It's about your life ABC Action News anchor Linda Hurtado is a veteran Bay area health reporter. Her Active Living reports focus on breakthroughs in medicine and new ideas for healthy living. As a working mom, Linda understands the health news families want. Active Living is not about odd diseases; it's about your life and how you can live it in good health.

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Study: Ibuprofen better than acetaminophen for children's fevers
By Consumer Reports Health Blog
ConsumerReportsHealth.org has partnered with The BMJ Group to monitor the latest medical research and assess the evidence to help you decide which news you should use. Read more on children's health and on vaccinations your children ...
Consumer Reports Health Blog - http://blogs.consumerreports.

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Byline: Mariama Kandeh

Freetown, - It is ironical to see a set of people working extremely hard for their daily survival and for the development of their communities all to no avail as poverty has prevailed over their lives thus making their struggle very difficult.

This is the situation of many residents in the rural areas of Sierra Leone. From Kayakoh in Koinadugu to Buedu in Kailahun, Sefadu in Kono, Wala in Port Loko and Kamalo in Bombali, people are working hard but because of lack of proper management skills, lack of incentives and non-availability of improved farming techniques, most of their efforts are wasted.

Kamalo is one of the many villages in Sierra Leone that are completely cut off from civilization. The village is situated in the Sanda-Loko chiefdom about 47 miles from Makeni and it takes two and a half hours for a forerunner jeep to reach the village.

Two and a half hours through ditches, potholes and fallen trees across the road. Villagers, especially women, are seen carrying babies on their backs with huge piles of farm produce on their heads. Some others carry bundles of clothes as they move from one village to the other.

Women whose bare breasts dangle on their chests like oranges could also be seen at rivers as they launder dirty clothes for their husbands and numerous children.

This recent trip to that part of Sierra Leone made me believe that the myth that Sierra Leoneans are lazy was not only a folktale but also based on assumption and myopia.

In the rural areas, women and men work on their farms from dawn to dusk. It is hard for one to set eyes on able-bodied adults and youths in those villages during the day as most of them would have gone to their farms. Instead, one will only see young children and the aged around. Yet, the people are poor, hungry and filthy so I had to ask myself why.

Along the roads from Pailla to Kamalo and Makali going to Kamakwie, poverty is visible on the faces of the people. Along the way, I saw naked children and some with patched clothes manning check points to collect one hundred leones from vehicles that ply the route.

Most of these children do run to the bush whenever a vehicle tries to scare them away. Reminiscing on this act by these children, I remember the roles played by children during the war and my heart beats for the future of Sierra Leone.

Even the outlook of minibuses that drive through the road shows the high level of detachment of the area from civilization. Despite the presence of police officers at some of the check points along the way, 'poda podas' still get overloaded sometimes and teenagers sit on their carriers.

"The road is bad. We have to overload to cover up for the fuel we burn while traveling through this kind of a road," Mohamed Kamara, a driver said to me. But does that mean endangering the lives of the passengers on board? I asked myself with a nod.

According to the 2004 census report, Makali has a population of about 473 people and Kamalo slightly over 800. These numbers have significantly increased over the years. The villages lack potable water, power supply, good roads, and sanitary system.

It is common in those parts of Sierra Leone for young men of ages between 20 and 30 years having three to four wives with children ranging from 6 to 13. Can there be any proper care for the family with such a big size and little income? No! Local councils need to increase their sensitization drive for a proper family setup.

Mohamed B. Sesay, a farmer, said the village is home to many senior citizens of the country. It is also the paternal home of President Ernest Bai Koroma and bank governor, Samura Kamara but the village has been abandoned by succeeding governments including the incumbent.

"Kamalo has given birth to many great people. Most of them are in the city. They own farms here but have turned a blind eye to the realities of their people. One of the most common epidemics here is diarrhea and the major reason for that is because we drink from the Marwolkoh River which is not healthy," he said.

