress in combating cancer will not be fully achieved without addressing the tobacco problem, the National Cancer Policy Forum of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) convened a public workshop, Reducing Tobacco-Related Cancer Incidence and Mortality, June 11-12, 2012 in Washington, DC. In opening remarks to the workshop participants, planning committee chair Roy Herbst, professor of medicine and of pharmacology and chief of medical oncology at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital, described the goals of the workshop, which were to examine the current obstacles to tobacco control and to discuss potential policy, outreach, and treatment strategies that could overcome these obstacles and reduce tobacco-related cancer incidence and mortality. Experts explored a number of topics, including: the changing demographics of tobacco users and the changing patterns of tobacco product use; the influence of tobacco use on cancer incidence and cancer treatment outcomes; tobacco dependence and cessation programs; federal and state level laws and regulations to curtail tobacco use; tobacco control education, messaging, and advocacy; financial and legal challenges to tobacco control efforts; and research and infrastructure needs to support tobacco control strategies, reduce tobacco related cancer incidence, and improve cancer patient outcomes. <em>Reducing Tobacco-Related Cancer Incidence and Mortality</em> summarizes the workshop.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13495">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=387'>Cancer</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/Cc0ELAd4WYs" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13495Perspectives on Research with H5N1 Avian Influenza: Scientific Inquiry, Communication, Controversy: Summary of a Workshoptag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18255#final2013-04-08T10:46:46-04:002013-04-08T10:47:02-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>When, in late 2011, it became public knowledge that two research groups had submitted for publication manuscripts that reported on their work on mammalian transmissibility of a lethal H5N1 avian influenza strain, the information caused an international debate about the appropriateness and communication of the researchers' work, the risks associated with the work, partial or complete censorship of scientific publications, and dual-use research of concern in general.</p> <p>Recognizing that the H5N1 research is only the most recent scientific activity subject to widespread attention due to safety and security concerns, on May 1, 2012, the National Research Council's Committee on Science, Technology and Law, in conjunction with the Board on Life Sciences and the Institute of Medicine's Forum on Microbial Threats, convened a one-day public workshop for the purposes of 1) discussing the H5N1 controversy; 2) considering responses by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which had funded this research, the World Health Organization, the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), scientific publishers, and members of the international research community; and 3) providing a forum wherein the concerns and interests of the broader community of stakeholders, including policy makers, biosafety and biosecurity experts, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and the general public might be articulated.</p> <p>Perspectives on Research with H5N1 Avian Influenza: Scientific Enquiry, Communication, Controversy summarizes the proceedings of the workshop.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18255">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=388'>Other Diseases</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=391'>Health Sciences</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/cUU9pR-KTd4" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18255Gulf War and Health: Treatment for Chronic Multisymptom Illnesstag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13539#final2013-04-04T00:00:00-04:002013-04-12T02:43:13-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Chronic multisymptom illness (CMI) is a serious condition that imposes an enormous burden of suffering on our nation's veterans. Veterans who have CMI often have physical symptoms (such as fatigue, joint and muscle pain, and gastrointestinal symptoms) and cognitive symptoms (such as memory difficulties). For the purposes of this report, the committee defined CMI as the presence of a spectrum of chronic symptoms experienced for 6 months or longer in at least two of six categories—fatigue, mood, and cognition, musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, respiratory, and neurologic—that may overlap with but are not fully captured by known syndromes (such as CFS, fibromyalgia, and IBS) or other diagnoses. Despite considerable efforts by researchers in the United States and elsewhere, there is no consensus among physicians, researchers, and others as to the cause of CMI. There is a growing belief that no specific causal factor or agent will be identified. Many thousands of Gulf War veterans1 who have CMI live with sometimes debilitating symptoms and seek an effective way to manage their symptoms. Estimates of the numbers of 1991 Gulf War veterans who have CMI range from 175,000 to 250,000 (about 25-35% of the 1991 Gulf War veteran population), and there is evidence that CMI in 1991 Gulf War veterans may not resolve over time. Preliminary data suggest that CMI is occurring in veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars as well.</p> <p>In addition to summarizing the available scientific and medical literature regarding the best treatments for chronic multisymptom illness among <em>Gulf War veterans, Gulf War and Health: Volume 9: Treatment for Chronic Multisymptom Illness </em>recommends how best to disseminate this information throughout the VA to improve the care and benefits provided to veterans, recommends additional scientific studies and research initiatives to resolve areas of continuing scientific uncertainty and recommends such legislative or administrative action as the IOM deems appropriate in light of the results of its review.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13539">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=396'>Military and Veterans</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/Xx-K8KQmoLY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13539The Science and Applications of Microbial Genomics: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18261#final2013-04-03T08:46:31-04:002013-04-03T08:47:11-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Over the past several decades, new scientific tools and approaches for detecting microbial species have dramatically enhanced our appreciation of the diversity and abundance of the microbiota and its dynamic interactions with the environments within which these microorganisms reside. The first bacterial genome was sequenced in 1995 and took more than 13 months of work to complete. Today, a microorganism's entire genome can be sequenced in a few days. Much as our view of the cosmos was forever altered in the 17th century with the invention of the telescope, these genomic technologies, and the observations derived from them, have fundamentally transformed our appreciation of the microbial world around us.</p> <p>On June 12 and 13, 2012, the Institute of Medicine's (IOM's) Forum on Microbial Threats convened a public workshop in Washington, DC, to discuss the scientific tools and approaches being used for detecting and characterizing microbial species, and the roles of microbial genomics and metagenomics to better understand the culturable and unculturable microbial world around us. Through invited presentations and discussions, participants examined the use of microbial genomics to explore the diversity, evolution, and adaptation of microorganisms in a wide variety of environments; the molecular mechanisms of disease emergence and epidemiology; and the ways that genomic technologies are being applied to disease outbreak trace back and microbial surveillance. Points that were emphasized by many participants included the need to develop robust standardized sampling protocols, the importance of having the appropriate metadata, data analysis and data management challenges, and information sharing in real time. <em>The Science and Applications of Microbial Genomics</em> summarizes this workshop.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18261">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=278'>Biology and Life Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=315'>Genetics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=388'>Other Diseases</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=278'>Biology and Life Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=313'>Biology</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/48UYmGRFwfM" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18261Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy for Traumatic Brain Injury: Model Study Protocols and Frameworks to Advance the State of the Science: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18257#final2013-03-29T08:46:15-04:002013-03-29T08:46:22-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>In October 2011, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released the report Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy for Traumatic Brain Injury: Evaluating the Evidence, assessing the published evidence for the effectiveness of using cognitive rehabilitation therapy (CRT) to treat people with traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI has gained increasing attention in the past 15 years because of its status as the signature wound of American military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Growing numbers of U.S. service members are suffering traumatic brain injuries and are surviving them, given that (a) the majority of traumatic brain injuries are mild and (b) lifesaving measures for more severe injuries have significantly improved. People with any level of injury can require ongoing health care in their recovery, helping them to regain (or compensate for) their losses of function and supporting their full integration into their social structure and an improved quality of life.</p> <p>One form of treatment for TBI is CRT, a systematic, goal-oriented approach to helping patients overcome cognitive impairments. The Department of Defense (DoD) asked the IOM to evaluate CRT for traumatic brain injury in order to guide the DoD's use and coverage in the Military Health System. Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy for Traumatic Brain Injury: Evaluating the Evidence was the IOM's resulting study of the evidence. The report's conclusions revolved around the fact that there is little continuity among research studies of the effectiveness of different types of CRT, and there exist only small amounts of evidence (or, in many cases, none) demonstrating the effectiveness of using CRT to treat TBI—although the evidence that does exist generally indicates that CRT interventions have some effectiveness.</p> <p>The workshop brought together experts in health services administration, research, and clinical practice from the civilian and military arenas in order to discuss the barriers for evaluating the effectiveness of CRT care and for identifying suggested taxonomy, terminology, timing, and ways forward for CRT researchers. The workshop consisted of individuals and was not intended to constitute a comprehensive group. Select decision makers in the Military Health System and Veterans Affairs (VA) and researchers were invited to participate. The workshop was designed to spur thinking about (1) the types of research necessary to move the field forward toward evidence-based clinical guidelines, (2) what the translational pipeline looks like and what its current deficiencies are, and (3) considerations that decision makers may choose to use as they decide what research they will support and decide how they will balance the urgency of the need with the level of evidence for CRT interventions.<em> Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy for Traumatic Brain Injury: Model Study Protocols and Frameworks to Advance the State of the Science </em>summarizes the happenings of the workshop.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18257">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/NKbqRFggt5E" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18257Review of the Department of Labor's Site Exposure Matrix Databasetag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18266#final2013-03-27T10:46:09-04:002013-03-27T10:46:18-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Beginning with the development of the atomic bomb during World War II, the United States continued to build nuclear weapons throughout the Cold War. Thousands of people mined and milled uranium, conducted research on nuclear warfare, or worked in nuclear munitions factories around the country from the 1940s through the 1980s. Such work continues today, albeit to a smaller extent. The Department of Energy (DOE) is now responsible for overseeing those sites and facilities, many of which were, and continue to be, run by government contractors. The materials used at those sites were varied and ranged from the benign to the toxic and highly radioactive. Workers at DOE facilities often did not know the identity of the materials with which they worked and often were unaware of health risks related to their use. In many instances, the work was considered top secret, and employees were cautioned not to reveal any work-related information to family or others. Workers could be exposed to both radioactive and nonradioactive toxic substances for weeks or even years. Consequently, some of the workers have developed health problems and continue to have concerns about potential health effects of their exposures to occupational hazards during their employment in the nuclear weapons industry.</p> <p>In response to the concerns expressed by workers and their representatives, DOL asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to review the SEM database and its use of a particular database, Haz-Map, as the source of its toxic substance-occupational disease links. Accordingly, this IOM consensus report reflects careful consideration of its charge by the committee, and describes the strengths and shortcomings of both. To complete its task, IOM formed an ad hoc committee of experts in occupational medicine, toxicology, epidemiology, industrial hygiene, public health, and biostatistics to conduct an 18-month study to review the scientific rigor of the SEM database. The committee held two public meetings at which it heard from DOL Division of Energy Employee Occupational Illness Compensation (DEEOIC) representatives, the DOL contractor that developed the SEM database, the developer of the Haz-Map database, DOE worker advocacy groups, and several individual workers. The committee also submitted written questions to DOL to seek clarification of specific issues and received written responses from DEEOIC. The committee's report considers both the strengths and weaknesses of the SEM and the Haz-Map databases, recognizing that the latter was developed first and for a different purpose. The committee then discusses its findings and recommends improvements that could be made in both databases with a focus on enhancing the usability of SEM for both DOL claims examiners and for former DOE workers and their representatives. <em>Review of the Department of Labor's Site Exposure Matrix Database </em>summarizes the committee's findings.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18266">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=389'>Environmental Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=396'>Military and Veterans</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/lDyMO-4fJpY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18266The Childhood Immunization Schedule and Safety: Stakeholder Concerns, Scientific Evidence, and Future Studiestag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13563#final2013-03-27T00:00:00-04:002013-03-28T11:34:40-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p><em>The Childhood Immunization Schedule and Safety: Stakeholder Concerns, Scientific Evidence, and Future Studies</em> reviews scientific findings and stakeholders concerns related to the safety of the recommended childhood immunization schedule. This report also identifies potential research approaches, methodologies and study designs that could inform this question, considering strengths, weaknesses as well as ethical and financial feasibility of each approach.</p> <p>This report draws on data from existing surveillance systems, such as the Vaccine Safety Datalink, could be used and offers the best means for ongoing research efforts regarding the safety of the schedule. In recognition of this, future federal research approaches should: collect and assess evidence regarding public confidence in and concerns about the entire childhood immunization schedule, with the goal to improve communication with health care professionals, and between health care professionals and the public regarding safety; standardize definitions of key elements of the schedule, and relevant health outcomes; establish research priorities on the basis of epidemiological evidence, biological plausibility, and feasibility; and continue to fund and support the Vaccine Safety Datalink project to study the safety of the recommended immunization schedule.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13563">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=386'>Children's Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/v0wubhO0hw0" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13563Returning Home from Iraq and Afghanistan: Assessment of Readjustment Needs of Veterans, Service Members, and Their Familiestag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13499#final2013-03-26T09:35:28-04:002013-05-24T10:27:29-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>As of December 2012, Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) in Iraq have resulted in the deployment of about 2.2 million troops; there have been 2,222 US fatalities in OEF and Operation New Dawn (OND)1 and 4,422 in OIF. The numbers of wounded US troops exceed 16,000 in Afghanistan and 32,000 in Iraq. In addition to deaths and morbidity, the operations have unforeseen consequences that are yet to be fully understood.</p> <p>In contrast with previous conflicts, the all-volunteer military has experienced numerous deployments of individual service members; has seen increased deployments of women, parents of young children, and reserve and National Guard troops; and in some cases has been subject to longer deployments and shorter times at home between deployments. Numerous reports in the popular press have made the public aware of issues that have pointed to the difficulty of military personnel in readjusting after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of those who have served in OEF and OIF readjust with few difficulties, but others have problems in readjusting to home, reconnecting with family members, finding employment, and returning to school.</p> <p>In response to the return of large numbers of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan with physical-health and mental-health problems and to the growing readjustment needs of active duty service members, veterans, and their family members, Congress included Section 1661 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2008. That section required the secretary of defense, in consultation with the secretary of veterans affairs, to enter into an agreement with the National Academies for a study of the physical-health, mental-health, and other readjustment needs of members and former members of the armed forces who were deployed in OIF or OEF, their families, and their communities as a result of such deployment.</p> <p>The study consisted of two phases. The Phase 1 task was to conduct a preliminary assessment. The Phase 2 task was to provide a comprehensive assessment of the physical, psychologic, social, and economic effects of deployment on and identification of gaps in care for members and former members, their families, and their communities. The Phase 1 report was completed in March 2010 and delivered to the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the relevant committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The secretaries of DOD and VA responded to the Phase 1 report in September 2010. <em>Returning Home from Iraq and Afghanistan: Assessment of Readjustment Needs of Veterans, Service Members, and Their Families </em>fulfills the requirement for Phase 2.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13499">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=396'>Military and Veterans</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=395'>Mental Health and Behavior</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/rw3kxq0be3Y" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13499The Economics of Genomic Medicine: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18276#prepub2013-03-26T08:46:15-04:002013-03-26T09:33:48-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Prepublication Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The sequencing of the human genome and the identification of links between specific genetic variants and diseases have led to tremendous excitement over the potential of genomics to direct patient treatment toward more effective or less harmful interventions. Still, the use of whole genome sequencing challenges the traditional model of medical care where a test is ordered only when there is a clear indication for its use and a path for downstream clinical action is known. This has created a tension between experts who contend that using this information is premature and those who believe that having such information will empower health care providers and patients to make proactive decisions regarding lifestyle and treatment options.</p> <p>In addition, some stakeholders are concerned that genomic technologies will add costs to the health care system without providing commensurate benefits, and others think that health care costs could be reduced by identifying unnecessary or ineffective treatments. Economic models are frequently used to anticipate the costs and benefits of new health care technologies, policies, and regulations. Economic studies also have been used to examine much more specific issues, such as comparing the outcomes and cost effectiveness of two different drug treatments for the same condition. These kinds of analyses offer more than just predictions of future health care costs. They provide information that is valuable when implementing and using new technologies. Unfortunately, however, these economic assessments are often limited by a lack of data on which to base the examination. This particularly affects health economics, which includes many factors for which current methods are inadequate for assessing, such as personal utility, social utility, and patient preference.</p> <p>To understand better the health economic issues that may arise in the course of integrating genomic data into health care, the Roundtable on Translating Genomic-Based Research for Health hosted a workshop in Washington, DC, on July 17-18, 2012, that brought together economists, regulators, payers, biomedical researchers, patients, providers, and other stakeholders to discuss the many factors that may influence this implementation. The workshop was one of a series that the roundtable has held on this topic, but it was the first focused specifically on economic issues. <em>The Economics of Genomic Medicine</em> summarizes this workshop.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18276">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/TpeGtIiVLqs" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18276Digital Data Improvement Priorities for Continuous Learning in Health and Health Care: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13424#final2013-03-26T00:00:00-04:002013-03-27T16:07:11-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Digital health data are the lifeblood of a continuous learning health system. A steady flow of reliable data is necessary to coordinate and monitor patient care, analyze and improve systems of care, conduct research to develop new products and approaches, assess the effectiveness of medical interventions, and advance population health. The totality of available health data is a crucial resource that should be considered an invaluable public asset in the pursuit of better care, improved health, and lower health care costs.