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.

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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Driving Down Cesarean Delivery Rates

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:47-07:00March 1st, 2014|Licensing, Prevention|

There’s widespread agreement within the public health community that the percentage of women who deliver by Cesarean Section these days is too high. In fact, 1/3 of women in the US have cesarean deliveries these days (up from 9.5% in 1990 and 23% in 2008). Last week the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and [...]

Car Seat Safety and Collection Events This Weekend

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:48-07:00February 28th, 2014|Prevention|

Tomorrow Rural/Metro will hold two events in the East Valley to help parents make sure they have the right seat for their kids and the seats are properly installed. They will also collect gently used and new car seats so the state can donate them to families in need in Mexico. Rural/Metro is a partner [...]

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USDA Announces New School Nutrition Guidelines

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:48-07:00February 28th, 2014|General, Prevention|

The USDA announced proposed new guidelines for school wellness policies as part of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 this week. The new policies set goals in nutrition, physical activity, and other school-based activities promoting student wellness. Additionally, the school wellness policies include a guideline on food marketing in schools, setting a standard that [...]

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Detecting Scary Diseases

By Will Humble|2017-02-10T09:49:49-07:00February 25th, 2014|Prevention|

Disease outbreaks can come from anywhere. In Arizona we’ve had illness from contaminated pomegranate seeds from the Middle East, measles from Switzerland, salmonellosis from African dwarf frogs and cholera from Peru. More recently a Canadian traveler died of H5N1 after she returned home from a long trip to China. An exotic disease from another country is only [...]

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