Apparently, farming is the swiftest means of becoming wealthy in the world today but in Sierra Leone this is not the case. Farmers constitute the poorest in the country. In Kamalo and Makali, farming is done in large scale but unfortunately this has not reflected in the lives of the people. Many of them cannot afford good housing and thus live in thatch houses.

Farmers grow rice, beans, pepper, groundnut and benni on a land space ranging between four and thirty five acres but their health situation is terrible. Most of their children have protruding stomachs which is not too healthy for them. They drink, bathe and use river water for domestic purposes.

Chairman of Ataya base farmers association, Chernoh Kamara, claimed that they are being exploited by those who buy their farm produce. "Those who take the strain to come through this difficult road to buy our crops are making huge profits. After harvesting, we do drying but we lack storage facility. Late marketing is also causing low quality and slow profit," he said.

Kamara said a bag of pepper is bought from them at Le 40, 000 and sold for Le 100,000 in big towns. Earlier this year, farmers in Kamalo harvested okra and bitter balls which cost over millions but were left to destroy because there were no markets for the crops.

Extension Coordinator, Alpha Yayah Mansaray explained that the dilapidated state of Sanda Loko chiefdom is largely because the farmers are not practicing mechanized farming but subsistence.

"They also need incentives to buy seeds and other equipments to hasten the farming process," he said adding that farmers need proper education on how to market their farm produce in order to maximize profit.

The deteriorating situation does not only affect the farming sector but also the health, education and infrastructural development of the Sanda Loko chiefdom. While residents have lost hope of ever having power or water supply, there is little or no medical care for residents in the area.

Yeabu Turay told me that she lost her mother after a quack doctor injected her with crystalline when the old woman had a heart attack. "I felt sorry for the 'pepper doctor' and I could not report him to the police," she said.

The education sector is no exception. Children walk miles to go to the only primary school in the area. Sometimes they had to cross rivers to go to the school. They put on rags and appear very untidy in school.

The RC Primary School, which is the only in an area called Madina Fullah, sent 30 pupils for the last National Primary School Examination (NPSE). Parents of some of these pupils grumbled that they were being asked by the head teacher Peter K. Sesay to give Le 5,000 and a fowl in order to get their results.

But a teacher from the school, Abdul Kamara, denied the allegation saying: "I have just collected the results. I am going to take the results from house to house," displaying one of the results to me from a transparent polyethylene bag.

I was surprised on my first night at Makali to see group of villagers running to the house where I was lodged to watch television. When I asked the care taker of the house, she told me that some of the people are coming from as far as two to three miles from the house just to watch a movie.

"Well this is the only well-constructed house here and the only one with a generator, video and television so whenever we put the generator on, you will see them coming in huge numbers," Aunty Fatty said adding that the people lack basic social amenities so whenever they get half of such an opportunity, they always grab it.

She also confirmed to me that most of the villagers that were present that night were pregnant women or nursing mothers. "Some get pregnant while in class 5 or 6. Parents here are very poor and cannot take care of their children. They will rather give their female children away for as low as a pan of groundnut. They cannot control their kids because respect goes with money," she said.

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A first-ever, national study conducted in South Africa found that 27.5 percent of men who have ever been married or lived with a partner report perpetrating physical violence against their current or most recent female partner. This study, led by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health, Yale School of Public Health, and the University of Cape Town in South Africa, appears in the September 9, 2008, issue of CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal.) [...]
These findings are likely to have significant public health implications in battling South Africas HIV/AIDS epidemic, which is among the largest in the world. Accumulating evidence linking mens violence with their controlling and sexually risky behaviours (e.g., transactional sex, multiple partnering and inconsistent use of condoms), coupled with womens inability to demand condom use in abusive relationships, underscore how the prevention of mens violence against intimate partners may help to alter the course of South Africas HIV epidemic, stated Dr. Jhumka Gupta, an author of the study. Such initiatives should therefore be considered a public health priority.