</p> <p><br /> The ability to collect, share, and use digital health data is rapidly evolving. Increasing adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) is being driven by the implementation of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which pays hospitals and individuals incentives if they can demonstrate that they use basic EHRs in 2011. Only a third had access to the basic features necessary to leverage this information for improvement, such as the ability to view laboratory results, maintain problem lists, or manage prescription ordering.</p> <p><br /> In addition to increased data collection, more organizations are sharing digital health data. Data collected to meet federal reporting requirements or for administrative purposes are becoming more accessible. Efforts such as Health.Data.gov provide access to government datasets for the development of insights and software applications with the goal of improving health. Within the private sector, at least one pharmaceutical company is actively exploring release of some of its clinical trial data for research by others. <em>Digital Data Improvement Priorities for Continuous Learning in Health and Health Care: Workshop Summary </em>summarizes discussions at the March 2012 Institute of Medicine (2012) workshop to identify and characterize the current deficiencies in the reliability, availability, and usability of digital health data and consider strategies, priorities, and responsibilities to address such deficiencies.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13424">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=279'>Computers and Information Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=321'>Information Technology</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/eAd0XyOGpvg" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13424Improving the Utility and Translation of Animal Models for Nervous System Disorders: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13530#final2013-03-25T00:00:00-04:002013-03-26T12:40:32-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Nervous system diseases and disorders are highly prevalent and substantially contribute to the overall disease burden. Despite significant information provided by the use of animal models in the understanding of the biology of nervous system disorders and the development of therapeutics; limitations have also been identified. Treatment options that are high in efficacy and low in side effects are still lacking for many diseases and, in some cases are nonexistent. A particular problem in drug development is the high rate of attrition in Phase II and III clinical trials. Why do many therapeutics show promise in preclinical animal models but then fail to elicit predicted effects when tested in humans?</p> <p>On March 28 and 29, 2012, the Institute of Medicine Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders convened the workshop "Improving Translation of Animal Models for Nervous System Disorders" to discuss potential opportunities for maximizing the translation of new therapies from animal models to clinical practice. The primary focus of the workshop was to examine mechanisms for increasing the efficiency of translational neuroscience research through discussions about how and when to use animal models most effectively and then best approaches for the interpretation of the data collected. Specifically, the workshop objectives were to: discuss key issues that contribute to poor translation of animal models in nervous system disorders, examine case studies that highlight successes and failures in the development and application of animal models, consider strategies to increase the scientific rigor of preclinical efficacy testing, explore the benefits and challenges to developing standardized animal and behavioral models. <em>Improving the Utility and Translation of Animal Models for Nervous System Disorders: Workshop Summary </em>also identifies methods to facilitate development of corresponding animal and clinical endpoints, indentifies methods that would maximize bidirectional translation between basic and clinical research and determines the next steps that will be critical for improvement of the development and testing of animal models of disorders of the nervous system.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13530">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=278'>Biology and Life Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=316'>Lab Animal Research</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/CcMltWPLXxM" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13530Interim Report of the Committee on Geographic Variation in Health Care Spending and Promotion of High-Value Health Care: Preliminary Committee Observationstag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18308#final2013-03-22T13:46:02-04:002013-04-24T09:41:08-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p><em>Interim Report of the Committee on Geographic Variation in Health Care Spending and Promotion of High-Value Health Care: Preliminary Committee Observations </em>is designed to provide the committee's preliminary observations for the 113th Congress as it considers further Medicare reform. This report contains only key preliminary observations related primarily to the committee's commissioned analyses of Medicare Parts A (Hospital Insurance program), B (Supplementary Medical Insurance program) and D (outpatient prescription drug benefit), complemented by other empirical investigations. It does not contain any observations related to the committee's commissioned analyses of the commercial insurer population, Medicare Advantage, or Medicaid, which will be presented in the committee's final report after completion of quality-control activities.</p> <p>This interim report excludes conclusions or recommendations related to the committee's consideration of the geographic value index or other payment reforms designed to promote highvalue care. Additional analyses are forthcoming, which will influence the committee's deliberations. These analyses include an exploration of how Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage) and commercial spending, utilization, and quality vary compared with, and possibly are influenced by, Medicare Parts A and B spending, utilization, and quality. The committee also is assessing potential biases that may be inherent to Medicare and commercial claims-based measures of health status. Based on this new evidence and continued review of the literature, the committee will confirm the accuracy of the observations presented in this interim report and develop final conclusions and recommendations, which will be published in the committee's final report.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18308">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/LyyLFcO3WD8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18308Potential Health Risks to DOD Firing-Range Personnel from Recurrent Lead Exposuretag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18249#final2013-03-20T00:00:00-04:002013-06-03T10:56:14-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Lead is a ubiquitous metal in the environment, and its adverse effects on human health are well documented. Lead interacts at multiple cellular sites and can alter protein function in part through binding to amino acid sulfhydryl and carboxyl groups on a wide variety of structural and functional proteins. In addition, lead mimics calcium and other divalent cations, and it induces the increased production of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species. Adverse effects associated with lead exposure can be observed in multiple body systems, including the nervous, cardiovascular, renal, hematologic, immunologic, and reproductive systems. Lead exposure is also known to induce adverse developmental effects in utero and in the developing neonate.</p> <p>Lead poses an occupational health hazard, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) developed a lead standard for general industry that regulates many workplace exposures to this metal. The standard was promulgated in 1978 and encompasses several approaches for reducing exposure to lead, including the establishment of a permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 50 μg/m3 in air (an 8-hour time-weighted average [TWA]), exposure guidelines for instituting medical surveillance, guidelines for removal from and return to work, and other risk-management strategies. An action level of 30 μg/m3 (an 8-hour TWA) for lead was established to trigger medical surveillance in employees exposed above that level for more than 30 days per year. Another provision is that any employee who has a blood lead level (BLL) of 60 μg/dL or higher or three consecutive BLLs averaging 50 μg/dL or higher must be removed from work involving lead exposure. An employee may resume work associated with lead exposure only after two BLLs are lower than 40 μg/dL. Thus, maintaining BLLs lower than 40 μg/dL was judged by OSHA to protect workers from adverse health effects. The OSHA standard also includes a recommendation that BLLs of workers who are planning a pregnancy be under 30μg/dL.</p> <p>In light of knowledge about the hazards posed by occupational lead exposure, the Department of Defense (DOD) asked the National Research Council to evaluate potential health risks from recurrent lead exposure of firing-range personnel. Specifically, DOD asked the National Research Council to determine whether current exposure standards for lead on DOD firing ranges protect its workers adequately.The committee also considered measures of cumulative lead dose. Potential Health Risks to DOD Firing-Range Personnel from Recurrent Lead Exposure will help to inform decisions about setting new air exposure limits for lead on firing ranges, about whether to implement limits for surface contamination, and about how to design lead-surveillance programs for range personnel appropriately.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18249">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=396'>Military and Veterans</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=280'>Conflict and Security Issues</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=326'>Military and Defense Studies</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/R9lzxgmA4Kg" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18249Collecting Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Data in Electronic Health Records: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18260#final2013-03-20T00:00:00-04:002013-04-02T08:55:06-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p><em>Collecting Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Data in Electronic Health Records: Workshop Summary</em> reviews the statement of task set to the committee which required them to collect sexual orientation and gender identity data in electronic health records. This report summarizes the invited presentations and facilitated discussions about current practices around sexual orientation and gender identity data collection, the challenges in collecting these data, and ways in which these challenges can be overcome.</p> <p>Areas of focus for the workshop include the clinical rationale behind collecting these data, standardized questions that can be used to collect these data, mechanisms for supporting providers and patients in the collection of these data, technical specifications involved in creating standards for sexual orientation and gender identity data collection and exchange, and policy considerations related to the health information technology (HIT) Meaningful Use process being overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services. This report summarizes the workshop agenda, select invited speakers and discussants, and moderate the discussions. Invited participants will include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health care consumer advocates, providers with experience working with LGBT populations, HIT vendors and other HIT specialists, health care administrators, and policy makers.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18260">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=397'>Minority Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=279'>Computers and Information Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=321'>Information Technology</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/0o8nYep2nT8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18260U.S. Health in International Perspective: Shorter Lives, Poorer Healthtag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13497#final2013-03-12T00:00:00-04:002013-03-20T09:22:15-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The United States is among the wealthiest nations in the world, but it is far from the healthiest. Although life expectancy and survival rates in the United States have improved dramatically over the past century, Americans live shorter lives and experience more injuries and illnesses than people in other high-income countries. The U.S. health disadvantage cannot be attributed solely to the adverse health status of racial or ethnic minorities or poor people: even highly advantaged Americans are in worse health than their counterparts in other, "peer" countries. </p> <p>In light of the new and growing evidence about the U.S. health disadvantage, the National Institutes of Health asked the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a panel of experts to study the issue. The Panel on Understanding Cross-National Health Differences Among High-Income Countries examined whether the U.S. health disadvantage exists across the life span, considered potential explanations, and assessed the larger implications of the findings. </p> <p><em>U.S. Health in International Perspective</em> presents detailed evidence on the issue, explores the possible explanations for the shorter and less healthy lives of Americans than those of people in comparable countries, and recommends actions by both government and nongovernment agencies and organizations to address the U.S. health disadvantage. </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13497">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=308'>Population and Fertility Studies</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/h3ujrUNvsDI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13497Research Issues in the Assessment of Birth Settings: Report of a Studytag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18297#final2013-03-06T14:58:13-05:002013-03-06T14:58:30-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) collaborated in this study with the Board on Maternal, Child, and Family Health Research of the Commission on Life Sciences of the National Research Council (NRC) to determine methodologies needed to evaluate current childbirth settings in the United States. Although the proportion of non-hospital births runs as high as 4.4 percent annually in Oregon, insufficient data exist to permit complete evaluation of the various birth settings. The application of good research methods should lead to scientific findings that provide the basis for informed, rational decision making about alternative settings for childbirth.</p> <p>A committee of 11 experts was appointed to review current knowledge, provide background knowledge, and identify the kinds of research designs useful for assessing such matters as the safety, quality of maternity care, costs, psychological factors, and family satisfaction of different birth settings. The committee was also charged with preparing a report that could be used to solicit, evaluate, and fund proposals for studies on childbirth settings. The committee did not design specific studies to be carried out, but rather attempted to point out issues that should be considered by researchers because it believed that the best proposals would arise from investigator-initiated research. Gaps in research could be filled by requests for proposals developed by agency staff and the agency peer review committee. In addition, IOM staff members and several consultants provided background papers for the committee's consideration. The research that results from this report will be useful to policymakers and to consumers searching for information to aid in making decisions about birth settings. <em>Research Issues in the Assessment of Birth Settings </em>summarizes the study.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18297">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=401'>Women's Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/PfyBuhNa1D8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18297Guidelines on Weight Gain and Pregnancy (Bundle of 10)tag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18291#final2013-03-04T16:43:50-05:002013-03-04T16:43:55-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Being healthy is a topic that is on everyone's mind these days. If you are pregnant or may become pregnant in the future, it's really important. In 2009, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council published updated guidelines on weight gain during pregnancy that enhances your ability to have a healthy pregnancy and baby. This book provides vital information for expectant mothers or those trying to conceive.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18291">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=401'>Women's Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=386'>Children's Health</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/-39Se0WKLko" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18291Implementing Guidelines on Weight Gain and Pregnancy (Bundle of 10)tag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18292#final2013-03-04T16:39:30-05:002013-03-04T16:39:36-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Being healthy is a topic that is on everyone's mind these days. If you are pregnant or may become pregnant in the future, it's really important. In 2009, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council published updated guidelines on weight gain during pregnancy that enhances your ability to have a healthy pregnancy and baby. This book provides vital information for expectant mothers or those trying to conceive. Health care providers can do a lot to help women learn about the follow the guidelines. This book features the key points from the guidelines.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18292">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=401'>Women's Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=386'>Children's Health</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/vLyJqkprqb8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18292Oral Health Literacytag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13484#final2013-02-21T08:45:01-05:002013-03-15T10:31:40-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The Institute of Medicine (IOM) Roundtable on Health Literacy focuses on bringing together leaders from the federal government, foundations, health plans, associations, and private companies to address challenges facing health literacy practice and research and to identify approaches to promote health literacy in both the public and private sectors. The roundtable serves to educate the public, press, and policy makers regarding the issues of health literacy, sponsoring workshops to discuss approaches to resolve health literacy challenges. It also builds partnerships to move the field of health literacy forward by translating research findings into practical strategies for implementation. The Roundtable held a workshop March 29, 2012, to explore the field of oral health literacy.</p> <p>The workshop was organized by an independent planning committee in accordance with the procedures of the National Academy of Sciences. The planning group was composed of Sharon Barrett, Benard P. Dreyer, Alice M. Horowitz, Clarence Pearson, and Rima Rudd. The role of the workshop planning committee was limited to planning the workshop. Unlike a consensus committee report, a workshop summary may not contain conclusions and recommendations, except as expressed by and attributed to individual presenters and participants. Therefore, the summary has been prepared by the workshop rapporteur as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13484">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/LgoxA5l4zVU" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13484Substance Use Disorders in the U.S. Armed Forcestag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13441#final2013-02-21T00:00:00-05:002013-02-21T13:58:28-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Problems stemming from the misuse and abuse of alcohol and other drugs are by no means a new phenomenon, although the face of the issues has changed in recent years. National trends indicate substantial increases in the abuse of prescription medications. These increases are particularly prominent within the military, a population that also continues to experience long-standing issues with alcohol abuse. The problem of substance abuse within the military has come under new scrutiny in the context of the two concurrent wars in which the United States has been engaged during the past decade--in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) and Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn). Increasing rates of alcohol and other drug misuse adversely affect military readiness, family readiness, and safety, thereby posing a significant public health problem for the Department of Defense (DoD).</p> <p>To better understand this problem, DoD requested that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) assess the adequacy of current protocols in place across DoD and the different branches of the military pertaining to the prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs).<em> Substance Use Disorders in the U.S. Armed Forces </em>reviews the IOM's task of assessing access to SUD care for service members, members of the National Guard and Reserves, and military dependents, as well as the education and credentialing of SUD care providers, and offers specific recommendations to DoD on where and how improvements in these areas could be made.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13441">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=396'>Military and Veterans</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=395'>Mental Health and Behavior</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=280'>Conflict and Security Issues</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=326'>Military and Defense Studies</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/cM4rfpVilYE" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13441Evaluation of PEPFARtag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18256#prepub2013-02-20T08:45:02-05:002013-02-20T08:45:50-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Prepublication Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The U.S. government supports programs to combat global HIV/AIDS through an initiative that is known as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This initiative was originally authorized in the U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 and focused on an emergency response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic to deliver lifesaving care and treatment in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with the highest burdens of disease. It was subsequently reauthorized in the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde U.S. Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008 (the Lantos-Hyde Act).</p> <p>Evaluation of PEPFAR makes recommendations for improving the U.S. government's bilateral programs as part of the U.S. response to global HIV/AIDS. The overall aim of this evaluation is a forward-looking approach to track and anticipate the evolution of the U.S. response to global HIV to be positioned to inform the ability of the U.S. government to address key issues under consideration at the time of the report release.