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State Spending For Higher Education Increases [January 31, 2006] The Uninsured And Rising Health Care Costs [January 30, 2006] Literacy Of American College Students [January 30, 2006] Efforts By States To Expand Health Insurance Coverage [January 30, 2006] Therapy Caps Remain A Vexing Issue [January 20, 2006] Public Health Service Commission Corps To Be Transformed [January 19, 2006] Higher Education Commission To Hold Two Meetings In February [January 18, 2006] AHRQ Releases 2005 National Healthcare Quality And Disparities Reports [January 17, 2006] Snapshot Of Today's College Students [January 13, 2006] Prospects For Reauthorization Of The Higher Education Act [January 12, 2006] National Report Card On The State Of Emergency Medicine [January 11, 2006] U.S. Health Care Spending [January 10, 2006] Leadership Summit on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health [January 9, 2006] Health Care Rationing: What It Means [January 6, 2006] Comments Sought On CDC Health Protection Research Guide [January 5, 2006] HHS To Consider New Priorities For Comparing Health Treatments [January 04, 2006] President Bush Signs Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill [January 3, 2006] Research Priorities For AHRQ [December 29, 2005] Trends In Family Caregiving [December 28, 2005] Devastating Cuts In Funding For Health Professions Education Programs [December 27, 2005] Background Characteristics, Work Activities, And Compensation Of Instructional Faculty And Staff [December 23, 2005] Trends In America [December 22, 2005] CEOs View Health Care As Greatest Cost Pressure [December 21, 2005] Setting The Agenda For Research On Cultural Competence In Health Care [December 20, 2005] Report Available On International Meeting On Avian Influenza And Human Pandemic Influenza [December 19, 2005] Results Of Surveys Of Allied Health Practitioners [December 16, 2005] Damaged Ecosystems Threaten Human Health [December 15, 2005] The Spirit Of Sarbanes-Oxley And Accreditation [December 14, 2005] CDC Report On Health United States 2005 [December 13, 2005] A Potential Influenza Pandemic: Possible Macroeconomic Effects and Policy Issues [December 12, 2005] Protecting The Public's Health From Disease, Disasters, And Bioterrorism [December 9, 2005] Clinical Laboratory Scientist Workers Shortage Study [December 8, 2005] Willingness of Minorities to Participate in Health Research [December 7, 2005] Federal Government Begins Pandemic Planning With States [December 6, 2005] NIH Pilot Study To Shorten Review Cycle For New Investigator R01 Applications [December 5, 2005] New System Needed To Measure And Report Health Care Performance [December 2, 2005] NIDRR Fellowships Available [December 1, 2005] State Spending For Higher Education Increases State spending on higher education increased by 6 percent for 2006, the fastest rate of growth in five years , according to The Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University. The Uninsured And Rising Health Care Costs An issue brief by the Alliance for Health Reform examines the related issues of the uninsured and rising health costs, noting that several reports from 2005 indicated that both issues "remain serious dilemmas." The document may be accessed by clicking http://www.allhealth.org/recent/issue_briefs/The%20Uninsured%20and%20Rising%20Health%20Costs.pdf . Literacy Of American College Students Twenty percent of U.S. college students completing four-year degrees – and 30 percent of students earning two-year degrees – have only basic quantitative literacy skills, meaning they are unable to estimate if their car has enough gasoline to get to the next gas station or calculate the total cost of ordering office supplies, according to a new national survey by the American Institutes for Research (AIR). The study was funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The report may be accessed by clicking http://www.air.org/news/documents/The%20Literacy%20of%20Americas%20College%20Students_final%20report.pdf . Efforts By States To Expand Health Insurance Coverage The State Coverage Initiatives (SCI) annual year-in-review report that tracks state progress to expand health insurance coverage looks at innovative efforts states have made to expand coverage amidst growing health care costs and looks ahead to what challenges might arise in the coming year. “State of the States” is produced by the State Coverage Initiatives program, a national initiative of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The document may be accessed by clicking http://www.statecoverage.net/pdf/stateofstates2006.pdf. Therapy Caps Remain A Vexing Issue Congress originally passed Medicare program caps affecting the provision of occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy services in 1997, but implementation has been delayed each year. An annual limit of $1,740 is in effect per patient. Provisions to allow patients to exceed therapy caps when it is medically necessary are contained in the budget-reconciliation bill that is still awaiting final passage in Congress. Tentative provisions in the legislation are limited to only one year. Further action will be necessary to fix permanently how Medicare covers these services. At issue is the arbitrary nature of the Medicare reimbursement amount that has been set with little regard for the actual needs of patients. Public Health Service Commission Corps To Be Transformed HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt announced an initiative to transform the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps, which will enable this critical emergency response resource to address public health challenges more quickly and efficiently. The Commissioned Corps will increase its ranks, streamline its assignment and deployment process, and increase its ability to recruit the best and brightest to defend the nation's public health. Over the next two months, strategies will be developed to increase the size of the corps and improve its