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Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report -
Sept. 8: Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on Saturday appeared via satellite at an AARP convention in Washington, D.C., and spoke about health care and other issues that affect seniors, the Washington Post reports.
In his comments, Obama said that McCain would abandon seniors economically and tax their health benefits. He said, Job shipped overseas? Tough luck. Pension disappeared? Thats the breaks. No health care? The emergency room will fix it. Youre on your own.
McCain in his comments cited his ability to work with congressional Democrats to address a number of issues, such as health care and Medicare. He said, We have to sit down together, Republican and Democrat, and reach across the aisle, and I have that record, adding, I ask you to do something and that is to say put aside your partisan rancor. My friends, I have that record and you can count on it (Shear/Slevin, Washington Post, 9/7).
On Friday, Obama during a campaign event in Duryea, Pa., announced a proposal to fight cancer and promised to double federal funds for research and promote preventive care. Jill Biden, the wife of Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden (Del.), appeared with Obama at the event and helped explain the proposal. She said, This is a plan that will help save lives (Douglas, McClatchy/Miami Herald, 9/6).
Health Care, Other Economic Proposals Examined
The New York Times The Caucus on Monday examined the Obama and McCain economic proposals, which include their health care plans. According to the Times Obama has far outbid his Republican adversary on his economic proposals, which include subsidies to help U.S. residents purchase health insurance.
The principle elements of Mr. McCains economic agenda on taxes, trade, regulation and health care follow the philosophic outlines of a deeply unpopular Bush administration, with McCains most ambitious proposal a plan to replace a tax break for employees who receive health insurance from employers with a refundable tax credit of as much as $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families to purchase private coverage, according to the Times However, for most workers, who already have employer-provided health insurance, the value of that credit would be offset by a new tax on those employer-provided policies, the Times reports Harwood, The Caucus, New York Times, 9/8).
The AP/Tennessean on Monday also examined the Obama and McCain economic proposals, which included their plans for Medicare. According to the AP/Tennessean, neither candidate is talking very much about tackling what all experts see as the biggest budgetary challenge facing the next president the explosion in the governments big benefit programs for Social Security and Medicare as the baby boomers retire. In addition, neither campaign has put forward any proposals that experts say would make a meaningful dent in fixing Medicare, the far bigger entitlement problem because of soaring health care costs, the AP/Tennessean reports (Crutsinger, AP/Tennessean, 9/8).
In addition, the Tribune/Long Island Newsday on Sunday examined the Obama and McCain economic proposals, which include their health care plans. Obama wants all Americans to have health coverage and would spend tax dollars to do it, and McCain would reduce regulations to permit more choices for consumers by allowing health care companies to sell across state lines, according to the Tribune/Newsday (Leckey, Tribune/Long Island Newsday, 9/7).
Newsday on Monday compared proposals from Obama and McCain on health care and other issues (Jones, Long Island Newsday, 9/8).
Ability of McCain To Work With Democrats Examined
The Wall Street Journal on Saturday examined whether McCain as president would have the ability to work with congressional Democrats to pass legislation on health care and other issues.
According to the Journal, health care reform is an issue on which Sen. McCain and Democrats sharply disagree. Republicans maintain that the McCain health care proposal would prod consumers to demand the most cost-effective coverage and would therefore drive down costs, but Democrats worry that it would continue to leave many millions of people without insurance and have defeated Bush administration efforts similar to what Sen. McCain is proposing.
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, senior policy adviser to McCain, said that McCain as president first would focus on areas of health care on which Republicans and Democrats agree such as efforts to increase use of health care information technology, allow prescription drug reimportation from Canada and expand use of generic medications. He said that health care reform would involve steady work at doing better incrementalism (Davis/Hitt, Wall Street Journal, 9/6).
Palin Promise, Record on Advocacy for Special-Needs Children Examined
Republican vice presidential nominee Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, whose five-month-old son Trig has Down syndrome, during her speech at the Republican National Convention last week advocated for special-needs children, but activists wondered whether that promise would be undercut by the Republican tickets pledge to reduce government spending, the Journal reports (Kronholz, Wall Street Journal, 9/8). Palin did not release details on how she plans to advocate for special-needs children. In an e-mail sent on Friday, Palin spokesperson Maria Comella wrote, She is going to be an advocate in the White House on multiple levels because she understands the issue, whats needed and what works.To those in Alaska who work with children with special needs, Ms. Palins pronouncement was surprising, as the disabled have not been a centerpiece of Ms. Palins 20 months in office or any of her campaigns for office, according to the New York Times. Palin signed legislation that would increase financing for children in Alaska with special needs but she was not involved in its development, the Times reports (Steinhauer/Harmon, New York Times, 9/7).
Retiree Concerns
The AP/Akron Beacon Journal during the Republican National Convention last week interviewed several retiree delegates about their views on health care and other issues.
According to the AP/Beacon Journal, health care is a primary concern among retirees nationwide, regardless of income level or political affiliation. However, not all would put health care at the top of the list just as Republicans and Democrats disagree on how to address soaring medical costs, the AP/Beacon Journal reports.
AARP maintains that access to affordable quality health care and lifetime economic security are by far the two most important issues for its members and for retirees, according to the AP/Beacon Journal (Carpenter, AP/Akron Beacon Journal, 9/8).
NPRs Talk of the Nation on Friday reported on a questionnaire that Research!America sent to the Obama and McCain campaigns that asked for details on their proposals for health care, stem cell research, the Medicare prescription drug benefit and funds for NIH, FDA and CDC. The segment includes comments from Research!America President Mary Woolley (Talk of the Nation, NPR, 9/5).
Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, and sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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impressive data from Japan clearly demonstrating the life-saving value of vaccinating children against influenza. In the 1960s, the death rate in Japan from pneumonia and Influenza (PI) was approximately 10 per 100,000. Over the next decade flu vaccination in the schools was made optional and then mandatory, and by the 1980s the death rate from PI showed a steady decline, eventually down to 4 in 100,000 - a significant reduction. In 1987, however, parents were allowed to refuse vaccination, and in a decade death rates quickly rose back up to near their 1960s levels.
There is clearly more we need to do to help educate our patients about vaccines, not just with influenza. Specifically, however, flu vaccine education has its own hurdles, and I hope this year we all do a better job protecting our patients from this dangerous disease.
Dr. Val: Whats the most important thing that parents should know about the flu vaccine?
Dr. Spitalnik: If I had to choose one it would be that the flu vaccine, in any form, is the single best way to protect your child from the flu, which can be a serious threat to their health, and is now recommended for ALL children age 6 months to 18 years.
In addition, parents need to know that the flu vaccine is better than ever this year: First of all, there does not appear to be any shortage of supply. Second, all 3 strains of the vaccine have been changed to help ensure stronger protection. And finally, there is more than one way to get the flu vaccination, both the traditional shot and an intranasal spray, both of which should be available from their health care provider early this flu season.
P.S. By Dr. Stacy Stryer: Dr. Spitalnick offers some very good information and advice regarding the flu vaccine. While certain high risk groups, such as infants (ages 6 months and up), children with asthma and other chronic diseases, and those who are immunosuppressed are all at a greater risk of developing severe complications if they contract the flu, it is also possible for healthy children to develop complications from the influenza virus. Dr. Spitalnick discussed the best way to prevent children from contracting the flu, which is by receiving the vaccine. There are two forms of influenza protection available, the nasal spray and the traditional injection. The nasal spray, FluMist, may only be given to children ages 2 and older, and is contraindicated for children with asthma, several chronic diseases, and severe egg allergies, yet is more protective than the injection. Good hygiene, such as frequent handwashing and keeping hands away from the face, can also help reduce the risk of contracting the flu.
*Dr. Spitalnik has been a speaker for Glaxo Smith Kline and MedImmune. Dr. Stryer has nothing to disclose.