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18256">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=388'>Other Diseases</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=390'>Global Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=468'>HIV and AIDS</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/g0Si11TLYGc" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18256Developing and Strengthening the Global Supply Chain for Second-Line Drugs for Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13524#final2013-02-06T00:00:00-05:002013-02-07T11:55:02-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>To effectively treat patients diagnosed with drug-resistant (DR) tuberculosis (TB) and protect the population from further transmission of this infectious disease, an uninterrupted supply of quality-assured (QA), second-line anti-TB drugs (SLDs) is necessary. Patients diagnosed with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB)—a disease caused by strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb.) resistant to two primary TB drugs (isoniazid and rifampicin)—face lengthy treatment regimens of 2 years or more with daily, directly observed treatment (DOT) with SLDs that are less potent, more toxic, and more expensive than those used to treat drug-susceptible TB. From 2000 to 2009, only 0.2-0.5 percent of the estimated 5 million MDR TB cases globally were treated with drugs of known quality and in programs capable of delivering appropriate care (Keshavjee, 2012). The vast majority of MDR TB patients either died from lack of treatment or contributed to the spread of MDR TB in their communities. A strengthened global supply chain for SLDs could save lives by consistently delivering high quality medicines to more of the people who need them.</p> <p>This public workshop explored innovative solutions to the problem of how to get the right SLDs for MDR TB to people who critically need them. More specifically, the workshop examined current problems and potential opportunities for coordinated international efforts to ensure that a reliable and affordable supply of high-quality SLDs is available. <em>Developing and Strengthening the Global Supply Chain for Second-Line Drugs for Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis: Workshop Summary</em> covers the objectives of the workshop, which were to review:</p> <p><br /> -To what extent and in what ways current mechanisms are or are not effectively accomplishing what is needed, including consideration of bottlenecks.<br /> -The advantages and disadvantages of centralization in the management of the global drug supply chain, and potential decentralized approaches to improve operations of the supply chain.<br /> -What can be learned from case studies and examples from other diseases (e.g., the Affordable Medicines Facility-malaria (AMFm) and the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief [PEPFAR])<br /> - The current allocation of responsibilities and roles of the private (including industry and nonprofit public health organizations) and public sectors, and examination of opportunities for enhancing and optimizing collaboration<br /> -Identification of potential innovative solutions to the problem</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13524">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=390'>Global Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=388'>Diseases - Other</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/XPsqmFvlRN8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13524Contagion of Violence: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13489#final2013-02-06T00:00:00-05:002013-02-07T11:42:37-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The past 25 years have seen a major paradigm shift in the field of violence prevention, from the assumption that violence is inevitable to the recognition that violence is preventable. Part of this shift has occurred in thinking about why violence occurs, and where intervention points might lie. In exploring the occurrence of violence, researchers have recognized the tendency for violent acts to cluster, to spread from place to place, and to mutate from one type to another. Furthermore, violent acts are often preceded or followed by other violent acts.</p> <p><br /> In the field of public health, such a process has also been seen in the infectious disease model, in which an agent or vector initiates a specific biological pathway leading to symptoms of disease and infectivity. The agent transmits from individual to individual, and levels of the disease in the population above the baseline constitute an epidemic. Although violence does not have a readily observable biological agent as an initiator, it can follow similar epidemiological pathways.</p> <p><br /> On April 30-May 1, 2012, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Forum on Global Violence Prevention convened a workshop to explore the contagious nature of violence. Part of the Forum's mandate is to engage in multisectoral, multidirectional dialogue that explores crosscutting, evidence-based approaches to violence prevention, and the Forum has convened four workshops to this point exploring various elements of violence prevention. The workshops are designed to examine such approaches from multiple perspectives and at multiple levels of society. In particular, the workshop on the contagion of violence focused on exploring the epidemiology of the contagion, describing possible processes and mechanisms by which violence is transmitted, examining how contextual factors mitigate or exacerbate the issue. <em>Contagion of Violence: Workshop Summary </em>covers the major topics that arose during the 2-day workshop. It is organized by important elements of the infectious disease model so as to present the contagion of violence in a larger context and in a more compelling and comprehensive way.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13489">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=390'>Global Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/8MeEqf2kXB0" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13489Medical Care Economic Risk: Measuring Financial Vulnerability from Spending on Medical Caretag:nap.edu,2013:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13525#final2013-01-10T00:00:00-05:002013-01-12T14:10:32-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The United States has seen major advances in medical care during the past decades, but access to care at an affordable cost is not universal. Many Americans lack health care insurance of any kind, and many others with insurance are nonetheless exposed to financial risk because of high premiums, deductibles, co-pays, limits on insurance payments, and uncovered services. One might expect that the U.S. poverty measure would capture these financial effects and trends in them over time. Yet the current official poverty measure developed in the early 1960s does not take into account significant increases and variations in medical care costs, insurance coverage, out-of-pocket spending, and the financial burden imposed on families and individuals. Although medical costs consume a growing share of family and national income and studies regularly document high rates of medical financial stress and debt, the current poverty measure does not capture the consequences for families' economic security or their income available for other basic needs.</p> <p>In 1995, a panel of the National Research Council (NRC) recommended a new poverty measure, which compares families' disposable income to poverty thresholds based on current spending for food, clothing, shelter, utilities, and a little more. The panel's recommendations stimulated extensive collaborative research involving several government agencies on experimental poverty measures that led to a new research Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), which the U.S. Census Bureau first published in November 2011 and will update annually. Analyses of the effects of including and excluding certain factors from the new SPM showed that, were it not for the cost that families incurred for premiums and other medical expenses not covered by health insurance, 10 million fewer people would have been poor according to the SPM.</p> <p>The implementation of the patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides a strong impetus to think rigorously about ways to measure medical care economic burden and risk, which is the basis for <em>Medical Care Economic Risk</em>. As new policies - whether part of the ACA or other policies - are implemented that seek to expand and improve health insurance coverage and to protect against the high costs of medical care relative to income, such measures will be important to assess the effects of policy changes in both the short and long term on the extent of financial burden and risk for the population, which are explained in this report.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13525">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=307'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/5lBJPXSnbfU" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13525Evaluation of the Lovell Federal Health Care Center Merger: Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendationstag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13482#final2012-12-28T00:00:00-05:002012-12-28T17:33:57-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The 2010 opening of the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC) created a joint entity between the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that replaced two separate centers in North Chicago. VA and DoD leaders envisioned a state-of-the-art facility that would deliver health care to both DoD and VA beneficiaries from northern Illinois to southern Wisconsin, providing service members and veterans seamless access to an expanded array of medical services. Unprecedented for the military and the VA, the Lovell FHCC would integrate clinical and administrative services under a single line of authority.<br /> <br /> The DoD asked the IOM to evaluate whether the Lovell FHCC has improved health care access, quality, and cost for the DoD and the VA, compared with operating separate facilities, and to examine whether patients and health care providers are satisfied with joint VA/DoD delivery of health care. <br /> <br /> <em>Evaluation of the Lovell Federal Health Care Center Merger: Findings, conclusions, and Recommendations</em> finds that initial implementation of the Lovell FHCC has provided important lessons about how to integrate VA and DoD health care services and has identified remaining obstacles that the departments could overcome to make such mergers more effective and less costly to implement. The IOM recommends that the VA and the DoD develop a comprehensive evaluation plan to objectively judge its success or failure, with measurable criteria, that would provide essential knowledge for both the Lovell FHCC and future endeavors.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13482">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=396'>Military and Veterans</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/5A4Ib3cuxSM" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13482Monitoring HIV Care in the United States: A Strategy for Generating National Estimates of HIV Care and Coveragetag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13408#final2012-12-19T00:00:00-05:002012-12-19T16:27:56-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>In September 2010, the White House Office of National AIDS Policy commissioned an Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee to respond to a two-part statement of task concerning how to monitor care for people with HIV. The IOM convened a committee of 17 members with expertise in HIV clinical care and supportive services, epidemiology, biostatistics, health policy, and other areas to respond to this task. The committee's first report, <em>Monitoring HIV Care in the United States: Indicators and Data Systems</em>, was released in March 2012. The report identified 14 core indicators of clinical HIV care and mental health, substance abuse, and supportive services for use by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to monitor the impact of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) on improvements in HIV care and identified sources of data to estimate the indicators.</p> <p>The report also addressed a series of questions related to the collection, analysis, and dissemination of data necessary to estimate the indicators.<br /> In this second report, <em>Monitoring HIV Care in the United States: A Strategy for Generating National Estimates of HIV Care and Coverage</em>, the committee addresses how to obtain national estimates that characterize the health care of people with HIV within the context of the ACA, both before 2014 and after 2014, when key provisions of the ACA will be implemented. This report focuses on how to monitor the anticipated changes in health care coverage, service utilization, and quality of care for people with HIV within the context of the ACA.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13408">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=388'>Diseases - Other</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/6jktgVOZ3Gs" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13408Future Uses of the Department of Defense Joint Pathology Center Biorepositorytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13443#final2012-12-13T00:00:00-05:002012-12-15T12:46:21-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Founded during the Civil War as the Army Medical Museum, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) amassed the world's largest collection of human pathologic specimens and was considered a premier consultation, education, and research facility by the end of the 20th century. Samples from the AFIP were instrumental in helping to solve public health mysteries, such as the sequence of the genome of the 1918 influenza virus that killed more than 40 million people worldwide. <br /> <br /> In 2005, the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended that the AFIP be closed, and its biorepository was transferred to the newly created Joint Pathology Center. During the transition, the Department of Defense asked the IOM to provide advice on operating the biorepository, managing its collection, and determining appropriate future use of specimens for consultation, education, and research. <br /> <br /> <em>Future Uses of the Department of Defense Joint Pathology Center Biorepository</em>, the IOM proposes a series of protocols, standards, safeguards, and guidelines that could help to ensure that this national treasure continues to be available to researchers in the years to come, while protecting the privacy of the people who provided the materials and maintaining the security of their personal information.<br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13443">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/5VbyurUC7eQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13443The Social Biology of Microbial Communities: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13500#final2012-12-10T08:45:01-05:002012-12-10T08:46:02-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Beginning with the germ theory of disease in the 19th century and extending through most of the 20th century, microbes were believed to live their lives as solitary, unicellular, disease-causing organisms . This perception stemmed from the focus of most investigators on organisms that could be grown in the laboratory as cellular monocultures, often dispersed in liquid, and under ambient conditions of temperature, lighting, and humidity. Most such inquiries were designed to identify microbial pathogens by satisfying Koch's postulates.3 This pathogen-centric approach to the study of microorganisms produced a metaphorical "war" against these microbial invaders waged with antibiotic therapies, while simultaneously obscuring the dynamic relationships that exist among and between host organisms and their associated microorganisms—only a tiny fraction of which act as pathogens.</p> <p>Despite their obvious importance, very little is actually known about the processes and factors that influence the assembly, function, and stability of microbial communities. Gaining this knowledge will require a seismic shift away from the study of individual microbes in isolation to inquiries into the nature of diverse and often complex microbial communities, the forces that shape them, and their relationships with other communities and organisms, including their multicellular hosts.</p> <p>On March 6 and 7, 2012, the Institute of Medicine's (IOM's) Forum on Microbial Threats hosted a public workshop to explore the emerging science of the "social biology" of microbial communities. Workshop presentations and discussions embraced a wide spectrum of topics, experimental systems, and theoretical perspectives representative of the current, multifaceted exploration of the microbial frontier. Participants discussed ecological, evolutionary, and genetic factors contributing to the assembly, function, and stability of microbial communities; how microbial communities adapt and respond to environmental stimuli; theoretical and experimental approaches to advance this nascent field; and potential applications of knowledge gained from the study of microbial communities for the improvement of human, animal, plant, and ecosystem health and toward a deeper understanding of microbial diversity and evolution. The <em>Social Biology of Microbial Communities: Workshop Summary</em> further explains the happenings of the workshop.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13500">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=388'>Other Diseases</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=278'>Biology and Life Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=313'>Biology</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/xVAgHNC0Lgs" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13500Aging and the Macroeconomy: Long-Term Implications of an Older Populationtag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13465#final2012-12-10T00:00:00-05:002012-12-17T11:38:35-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The United States is in the midst of a major demographic shift. In the coming decades, people aged 65 and over will make up an increasingly large percentage of the population: The ratio of people aged 65+ to people aged 20-64 will rise by 80%. This shift is happening for two reasons: people are living longer, and many couples are choosing to have fewer children and to have those children somewhat later in life. The resulting demographic shift will present the nation with economic challenges, both to absorb the costs and to leverage the benefits of an aging population.</p> <p><em>Aging and the Macroeconomy: Long-Term Implications of an Older Population </em>presents the fundamental factors driving the aging of the U.S. population, as well as its societal implications and likely long-term macroeconomic effects in a global context. The report finds that, while population aging does not pose an insurmountable challenge to the nation, it is imperative that sensible policies are implemented soon to allow companies and households to respond. It offers four practical approaches for preparing resources to support the future consumption of households and for adapting to the new economic landscape.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13465">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=302'>Aging</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=385'>Aging</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=289'>Industry and Labor</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=304'>Economics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=305'>Human Dimensions of Global Change</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/GPIqE4-fF0w" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13465Fitness Measures and Health Outcomes in Youthtag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13483#final2012-12-10T00:00:00-05:002012-12-12T14:23:39-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Physical fitness affects our ability to function and be active. At poor levels, it is associated with such health outcomes as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Physical fitness testing in American youth was established on a large scale in the 1950s with an early focus on performance-related fitness that gradually gave way to an emphasis on health-related fitness. Using appropriately selected measures to collected fitness data in youth will advance our understanding of how fitness among youth translates into better health. <br /> <br /> In <em>Fitness Measures and Health Outcomes in Youth</em>, the IOM assesses the relationship between youth fitness test items and health outcomes, recommends the best fitness test items, provides guidance for interpreting fitness scores, and provides an agenda for needed research. <br /> <br /> The report concludes that selected cardiorespiratory endurance, musculoskeletal fitness, and body composition measures should be in fitness surveys and in schools. Collecting fitness data nationally and in schools helps with setting and achieving fitness goals and priorities for public health at an individual and national level. <br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13483">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=386'>Children's Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/B1Kz5uddTFo" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13483The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine: Science, Governance, and the Pursuit of Curestag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13523#prepub2012-12-06T13:15:01-05:002013-01-04T13:50:54-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Prepublication Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) was created in 2005 by The California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act (Proposition 71) to distribute $3 billion in state funds for stem cell research. The passage of Proposition 71 by the voters of California occurred at a time when federal funding for research involving human embryonic stem cells was uncertain, given the ethical questions raised by such research. During its initial period of operations, CIRM has successfully and thoughtfully provided more than $1.3 billion in awards to 59 California institutions, consistent with its stated mission.</p> <p>As it transitions to a broadened portfolio of grants to stimulate progress toward its translational goals, the Institute should obtain cohesive, longitudinal, and integrated advice; restructure its grant application review process; and enhance industry epresentation in aspects of its operations. CIRM's unique governance structure, while seful in its initial stages, might diminish its effectiveness moving forward. <em>The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine: Science, Governance, and the Pursuit of Cures</em> recommends specific steps to enhance CIRM's organization and management, as well as its scientific policies and processes, as it transitions to the critical next stages of its research and development program.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13523">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/t6sKMbs_RTk" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13523An Integrated Framework for Assessing the Value of Community-Based Preventiontag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13487#final2012-11-29T00:00:00-05:002013-02-26T15:58:57-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>During the past century the major causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States have shifted from those related to communicable diseases to those due to chronic diseases. Just as the major causes of morbidity and mortality have changed, so too has the understanding of health and what makes people healthy or ill. Research has documented the importance of the social determinants of health (for example, socioeconomic status and education) that affect health directly as well as through their impact on other health determinants such as risk factors. Targeting interventions toward the conditions associated with today's challenges to living a healthy life requires an increased emphasis on the factors that affect the current cause of morbidity and mortality, factors such as the social determinants of health. Many community-based prevention interventions target such conditions.</p> <p><br /> Community-based prevention interventions offer three distinct strengths. First, because the intervention is implemented population-wide it is inclusive and not dependent on access to a health care system. Second, by directing strategies at an entire population an intervention can reach individuals at all levels of risk. And finally, some lifestyle and behavioral risk factors are shaped by conditions not under an individual's control. For example, encouraging an individual to eat healthy food when none is accessible undermines the potential for successful behavioral change. Community-based prevention interventions can be designed to affect environmental and social conditions that are out of the reach of clinical services.