ability to respond quickly to urgent public health needs. The Commissioned Corps seeks to: Increase the number of officers by 10 percent, to a total of 6,600 members; Improve response operations and team-oriented deployment process; and Change the recruitment process so that it includes stronger personal incentive programs and a better approach for assigning officers. The USPHS is one of the seven uniformed services and is dedicated to protecting, promoting, and advancing health and safety. USPHS officers work around the world to help in times of disaster and to provide day-to-day health care for underserved populations in the United States. More information can be obtained by clicking http://www.usphs.gov/ . Higher Education Commission To Hold Two Meetings In February The Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education has announced that the panel will hold two west-coast regional meetings in February: In San Diego on Feb. 2-3 and in Seattle on Feb. 7. The Commission, comprised of representatives from business, foundations, and higher education, is charged with ensuring America's system of higher education remains the finest in the world and continues to meet the needs of America's diverse population by expanding opportunity, innovation, and economic growth. Secretary Margaret Spellings created the commission to engage students and families, policy makers, business leaders and the academic community in a national dialogue about all aspects of higher education. T he San Diego meeting will focus on “five areas of innovation,” including innovation and the economy, innovative national and international models for delivery, innovative teaching and learning strategies, innovative financing, and innovative public/private sector models. The Seattle meeting will be a review of the four focus areas for the Commission: Access, accountability, affordability, and quality. Persons interested in attending either meeting must register in advance by contacting Carrie Marsh at (202) 205-8741 or by e-mail at Carrie.Marsh@ed.gov . Those unable to attend, but interested in providing public comment may do so through the Commission's web site . AHRQ Releases 2005 National Healthcare Quality And Disparities Reports Quality of health care for Americans has continued to improve at a modest pace and health care disparities are narrowing overall for many minority Americans, but for Hispanics, disparities have widened in both quality of care and access to care, according to reports by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The findings are contained in the 2005 National Healthcare Quality Report and its companion document, the 2005 National Healthcare Disparities Report . These reports, issued annually, measure quality and disparities in four key areas of health care: effectiveness, patient safety, timeliness, and patient centeredness. The Healthcare Quality Report may be accessed by clicking http://www.ahcpr.gov/qual/nhqr05/nhqr05.pdf The Healthcare Disparities Report may be accessed by clicking http://www.ahcpr.gov/qual/nhdr05/nhdr05.pdfhttp://www.ahcpr.gov/qual/nhdr05/nhdr05.pdf Snapshot Of Today's College Students Currently, 12 percent of all undergraduate students in the United States are first-generation Americans and 39 percent of undergraduates in the United States are aged 25 or older. These are just two fast facts offered in a new publication by the Center for Policy Analysis at the American Council on Education (ACE). College Students Today: A National Portrait uses data from the Department of Education's National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, 2003-04. It provides readers with statistics on the U.S. college student population including the percentage of male and female undergraduates, students of color, adult students, international students, low-income students, and undergraduates with foreign-born parents. It also includes useful data on graduate and professional students in the United States. Copies can be ordered by clicking http://www.acenet.edu/bookstore/pubInfo.cfm?pubID=365 Prospects For Reauthorization Of The Higher Education Act Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) faces an uncertain future when Congress reconvenes later this month. The combination of election year politics and the inclusion of the student aid programs as part of reconciliation could combine to undermine any further movement on the HEA legislation. This morning's edition of Inside Higher Ed includes an article on the prospects for passage of the reauthorization legislation: Entitled, “ Is Higher Ed Act Renewal Dead? ” the article may be accessed by clicking http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/01/12/hea National Report Card On The State Of Emergency Medicine America's emergency medical system is barely prepared for a real emergency, with overcrowded facilities and poor staff training, a report by a doctors' group said yesterday. The report from the American College of Emergency Physicians adds to a growing list of complaints that the lack of a cohesive healthcare system means US residents get different care depending on where they live and that emergency response in general is lacking in the United States. The panel graded US states in four broad areas: access to emergency care, quality and patient safety, public health and injury prevention, and the medical liability environment. No state was considered outstanding, but overall, California came out as the best-prepared state, followed by Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the District of Columbia, the report found. Arkansas, Idaho, and Utah had the weakest support for emergency care, according to the analysis, which used data from the American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, US Department of Health and Human Services, and other sources. The report may be accessed by clicking http://my.acep.org/site/DocServer/2006-NationalReportCard.pdf?docID=221 . The growth in health care spending in the U.S. slowed for the second straight year in 