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When a preschool is just beginning there are many considerations that need to be thought about. One of the first things to consider is how many students will this program be working with? What type of space will be needed for that many children and what are the states rules about adult to child ratios, and one of the other main questions is what preschool curriculum ideas are going to be used?
For well established preschools finding preschool curriculum ideas is a goal that they have already accomplished. Many preschools continue to use preschool lesson ideas that they have used for several years and feel comfortable with the programs that they have selected. For those that are starting out, they need to decide what type of program are they going to offer in order to find the correct type of preschool curriculum ideas that will work within that environment.
What Types Of Preschool Curriculum Ideas Are Available
When looking on-line a consumer will discover that there are many different preschool curriculum ideas that they can use in their program. There are companies that will put together a package of daily curriculum that can be used in a preschool. There are many different programs on the market, so it is important to make a decision on the direction a preschool is looking at going before selecting a curriculum that will match that idea.
Preschools that are affiliated with a religious organization will be searching for preschool curriculum ideas that will support that message. Often churches are contacted by organizations that manufacture curriculum and are already supplying their preschool curriculum ideas for other organizations.
Other types of preschool curriculum are available and again these can be viewed by going on-line or even visiting local bookstores that often carry home school curriculum. All of these curriculums will have daily lesson plans and activities for the group. Some of the companies will also provide craft kits to be done in conjunction with lesson plans. These craft kits are easy to make and are a great way to enhance the learning experience for the children.
Finding the right curriculum will take time as it is important to view the entire curriculum that will be used through out the year. It may take a preschool trying out several programs before the right one is finally found. Often companies also offer curriculum for in home preschools as well as larger establishments too. This is a great resource for parents who choose to teach their children at home, and are not sure how to start.
With a little research the right preschool curriculum can be found and then implemented into a school.