</p> <p><br /> Four foundations - the California Endowment, the de Beaumont Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation - asked the Institute of Medicine to convene an expert committee to develop a framework for assessing the value of community-based, non-clinical prevention policies and wellness strategies, especially those targeting the prevention of long-term, chronic diseases. The charge to the committee was to define community-based, non-clinical prevention policy and wellness strategies; define the value for community-based, non-clinical prevention policies and wellness strategies; and analyze current frameworks used to assess the value of community-based, non-clinical prevention policies and wellness strategies, including the methodologies and measures used and the short- and long-term impacts of such prevention policy and wellness strategies on health care spending and public health. <em>An Integrated Framework for Assessing the Value of Community-Based Prevention </em>summarizes the committee's findings.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13487">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=287'>Food and Nutrition</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=381'>Nutrition - Other</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/mVSFMfo9IgU" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13487Genome-Based Therapeutics: Targeted Drug Discovery and Development: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13436#final2012-11-21T00:00:00-05:002012-11-26T22:40:21-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The number of new drug approvals has remained reasonably steady for the past 50 years at around 20 to 30 per year, while at the same time the total spending on health-related research and development has tripled since 1990. There are many suspected causes for this trend, including increases in regulatory barriers, the rising costs of scientific inquiry, a decrease in research and development efficiency, the downstream effects of patient expirations on investment, and the lack of production models that have successfully incorporated new technology. Regardless, this trajectory is not economically sustainable for the businesses involved, and, in response, many companies are turning toward collaborative models of drug development, whether with other industrial firms, academia, or government. Introducing greater efficiency and knowledge into these new models and aligning incentives among participants may help to reverse the trends highlighted above, while producing more effective drugs in the process.<br /> <br /> <em>Genome-Based Therapeutics</em> explains that new technologies have the potential to open up avenues of development and to identify new drug targets to pursue. Specifically, improved validation of gene-disease associations through genomics research has the potential to revolutionize drug production and lower development costs. Genetic information has helped developers by increasing their understanding of the mechanisms of disease as well as individual patients' reactions to their medications. There is a need to identify the success factors for the various models that are being developed, whether they are industry-led, academia-led, or collaborations between the two.<br /> <em><br /> Genome-Based Therapeutics</em> summarizes a workshop that was held on March 21, 2012, titled New Paradigms in Drug Discovery: How Genomic Data Are Being Used to Revolutionize the Drug Discovery and Development Process. At this workshop the goal was to examine the general approaches being used to apply successes achieved so far, and the challenges ahead.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13436">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=278'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=315'>Genetics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/lPiEAwO7DAY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13436The Role of Telehealth in an Evolving Health Care Environment: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13466#final2012-11-20T09:09:22-05:002012-11-20T09:11:24-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>In 1996, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its report <em>Telemedicine: A Guide to Assessing Telecommunications for Health Care</em>. In that report, the IOM Committee on Evaluating Clinical Applications of Telemedicine found telemedicine is similar in most respects to other technologies for which better evidence of effectiveness is also being demanded. Telemedicine, however, has some special characteristics-shared with information technologies generally-that warrant particular notice from evaluators and decision makers.</p> <p>Since that time, attention to telehealth has continued to grow in both the public and private sectors. Peer-reviewed journals and professional societies are devoted to telehealth, the federal government provides grant funding to promote the use of telehealth, and the private technology industry continues to develop new applications for telehealth. However, barriers remain to the use of telehealth modalities, including issues related to reimbursement, licensure, workforce, and costs. Also, some areas of telehealth have developed a stronger evidence base than others.</p> <p>The Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) sponsored the IOM in holding a workshop in Washington, DC, on August 8-9 2012, to examine how the use of telehealth technology can fit into the U.S. health care system. HRSA asked the IOM to focus on the potential for telehealth to serve geographically isolated individuals and extend the reach of scarce resources while also emphasizing the quality and value in the delivery of health care services. This workshop summary discusses the evolution of telehealth since 1996, including the increasing role of the private sector, policies that have promoted or delayed the use of telehealth, and consumer acceptance of telehealth. <em>The Role of Telehealth in an Evolving Health Care Environment: Workshop Summary</em> discusses the current evidence base for telehealth, including available data and gaps in data; discuss how technological developments, including mobile telehealth, electronic intensive care units, remote monitoring, social networking, and wearable devices, in conjunction with the push for electronic health records, is changing the delivery of health care in rural and urban environments. This report also summarizes actions that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can undertake to further the use of telehealth to improve health care outcomes while controlling costs in the current health care environment.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13466">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/0FGMGmpA7QI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13466Geographic Adjustment in Medicare Payment: Phase II: Implications for Access, Quality, and Efficiencytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13420#final2012-10-31T00:00:00-04:002012-12-04T14:55:31-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Medicare, the world's single largest health insurance program, covers more than 47 million Americans. Although it is a national program, it adjusts payments to hospitals and health care practitioners according to the geographic location in which they provide service, acknowledging that the cost of doing business varies around the country. Under the adjustment systems, payments in high-cost areas are increased relative to the national average, and payments in low-cost areas are reduced. <br /> <br /> In July 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees Medicare, commissioned the IOM to conduct a two-part study to recommend corrections of inaccuracies and inequities in geographic adjustments to Medicare payments. The first report examined the data sources and methods used to adjust payments, and recommended a number of changes. <br /> <br /> <em>Geographic Adjustment in Medicare Payment - Phase II:Implications for Access, Quality, and Efficiency</em> applies the <a href="http://iom.edu/Reports/2011/Geographic-Adjustment-in-Medicare-Payment-Phase-I-Improving-Accuracy.aspx">first report's</a> recommendations in order to determine their potential effect on Medicare payments to hospitals and clinical practitioners. This report also offers recommendations to improve access to efficient and appropriate levels of care. <em>Geographic Adjustment in Medicare Payment - Phase II:Implications for Access, Quality, and Efficiency </em>expresses the importance of ensuring the availability of a sufficient health care workforce to serve all beneficiaries, regardless of where they live. <br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13420">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=400'>Public Policy</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/UWYFLMjHn04" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13420Accelerating the Development of New Drugs and Diagnostics: Maximizing the Impact of the Cures Acceleration Network: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13452#final2012-10-23T00:00:00-04:002012-10-31T14:31:29-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
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<p>Advances in technologies and knowledge are creating new avenues for research and opportunities for the discovery and clinical development of innovative therapies and diagnostics. However, despite these opportunities, only a small fraction of investigational products are successfully developed into cures and therapies that can be accessed by patients. One response to the ever-widening gap between the number and promise of basic scientific discoveries and the translation of those discoveries into therapies is a renewed emphasis on collaborative approaches among federal agencies, academia, and industry, all directed at the advancement of the drug development enterprise.<br /> <br /> The newly developed Cures Acceleration Network (CAN)-a part of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-has the potential to catalyze widespread changes in NCATS, NIH, and the drug development ecosystem in general.<br /> <br /> On June 4-5, 2012, the IOM Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation held, at the request of NCATS, a workshop-bringing together members of federal government agencies, the private sector, academia, and advocacy groups-to explore options and opportunities in the implementation of CAN. <em>Accelerating the Development of New Drugs and Diagnostics: Maximizing the Impact of the Cures Acceleration Network: Workshop Summary </em>summarizes the workshop.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13452">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=388'>Diseases - Other</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/UUnRzk7RKlQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13452Informatics Needs and Challenges in Cancer Research: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13425#final2012-10-02T00:00:00-04:002012-10-02T15:18:41-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>As information technology becomes an integral part of health care, it is important to collect and analyze data in a way that makes the information understandable and useful. Informatics tools--which help collect, organize, and analyze data--are essential to biomedical and health research and development. The field of cancer research is facing an overwhelming deluge of data, heightening the national urgency to find solutions to support and sustain the cancer informatics ecosystem. There is a particular need to integrate research and clinical data to facilitate personalized medicine approaches to cancer prevention and treatment--for example, tailoring treatment based on an individual patient's genetic makeup as well as that of the tumor --and to allow for more rapid learning from patient experiences.<br /> <br /> To further examine informatics needs and challenges for 21st century biomedical research, the IOM's National Cancer Policy Forum held a workshop February 27-28, 2012. The workshop was designed to raise awareness of the critical and urgent importance of the challenges, gaps and opportunities in informatics; to frame the issues surrounding the development of an integrated system of cancer informatics for acceleration of research; and to discuss solutions for transformation of the cancer informatics enterprise. <em>Informatics Needs and Challenges in Cancer Research: Workshop Summary</em> summarizes the workshop. <br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13425">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=387'>Diseases - Cancer</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/c1iZN2L1dKc" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13425The Continuing Epidemiological Transition in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13533#final2012-10-01T10:45:21-04:002012-10-01T10:56:56-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Among the poorest and least developed regions in the world, sub-Saharan Africa has long faced a heavy burden of disease, with malaria, tuberculosis, and, more recently, HIV being among the most prominent contributors to that burden. Yet in most parts of Africa-and especially in those areas with the greatest health care needs-the data available to health planners to better understand and address these problems are extremely limited. The vast majority of Africans are born and will die without being recorded in any document or spearing in official statistics. With few exceptions, African countries have no civil registration systems in place and hence are unable to continuously generate vital statistics or to provide systematic information on patterns of cause of death, relying instead on periodic household-level surveys or intense and continuous monitoring of small demographic surveillance sites to provide a partial epidemiological and demographic profile of the population.</p> <p>In 1991 the Committee on Population of the National Academy of Sciences organized a workshop on the epidemiological transition in developing countries. The workshop brought together medical experts, epidemiologists, demographers, and other social scientists involved in research on the epidemiological transition in developing countries to discuss the nature of the ongoing transition, identify the most important contributors to the overall burden of disease, and discuss how such information could be used to assist policy makers in those countries to establish priorities with respect to the prevention and management of the main causes of ill health.</p> <p>This report summarizes the presentations and discussions from a workshop convened in October 2011 that featured invited speakers on the topic of epidemiological transition in sub-Saharan Africa. The workshop was organized by a National Research Council panel of experts in various aspects of the study of epidemiological transition and of sub-Saharan data sources. <em>The Continuing Epidemiological Transition in Sub-Saharan Africa</em> serves as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop in October 2011.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13533">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=308'>Population and Fertility Studies</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=390'>Global Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=388'>Diseases - Other</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/988vYN0LqQc" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13533The Mental Health and Substance Use Workforce for Older Adults: In Whose Hands?tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13400#final2012-09-26T00:00:00-04:002012-09-28T10:50:53-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>At least 5.6 million to 8 million--nearly one in five--older adults in America have one or more mental health and substance use conditions, which present unique challenges for their care. With the number of adults age 65 and older projected to soar from 40.3 million in 2010 to 72.1 million by 2030, the aging of America holds profound consequences for the nation. <br /> <br /> For decades, policymakers have been warned that the nation's health care workforce is ill-equipped to care for a rapidly growing and increasingly diverse population. In the specific disciplines of mental health and substance use, there have been similar warnings about serious workforce shortages, insufficient workforce diversity, and lack of basic competence and core knowledge in key areas.<br /> <br /> Following its 2008 report highlighting the urgency of expanding and strengthening the geriatric health care workforce, the IOM was asked by the Department of Health and Human Services to undertake a complementary study on the geriatric mental health and substance use workforce. <em>The Mental Health and Substance Use Workforce for Older Adults: In Whose Hands? </em>assesses the needs of this population and the workforce that serves it. The breadth and magnitude of inadequate workforce training and personnel shortages have grown to such proportions, says the committee, that no single approach, nor a few isolated changes in disparate federal agencies or programs, can adequately address the issue. Overcoming these challenges will require focused and coordinated action by all.<br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13400">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=395'>Mental Health and Behavior</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=385'>Aging</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/DijTLHRiKM8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13400Envisioning a Transformed Clinical Trials Enterprise in the United States: Establishing an Agenda for 2020: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13345#final2012-09-13T00:00:00-04:002012-09-21T11:14:50-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>There is growing recognition that the United States' clinical trials enterprise (CTE) faces great challenges. There is a gap between what is desired - where medical care is provided solely based on high quality evidence - and the reality - where there is limited capacity to generate timely and practical evidence for drug development and to support medical treatment decisions.</p> <br> </br> <p>With the need for transforming the CTE in the U.S. becoming more pressing, the IOM Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation held a two-day workshop in November 2011, bringing together leaders in research and health care. The workshop focused on how to transform the CTE and discussed a vision to make the enterprise more efficient, effective, and fully integrated into the health care system. Key issue areas addressed at the workshop included: the development of a robust clinical trials workforce, the alignment of cultural and financial incentives for clinical trials, and the creation of a sustainable infrastructure to support a transformed CTE. This document summarizes the workshop.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13345">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=391'>Health Sciences</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/IJ0bTop1lZ4" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13345Safe and Effective Medicines for Children: Pediatric Studies Conducted Under the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act and the Pediatric Research Equity Acttag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13311#final2012-09-13T00:00:00-04:002012-09-21T10:54:09-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (BPCA) and the Pediatric Research Equity Act (PREA) were designed to encourage more pediatric studies of drugs used for children. The FDA asked the IOM to review aspects of pediatric studies and changes in product labeling that resulted from BPCA and PREA and their predecessor policies, as well as assess the incentives for pediatric studies of biologics and the extent to which biologics have been studied in children. The IOM committee concludes that these policies have helped provide clinicians who care for children with better information about the efficacy, safety, and appropriate prescribing of drugs. The IOM suggests that more can be done to increase knowledge about drugs used by children and thereby improve the clinical care, health, and well-being of the nation's children.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13311">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=386'>Children's Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=400'>Public Policy</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/S9_J5cfSK9k" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13311How Far Have We Come in Reducing Health Disparities?: Progress Since 2000: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13383#final2012-09-12T08:45:01-04:002012-09-12T10:41:41-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>At the turn of the 21st century, several important reports and events designed to raise awareness of health disparities and to describe initial efforts to reduce health disparities took place. The Surgeon General's office released several reports that showed dramatic disparities in tobacco use and access to mental health services by race and ethnicity. The first real legislation focused on reducing health disparities was signed into law, creating the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities within the NIH. In 2001, the IOM released its landmark report, <em>Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century</em>, highlighting the importance of a focus on health care quality rather than a focus on only access and cost issues.<br /> <br /> Building upon these reports and events, the IOM held a workshop on April 8, 2010, that discussed progress to address health disparities and focused on the success of various federal initiatives to reduce health disparities. <em>How Far Have We Come in Reducing Health Disparities?</em> summarizes the workshop and explains the progress in the field since 2000.<br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13383">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=400'>Public Policy</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/DSvSnxNDYVk" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13383Ranking Vaccines: A Prioritization Framework: Phase I: Demonstration of Concept and a Software Blueprinttag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13382#final2012-09-11T00:00:00-04:002012-09-11T12:17:23-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>As a number of diseases emerge or reemerge thus stimulating new vaccine development opportunities to help prevent those diseases, it can be especially difficult for decision makers to know where to invest their limited resources. Therefore, it is increasingly important for decision makers to have the tools that can assist and inform their vaccine prioritization efforts. </p> <p>In this first phase report, the IOM offers a framework and proof of concept to account for various factors influencing vaccine prioritization-demographic, economic, health, scientific, business, programmatic, social, policy factors and public concerns. <em>Ranking Vaccines: A Prioritization Framework </em>describes a decision-support model and the blueprint of a software-called Strategic Multi-Attribute Ranking Tool for Vaccines or SMART Vaccines. SMART Vaccines should be of help to decision makers. SMART Vaccines Beta is not available for public use, but SMART Vaccines 1.0 is expected to be released at the end of the second phase of this study, when it will be fully operational and capable of guiding discussions about prioritizing the development and introduction of new vaccines.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13382">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/MG-C2T2K4k8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13382Improving Food Safety Through a One Health Approach: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13423#final2012-09-10T09:51:48-04:002012-09-10T09:53:23-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Globalization of the food supply has created conditions favorable for the emergence, reemergence, and spread of food-borne pathogens-compounding the challenge of anticipating, detecting, and effectively responding to food-borne threats to health. In the United States, food-borne agents affect 1 out of 6 individuals and cause approximately 48 million illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths each year. This figure likely represents just the tip of the iceberg, because it fails to account for the broad array of food-borne illnesses or for their wide-ranging repercussions for consumers, government, and the food industry-both domestically and internationally. A One Health approach to food safety may hold the promise of harnessing and integrating the expertise and resources from across the spectrum of multiple health domains including the human and veterinary medical and plant pathology communities with those of the wildlife and aquatic health and ecology communities.