Research Library

Despite enviable increases in educational attainment, women in the MENA countries may fare less well in attaining a form of social capital integral to their ability to exercise full political, economic and social agency: wasta — loosely, clout, or using one’s connections and/or influence to get things done.

Asthma in children costs an estimated $27 billion annually for doctor visits, emergency department visits and hospitalizations. Not surprisingly, kids with asthma miss more days of school and do worse academically. The first step to the management and treatment of asthma is access to a primary care provider who can prescribe the necessary medications and develop an asthma action plan. However, if we want to have a significant impact on the negative consequences of this disease on our children, a multi-faceted approach that includes policy is an absolute must.

Regenerative medicine and stem cell research are exciting new fields. But as the fields progress toward clinical therapies, controversies emerge. Hype surrounding stem cell research has caused an increase in their use in interventions that are not clinically proven. Furthermore, the regulatory agencies have a lot of difficulty dealing with cell therapies, which are distinctly different from drugs and medical devices they more commonly approve. To move the field forward, advocates, regulators and scientists need to come together to find new options for stem cell research oversight that protects both the patients and the research field.

While global attention in West Africa is focused on the emergence of Ebola virus infection, new information from the published literature and World Health Organization databases reveals that many other neglected tropical diseases are far more widespread and also require urgent attention.

With two corporate groups dominating Mexico's television sector, the country’s 2014 telecommunications reform established constitutional “must carry” and “must offer” (MC/MO) regulations. These regulations mandate that free-to-air broadcasters must allow pay TV companies to retransmit in the same coverage area without payment (must offer) and that pay TV companies must provide audiences with these free-to-air broadcasts without passing fees along to subscribers (must carry). While the reform legislation places rhetorical importance on promoting culturally diverse and pluralistic content for all broadcast audiences, there is little substantive commitment to these ideals. The Mexican variation of MC/MO is an ad hoc policy with many flaws. Ultimately, the Supreme Court will determine the future of MC/MO in Mexico. Given the reform’s legal framework, however, content diversity and pluralism will not be enhanced by MC/MO in Mexico.

Tele-health in schools may be the answer to limited resources and a need to increase health care access for children.

In Texas, Hispanics and women showed the largest reductions in rates of uninsured since enrollment began under the Affordable Care Act, according to a new report released June 2 by the Baker Institute for Public Policy and Episcopal Health Foundation.

Advancements in technology have increased access to health information and self-monitoring for individual consumers, as well as increased health care providers’ ability to diagnose, monitor or treat their patients remotely. This summary provides a snapshot of the scope of health-related technology available on the market and may provide insight into the current needs or demands of patients and providers.

Do patients and physicians agree on releasing abnormal test results directly to patients?

“Blue marble health” was introduced in 2013 as a policy framework to better understand new trends in the geographic distribution of the major neglected tropical diseases (NTDs)affecting human populations that live in extreme poverty. An analysis of information released by the World Health Organization reveals that the concepts of blue marble health extend beyond neglected tropical diseases to also include “the big three diseases”: HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.