Prevention – Page 45 – AZ Dept. of Health Services News

Topics here will include issues that fall into the Prevention Division of the agency, which include – as the name implies – programs that help prevent disease in our state. You will find information about chronic diseases (cancer, heart health, breathing disorders) as well as tobacco use prevention. This area also includes education about Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Women, Infant and Children programs; both USDA programs that help provide nutrition to lower income residents.

Medicare Cost Transparency

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:43-07:00April 9th, 2014|Prevention|

I’ve always believed that transparency improves the efficiency of any system. Health care costs are no exception- and health care reimbursement costs are probably at the top of the list of systems that could be improved by applying a healthy dose of cost transparency. Today the federal government took a giant step forward when they [...]

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Prom Tools for Parents

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:44-07:00April 3rd, 2014|Prevention|

In the next few weeks many AZ teens will be attending proms. While proms can have positive memories, the experiences can turn tragic when alcohol is part of the mix. Alcohol impairs judgment… potentially leading to sexual assault, unplanned pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and deadly car crashes. Car crashes are the leading cause of death among teens… [...]

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Farm Bill Provides Public Health Intervention Options

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:44-07:00April 1st, 2014|Prevention|

The passage of the Farm Bill (the Agricultural Act of 2014) includes some changes and reforms to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP or food stamps) and the Commodity Supplemental Food Program. In Arizona, SNAP benefits help put healthy food on the table for more than one million people each month, with more than half of the benefits going to [...]

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Tuberculosis & Mankind

By Will Humble|2014-03-24T09:25:06-07:00March 24th, 2014|Prevention|

Tuberculosis and mankind share a dramatic and intertwined history. TB has caused millions of deaths every year for centuries, been found in Egyptian mummies, has placed patients into sanatoriums, and has even has a folklore link relating it with vampires, The drama continues into this decade: in 2012, there were 8.8 million new cases of [...]

Improving Newborn Screening Turn-around Times

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:45-07:00March 24th, 2014|Newborn Screening, Prevention|

Last December I wrote about an investigation done by a reporter from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about newborn screening program turn-around times across the country. When I saw where Arizona stood relative to the other states in the article, we set a new goal of making sure that our Lab gets 95% of all newborn [...]

Improving Arizona’s Birth Outcomes

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:46-07:00March 13th, 2014|Prevention|

Arizona ranks in the middle of the pack in infant mortality. We’re doing many things right to improve the health of our babies- but we have a way to go. Last fall we participated in a learning collaborative sponsored by the National Governors Association. About 160 folks met to begin the process developing a statewide [...]

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Weigh in on Arizona’s Maternal & Child Health Block Grant

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:46-07:00March 12th, 2014|Prevention|

Our Women’s and Children’s Health team administers the AZ federal maternal Child Health Block Grant. This grant is authorized through Title V of the Social Security Act and has been in place since 1935. Every 5 years we look at the health and well-being of Arizona’s women and children and develop our top priorities based [...]

It’s Farmer’s Market Season in AZ

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:46-07:00March 7th, 2014|Prevention|

March 1 was the kickoff of the new Arizona Farmers’ Market Nutrition season for women and children who participate in the AZ Women, Infants and Children program. WIC participants are beginning to receive their Farmers’ Market checks to spend for fresh, locally grown, fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets. WIC moms and their kids receive [...]

Obesity Drops Among Preschoolers

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:47-07:00March 5th, 2014|Prevention|

The latest CDC obesity data published in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association found a significant decline in obesity among kids aged 2 to 5. Obesity prevalence for this age group declined by 43% in the last 8 years (from 14% in 2004 to 8% in 2012. While the precise reasons for the [...]

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Strange “Polio Like Syndrome” Cases in CA

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:47-07:00March 3rd, 2014|Prevention|

Maybe you heard news reports this week about kids in California with a “polio-like syndrome.” Here's a synopsis: Over the last 18 months, 5 kids have been identified by California’s Department of Public Health with a paralysis in one or more limbs. Multiple tests have been run on them. Poliovirus wasn't found, but enterovirus-68 was isolated in 2 of the cases. There are hundreds [...]

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