<br /> <br /> The IOM's Forum on Microbial Threats hosted a public workshop on December 13 and 14, 2011 that examined issues critical to the protection of the nation's food supply. The workshop explored existing knowledge and unanswered questions on the nature and extent of food-borne threats to health. Participants discussed the globalization of the U.S. food supply and the burden of illness associated with foodborne threats to health; considered the spectrum of food-borne threats as well as illustrative case studies; reviewed existing research, policies, and practices to prevent and mitigate foodborne threats; and, identified opportunities to reduce future threats to the nation's food supply through the use of a "One Health" approach to food safety. <em>Improving Food Safety Through a One Health Approach: Workshop Summary</em> covers the events of the workshop and explains the recommendations for future related workshops.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13423">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=287'>Food and Nutrition</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=383'>Production and Safety</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=287'>Food and Nutrition</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=382'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=390'>Global Health</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/r0h89BWQUeg" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13423Communications and Technology for Violence Prevention: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13352#final2012-09-06T00:00:00-04:002012-09-07T14:51:58-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>In the last 25 years, a major shift has occurred in the field of violence prevention, from the assumption that violence is inevitable to the realization that violence is preventable. As we learn more about what works to reduce violence, the challenge facing those who work in the field is how to use all of this new information to rapidly deploy or enhance new programs. At the same time, new communications technologies and distribution channels have altered traditional means of communications, and have made community-based efforts to prevent violence possible by making information readily available. How can these new technologies be successfully applied to the field of violence prevention?<br /> <br /> On December 8-9, 2011, the IOM's Forum on Global Violence Prevention held a workshop to explore the intersection of violence prevention and information and communications technology. The workshop - called "mPreventViolence" - provided an opportunity for practitioners to engage in new and innovative thinking concerning these two fields with the goal of bridging gaps in language, processes, and mechanisms. The workshop focused on exploring the potential applications of technology to violence prevention, drawing on experience in development, health, and the social sector as well as from industry and the private sector. <em>Communication and Technology for Violence Prevention: Workshop Summary</em> is the report that fully explains this workshop.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13352">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=390'>Global Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=279'>Computers and Information Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=322'>Internet and Networking</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/PXHChba1lfU" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13352Post-Incident Recovery Considerations of the Health Care Service Delivery Infrastructure: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13442#final2012-08-27T00:00:00-04:002012-08-30T15:36:23-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Health systems and assets are a large part of the critical infrastructure of any community and are vital not only for the safety and well-being of its citizens, but also for the economic vitality, quality of life, and livelihood of the entire community. As part of its ongoing mission to foster dialogue among stakeholders and to confront the challenges inherent in ensuring the nation's health security, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Catastrophic Events sponsored a town hall session at the 2012 Public Health Preparedness Summit. This event took place February 21-24 in Anaheim, California.</p> <p>In this session sponsored by the IOM, the focus of discussion was sustaining health care delivery beyond the initial response to a disaster and facilitating the full long-term recovery of the local health care delivery systems. Many elements required for recovery are also fundamental to the day-to-day operations of these systems. Investing in improved health care delivery systems, both financially and through collaborative capacity building, can enhance economic development and growth before a disaster, and also prove instrumental in sustaining services and recovering after a disaster.</p> <p><br /> <em>Post-Incident Recovery Considerations of the Health Care Service Delivery Infrastructure </em>serves as a summary of the session and explains the value of regional capacity building; the importance of interagency, intergovernmental, and public-private collaboration; and the significant role that health care coalitions can play in ensuring resilient communities and national health security.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13442">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=391'>Health Sciences</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/sUdy39sYNmQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13442A Review of NASA Human Research Program's Scientific Merit Processes: Letter Reporttag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13440#final2012-08-20T00:00:00-04:002012-08-20T15:16:11-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>At the request of NASA, an IOM committee reviewed NASA Human Research Program's (HRP's) Scientific Merit Assessment Processes for directed research. Directed research is commissioned or noncompetitively awarded research that is not competitively solicited because of specific reasons, such as time limitations or highly focused or constrained research topics.</p> <p>The scientific merit assessment processes have been developed by NASA to evaluate individual directed research tasks in order to ensure the scientific integrity of the HRP's directed research portfolio. The committee examined the HRP's current scientific merit assessment processes and conducted a public workshop to identify best practices among other federal agencies that use various assessment processes for similar types of directed research.</p> <p><em>Review of NASA Human Research Program's Scientific Merit Processes: Letter Report</em> finds that the scientific merit assessment process used by the HRP for directed research is scientifically rigorous and is similar to the processes and merit criteria used by many other federal agencies and organizations - including the Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, and the United States Department of Agriculture - for comparable types of research. This report also makes recommendations on ways to streamline and bolster the accountability and transparency of NASA's current processes.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13440">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=293'>Space and Aeronautics</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=418'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=402'>Workplace and Occupational Health</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/iTRP2RoPYqo" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13440Twenty-first Interim Report of the Committee on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels: Part Btag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13493#final2012-08-16T09:45:10-04:002012-08-16T09:45:16-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>In 1991, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) asked the National Research Council (NRC) to provide technical guidance for establishing community emergency exposure levels for extremely hazardous substances (EHSs) pursuant to the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986. In response to that request, the NRC published <em>Guidelines for Developing Community Emergency Exposure Levels for Hazardous Substances </em>in 1993. Subsequently, <em>Standing Operating Procedures for Developing Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Hazardous Substances</em> was published in 2001; it provided updated procedures, methods, and other guidelines used by the National Advisory Committee (NAC) on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs) for hazardous substances for assessing acute adverse health effects.</p> <p>Using both these reports, the NAC--consisting of members from the EPA, the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Transportation (DOT), other federal and state governments, the chemical industry, academia, and other organizations from the private sector--developed AEGLs for approximately 270 EHSs. In 1998, EPA and DOD requested that the NRC independently review the AEGLs developed by NAC. In response to that request, the NRC organized within its Committee on Toxicology the Committee on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels, which prepared this report.</p> <p>This report, <em>Twenty-First Interim Report of the Committee on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels: Part B</em>, summarizes the committee's conclusions and recommendations for improving AEGL documents for several chemicals and chemical classes not mentioned in <em>Twenty-First Interim Report of the Committee on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels: Part A.</em></p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13493">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=285'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=372'>Pollutants and Toxics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=389'>Environmental Health</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/2Oj1WkBg2VY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13493Twenty-first Interim Report of the Committee on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels: Part Atag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13492#final2012-08-16T09:45:01-04:002012-08-16T09:45:10-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Extremely hazardous substances (EHSs) can be released accidentally as a result of chemical spills, industrial explosions, fire, or accidents involving railroad cars or trucks transporting EHSs, or they can be released intentionally through terrorist activities. These substances can also be released by improper storage or handling. Workers and residents in communities surrounding industrial facilities where EHSs are manufactured, used, or stored and in communities along the nation's railways and highways are potentially at risk of being exposed to airborne EHSs during accidental or intentional releases.</p> <p><br /> As part of its efforts to develop acute exposure guideline levels for EHSs, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in 1991 requested that the National Research Council (NRC) develop guidelines for establishing such levels. In response to that request, the NRC published <em>Guidelines for Developing Community Emergency Exposure Levels for Hazardous Substances </em>in 1993. Subsequently, <em>Standing Operating Procedures for Developing Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Hazardous Substances</em> was published in 2001. It provided updated procedures, methods, and other guidelines used by the National Advisory Committee (NAC) on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs) in considering acute adverse health effects to develop AEGL values.</p> <p><br /> Using both these reports, the NAC--consisting of members from the EPA, the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Transportation (DOT), other federal and state governments, the chemical industry, academia, and other organizations from the private sector--developed AEGLS for approximately 270 EHSs. <em>Twenty-First Interim Report of the Committee on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels: Part A</em> summarizes the committee's conclusions and recommendations for improving AEGL documents for several chemicals and chemical classes.<br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13492">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=285'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=372'>Pollutants and Toxics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=389'>Environmental Health</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/RcKuoD9nPSI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13492Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertisetag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13308#final2012-08-16T00:00:00-04:002012-08-20T15:13:53-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The growing use of nuclear medicine, the potential expansion of nuclear power generation, and the urgent needs to protect the nation against external nuclear threats, to maintain our nuclear weapons stockpile, and to manage the nuclear wastes generated in past decades, require a substantial, highly trained, and exceptionally talented workforce. <em>Assuring a Future U.S.-Based Nuclear and Radiochemistry Expertise</em> examines supply and demand for expertise in nuclear chemistry nuclear science, and radiochemistry in the United States and presents possible approaches for ensuring adequate availability of these skills, including necessary science and technology training platforms.</p> <p><br /> Considering a range of reasonable scenarios looking to the future, none of these areas are likely to experience a decrease in demand for expertise. However, many in the current workforce are approaching retirement age and the number of students opting for careers in nuclear and radiochemistry has decreased dramatically over the past few decades. In order to avoid a gap in these critical areas, increases in student interest in these careers, in the research and educational capacity of universities and colleges, and sector specific on-the-job training will be needed. Concise recommendations are given for actions to avoid a shortage of nuclear chemistry, nuclear scientists, and radiochemists in the future. </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13308">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=290'>Math, Chemistry and Physics</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=409'>Chemistry</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/Lv9vyknIN5o" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13308Evolution of Translational Omics: Lessons Learned and the Path Forwardtag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13297#final2012-08-13T00:00:00-04:002012-08-16T15:06:01-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Technologies collectively called omics enable simultaneous measurement of an enormous number of biomolecules; for example, genomics investigates thousands of DNA sequences, and proteomics examines large numbers of proteins. Scientists are using these technologies to develop innovative tests to detect disease and to predict a patient's likelihood of responding to specific drugs. Following a recent case involving premature use of omics-based tests in cancer clinical trials at Duke University, the NCI requested that the IOM establish a committee to recommend ways to strengthen omics-based test development and evaluation. This report identifies best practices to enhance development, evaluation, and translation of omics-based tests while simultaneously reinforcing steps to ensure that these tests are appropriately assessed for scientific validity before they are used to guide patient treatment in clinical trials.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13297">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=278'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=314'>Biotechnology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=278'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=315'>Genetics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/3yzEckHUYjY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13297Ensuring Safe Foods and Medical Products Through Stronger Regulatory Systems Abroadtag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13296#final2012-08-03T00:00:00-04:002012-08-06T15:04:03-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>A very high portion of the seafood we eat comes from abroad, mainly from China and Southeast Asia, and most of the active ingredients in medicines we take originate in other countries. Many low- and middle-income countries have lower labor costs and fewer and less stringent environmental regulations than the United States, making them attractive places to produce food and chemical ingredients for export. <em>Safe Foods and Medical Products Through Stronger Regulatory Systems Abroad</em> explains that the diversity and scale of imports makes it impractical for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) border inspections to be sufficient to ensure product purity and safety, and incidents such as American deaths due to adulterated heparin imported from China propelled the problem into public awareness.</p> <p>The Institute of Medicine Committee on Strengthening Core Elements of Regulatory Systems in Developing Countries took up the vital task of helping the FDA to cope with the reality that so much of the food, drugs, biologics, and medical products consumed in the United States originate in countries with less-robust regulatory systems. <em>Ensuring Safe Foods and Medical Products Through Stronger Regulatory Systems Abroad </em>describes the ways the United States can help strengthen regulatory systems in low and middle income countries and promote cross-border partnerships - including government, industry, and academia - to foster regulatory science and build a core of regulatory professionals. This report also emphasizes an array of practical approaches to ensure sound regulatory practices in today's interconnected world.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13296">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=287'>Food and Nutrition</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=382'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/dzfECQdALoA" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13296For the Public's Health: Investing in a Healthier Futuretag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13268#final2012-07-30T00:00:00-04:002012-07-25T13:02:34-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to examine three topics in relation to public health: measurement, the law, and funding. IOM prepared a three report series--one report on each topic--that contains actionable recommendations for public health agencies and other stakeholders with roles in the health of the U.S. population.</p> <p><em>For the Public's Health: Investing in a Healthier Future</em>, the final book inthe series, assesses the financial challenges facing the governmental public health infrastructure. The book provides recommendations about what is needed for stable and sustainable funding, and for its optimal use by public health agencies.</p> <p>Building on the other two volumes in the series, this book makes the argument that adequate and sustainable funding for public health is necessary to enable public health departments across the country to inform and mobilize action on the determinants of health, to play other key roles in protecting and promoting health, and to prepare for a range of potential threats to population health.</p> <p>The final book in the <em>For the Public's Health</em> series will be useful to federal, state, and local governments; public health agencies; clinical care organizations; and community-based organizations.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13268">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/6epmNswJmlE" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13268Ethical and Scientific Issues in Studying the Safety of Approved Drugstag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13219#final2012-07-30T00:00:00-04:002012-08-07T16:47:20-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>An estimated 48 percent of the population takes at least one prescription drug in a given month. Drugs provide great benefits to society by saving or improving lives. Many drugs are also associated with side effects or adverse events, some serious and some discovered only after the drug is on the market. The discovery of new adverse events in the postmarketing setting is part of the normal natural history of approved drugs, and timely identification and warning about drug risks are central to the mission of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Not all risks associated with a drug are known at the time of approval, because safety data are collected from studies that involve a relatively small number of human subjects during a relatively short period.</p> <p>Written in response to a request by the FDA, <em>Ethical and Scientific Issues in Studying the Safety of Approved Drugs</em> discusses ethical and informed consent issues in conducting studies in the postmarketing setting. It evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches to generate evidence about safety questions, and makes recommendations for appropriate followup studies and randomized clinical trials. The book provides guidance to the FDA on how it should factor in different kinds of evidence in its regulatory decisions.</p> <p><em>Ethical and Scientific Issues in Studying the Safety of Approved Drugs </em>will be of interest to the pharmaceutical industry, patient advocates, researchers, and consumer groups.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13219">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/R13Alm90yKw" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13219Crisis Standards of Care: A Systems Framework for Catastrophic Disaster Responsetag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13351#final2012-07-26T00:00:00-04:002012-08-01T17:15:13-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Catastrophic disasters occurring in 2011 in the United States and worldwide--from the tornado in Joplin, Missouri, to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, to the earthquake in New Zealand--have demonstrated that even prepared communities can be overwhelmed. In 2009, at the height of the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services, along with the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to convene a committee of experts to develop national guidance for use by state and local public health officials and health-sector agencies and institutions in establishing and implementing standards of care that should apply in disaster situations-both naturally occurring and man-made-under conditions of scarce resources.</p> <p>Building on the work of phase one (which is described in IOM's 2009 letter report, Guidance for Establishing Crisis Standards of Care for Use in Disaster Situations), the committee developed detailed templates enumerating the functions and tasks of the key stakeholder groups involved in crisis standards of care (CSC) planning, implementation, and public engagement-state and local governments, emergency medical services (EMS), hospitals and acute care facilities, and out-of-hospital and alternate care systems. Crisis Standards of Care provides a framework for a systems approach to the development and implementation of CSC plans, and addresses the legal issues and the ethical, palliative care, and mental health issues that agencies and organizations at each level of a disaster response should address. Please note: this report is not intended to be a detailed guide to emergency preparedness or disaster response. What is described in this report is an extrapolation of existing incident management practices and principles.