Clinical laboratories can improve detection of norovirus by testing with a newly developed molecular test method, according to a recently published study conducted by the State Hygienic Laboratory at The University of Iowa.  This month’s issue of Journal of Virological Methods features the study, “Optimization of a real-time RT-PCR assay reveals an increase of...
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The following came today from the UnitedHealth Center for Health Reform & Modernization: “Modernizing Rural Health Care: Coverage, Quality and Innovation” is a report that offers unique data detailing the challenges facing 50 million rural Americans (including 1.3 million in Iowa, 43 percent of the state population) and proposes solutions for improving quality, access and affordability in rural areas....
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 DALLAS, July 25, 2011 — Preventing heart disease before it starts is a good long-term investment in the nation’s health, according to a new policy statement from the American Heart Association.       The policy statement, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, summarizes years of research on the value of investing in...
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Planned Parenthood of the Heartland hailed a new study that shows medical abortions using telemedicine are safe, but abortion opponents say it’s not the full story. The study was led by Ibis Reproductive Health, a California research group that promotes policies supporting reproductive rights. “It’s all about providing health care in rural areas,” said...
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Biobanks are repositories for tissue samples, usually in the form of blood or saliva or leftover tissue from surgical procedures, which may be used for future research studies, including genetic studies. These samples may be linked to personal health information regarding the donor. People who are eligible to donate these samples and researchers who...
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IOWA CITY  – A new report from the University of Iowa documents a widening divide in health insurance coverage between rural and urban workers in Iowa. Employees in Iowa’s 79 rural counties pay significantly higher premiums,  deductibles, co-pays, and out-of-pocket maximums than workers in the 20 urban counties, according to the report. Researchers with the...
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Rurally employed Iowans and their employers face mounting challenges maintaining health insurance coverage, including paying significantly higher premiums for higher-deductible, higher co-pay, and higher out-of-pocket maximum coverage when compared to Iowans working for urban organizations, according to a new report from the University of Iowa College of Public Health’s Healthier Workforce Center for Excellence....
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A friend of Jeff Bennett’s slid into her seat in a classroom during graduate school. She had just passed by a campus blood drive, where fellow students were rolling up their sleeves to save lives. “There’s a blood drive today,” she remarked. Then, sarcastically: “You should donate.” “Oh right, with my fear of needles?”...
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CEDAR RAPIDS — A report showing no relationship between atrazine and cancer is not the final word on the weed killer’s safety, says a University of Iowa researcher. The report was issued as part of the Agricultural Health Study, a long-term research project that has been tracking the health of nearly 90,000 people —...
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 WASHINGTON — Limiting television and other media use, encouraging infants and young children in preschool and child care to spend more time in physically active play, and requiring child care providers to promote healthy sleeping practices are some of the actions needed to curb high rates of obesity among America’s youngest children, says a...
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