People of all ages get sick with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza, and COVID-19, but dealing with these diseases can be especially trying for parents of young children. Fortunately, in most cases these viruses cause mild illness that can be treated at home by managing fever and pain and drinking lots of clear fluids. In [...]
You may have heard about adverse childhood experiences, potentially traumatic events that could have lifelong health consequences. But there is increasing attention focused on positive childhood experiences that help children build resilience and recover from significant adversity or trauma. Researchers have noticed that children with resilience have better health outcomes and develop the ability to plan [...]
Nearly all Arizona children ages 5 to 11 are vaccinated against measles, diphtheria, whooping cough, rubella, mumps, polio, and other diseases that have been eliminated or all but eliminated thanks to modern medicine. Soon, COVID-19 will become the next disease with a safe and highly effective vaccine available to children in this age group. In [...]
Home visiting programs are highly effective at coaching new parents to be better parents. Home visiting is particularly effective in building skills needed to be an effective parent as well as providing support for breastfeeding, nutrition, child development, fussy babies, oral health, and access to community resources. Arizona has a long tradition of supporting home visiting. Arizona's coalition of partners [...]
Summer is almost here and the kids are wrapping up the school year. Let’s challenge families to end the school year on the right foot. Why not try walking or biking to school? The mornings are still nice enough to walk. Make it a family activity; role model healthy behavior, leave the car keys at [...]
Just in time for the holidays, we’re got our first lab confirmed case of influenza – actually two cases. Influenza has probably been in the state for a while now, but we don’t officially start counting the cases until there is a case confirmed at our lab. The vaccine was approved this summer and fights 3 [...]
Last year we received funding from CDC to implement the Communities Putting Prevention to Work, which aims to achieve broad reaching, highly impactful, and sustainable change to reduce chronic disease burden associated with obesity and tobacco. This week CDC notified us that Arizona is a “high performing” state. What does this mean? CDC will soon be [...]