</p> <p>Crisis Standards of Care is a seven-volume set: Volume 1 provides an overview; Volume 2 pertains to state and local governments; Volume 3 pertains to emergency medical services; Volume 4 pertains to hospitals and acute care facilities; Volume 5 pertains to out-of-hospital care and alternate care systems; Volume 6 contains a public engagement toolkit; and Volume 7 contains appendixes with additional resources.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13351">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=400'>Public Policy</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/kcsXoVfEmrI" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13351Public Engagement on Facilitating Access to Antiviral Medications and Information in an Influenza Pandemic: Workshop Series Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13404#final2012-07-20T00:00:00-04:002012-07-23T13:21:00-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Influenza pandemics overwhelm health care systems with thousands or hundreds of thousands of sick patients, as well as those worried they may be sick. In order to ensure a successful response to the patient swell caused by a pandemic, robust planning is essential to prepare for challenges public health officials may face. This includes the need to quickly distribute and dispense antiviral medications that can reduce the severity and duration of disease to large numbers of people.</p> <p>In response to a request from the Centers for Disease Control, the Institute of Medicine's Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Catastrophic Events held a series of workshops that explored the public's perception of how to facilitate access to antiviral medications and treatment during an influenza pandemic. To help inform potential strategies still in the development stages at the CDC, workshops were held in Fort Benton, Montana; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Los Angeles, California during February and March 2012 to consider the usefulness of several alternative strategies of delivering antiviral medication to the public. Participants considered how the normal systems for prescribing and dispensing antiviral medications could be adjusted to ensure that the public has quick, safe, and equitable access to both potentially life-saving drugs and information about the pandemic and treatment options. This document summarizes the workshops.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13404">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=400'>Public Policy</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=388'>Diseases - Other</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/QcXZGsMMwsY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13404Facing the Reality of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis: Challenges and Potential Solutions in India: Summary of a Joint Workshop by the Institute of Medicine, the Indian National Science Academy, and the Indian Council of Medical Researchtag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13243#final2012-07-20T00:00:00-04:002012-07-23T13:18:16-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>An estimated 8.8 million people fell ill with tuberculosis (TB) in 2010 and 1.4 million died from the disease. Although antibiotics to treat TB were developed in the 1950s and are effective against a majority of TB cases, resistance to these antibiotics has emerged over the years, resulting in the growing spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB. Due to challenges in timely and accurate diagnosis of drug-resistant TB, length and tolerability of treatment regimens, and expense of second-line anti-TB drugs, effectively controlling the disease requires complex public health interventions.</p> <p>The IOM Forum on Drug Discovery, Development, and Translation held three international workshops to gather information from local experts around the world on the threat of drug resistant TB and how the challenges it presents can be met. Workshops were held in South Africa and Russia in 2010. The third workshop was held April 18-19, 2011, in New Delhi, India, in collaboration with the Indian National Science Academy and the Indian Council of Medical Research. The aim of the workshop was to highlight key challenges to controlling the spread of drug-resistant strains of TB in India and to discuss strategies for advancing and integrating local and international efforts to prevent and treat drug-resistant TB. This document summarizes the workshop.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13243">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=390'>Global Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=388'>Diseases - Other</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/kfOSNleDp40" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13243Research Methods to Assess Dietary Intake and Program Participation in Child Day Care: Application to the Child and Adult Care Food Program: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13411#final2012-07-20T00:00:00-04:002012-07-23T13:26:45-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>More than 16 million children in the United States live in food-insecure households where they are unable to obtain enough food to meet their needs. At the same time, a growing number of children are overweight or obese. Because of these challenges, improving child nutrition has emerged as one of the nation's most urgent public health needs. The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) food program, served about 3.3 million children in 2011, as well as more than 124,000 adults who require daily supervision or assistance. Since many children rely on CACFP for the majority of their daily food, the quality of foods provided has the potential to greatly improve the health of the children's diets. <br /> <br /> The USDA asked the IOM to review and recommend improvements, as necessary, to the CACFP meal requirements in order to keep them aligned with other federally funded food assistance programs and with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The 2011 IOM report, Child and Adult Care Food Program Aligning Dietary Guidance for All, reviewed the program in detail and provided recommendations for improvement.<br /> <br /> In February 2012, at the request of the USDA, the IOM conducted an additional workshop to examine research methods and approaches that could be used to design and conduct a nationally representative study assessing children's dietary intake and participation rates in child care facilities, including CACFP-sponsored child care centers and homes. <em>Research Methods to Assess Dietary Intake and Program Participation in Child Day Care: Application to the Child and Adult Care Food Program Workshop Summary</em> is the report that summarizes the workshop.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13411">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=287'>Food and Nutrition</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=381'>Nutrition - Other</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=287'>Food and Nutrition</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=382'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=386'>Children's Health</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/WBA7SGiWhYQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13411How Can Health Care Organizations Become More Health Literate?: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13402#final2012-07-19T00:00:00-04:002012-07-18T09:30:14-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Approximately 80 million adults in the United States have low health literacy - an individual's ability to obtain, process, and understand basic health information. Low health literacy creates difficulties in communicating with clinicians, poses barriers in managing chronic illness, lessens the likelihood of receiving preventive care, heightens the possibility of experiencing serious medication errors, increased risk of hospitalization, and results in poorer quality of life. <br /> <br /> It is important for health care organizations to develop strategies that can improve their health literacy, yet organizations often find it difficult to determine exactly what it means to be health literate. <em>How Can Health Care Organizations Become More Health Literate?: Workshop</em> defines a health literate health care organization as "an organization that makes it easier for people to navigate, understand, and use information and services to take care of their health." In November 2011, the IOM Roundtable on Health Literacy held a workshop to discuss the growing recognition that health literacy depends not only on individual skills and abilities but also on the demands and complexities of the health care system. <em>How Can Health Care Organizations Become More Health Literate?: Workshop</em> summarizes the workshop.<br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13402">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=400'>Public Policy</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/0Qfur6HFlps" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13402Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Military and Veteran Populations: Initial Assessmenttag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13364#final2012-07-13T10:45:01-04:002012-07-13T10:45:07-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Prior to the military conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, wars and conflicts have been characterized by such injuries as infectious diseases and catastrophic gunshot wounds. However, the signature injuries sustained by United States military personnel in these most recent conflicts are blast wounds and the psychiatric consequences to combat, particularly posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which affects an estimated 13 to 20 percent of U.S. service members who have fought in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001. PTSD is triggered by a specific traumatic event - including combat - which leads to symptoms such as persistent re-experiencing of the event; emotional numbing or avoidance of thoughts, feelings, conversations, or places associated with the trauma; and hyperarousal, such as exaggerated startle responses or difficulty concentrating. <br /> <br /> As the U.S. reduces its military involvement in the Middle East, the Departments of Defense (DoD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) anticipate that increasing numbers of returning veterans will need PTSD services. As a result, Congress asked the DoD, in consultation with the VA, to sponsor an IOM study to assess both departments' PTSD treatment programs and services. <em>Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Military and Veteran Populations: Initial Assessment</em> is the first of two mandated reports examines some of the available programs to prevent, diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate those who have PTSD and encourages further research that can help to improve PTSD care. <br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13364">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=396'>Military and Veterans</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=395'>Mental Health and Behavior</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/fQlE73I3qS4" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13364Monitoring HIV Care in the United States: Indicators and Data Systemstag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13225#final2012-07-13T00:00:00-04:002012-09-19T12:25:23-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The number of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in the United States is growing each year largely due both to advances in treatment that allow HIV-infected individuals to live longer and healthier lives and due to a steady number of new HIV infections each year. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that there were 1.2 million people living with HIV infection in the United States at the end of 2008, the most recent year for which national prevalence data are available. Each year, approximately 16,000 individuals die from AIDS despite overall improvements in survival, and 50,000 individuals become newly infected with HIV. In 2011, the CDC estimated that about three in four people living with diagnosed HIV infection are linked to care within 3 to 4 months of diagnosis and that only half are retained in ongoing care. <br /> <br /> In the context of the continuing challenges posed by HIV, the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) released a National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) for the United States in July 2010. The primary goals of the NHAS are to: reduce HIV incidence; increase access to care and optimize health outcomes; and reduce HIV-related health disparities.<br /> <br /> <em>Monitoring HIV Care in the United States</em> addresses existing gaps in the collection, analysis, and integration of data on the care and treatment experiences of PLWHA. This report identifies critical data and indicators related to continuous HIV care and access to supportive services, assesses the impact of the NHAS and the ACA on improvements in HIV care, and identifies public and private data systems that capture the data needed to estimate these indicators. In addition, this report addresses a series of specific questions related to the collection, analysis, and dissemination of such data.<br /> <br /> <em>Monitoring HIV Care in the United States</em> is the first of two reports to be prepared by this study. In a forthcoming report, also requested by ONAP, the committee will address the broad question of how to obtain national estimates that characterize the health care of people living with HIV in the United States. The second report will include discussion of challenges and best practices from previous large scale and nationally representative studies of PLWHA as well as other populations.<br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13225">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=279'>Computers and Information Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=321'>Information Technology</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/DFApIVVTKME" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13225Epilepsy Across the Spectrum: Promoting Health and Understandingtag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13379#final2012-06-29T00:00:00-04:002012-06-29T21:06:18-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Although epilepsy is one of the nation's most common neurological disorders, public understanding of it is limited. Many people do not know the causes of epilepsy or what they should do if they see someone having a seizure. Epilepsy is a complex spectrum of disorders that affects an estimated 2.2 million Americans in a variety of ways, and is characterized by unpredictable seizures that differ in type, cause, and severity. Yet living with epilepsy is about much more than just seizures; the disorder is often defined in practical terms, such as challenges in school, uncertainties about social situations and employment, limitations on driving, and questions about independent living. </p> <p>The Institute of Medicine was asked to examine the public health dimensions of the epilepsies, focusing on public health surveillance and data collection; population and public health research; health policy, health care, and human services; and education for people with the disorder and their families, health care providers, and the public. In Epilepsy Across the Spectrum, the IOM makes recommendations ranging from the expansion of collaborative epilepsy surveillance efforts, to the coordination of public awareness efforts, to the engagement of people with epilepsy and their families in education, dissemination, and advocacy for improved care and services. Taking action across multiple dimensions will improve the lives of people with epilepsy and their families. The realistic, feasible, and action-oriented recommendations in this report can help enable short- and long-term improvements for people with epilepsy. For all epilepsy organizations and advocates, local, state, and federal agencies, researchers, health care professionals, people with epilepsy, as well as the public, Epilepsy Across the Spectrum is an essential resource.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13379">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=388'>Diseases - Other</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/S5D2H4pKM8M" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13379Genome-Based Diagnostics: Clarifying Pathways to Clinical Use: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13359#final2012-06-27T00:00:00-04:002012-06-27T16:19:41-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The sequencing of the human genome and the identification of associations between specific genetic variants and diseases have led to an explosion of genomic-based diagnostic tests. These tests have the potential to direct therapeutic interventions, predict risk or onset of disease, or detect residual disease. As research progresses and an increasing number of associations are found, further tests will be developed that can aid in providing personalized treatment options for patients. However, the adoption of genomic diagnostic tests by health care providers has been limited due to a lack of evidence regarding the clinical utility of many tests. Health funders and practitioners lack the data necessary to distinguish which tests can improve practice or the clinical settings in which tests will provide the greatest value. The Roundtable on Translating Genomic-Based Research for Health held a workshop in November 2010 to determine what evidence is needed and how it is viewed by different stakeholders in order to develop genomic diagnostic tests of clinical value.<br /> <br /> <em>Genome-Based Diagnostics</em> summarizes the presentations and discussions that took place throughout the workshop. Two presentations, in particular, sparked extensive discussion. One presentation proposed that all genomic diagnostic tests be reviewed and approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The other observed that venture capitalists are no longer investing substantially in the development of genomic diagnostic tests because of a lack of clarity surrounding regulatory and reimbursement pathways. Both presentations suggested the need for major changes in the systems used to develop, regulate, and reimburse genomic diagnostic tests. The report also presents the perspectives of different stakeholders in the development of genomic diagnostic tests. Each stakeholder group has a different set of needs and issues of importance, yet commonalities among them are apparent, such as the need to put patients and health outcomes at the center of discussion and action. </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13359">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=278'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=315'>Genetics</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/A1kFyfmaDzE" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13359Primary Care and Public Health: Exploring Integration to Improve Population Healthtag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13381#final2012-06-19T00:00:00-04:002012-06-19T15:34:52-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Ensuring that members of society are healthy and reaching their full potential requires the prevention of disease and injury; the promotion of health and well-being; the assurance of conditions in which people can be healthy; and the provision of timely, effective, and coordinated health care. Achieving substantial and lasting improvements in population health will require a concerted effort from all these entities, aligned with a common goal. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requested that the Institute of Medicine (IOM) examine the integration of primary care and public health.</p> <p><i>Primary Care and Public Health</i> identifies the best examples of effective public health and primary care integration and the factors that promote and sustain these efforts, examines ways by which HRSA and CDC can use provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to promote the integration of primary care and public health, and discusses how HRSA-supported primary care systems and state and local public health departments can effectively integrate and coordinate to improve efforts directed at disease prevention.</p> <p>This report is essential for all health care centers and providers, state and local policy makers, educators, government agencies, and the public for learning how to integrate and improve population health.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13381">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/7nYEuc5J3wU" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13381Child Maltreatment Research, Policy, and Practice for the Next Decade: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13368#final2012-06-15T00:00:00-04:002012-06-18T10:44:08-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>In 1993 the National Research Council released its landmark report <em>Understanding Child Abuse and Neglect</em> (NRC, 1993). That report identified child maltreatment as a devastating social problem in American society. Nearly 20 years later, on January 30-31, 2012, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and NRC's Board on Children, Youth and Families help a workshop,<em> Child Maltreatment Research, Policy, and Practice for the Next Generation</em>, to review the accomplishments of the past two decades of research related to child maltreatment and the remaining gaps. "There have been many exciting research discoveries since the '93 report, but we also want people to be thinking about what is missing," said Anne Petersen, research professor at the Center for Human Growth and Development at the University of Michigan and chair of the panel that produced the report.</p> <p><br /> <em>Child Maltreatment Research, Policy, and Practice for the Next Decade: Workshop Summary</em> covers the workshop that brought together many leading U.S. child maltreatment researchers for a day and a half of presentations and discussions. Presenters reviewed research accomplishments, identified gaps that remain in knowledge, and consider potential research priorities. <em>Child Maltreatment Research, Policy, and Practice for the Next Decade: Workshop Summary</em> also covers participant suggestions for future research priorities, policy actions, and practices that would enhance understanding of child maltreatment and efforts to reduce and respond to it. A background paper highlighting major research advances since the publication of the 1993 NRC report was prepared by an independent consultant to inform the workshop discussions.</p> <p><br /> This summary is an essential resource for any workshop attendees, policy makers, researchers, educators, healthcare providers, parents, and advocacy groups.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13368">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=386'>Children's Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=303'>Children, Youth and Families</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/0DEVlpPUlS4" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13368Tracking Radiation Exposure from Medical Diagnostic Procedures: Workshop Reportstag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13416#final2012-06-14T09:45:02-04:002012-06-14T09:45:15-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The growing use of medical diagnostic procedures is correlated with tremendous and undeniable benefits in the care of most patients. However, it is accompanied by growing concerns about the risks associated with diagnostic computed tomography and other procedures that utilize ionizing radiation. A number of initiatives in radiation safety in medicine have taken place in the United States and internationally, each serving different purposes. Their ultimate goals are to provide higher quality clinical management of the patient and to ensure that reasonable steps are taken to keep the exposures as low as possible without compromising diagnostic efficacy.</p> <p><br /> <em>Tracking Radiation Exposure from Medical Diagnostic Procedures: Workshop Reports</em> provides a summary of the presentations and discussions that took place during the December 8-9, 2011, workshop titled "Tracking Radiation Exposure from Medical Diagnostic Procedures." This workshop was organized by the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board of the National Academy of Sciences and sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This workshop report was authored by a six-member committee of experts appointed by the National Academy of Sciences. This committee brought together public health regulators, physicians, manufacturers, researchers, and patients to explore "why," "what," and "how" to track exposure from medical diagnostic procedures and possible next steps.