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Subject: health Mon, Nov 9 1992
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 92 04:44:15 EST
Message-ID: <ns.health.1992Nov9.044415@AmeriCast.com>

11-09 0000
DECISIONLINE: Health
USA TODAY Update
Nov. 9, 1992
Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network
    
ROBOT HELPS IN HIP SURGERY:
   Doctors have used a robotic device to assist in surgery for the 
first time. The 7-foot arm with a drill on the end was used to 
replace a diseased hip on a patient in Sacramento, Calif. The 
procedure has been tested in surgery on 26 dogs, but now the Food 
and Drug Administration has approved 10 tests on humans as part of 
a study.
    
AGENCY FIGHT STALLS CHANGES:
   It looks like food labeling changes won't be made Monday after 
all. The Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug 
Administration can't seem to come together on what stipulations 
should be made on grocery products. Consumer advocates want 
President Bush or Congress to make the agencies choose a food 
label panel soon.
    
FOCUS IS ON FAMILY VIOLENCE:
   The president of the American Hospital Association is calling 
on the nation's hospitals to do more to reduce domestic violence.  
"It is time to bring family violence out of the dark," says Dick 
Davidson, AHA president, in the latest issue of Hospitals 
magazine. Davidson calls abuse of spouses, children and older 
relatives "an ugly fact of life in every community."
(For more, see special Abuse package below.)
    
ASSOCIATION MEETS IN D.C.:
   The American Public Health Association's annual convention will 
meet in Washington, D.C., Monday through Thursday. The 
convention's agenda will include discussion of the resurgence of 
Tuberculosis, women's health issues and health care reform.
    
SCHOOL ADOPTS PROGRESSIVE PLAN:
   University of Nebraska employees can take up to 12 weeks of 
unpaid leave for some family illnesses and for adoptions, births 
and deaths under a plan that has been approved by the school's 
Regents. Health and other benefits will continue during the 
leaves.
    
NOISE CAN AFFECT HEALTH:
   Noise can affect the cardiovascular system, increasing heart 
rate and blood pressure and releasing stress hormones, says Dr. 
Paul Lambert, professor of otolaryngology at the University of 
Virginia Medical Center. Noise can also trigger asthma, high blood 
pressure, headaches, ulcers and colitis.
    
FAKE PERFUME COULD BE BETTER:
   In the perfume industry, artificial isn't all bad. For 
instance, many people are allergic to the oils of natural musks 
but find the synthetic duplicates less irritating. The latest 
Glamour magazine reports those same synthetic musks also offer a 
human alternative to the extraction of the essence from the glands 
of tiny musk deer.
    
TIPS ON AVOIDING COLON CANCER:
   Colorectal cancer is one of the most common malignancies in the 
USA. Every year, 140,000 men and women in the USA are diagnosed 
with colorectal cancer, and 60,000 die. To reduce the odds of 
getting colorectal cancer, the November's Vogue says people should 
eat less fat, add fiber their diet; eat lots of calcium; and 
considering aspirin therapy.
    
ENVIRONMENTALISTS, FARMERS TEAM:
   The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is asking 
environmentalists and farmers to work together on reducing 
pollution without hurting the economy. Catalyst: A new program to 
clean up waters polluted by farm chemical runoff. A farmer liaison 
begins work next month.
    
SPECIAL PACKAGE ON ABUSE:
    
MILLIONS OF KIDS ARE ABUSED:
   A Hospitals cover story cites the toll that domestic violence 
takes on the nation: Approximately 2 million children in the 
United States are seriously abused every year by their parents, 
guardians or others. At least 1,000 of these children die of their 
injuries; and studies indicate 22% to 35% of women who come to 
emergency departments are there for symptoms related to ongoing 
abuse.
    
PREGNANCY IS NO SHIELD:
   Pregnancy offers no shield from abuse. One study found that 37% 
of pregnant women seen in hospitals were physically abused during 
their pregnancy. Of men who batter women, 70% also batter their 
children. Also: Approximately 5% of those over age 65 have 
experienced severe to moderate abuse as elders.
    
HOSPITALS NEED TO BE AWARE:
   In the article, Dick Davidson asks hospitals to educate their 
employees about family abuse so they will be better able to 
identify victims who week hospital care. He also calls on 
hospitals to create partnerships with other community groups to 
"focus attention and resources on this hidden epidemic."
(End of package.)
    
Health Editor: Michele Coleman. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of 
USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution 
violates federal law.
    

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