2004, according to a report released Tuesday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Spending in 2004 rose 7.9 percent, slower than the 8.2 percent growth in 2003 and 9.1 percent growth in 2002. The report, issued annually by CMS' Office of the Actuary, was published today in the journal Health Affairs. It shows that health care spending was $1.9 trillion in 2004, or $6,280 per person. It includes data through 2004, the most recent year for which actual numbers are available. A report on projected spending will be published in the coming months. The share of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) spent on health care grew 0.1 percentage point to 16.0 percent in 2004. This was a smaller increase in the share of GDP than experienced in recent years as economic growth in 2004 grew at its fastest rate since 1989. Slower growth in prescription drug spending has contributed to slower overall spending growth over the past few years. In 2004, prescription drugs accounted for only 11 percent of the growth in national healthcare expenditures, smaller than its share of the increase in recent years. In addition, the rate of growth in prescription drug spending - at 8.2 percent in 2004 - is slower in absolute terms than in previous years. The share of personal health care spending growth associated with prescription drugs has declined since 2000, coincident with a higher share of spending growth for hospital, physician, and home health services. Prescription drug spending had accounted for 23 percent of the growth in personal health spending between 1997 and 2000, but by 2002-2004 it accounted for only 14 percent. Hospital spending accounted for 28 percent of the growth in personal health spending between 1997 and 2000 and increased to 38 percent by 2002-2004. Spending for physician services accounted for 29 percent of the total growth in personal health spending in 2004, up from an average 25 percent share in the 2000-2002 period. Leadership Summit on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced new activities to help eliminate health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities and medically-underserved communities. He made the announcement at the National Leadership Summit on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health in Washington, D.C. During the summit, he announced: $56.9 million in grants by the National Institutes of Health's National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities to support the advancement of health disparities research. More information on the grants is available at http://www.ncmhd.nih.gov/ The 2005 National Healthcare Quality Report and its companion document, the 2005 National Healthcare Disparities Report , part of an annual series of reports that measure quality and disparities in four key areas of health care: effectiveness, patient safety, timeliness and patient centeredness. A new Minority Health Data Portal, a one-stop shop geared toward assisting researchers, academics, and health professionals with locating minority health data. The Web-based site will feature federal, public and private minority health research and data sources that identify data gaps and opportunities for linkages. This data portal is available online at http://www.hhs-stat.net/omh/ . The launch of a newly, redesigned Office of Minority Health (OMH) web site -- www.omhrc.gov -- which provides comprehensive information on minority health issues, low-cost health care locators, and key health disparities and minority health resources. It also provides information on health topics and publications that are tailored to minorities. Health Care Rationing: What It Means The United States spends more on health care than any other nation. In 2003, medical spending made up more than 15 percent of U.S. GDP, and if historical trends persist, this share will climb to more than one-third of GDP by 2040. With medical technology advancing at an ever-increasing rate, the potential for spending on procedures not worth their costs is growing, but there are few good ideas for reining in medical costs without hurting patients. One approach, used in Britain for many years, is rationing. A policy brief from the Brookings Institution by Henry Aaron examines many issues involved with rationing health care by applying its principles to radiology, using examples from the budget-limited British health system. The policy brief may be accessed by clicking http://www.brook.edu/comm/policybriefs/pb147.pdf . Comments Sought On CDC Health Protection Research Guide In 2001-2004, CDC convened three large workgroups, comprised of CDC staff with the task of recommending a process for developing an agency-wide research agenda. In January 2005, CDC established six workgroups and a core team comprised of representatives from state and local health departments, academic institutions, advocacy groups, partners, and CIOs within CDC. These latter experts had the task of implementing the recommended process to develop the CDC Health Protection Research Guide . The new CDC Health Protection Research Guide, 2006-2015 will serve as a blueprint for research areas that should be addressed during the next decade by CDC and its partners in response to current and future needs and events. The guide may be accessed by clicking http://www.cdc.gov/od/ophr/hpr_guide.pdf. Comments should be forwarded to http://www.rsvpbook.com/custom_pages/50942/index.php . HHS To Consider New Priorities For Comparing Health Treatments The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will host a listening session on Wednesday, January 11, 2006, to solicit input on research priorities for the Effective Health Care Program. Participants in the listening session are asked to focus their comments on: -Suggested topics for study under the Effective Health Care Program. The listening session will be held from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in Holman Lounge (13th Floor) at the National Press Club, 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC (Metro Center Metro station). If you are planning to attend, please RSVP to EHCListeningSession@ahrq.gov with your: Name. A call-in line has been established for anyone not able to attend the meeting in person; call-in information will be provided when you RSVP. Participants may provide oral or written comments. Oral comments are limited to three minutes and may be given in person or via telephone. All comments will be posted for public review in an online reading room at http://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov . Written comments may be submitted to: effectivehealthcare@ahrq.gov . President Bush Signs Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill President Bush signed the FY 2006 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill (H.R. 3010) into law on December 30, 2005. Overall, programs under Title VII of the Public Health Service Act were reduced by 51.5% compared to the previous fiscal year's funding levels. The Section 755 Allied Health and Other Disciplines Program underwent a cut of 66.3% Programs such as health administration, Quentin Burdick rural training, workforce information & analysis, geriatric training, and health education training centers were eliminated entirely. The Health Careers Opportunity Program experienced a reduction of 88.9% These figures include an across-the-board cut of 1% for all programs. In FY2006, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) plans to emphasize research gaps regarding the care of individuals with multiple health conditions in its grants portfolio of large research (R01) grants, small research (R03) grants and career development (K02, K08) awards. While many studies have focused on the efficacy and effectiveness of disease-specific interventions, there has been limited work that addresses the unique needs of sicker patients – those with multiple co-morbid conditions and those in need of multiple risk-behavior interventions Due to limitations on available grant funds for fiscal year 2006 AHRQ will limit large research grant applications to $300,000 total costs (direct and indirect) per year and $100,000 total costs per year for large conference grant applications. For additional information, click http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-HS-06-032.html . Using data from the National Long-Term Care surveys from 1984 through 1999, an examination was made of trends in disability and formal (paid) and informal (unpaid) care among persons age 65 or older with disabilities since the mid-1980s, as well as characteristics of all older persons with disabilities, their care arrangements, and their family members and family caregivers in 1994 and 1999. The study found that family caregivers continue to provide the vast majority of the long-term care received by older persons with disabilities in the U.S. Between 1994 and 1999, the number of spouses and children providing care to older persons increased while the use of formal care by these individuals declined. The proportion relying solely on family care increased dramatically over the same period. Family members were caring for persons with higher levels of disability in 1999 than in 1994, and both family caregivers and care recipients were older, with nearly 40 percent of caregiving children of parents age 85 or older in 1999, compared with 34 percent in 1994. The document may be accessed by clicking http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/il/2005_17_caregiving.pdf . Devastating Cuts In Funding For Health Professions Education Programs Last week, the Senate approved the FY 2006 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill (H.R. 3010 - H. Rept. 109-337) by voice vote, clearing it for the President's signature. Overall, programs under Title VII of the Public Health Service Act were reduced by 51.5% compared to the previous fiscal year's funding levels. The Section 755 Allied Health and Other Disciplines Program underwent a cut of 66.3% Programs such as health administration, Quentin Burdick rural training, workforce information & analysis, geriatric training, and health education training centers were eliminated entirely. The Health Careers Opportunity Program experienced a reduction of 88.9% These figures include an across-the-board cut of 1% for all programs. Background Characteristics, Work Activities, And Compensation Of Instructional Faculty And Staff This publication is the second from the 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF:04), a study of faculty and instructional staff in public and private not-for-profit two-year-and-above postsecondary institutions in the United States. This report describes the background characteristics, work activities, and compensation of instructional faculty and staff in fall 2003, by employment status, institution type, and program area. The results show that the majority (57 percent) of instructional faculty and staff were employed full time in fall 2003. Women made up a larger proportion of part-time than full-time instructional faculty and staff (47 percent vs. 38 percent). Full-time instructional faculty and staff, overall, reported working an average of 53 hours each week at all jobs both within and outside the institution, and part-time faculty averaged 40 hours per week at all jobs. The average basic salary from the institution for full-time instructional faculty and staff in all types of institutions was $66,800, and the average basic salary for part-time instructional staff was $11,000 in 2003. The document may be accessed by clicking http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/2006176.pdf . The Council of State Governments has identified 10 major change drivers that cut across policy areas. These change drivers already are affecting states and will continue to do so for years to come. States need to know how they can respond to these change drivers, which is the focus of a new report. For each change driver, two of the most important implications and ideas are presented on how to address them. The