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13416">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=285'>Environment and Environmental Studies</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=374'>Radiation</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/SGgdsacFO5c" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13416The Role of Obesity in Cancer Survival and Recurrence: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13348#final2012-06-12T00:00:00-04:002012-06-13T15:21:45-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Recent research suggests that obesity and excess weight can play a prominent role in the incidence and progression of various cancers. Obesity results from an energy imbalance - that is, energy intake that is higher than energy expenditure - could also influence the growth of cancers. Recognizing the impact that current findings on obesity and cancer could have on future cancer prevention and care, the National Cancer policy Forum (NCPF) of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) help a 2-day workshop on "The Role of Obesity in Cancer Survival and Recurrence," in Washington, DC, on October 31 and November 1, 2011.</p> <p><em>The Role of Obesity in Cancer Survival and Recurrence: Workshop Summary</em> reviews each presenter's latest clinical evidence on the obesity-cancer link and the molecular mechanisms that might explain that link. Clinicians, researchers, cancer survivors, and policy makers also discussed potential interventions to counter the effects of obesity on cancer, and research and policy measures needed to stem the rising tide of cancer mortality predicted by an increasingly overweight and older population worldwide.</p> <p><em>The Role of Obesity in Cancer Survival and Recurrence: Workshop Summary</em> explores the complex web of molecular mechanisms that underlie the obesity-cancer link, the ways to design future studies to acquire the information needed to guide patient care, what to advise cancer patients about weight loss, diet, exercise, and other measures to reduce their risk of cancer progression or recurrence and policy suggestions related to research, education, and dissemination of the findings on obesity and cancer.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13348">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=387'>Diseases - Cancer</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/Y2Beuglxli8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13348Analysis of Cancer Risks in Populations Near Nuclear Facilities: Phase Itag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13388#final2012-05-29T00:00:00-04:002012-05-30T09:40:27-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>In the late 1980s, the National Cancer Institute initiated an investigation of cancer risks in populations near 52 commercial nuclear power plants and 10 Department of Energy nuclear facilities (including research and nuclear weapons production facilities and one reprocessing plant) in the United States. The results of the NCI investigation were used a primary resource for communicating with the public about the cancer risks near the nuclear facilities. However, this study is now over 20 years old. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission requested that the National Academy of Sciences provide an updated assessment of cancer risks in populations near USNRC-licensed nuclear facilities that utilize or process uranium for the production of electricity.</p> <p><i>Analysis of Cancer Risks in Populations near Nuclear Facilities: Phase 1</i> focuses on identifying scientifically sound approaches for carrying out an assessment of cancer risks associated with living near a nuclear facility, judgments about the strengths and weaknesses of various statistical power, ability to assess potential confounding factors, possible biases, and required effort. The results from this Phase 1 study will be used to inform the design of cancer risk assessment, which will be carried out in Phase 2. This report is beneficial for the general public, communities near nuclear facilities, stakeholders, healthcare providers, policy makers, state and local officials, community leaders, and the media.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13388">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=387'>Cancer</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=389'>Environmental Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=285'>Environment and Environmental Studies</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=374'>Radiation</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/kpsfV4J6LOA" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13388Country-Level Decision Making for Control of Chronic Diseases: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13337#final2012-05-25T00:00:00-04:002012-05-25T14:18:39-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>A 2010 IOM report, <em>Promoting Cardiovascular Health in the Developing World,</em> found that not only is it possible to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease and related chronic diseases in developing countries, but also that such a reduction will be critical to achieving global health and development goals. As part a series of follow-up activities to the 2010 report, the IOM held a workshop that aimed to identify what is needed to create tools for country-led planning of effective, efficient, and equitable provision of chronic disease control programs.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13337">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=390'>Global Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/h0Xn_AYD5F8" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13337Nutrition and Healthy Aging in the Community: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13344#final2012-05-15T00:00:00-04:002012-05-15T17:34:59-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The U.S. population of older adults is predicted to grow rapidly as "baby boomers" (those born between 1946 and 1964) begin to reach 65 years of age. Simultaneously, advancements in medical care and improved awareness of healthy lifestyles have led to longer life expectancies. The Census Bureau projects that the population of Americans 65 years of age and older will rise from approximately 40 million in 2010 to 55 million in 2020, a 36 percent increase. Furthermore, older adults are choosing to live independently in the community setting rather than residing in an institutional environment. Furthermore, the types of services needed by this population are shifting due to changes in their health issues. Older adults have historically been viewed as underweight and frail; however, over the past decade there has been an increase in the number of obese older persons. Obesity in older adults is not only associated with medical comorbidities such as diabetes; it is also a major risk factor for functional decline and homebound status. The baby boomers have a greater prevalence of obesity than any of their historic counterparts, and projections forecast an aging population with even greater chronic disease burden and disability.<br /> <br /> In light of the increasing numbers of older adults choosing to live independently rather than in nursing homes, and the important role nutrition can play in healthy aging, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) convened a public workshop to illuminate issues related to community-based delivery of nutrition services for older adults and to identify nutrition interventions and model programs.<br /> <br /> <em>Nutrition and Healthy Aging in the Community </em>summarizes the presentations and discussions prepared from the workshop transcript and slides. This report examines nutrition-related issues of concern experienced by older adults in the community including nutrition screening, food insecurity, sarcopenic obesity, dietary patterns for older adults, and economic issues. This report explores transitional care as individuals move from acute, subacute, or chronic care settings to the community, and provides models of transitional care in the community. This report also provides examples of successful intervention models in the community setting, and covers the discussion of research gaps in knowledge about nutrition interventions and services for older adults in the community.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13344">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=385'>Aging</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=287'>Food and Nutrition</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=382'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=287'>Food and Nutrition</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=381'>Nutrition - Other</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/rMnF_SDFWLo" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13344Alliances for Obesity Prevention: Finding Common Ground: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13305#final2012-05-11T08:45:01-04:002012-05-11T08:45:13-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Many organizations are making focused efforts to prevent obesity. To achieve their goals, accelerate their progress, and sustain their success, the assistance of many other individuals and groups--not all of them with a singular focus on obesity prevention--will be essential. In October 2011 the Institute of Medicine held a workshop that provided an opportunity for obesity prevention groups to hear from and hold discussions with many of these potential allies in obesity prevention. They explored common ground for joint activities and mutual successes and lessons learned from efforts at aligning diverse groups with goals in common.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13305">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=287'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=381'>Nutrition - Other</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=287'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=382'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/o1UP7Dxa6IU" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13305A Research Strategy for Environmental, Health, and Safety Aspects of Engineered Nanomaterialstag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13347#final2012-05-09T00:00:00-04:002012-05-09T13:52:01-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The nanotechnology sector, which generated about $225 billion in product sales in 2009, is predicted to expand rapidly over the next decade with the development of new technologies that have new capabilities. The increasing production and use of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) may lead to greater exposures of workers, consumers, and the environment, and the unique scale-specific and novel properties of the materials raise questions about their potential effects on human health and the environment. Over the last decade, government agencies, academic institutions, industry, and others have conducted many assessments of the environmental, health, and safety (EHS) aspects of nanotechnology. The results of those efforts have helped to direct research on the EHS aspects of ENMs. However, despite the progress in assessing research needs and despite the research that has been funded and conducted, developers, regulators, and consumers of nanotechnology-enabled products remain uncertain about the types and quantities of nanomaterials in commerce or in development, their possible applications, and their associated risks. </p> <p><em>A Research Strategy for Environmental, Health, and Safety Aspects of Engineered Nanomaterials</em> presents a strategic approach for developing the science and research infrastructure needed to address uncertainties regarding the potential EHS risks of ENMs. The report summarizes the current state of the science and high-priority data gaps on the potential EHS risks posed by ENMs and describes the fundamental tools and approaches needed to pursue an EHS risk research strategy. The report also presents a proposed research agenda, short-term and long-term research priorities, and estimates of needed resources and concludes by focusing on implementation of the research strategy and evaluation of its progress, elements that the committee considered integral to its charge.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13347">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=285'>Environment and Environmental Studies</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=369'>Environmental Health and Safety</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/a9Uw1bobLTc" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13347Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention: Solving the Weight of the Nationtag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13275#final2012-05-08T08:15:02-04:002012-05-08T08:15:47-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>One-third of adults are now obese, and children's obesity rates have climbed from 5 to 17 percent in the past 30 years. The causes of the nation's obesity epidemic are multi-factorial, having much more to do with the absence of sidewalks and the limited availability of healthy and affordable foods than a lack of personal responsibility. The broad societal changes that are needed to prevent obesity will inevitably affect activity and eating environments and settings for all ages. Many aspects of the obesity problem have been identified and discussed; however, there has not been complete agreement on what needs to be done to accelerate progress.</p> <p><em>Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention</em> reviews previous studies and their recommendations and presents five key recommendations to accelerate meaningful change on a societal level during the next decade. The report suggests recommendations and strategies that, independently, can accelerate progress, but urges a systems approach of many strategies working in concert to maximize progress in accelerating obesity prevention.</p> <p>The recommendations in <em>Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention </em>include major reforms in access to and opportunities for physical activity; widespread reductions in the availability of unhealthy foods and beverages and increases in access to healthier options at affordable, competitive prices; an overhaul of the messages that surround Americans through marketing and education with respect to physical activity and food consumption; expansion of the obesity prevention support structure provided by health care providers, insurers, and employers; and schools as a major national focal point for obesity prevention. The report calls on all individuals, organizations, agencies, and sectors that do or can influence physical activity and nutrition environments to assess and begin to act on their potential roles as leaders in obesity prevention.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13275">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=287'>Food and Nutrition</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=381'>Diet and Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=386'>Children's Health</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/Os3uUL4nSo4" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13275Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals: Volume 12tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13377#final2012-04-30T16:39:04-04:002012-04-30T16:39:48-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Extremely hazardous substances (EHSs) can be released accidentally as a result of chemical spills, industrial explosions, fires, or accidents involving railroad cars and trucks transporting EHSs. Workers and residents in communities surrounding industrial facilities where EHSs are manufactured, used, or stored and in communities along the nation's railways and highways are potentially at risk of being exposed to airborne EHSs during accidental releases or intentional releases by terrorists.</p> <p><br /> Using the 1993 and 2001 NRC guidelines reports, the National Advisory Committee - consisting of members from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation, other federal and state governments, the chemical industry, academia, and other organizations form the private sector has developed Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGL) for more than 270 EHSs.</p> <p><br /> In 1998, the EPA and DOD requested that the NRC independently reviewed the AEGLs developed by the NAC. In response to that request, the NRC organized within its Committee on Toxicology the Committee on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels, which prepared this report, <em>Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals: Volume 12</em>. This report explains the scientifically valid conclusions that are based on the data reviewed by NAC and consistent with the NRC guideline reports and provides comments and recommendations for how AEGL could be improved. <br /> </p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13377">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=285'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=372'>Pollutants and Toxics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=389'>Environmental Health</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/bw12nTmGFMA" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13377Geographic Adjustment in Medicare Payment: Phase I: Improving Accuracy, Second Editiontag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13138#final2012-04-23T00:00:00-04:002012-04-25T10:59:03-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Medicare is the largest health insurer in the United States, providing coverage for 39 million people aged 65 and older and 8 million people with disabilities, and reaching more than an estimated $500 billion in payments in 2010. Although Medicare is a national program, it adjusts fee-for-service payments according to the geographic location of a practice. While there is widespread agreement about the importance of providing accurate payments to providers, there is disagreement about how best to adjust payment based on geographic location. </p> <p> At the request of Congress and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Institute of Medicine (IOM) examined ways to improve the accuracy of data sources and methods used for making the geographic adjustments to payments. The IOM recommends an integrated approach that includes moving to a single source of wage and benefits data; changing to one set of payment areas; and expanding the range of occupations included in the index calculations. The first of two reports, <em>Geographic Adjustment in Medicare Payment: Phase I: Improving Accuracy</em>, assesses existing practices in regards to accuracy, criteria consistency, evidence for adjustment, sound rationale, transparency, and separate policy adjustments to reform the current payment system. Adopting the recommendations outlined in this report will mean a change in the way that the indexes are calculated, and will require a combination of legislative, rule-making, and administrative actions, as well as a period of public comment. <br /> <em><br /> Geographic Adjustment in Medicare Payment </em>will inform the work of government agencies such as HHS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, congressional members and staff, the health care industry, national professional organizations and state medical and nursing societies, and Medicare advocacy groups.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13138">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/ou6kQALQVnY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13138Barriers to Integrating Crisis Standards of Care Principles into International Disaster Response Plans: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13279#final2012-04-10T00:00:00-04:002012-04-10T15:29:22-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>When a nation or region prepares for public health emergencies such as a pandemic influenza, a large-scale earthquake, or any major disaster scenario in which the health system may be destroyed or stressed to its limits, it is important to describe how standards of care would change due to shortages of critical resources. At the 17th World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine, the IOM Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness sponsored a session that focused on the promise of and challenges to integrating crisis standards of care principles into international disaster response plans.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13279">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/y7w0ZC8-E6g" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13279Strengthening a Workforce for Innovative Regulatory Science in Therapeutics Development: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13283#final2012-04-04T00:00:00-04:002012-04-04T14:54:41-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The development and application of regulatory science - which FDA has defined as the science of developing new tools, standards, and approaches to assess the safety, efficacy, quality, and performance of FDA-regulated products - calls for a well-trained, scientifically engaged, and motivated workforce. FDA faces challenges in retaining regulatory scientists and providing them with opportunities for professional development. In the private sector, advancement of innovative regulatory science in drug development has not always been clearly defined, well coordinated, or connected to the needs of the agency. As a follow-up to a 2010 workshop, the IOM held a workshop on September 20-21, 2011, to provide a format for establishing a specific agenda to implement the vision and principles relating to a regulatory science workforce and disciplinary infrastructure as discussed in the 2010 workshop.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13283">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/cV2QbKXuqBw" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13283Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Selected Airborne Chemicals: Volume 11tag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13374#final2012-03-29T00:00:00-04:002012-03-30T13:39:13-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>At the request of the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Research Council has reviewed the relevant scientific literature compiled by an expert panel and established Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs) for several chemicals. AEGLs represent exposure levels below which adverse health effects are not likely to occur and are useful in responding to emergencies, such as accidental or intentional chemical releases in community, workplace, transportation, and military settings, and for the remediation of contaminated sites. Three AEGLs are approved for each chemical, representing exposure levels that result in: 1) notable but reversible discomfort; 2) long-lasting health effects; and 3) life-threatening health impacts. This volume in the series includes AEGLs for bis-chloromethyl ether, chloromethyl methyl ether, chlorosilanes, nitrogen oxides, and vinyl chloride.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13374">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=285'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=372'>Pollutants and Toxics</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=389'>Environmental Health</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/4tzf40oluKY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13374Adverse Effects of Vaccines: Evidence and Causalitytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13164#final2012-03-26T00:00:00-04:002012-04-20T13:23:16-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>In 1900, for every 1,000 babies born in the United States, 100 would die before their first birthday, often due to infectious diseases. Today, vaccines exist for many viral and bacterial diseases. The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, passed in 1986, was intended to bolster vaccine research and development through the federal coordination of vaccine initiatives and to provide relief to vaccine manufacturers facing financial burdens. The legislation also intended to address concerns about the safety of vaccines by instituting a compensation program, setting up a passive surveillance system for vaccine adverse events, and by providing information to consumers. A key component of the legislation required the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to collaborate with the Institute of Medicine to assess concerns about the safety of vaccines and potential adverse events, especially in children.