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PSIs Senior Technical Advisor for HIV Services is responsible for supporting the implementation of the HIV service delivery strategic plan and the technical support and oversight of PSI HIV service delivery programs including HIV counseling and testing, male circumcision, and service franchising and marketing. The Sr. Technical Advisor is also responsible for the piloting and scale up of HIV service delivery programs. The Sr. Technical Advisor is responsible for external relations of PSI programs internationally. The Sr. Technical Advisor works in collaboration with the HIV team and the Global Advisors for HIV Prevention.

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Don't be scared. You know how to do this. "New Attending Syndrome" is inevitable, as you first shoulder the sole responsibility for patient care. But have confidence in your knowledge base and don't change your practice style just because there's no supervisor looking over your shoulder any more. If you would have sent the patient home as a resident, then do so as an attending. Once you start practicing scared, it's a hard habit to break.

Learn the local politics. Make sure you know who the medical director is, who the nurse managers are, the medical staff chairs, and the administrators who exert influence over the ER. Are there any existing or recently-resolved conflicts? Any of your new partners who are disaffected? Any specialties or medical staff docs who hate the ER? Any financial disputes within the group? Don't take sides in any ongoing pissing matches if you can avoid it, but make it a point to survey the lay of the political landscape.

Make the nurses your allies. Emergency medicine is truly a team sport, and the nurses will make or break you. Learn the nurses' names, especially the charge nurses. Bring them food or coffee on the night shift. If they go out in the morning, see if you can come along. Do not flirt or date them if you are single (and especially not if you are married). A sexual harassment allegation is not the way to start your career. Respect their experience and their judgment, and they will save your ass many times.

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Ahsa Swaroop Takes Over As New Chief Secretary Of Himachal Pradesh Shimla: Asha Swaroop moving out as secretary of information and broadcasting from Delhi, today took over as the new chief secretary of Himachal Pradesh.
Swaroop, who assumed charge in the afternoon said, power and tourism would remain a priority in the state. However, there was a need to consolidate on the gains made in the education and health sector. Efforts would be made to achieve it, she said.
Speaking about the development needs of Himachal, she said, “it would not be done at the cost of the environment. A balance between developmental requirements and the environment would to be maintained.”
Swaroop is a 1973 batch IAS officer from Himachal Pradesh cadre and has her service period till 2010. She is the second women Chief Secretary of HP after Rajindra Bhattacharya, who had held the top post during the earlier tenure of Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal from 1998-2003.
She replaces Ravi Dhingra, a 1972 batch IAS officer, who has proceeded on central deputation to join as Secretary Inter-State Council in the ministry of Home Affairs.