publication, Trends in America: Navigating Turbulence to Success , is designed to identify steps state leaders can take to respond to changes that are occurring while anticipating those yet to come. The document can be accessed by clicking: http://www.csg.org/NR/rdonlyres/eo4obt6sbapz6mv4yq5aihev655nm3e54znguhupc6hnp26xznj6ex3 CEOs View Health Care As Greatest Cost Pressure Business Roundtable's December 2005 CEO Economic Outlook Survey shows that for the third consecutive year CEOs cited health care costs as the greatest cost pressure, while energy costs have supplanted litigation costs as the number-two concern. Business Roundtable is an association of chief executive officers of leading corporations with a combined workforce of more than 10 million employees and $4 trillion in annual revenues. For additional information, click http://www.businessroundtable.org/CEOSurvey/index.aspx . Setting The Agenda For Research On Cultural Competence In Health Care Health care providers take many approaches to bridge barriers to communication that stem from racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic differences. "Cultural competence" encompasses both interpersonal and organizational interventions and strategies for overcoming those differences. A document from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) examines how cultural competence affects health care delivery and health outcomes. It is sponsored by the AHRQ and the Office of Minority Health (OMH). It may be accessed by clicking http://www.ahcpr.gov/research/cultural.htm . Report Available On International Meeting On Avian Influenza And Human Pandemic Influenza On November 7-9, 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and the World Bank jointly convened a meeting on avian influenza and human pandemic influenza. The meeting, which was attended by more than 600 experts from over 100 countries, marked the largest gathering held to date to assess the multiple threats arising from outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza, caused by the H5N1 virus, that have been ongoing in parts of the world since mid-2003. A report of the meeting may be accessed by clicking http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/2005/avian_influenza/summary_report_Nov_2005_meeting.pdf . Results Of Surveys Of Allied Health Practitioners The health care division of Bernard Hodes Group and ADVANCE Newsmagazines released the results of the first-ever surveys of eight allied health disciplines (a total of 1,721 respondents) and a separate survey of 1,045 RNs, LPNs and Nurse Practitioners. The allied health care practitioners part of the study covered the following: Survey results may be accessed by clicking http://www.hodes.com/healthcarematters/index.html . Damaged Ecosystems Threaten Human Health A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that 60% of natural resources are being degraded or are being used unsustainably, which could have serious consequences for human health over the next 50 years. The report may be accessed by clicking http://www.who.int/globalchange/ecosystems/ecosystems05/en/index.html . The Spirit Of Sarbanes-Oxley And Accreditation According to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, the spirit of Sarbanes-Oxley may soon visit higher education, part of a general focus on governance and finance in the nonprofit sector. The Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), has been considering reform proposals that could result in considerable additional scrutiny of nonprofit organizations. T hese proposals challenge the effectiveness of the system of self-regulation on which accreditation is based. Some proposals also are mirrored in the accreditation provisions of the House of Representatives' bill to reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HR 609). For additional information, click http://www.chea.org/ia/IA_120805.htm . CDC Report On Health United States 2005 The overall health of the nation continued to improve in part because of the significant resources devoted to health care, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest annual report to Congress. Life expectancy increased to a record 77.6 years from 77.3, while deaths from heart disease, stroke and cancer decreased by 2% to 5% each, the report says. However, some health problems continue. The report points out that half of Americans age 55-64 have high blood pressure and two in five of them are obese, conditions that are risk factors for heart disease and other chronic conditions. The report features an in-depth look at the health status of this growing age group, baby boomers poised to enter the Medicare program. The report may be accessed by clicking http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus05.pdf (Acrobat 7 is needed) A Potential Influenza Pandemic: Possible Macroeconomic Effects and Policy Issues In response to a request by Senate Majority Leader William Frist, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has prepared an assessment of the possible macroeconomic effects of an avian flu pandemic. The assessment concludes that a pandemic involving a highly virulent flu strain (such as the one that caused the pandemic in 1918) could produce a short-run impact on the worldwide economy similar in depth and duration to that of an average postwar recession in the United States. Most pandemics of the past involved much milder strains; an outbreak of that kind would have a much smaller economic impact, which might be indistinguishable in the macroeconomic data. The report may be accessed by clicking http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/69xx/doc6946/12-08-BirdFlu.pdf . Protecting The Public's Health From Disease, Disasters, And Bioterrorism The Trust for America's Health (TFAH) released the third annual report entitled, "Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Disease, Disasters, and Bioterrorism," which found that both federal and state preparedness for major health emergencies must be accelerated in order to