<br /> <br /> <em>Adverse Effects of Vaccines</em> reviews the epidemiological, clinical, and biological evidence regarding adverse health events associated with specific vaccines covered by the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), including the varicella zoster vaccine, influenza vaccines, the hepatitis B vaccine, and the human papillomavirus vaccine, among others. For each possible adverse event, the report reviews peer-reviewed primary studies, summarizes their findings, and evaluates the epidemiological, clinical, and biological evidence. It finds that while no vaccine is 100 percent safe, very few adverse events are shown to be caused by vaccines. In addition, the evidence shows that vaccines do not cause several conditions. For example, the MMR vaccine is not associated with autism or childhood diabetes. Also, the DTaP vaccine is not associated with diabetes and the influenza vaccine given as a shot does not exacerbate asthma.</p> <p><em>Adverse Effects of Vaccines</em> will be of special interest to the National Vaccine Program Office, the VICP, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccine safety researchers and manufacturers, parents, caregivers, and health professionals in the private and public sectors.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13164">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/vO54gBl39oY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13164Alzheimer's Diagnostic Guideline Validation: Exploration of Next Steps: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13312#final2012-03-22T00:00:00-04:002012-03-22T13:54:35-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Scientific advances during the last decade now indicate that Alzheimer's disease is a continuous, progressive cognitive disease, most likely beginning many years before dementia is apparent. To discuss the next steps in validating new diagnostic guidelines for Alzheimer's disease, the IOM Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders hosted a public workshop session at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13312">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=395'>Mental Health and Behavior</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=385'>Aging</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/rJ4KYhpGDfA" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13312Breast Cancer and the Environment: A Life Course Approachtag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13263#final2012-03-20T00:00:00-04:002012-03-21T14:44:43-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Breast cancer remains the most common invasive cancer among women. The primary patients of breast cancer are adult women who are approaching or have reached menopause; 90 percent of new cases in U.S. women in 2009 were diagnosed at age 45 or older. Growing knowledge of the complexity of breast cancer stimulated a transition in breast cancer research toward elucidating how external factors may influence the etiology of breast cancer.</p> <p><em>Breast Cancer and the Environment</em> reviews the current evidence on a selection of environmental risk factors for breast cancer, considers gene-environment interactions in breast cancer, and explores evidence-based actions that might reduce the risk of breast cancer. The book also recommends further integrative research into the elements of the biology of breast development and carcinogenesis, including the influence of exposure to a variety of environmental factors during potential windows of susceptibility during the full life course, potential interventions to reduce risk, and better tools for assessing the carcinogenicity of environmental factors. For a limited set of risk factors, evidence suggests that action can be taken in ways that may reduce risk for breast cancer for many women: avoiding unnecessary medical radiation throughout life, avoiding the use of some forms of postmenopausal hormone therapy, avoiding smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, increasing physical activity, and minimizing weight gain.</p> <p><em>Breast Cancer and the Environment</em> sets a direction and a focus for future research efforts. The book will be of special interest to medical researchers, patient advocacy groups, and public health professionals.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13263">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=387'>Cancer</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=285'>Environment and Environmental Studies</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=369'>Environmental Health and Safety</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=401'>Women's Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=389'>Environmental Health</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/rX7-fOF8YwY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13263Technical Evaluation of the NASA Model for Cancer Risk to Astronauts Due to Space Radiationtag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13343#final2012-03-19T00:00:00-04:002012-03-19T11:59:38-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>NASA's current missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and potential future exploration missions involving extended stays by astronauts on the lunar surface, as well as the possibility of near- Earth object (NEO) or Mars missions, present challenges in protecting astronauts from radiation risks. These risks arise from a number of sources, including solar particle events (SPEs), galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), secondary radiation from surface impacts, and even the nuclear isotope power sources transported with the astronauts. The serious early and late radiation health effects potentially posed by these exposures are equally varied, ranging from early signs of radiation sickness to cancer induction. Other possible effects include central nervous system damage, cataracts, cardiovascular damage, heritable effects, impaired wound healing, and infertility.<br /> <br /> Recent research, much of which has been sponsored by NASA, has focused on understanding and quantifying the radiation health risks posed by space radiation environments. Although many aspects of the space radiation environments are now relatively well characterized, important uncertainties still exist regarding biological effects and thus regarding the level and types of risks faced by astronauts.<br /> <br /> This report presents an evaluation of NASA's proposed space radiation cancer risk assessment model, which is described in the 2011 NASA report, <em>Space Radiation Cancer Risk Projections and Uncertainties--2010</em>. The evaluation in <em>Technical Evaluation of the NASA Model for Cancer Risk to Astronauts Due to Space Radiation</em> considers the model components, input data (for the radiation types, estimated doses, and epidemiology), and the associated uncertainties. This report also identifies gaps in NASA's current research strategy for reducing the uncertainties in cancer induction risks.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13343">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=293'>Space and Aeronautics</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=419'>Space Exploration and Development</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=402'>Workplace and Occupational Health</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/sgva_6Mh_O0" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13343Scientific Standards for Studies on Modified Risk Tobacco Productstag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13294#final2012-03-19T00:00:00-04:002012-03-19T11:48:58-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Smoking-related diseases kill more Americans than alcohol, illegal drugs, murder and suicide combined. The passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 gave the FDA authority to regulate "modified risk tobacco products" (MRTPs), tobacco products that are either designed or advertised to reduce harm or the risk of tobacco-related disease. MRTPs must submit to the FDA scientific evidence to demonstrate the product has the potential to reduce tobacco related harms as compared to conventional tobacco products. The IOM identifies minimum standards for scientific studies that an applicant would need to complete to obtain an order to market the product from the FDA.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13294">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/W5vMSgCcxWQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13294Health IT and Patient Safety: Building Safer Systems for Better Caretag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13269#final2012-03-15T00:00:00-04:002012-03-15T16:48:40-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>IOM's 1999 landmark study <i>To Err is Human</i> estimated that between 44,000 and 98,000 lives are lost every year due to medical errors. This call to action has led to a number of efforts to reduce errors and provide safe and effective health care. Information technology (IT) has been identified as a way to enhance the safety and effectiveness of care. In an effort to catalyze its implementation, the U.S. government has invested billions of dollars toward the development and meaningful use of effective health IT.</p> <p>Designed and properly applied, health IT can be a positive transformative force for delivering safe health care, particularly with computerized prescribing and medication safety. However, if it is designed and applied inappropriately, health IT can add an additional layer of complexity to the already complex delivery of health care. Poorly designed IT can introduce risks that may lead to unsafe conditions, serious injury, or even death. Poor human-computer interactions could result in wrong dosing decisions and wrong diagnoses. Safe implementation of health IT is a complex, dynamic process that requires a shared responsibility between vendors and health care organizations. <i>Health IT and Patient Safety</i> makes recommendations for developing a framework for patient safety and health IT. This book focuses on finding ways to mitigate the risks of health IT-assisted care and identifies areas of concern so that the nation is in a better position to realize the potential benefits of health IT.</p> <p><i>Health IT and Patient Safety</i> is both comprehensive and specific in terms of recommended options and opportunities for public and private interventions that may improve the safety of care that incorporates the use of health IT. This book will be of interest to the health IT industry, the federal government, healthcare providers and other users of health IT, and patient advocacy groups.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13269">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=279'>Computers and Information Technology</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=321'>Information Technology</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/XySuwRriplM" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13269Review of Disability and Rehabilitation Research: NIDRR Grantmaking Processes and Productstag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13285#final2012-02-27T00:00:00-05:002012-04-12T13:44:48-04:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) is the principal federal agency supporting applied research, training, and development to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities. NIDRR's mission is to generate new knowledge and promote its effective use in improving the ability of persons with disabilities to perform activities of their choice in the community, as well as to expand society's capacity to provide full opportunities and accommodations for its citizens with disabilities.</p> <p>NIDRR prides itself on being proactive in establishing program performance measures and developing accountability data systems to track the progress of its grantees. An electronic annual reporting system is used to collect data from grantees on many aspects of grant operation and outputs. Various formative and summative evaluation approaches have been used to assess the quality of the performance and results of the agency's research portfolio and its grantees. Prompted by the need to provide more data on its program results, in 2009 NIDRR requested that the National Research Council (NRC) conduct an external evaluation of some of the agency's key processes and assess the quality of outputs produced by NIDRR grantees (National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, 2009a). Review of Disability and Rehabilitation Research presents the results of that evaluation.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13285">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=398'>Policy, Reviews and Evaluations</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=277'>Behavioral and Social Sciences</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=404'>Human Factors</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/ySXNebGHF8M" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13285Measuring Progress in Obesity Prevention: Workshop Reporttag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13287#final2012-02-23T08:45:02-05:002012-02-23T14:19:04-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Nearly 69 percent of U.S. adults and 32 percent of children are either overweight or obese, creating an annual medical cost burden that may reach $147 billion. Researchers and policy makers are eager to identify improved measures of environmental and policy factors that contribute to obesity prevention. The IOM formed the Committee on Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention to review the IOM's past obesity-related recommendations, identify a set of recommendations for future action, and recommend indicators of progress in implementing these actions. The committee held a workshop in March 2011 about how to improve measurement of progress in obesity prevention.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13287">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/nP83s6WnS_U" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13287Public Engagement and Clinical Trials: New Models and Disruptive Technologies: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13237#final2012-02-17T00:00:00-05:002012-02-21T14:55:50-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Clinical trials provide essential information needed to turn basic medical research findings into patient treatments. New treatments must be studied in large numbers of humans to find out whether they are effective and to assess any harm that may arise from treatment. There is growing recognition among many stakeholders that the U.S. clinical trials enterprise is unable to keep pace with the national demand for research results. The IOM, along with the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, held a workshop June 27-28, 2011, to engage stakeholders and experts in a discussion about possible solutions to improve public engagement in clinical trials.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13237">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=393'>Medical Technologies and Treatments</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/KX5epUbr_YQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13237Facilitating State Health Exchange Communication Through the Use of Health Literate Practices: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13255#final2012-02-14T08:45:02-05:002012-02-14T08:45:18-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 will result in significant changes to the U.S. health care system. Among its many provisions, the ACA will extend access to health care coverage to millions of Americans who have been previously uninsured. Many of the newly eligible health insurance consumers will be individuals of low health literacy, some speakers of English and others more comfortable using languages other than English. Health insurance terms such as "deductible," "co-insurance," and "out-of-pocket limit" are difficult to communicate even to those with moderate-to-high levels of health literacy and so health exchanges will face challenges as they attempt to communicate to the broader community. In addition to having to convey some of these basic, and yet complex, principles of insurance, state exchanges will be attempting to adapt to the many changes to enrollment and eligibility brought about by ACA.<br /> <br /> The Institute of Medicine (IOM) convened the Roundtable on Health Literacy that brings together leaders from the federal government, foundations, health plans, associations, and private companies to discuss challenges facing health literacy practice and research and to identify approaches to promote health literacy in both the public and private sectors. The roundtable sponsored a workshop in Washington, DC, on July 19, 2011, that focused on ways in which health literacy can facilitate state health insurance exchange communication with potential enrollees. The roundtable's workshop focused on four topics: (1) lessons learned from existing state insurance exchanges; (2) the impact of state insurance exchanges on consumers; (3) the relevance of health literacy to health insurance exchanges; and (4) current best practices in developing materials and communicating with consumers.<br /> <br /> <em>Facilitating State Health Exchange Communication Through the Use of Health Literate Practices</em> summarizes the presentations and discussion that occurred during the workshop. The report provides an overview of health insurance exchanges, presents evidence on the extent to which consumers understand underlying health insurance concepts, and describes the relevancy of health literacy to health insurance reform and how health literacy interventions can facilitate the implementation of health insurance reforms. The report also provides a review of best practices in developing materials and communicating with consumers, and concludes with reflections on the workshop presentations and discussions by members of the roundtable and its chair. Further information is provided in the appendixes, the workshop agenda (Appendix A), workshop speaker biosketches (Appendix B), and testimony provided by the organization America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) (Appendix C).</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13255">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/r4PgFUXi_EM" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13255The Early Childhood Care and Education Workforce: Challenges and Opportunities: A Workshop Reporttag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13238#final2012-02-10T00:00:00-05:002012-02-22T14:25:59-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Early childhood care and education (ECCE) settings offer an opportunity to provide children with a solid beginning in all areas of their development. The quality and efficacy of these settings depend largely on the individuals within the ECCE workforce. Policy makers need a complete picture of ECCE teachers and caregivers in order to tackle the persistent challenges facing this workforce. The IOM and the National Research Council hosted a workshop to describe the ECCE workforce and outline its parameters. Speakers explored issues in defining and describing the workforce, the marketplace of ECCE, the effects of the workforce on children, the contextual factors that shape the workforce, and opportunities for strengthening ECCE as a profession.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13238">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=386'>Children's Health</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/yLwZdnLTysY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13238Social and Economic Costs of Violence: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13254#final2012-02-09T00:00:00-05:002012-02-09T15:24:21-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Measuring the social and economic costs of violence can be difficult, and most estimates only consider direct economic effects, such as productivity loss or the use of health care services. Communities and societies feel the effects of violence through loss of social cohesion, financial divestment, and the increased burden on the healthcare and justice systems. Initial estimates show that early violence prevention intervention has economic benefits. The IOM Forum on Global Violence Prevention held a workshop to examine the successes and challenges of calculating direct and indirect costs of violence, as well as the potential cost-effectiveness of intervention.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13254">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=390'>Global Health</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'>Health and Medicine</a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=399'>Public Health and Prevention</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/Rl_Bnloeh0s" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13254Integrating Large-Scale Genomic Information into Clinical Practice: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13256#final2012-02-06T00:00:00-05:002012-02-07T14:57:38-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>The initial sequencing of the human genome, carried out by an international group of experts, took 13 years and $2.7 billion to complete. In the decade since that achievement, sequencing technology has evolved at such a rapid pace that today a consumer can have his or her entire genome sequenced by a single company in a matter of days for less than $10,000, though the addition of interpretation may extend this timeframe. Given the rapid technological advances, the potential effect on the lives of patients, and the increasing use of genomic information in clinical care, it is important to address how genomics data can be integrated into the clinical setting. Genetic tests are already used to assess the risk of breast and ovarian cancers, to diagnose recessive diseases such as cystic fibrosis, to determine drug dosages based on individual patient metabolism, and to identify therapeutic options for treating lung and breast tumors, melanoma, and leukemia.</p> <p>With these issues in mind and considering the potential impact that genomics information can have on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, the Roundtable on Translating Genomic-Based Research for Health hosted a workshop on July 19, 2011, to highlight and identify the challenges and opportunities in integrating large-scale genomic information into clinical practice.</p> <p><i>Integrating Large-Scale Genomic Information into Clinical Practice</i> summarizes the speaker presentations and the discussions that followed them. This report focuses on several key topics, including the analysis, interpretation, and delivery of genomic information plus workforce, ethical, and legal issues.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13256">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> </p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/Y9dGTkhRfoY" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13256Facilitating Collaborations to Develop Combination Investigational Cancer Therapies: Workshop Summarytag:nap.edu,2012:http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13262#final2012-02-06T00:00:00-05:002012-02-07T15:12:35-05:00The National Academies Presshttp://www.nap.edu
<p><strong>Final Book Now Available</strong></p>
<p>Advances in biomedical research have increased our understanding of the complex nature of disease and the interaction of multiple molecular pathways involved in cancer. Combining investigational products early in their development is thought to be a promising strategy for identifying effective therapies. The IOM's National Cancer Policy Forum held a workshop to discuss challenges and identify potential solutions to improve collaboration and advance the development of combination investigational cancer therapies.</p> <p>[<a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13262">Read the full report</a>]</p> <p><strong>Topics:</strong> <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=387'>Diseases - Cancer</a> | <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=288'></a> » <a href='http://www.nap.edu/topics.php?id=392'>Healthcare and Quality</a></p><br />
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/nap/new/topic/288/~4/xbwX_qflWDQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13262