One of the key objectives of public health is to assess the cause of disease or bad outcomes so we can design interventions. In order to do that, we need to be able to tell the difference between when something is actually “causing” an outcome and when the exposure or condition is simply “associated” or [...]
Going to college is fun and exciting. As is the case with all life transitions, getting some helpful hints in advance can smooth out the adjustment time and help create a better and healthier outcome. Make it a point to review the following “life coach tips” with your young adult (like I’ve been doing with my [...]
In Part I and Part II of this series we’ve introduced the idea that contemporary pain management strategies have resulted in an epidemic of painkiller misuse and abuse that’s killing large numbers of people. In fact, misuse and abuse of opiate prescription painkillers takes out more people every year than car crashes. The run-up to the [...]
In 2012 the Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (the DDPC works out of the 4th floor of our 1740 building) partnered with the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (SARRC) to develop new self-employment opportunities. The Home Baked and Confectionary Goods law was used as the foundation for the project due to potential ease of [...]
Depression strikes more people than you might think. Some 300,000 people in Arizona live with major depression. It may take years from when symptoms first emerge and to when people finally get help. Less than one-third of adults with a diagnosed mental illness receive treatment. Often, it’s the friends and family of a person living [...]
Arizona Developmental Disabilities Planning Council is sponsoring a series of six Employment First Community Forums to develop a comprehensive strategic plan designed to promote employment for individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. A broad coalition of self-advocates, family members, service providers, educators, state agencies, advocates and employers are sharing ideas and strategies to raise public [...]
Thursday we celebrated our recent statewide success at reducing the time it takes newborn screening blood spot samples to get to our State Laboratory for testing. Over the last 8 months, Arizona has improved our blood spot turn-around time to among the best in the country. Folks from dozens of hospitals came to a celebrate [...]
As you’ve probably seen in the news, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa is still on the march. The outbreak started back in March and is currently the largest Ebola outbreak in history, with the WHO reporting 1,603 cases and 877 deaths as of August 1st. Most of the cases have occurred in Sierra Leone, Guinea, [...]
Believe it or not, it’s already back to school time. Whether kids are heading off to school for the first time, or going back for their senior year of high school, it’s important for parents, grandparents and students to do everything they can to insure the school year is safe and healthy. One of the [...]
Last week (in Part I of this 5-part series) I introduced the idea that contemporary pain management strategies have resulted in an epidemic of painkiller misuse and abuse that’s killing large numbers of people. In fact, misuse and abuse of opiate prescription painkillers takes out more people every year than car crashes. The run-up to the [...]