protect the American public adequately. In the two-part report, the federal government received a grade of D+ for post-9/11 public health emergency preparedness and over half of states garnered a score of five or less out of 10 possible points for key indicators of health emergency preparedness such as capabilities to test for chemical and biological threats and hospital surge capacity to care for patients in a mass emergency. The report may be accessed by clicking http://healthyamericans.org/reports/bioterror05/bioterror05Report.pdf . Clinical Laboratory Scientist Workers Shortage Study The clinical laboratory workforce includes phlebotomists, laboratory assistants, and medical laboratory technicians and technologists. This workforce detects, diagnoses, and monitors disease through sample analysis and provides the bridge from sample collection to result. Personnel shortages exist among these professions. To study these issues, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions, National Center for Health Workforce Analysis issued a grant to the University of California, San Francisco, Center for California Health Workforce Studies. Research questions addressed the size of the workforce, demographic characteristics, role of various types of clinical laboratory workers, educational requirements, scope of practice, magnitude of any workforce shortage, key factors impacting the supply of and demand for workers, and issues that are expected to influence the future of the workforce. The report may be accessed by clicking http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/reports/clinical/default.htm . Willingness of Minorities to Participate in Health Research New findings by researchers at the National Institutes of Health show that minorities participate in health research studies at the same rate as non-Hispanic whites when they are made aware of the study and meet the medical requirements. The findings counter the widely held notion that minorities are less willing to participate and lead the researchers to suggest that minority involvement is more a matter of access than attitude. The study was led by researchers in the Department of Clinical Bioethics at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, the hospital at NIH. The work is published online December 6, 2005 in the medical journal PLoS Medicine , published by the Public Library of Science. It may be accessed by clicking: Federal Government Begins Pandemic Planning With States Noting that communities will be on the front lines of any effort to stop orcontain a pandemic, yesterday HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt convened seniorstate and local officials to establish an integrated federal-state influenza-pandemic planning process. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff helped open the meeting. Officials from every U.S. state, territory, Puerto Rico and tribal governments participated. The officials were advised to plan broadly. Secretary Leavitt asked participants to begin preparing for a series of in-state pandemic-planning summits to be held in every state over the next several months. These in-stat summits will help the public health and emergency response community in each state inform and involve their political, economic and community leadership in this process. The first local meeting will be held jointly with Gov. TimPawlenty in Minneapolis on December 14. NIH Pilot Study To Shorten Review Cycle For New Investigator R01 Applications Shortening the review cycle is a high priority for the National Institutes of Health and the biomedical and behavioral research communities. NIH is committed to supporting new investigators in their efforts to obtain R01 research grant funding. Since new investigators by definition do not have R01 support, any delay in the ability to submit an amended application could have a negative impact on their careers. Cognizant of the pressure on new investigators to obtain NIH R01 funding, the Center for Scientific Review convened a trans-NIH working group to develop a process to shorten the referral and review cycle in order to permit a new investigator to submit an amended application for the next submission date. The working group recommended an initial pilot, followed by an evaluation phase before consideration of modification and/or expansion. The results of this pilot will be analyzed and a determination made as to whether to expand this to all R01 applications submitted by new investigators. Further analysis will be done to determine if this should be expanded to all R01 applications and also to consider if other grant mechanisms should be included. The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) is inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006. Only individuals who have training and experience that indicate a potential for engaging in scientific research related to the solution of rehabilitation problems of individuals with disabilities are eligible. The program provides two categories of Research Fellowships: Merit Fellowships and Distinguished Fellowships. For additional information, click http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/E5-6724.htm . New System Needed To Measure And Report Health Care Performance If pay-for-performance initiatives and public reporting systems are to be effective in improving the quality of health care in the United States, a comprehensive, universally accepted system is needed to measure and report on the performance of health care providers and organizations, according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Congress should establish a new board within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate the development of standardized performance measures and monitor the nation's progress toward improving the health care system, stated the committee that wrote the congressionally mandated report. The document may be accessed by clicking http://www.nap.edu/books/0309100070/html/ . |
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