PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

ICAP study uses novel incentive to encourage HIV patient care and treatment

2012-07-18
(Press-News.org) In a new study by ICAP at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health, researchers are assessing a novel approach to encourage newly diagnosed HIV positive people to seek care and adhere to HIV treatment. The unique study in the HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN) gives people who test HIV positive a coupon for a gift card to claim after they complete clinic visits and laboratory tests. Patients who adhere to HIV treatment regularly can decrease the amount of HIV in their blood, leading to viral suppression. Study participants who achieve viral suppression also receive gift cards as a reward and motivation for a maximum of four times a year. Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, ICAP director, is protocol chair for the HPTN 065 or Test Link to Care Plus Treat (TLC-Plus) Study. HPTN 065 is being conducted in the Bronx and in Washington, DC and involves 37 HIV testing sites and 39 HIV care sites in the two communities. HPTN 065 aims to determine the feasibility of enhanced testing, linkage and treatment as a strategy for HIV prevention in the U.S. Community input played an important role in the design of the study, explained Dr. El-Sadr, who is also professor of Epidemiology and Medicine at Columbia's Mailman School. "Before we introduced our financial incentive, we had to think so carefully about what can happen that's good and what can undermine what you're trying to do," she said. "And we want to use incentives that, if they are effective, will be cost-effective for health systems." Findings of the study are featured in Science magazine's July 13 special issue, "HIV/AIDS in America," published on the eve of the International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) in Washington, D.C. ### Read the paper, Pay Now, Benefits Later. The study is funded by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study is conducted in collaboration with CDC and health departments in the following cities: New York City, Washington, DC, Chicago, Houston, Miami and Philadelphia. About ICAP ICAP at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health is a global leader in public health, with a broad portfolio of research, training, health system strengthening, and service delivery programs in the United States and around the world. Founded in 2004, ICAP is committed to addressing critical health issues and to bettering lives by improving access to high-quality, equitable, and affordable health services. Working hand-in-hand with in-country partners, ICAP has supported more than 2,000 health facilities across 21 countries. More than one million people have received HIV services through ICAP-supported programs. For more information about ICAP, visit http://www.columbia-icap.org.


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Doctors and rheumatoid arthritis patients differ on perception of disease activity

2012-07-18
Researchers from Austria have determined that patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and their doctors differ on perception of RA disease activity. The study now available in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and published by Wiley, reports that RA patients cite joint pain as the reason for their perception of a change in their disease activity. Rheumatologists, however, stressed joint swelling as the major determinant for their perception of change in RA disease activity. RA is a systemic rheumatic disease that causes inflammation, ...

Sugar-sweetened drinks are not replacing milk in kid's diets

2012-07-18
Philadelphia, PA, July 18, 2012 – National data indicate that milk consumption has declined among children while consumption of sweetened beverages of low nutritional quality has more than doubled. Although this suggests that sugar-sweetened beverages may have replaced more nutritious drinks in children's diets, a new study suggests that in fact changes in children's milk consumption are not significantly related to changes in their consumption of sodas and flavored fruit drinks over time. The results are published online today in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition ...

Lowering the national ozone standard would significantly reduce mortality and morbidity

2012-07-18
Establishing a more stringent ozone standard in the U.S. would significantly reduce ozone-related premature mortality and morbidity, according to a new study published online July 18 in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. "Abundant evidence links exposure to ozone with adverse health effects, including impaired pulmonary function, asthma exacerbations, increased hospital and emergency room visits, and increased mortality, yet the current National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 75ppb is often exceeded," said lead author Jesse Berman, a PhD candidate at Johns ...

Developing policy on moving threatened species called 'a grand challenge for conservation'

2012-07-18
Managed relocation—the act of purposely relocating a threatened species, population, or genotype to an area that is foreign to its natural history—is a controversial response to the threat of extinction resulting from climate change. An article in the August 2012 issue of BioScience by Mark W. Schwartz and his colleagues reports on the findings of the Managed Relocation Working Group, an interdisciplinary group of scientists, researchers, and policymakers whose goals were to examine the conditions that might justify the use of managed relocation and to assess the research ...

Hepatitis C may increase deaths from both liver-related and other diseases

2012-07-18
[EMBARGOED FOR JULY 18, 2012] In a long-term study of people infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV), researchers found increased deaths from both liver-related and non-liver related diseases in patients with active infections who had not cleared their infection. The study, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases and available online, found increased mortality in patients with chronic HCV infection—that is, with detectable levels of HCV genetic material, or RNA, in their blood—suggesting that chronic HCV infections, even in people who have no symptoms, can lead ...

New media, old messages: Obama and family are target of 'blackface' racism on Facebook

2012-07-18
Fans of Facebook hate groups, while using new media to target President Obama and his family, are relying heavily on old stereotypes of blacks as animalist, evil or shiftless — including depictions of the President as a chimp or sporting a bandana and a mouth full of gold teeth, according to a Baylor University study. More than 20 Facebook groups/pages were analyzed, using the keywords, "hate," "Barack Obama," and "Michelle Obama" to pinpoint them, in a study by Mia Moody, Ph.D., assistant professor of journalism, public relations and new media in Baylor's College of Arts ...

Actions don't always speak louder than words — At least, not when it comes to forgiveness

2012-07-18
People are more likely to show forgiving behavior if they receive restitution, but they are more prone to report they have forgiven if they get an apology, according to Baylor University research published in the Journal of Positive Psychology. The study underscores the importance of both restitution and apology and of using multiple measures for forgiveness, including behavior, said Jo-Ann Tsang, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences. "One of the main reasons for using behavioral measures in addition to self-reporting ...

California Registration Requirements for People Convicted of Sex Crimes

2012-07-18
California Registration Requirements for People Convicted of Sex Crimes Even after serving one's sentence, many people who have been convicted of a sex offense in California must register with the state as a sex offender. Under the registration law, known as Megan's Law, people convicted of sex crimes may be required to provide their addresses and other personal information to local law enforcement agencies, and some of that information may be available on a publicly available Internet registry. However, the law prohibits the use of a registrant's personal information ...

Modification of Child Custody Arrangements After Divorce

2012-07-18
Modification of Child Custody Arrangements After Divorce If you are a parent who has gone through divorce, your family has likely experienced some changes in dynamics. Your role as mother or father now includes following a child custody arrangement that probably differs from the way you parented before the divorce. The custody plan, which includes legal and physical custody orders, might be judge-created or it could be a product of a court-approved agreement between the parents. Either way, you might think enough has changed from the perspective of your child or your ...

Recent Massachusetts Cases Reveal Breadth of Noncompete Law

2012-07-18
Recent Massachusetts Cases Reveal Breadth of Noncompete Law Employers in many industries must protect themselves from unfair competition that would arise from employees using company knowledge or contacts to create or join a competing business. To prevent this, Massachusetts law has long held that an employment contract can include a provision restricting trade or competition for the employee after the employment ends, if: -The employer needs the restriction to protect its legitimate business interests -The restriction is reasonably limited in time and space -The ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission

UTA-backed research tackles health challenges across ages

In pancreatic cancer, a race against time

Targeting FGFR2 may prevent or delay some KRAS-mutated pancreatic cancers

[Press-News.org] ICAP study uses novel incentive to encourage HIV patient care and treatment