http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Active Design: Affordable Designs for Affordable Housing is a new report that builds on the Active Design Guidelines published by New York City in 2010. The report examines strategies and costs for incorporating active design principles specifically aimed at increasing physical activity among children ages 3 to 18 years old in family-focused affordable housing developments. The strategies included in the report are based on evaluation of urban and suburban affordable housing developments across three cities: New York, New York; San Antonio, Texas; and Atlanta, Georgia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-good-health-fostering-physical.html Health Wed, 15 May 2013 07:59:58 EST news287823578 Federally funded safety-net clinics for the uninsured lag behind other health care providers in controlling blood pressure among the low-income patients who rely on them for care, a new Michigan State University analysis suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-blood-pressure-safety-net-clinics.html Health Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:31:38 EST news285427892 (Medical Xpress)—Stealth is a well-known concept in military tactics. Almost since the invention of radar, the hunt began for counter-technologies to hide aircraft and missiles from detection – most successfully by modifying the composition and shape of surfaces to confound detection. In a biological parallel, the African sleeping sickness parasite Trypanosoma brucei also has a stealth-like trick for altering its surface to confound recognition by the human immune system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-sickness-stealth.html Immunology Tue, 05 Feb 2013 07:05:07 EST news279270291 Health warning labels (HWLs) on cigarette packages that use pictures to show the health consequences of smoking are effective in reaching adult smokers, according to the results of a new study published in the December issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Although previous studies have demonstrated that HWLs with pictorial imagery are more effective than HWLs with only text in increasing knowledge about smoking dangers and promoting the benefits of quitting, this new research shows which kind of pictures appears to work best among adult smokers in the U.S., including smokers from disadvantaged groups where smoking rates are highest. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-pictures-effective-cigarette.html Health Tue, 13 Nov 2012 00:00:01 EST news271955896 Many public safety-net hospitals are likely to face increasing financial and competitive pressures stemming in part from the recent Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act, according to researchers at Penn State and the Harvard School of Public Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-survival-safety-net-hospitals.html Health Thu, 20 Sep 2012 12:23:38 EST news267362609 (Medical Xpress)—Living in poverty is often accompanied by conditions that can negatively influence cognitive development. Is it possible that being bilingual might counteract these effects? Although previous research has shown that being bilingual enhances executive functioning in middle-class children, less is known about how it affects lower income populations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-languages-benefits-low-income-children.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:02:33 EST news265302109 Researchers from Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health (BUSM, BUSPH), along with the VA Boston Healthcare System and Harvard Medical School, have found inpatient medical procedures increased more among non-elderly, lower- and medium- income populations, Hispanics and whites, after health care reform went into effect in Massachusetts. The findings, which currently appear in Medical Care, suggest improved access to outpatient care for vulnerable subpopulations since health care reform took effect. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-massachusetts-health-reform-inpatient-surgical.html Health Wed, 13 Jun 2012 10:48:42 EST news258803314 A text messaging intervention with education-related messages sent to parents increased influenza vaccination coverage compared with usual care in a traditionally hard-to-reach, low-income, urban, minority population of children and adolescents, although coverage overall remained low, according to a study in the April 25 issue of JAMA. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-flu-vaccination-text-messaging-low-income.html Health Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:44:08 EST news254504640 The community or neighborhood you live in can impact your health in big ways, and disadvantaged, low-income populations in the United States are at an increased risk of experiencing unhealthy conditions, more sickness and shorter lives, according to a new study by researchers with the Virginia Commonwealth University Center on Human Needs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-health.html Health Fri, 02 Mar 2012 06:59:19 EST news249893938 Exposure during pregnancy to flame retardant chemicals commonly found in the home is linked to lower birthweight babies, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Public Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-flame-retardants-linked-lower-birth-weight-babies.html Health Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:23:55 EST news233933014 While the popularity of locally and regionally grown food is on the rise among Americans, food accessibility remains a major concern for those with limited financial resources. Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is collaborating with West Virginia University and North Carolina State University to develop, implement, and evaluate a food security strategy to enhance the resiliency of the Southern Appalachian region, with a special focus on local food access and affordability for low-income populations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-virginia-tech-food-southern-appalachia.html Health Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:46:47 EST news231514279