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Save your search criteria so that you don't have to create the same search every time you want to run it. Use this saved search to set up an e-mail alert which delivers matching jobs directly to your email address. To Save a search, enter your search criteria in the form below and select the 'search' button. Once the search results are displayed, click on the 'Create Saved Search Alert' button at the top of the search results.

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news release from the University of Florida, which just got a check for $100,000 to see if video games can help older folks sharpen their skills. This comes directly from the UF statement:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Move over, kids. You might need to make room on that couch for grandma and grandpa, as seniors gear up to join the video game craze.
University of Florida researchers have received a $100,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to explore whether interactive digital games can be used to enhance the mental abilities of older adults.
Scientists in UF’s College of Public Health and Health Professions will study off-the-shelf video games to see whether older adults who play them can improve their mental functioning. The UF study is innovative because of its focus on the mental benefits of games, and because the target population is seniors, said Patrícia Belchior, Ph.D., the study’s lead investigator.
“This study is based on pilot work we have conducted, as well as the work of others, that has shown that playing action video games, even for as little as 10 hours in total, can significantly improve visual attention and provide positive mental benefits for adults aged 65 and older,” said Belchior, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of occupational therapy.

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Public Invited for Sundays AIDS Walk, Run and Wellness Festival with
Festivities at 9:30 a.m., Walk at 10 a.m.
BOSTON, May 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ Cyndi Lauper, in Boston tolaunch the True Colors Tour this weekend, took a break from her rehearsalon Friday night to meet with some of this years top fundraisers forSundays 23rd Annual AIDS Walk Boston.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080531/CLSA004 )
The 23rd Annual AIDS Walk Boston and the Larry Kessler 5K Run event ison Sunday, June 1st with opening ceremonies at 9:30 a.m., and the Walkstarts at 10 a.m. Concurrent with and following the Walk and Run is theWellness Festival. The public is invited to participate in all aspects ofthe days festivities on the Esplanade, and to cheer Walkers along as theyfight HIV/AIDS, which still in Massachusetts claims 2-3 new infectionsevery day.
Since AIDS Walk Boston began in 1986, more than 200,000 people haveparticipated and raised more than $30 million for the programs and servicesof AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts (AAC). In 2007, AIDS Walk Bostonhad more than 15,000 participants, including a record 453 teams, and raised$1.2 million for AAC.
The True Colors Tour, including The B-52s, Rosie ODonnell, The Clicksand hosted by infamous Queer Eye Guy Carson Kressley, kicks off its24-city run on Saturday in Boston at the Bank of Boston Pavilion at 6 p.m.and moves Sunday to The Jones Beach Theater on Long Island and then toRadio City Music Hall on Tuesday.
AIDS Walk Boston website: http://www.aidswalkboston.org
True Colors Tour website: http://www.truecolorstour.com
Editors Note AIDS Walk Boston: Interviews with people about whythey walk, who they honor in triSOURCE AIDS Action Committee of MassachusettsCopyright2008 PR Newswire.

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Maria Miller MP asked the Secretary of State for Health what role health visitors will play in delivering the Child Health Promotion Programme (CHPP); and what estimate he has made of the number of health visitors required to deliver the target outcomes of the programme.
Ann Keen responded that health visitors are central to delivering the CHPP. She noted that, with their expertise in children, families and public health, together with their background as nurses they are ideally placed to lead the delivery of CHPP in the community.
“The recent review into the future role of the health visitor, Facing the Future, recommended two roles for health visitors. One of the roles is to lead and deliver the CHPP for a defined population working across general practice and childrens centres. The recently updated CHPP promotes the important role of the health visitor to commissioners and services providers. It is the responsibility of local organisations to commission and develop services to respond to local needs, including the recruitment of health visitors. The operating framework for 2008-09 highlights the importance of childrens services and the need for local organisations to commission and provide the necessary services and work force.

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