Newsbrief
October 2007

Society News

Health News

Health & Safety
News

Food Safety &
Nutrition

Events

Consultations

SOCIETY NEWS (4 items) 

1. TESTING HEALTH PROMOTION AWARDS
The Health Promoting Organization awards scheme has nominated five PCTs to be the first demonstration cases, in a trial to start in December.  The Royal Society of Health (RSH), lead by Jenny Griffith, Consultant in Public Health, has worked in partnership with PCTs, local authorities and other voluntary sector organizations to develop the framework for the awards and hope the engagement of stakeholders from the outset will produce a successful scheme that organizations want to be part of.  Health Promoting Organization awards scheme aims to recognize organizational excellence in the development and implementation of health promotion strategies and support the workforce within the context of public health. For more information, please go to www.rsph.org and click on the banner.

2. NEW JRSH HONORARY EDITOR REVEALED
Dr Heather Hartwell has taken over from Dr Selwyn Hodge as the Honorary Editor of JRSH.  ‘I am delighted to be appointed as Honorary Editor and will endeavour to maintain the high standard of the Journal,' said Dr Hartwell, adding 'I look forward with enthusiasm to be working with a multidisciplinary team and creating a lively, intellectual environment within such an influential publication.’  Dr Hodge will move on to the Chairmanship of The RSH and leaves the journal after three years.  'I am delighted that JRSH continues to develop its impact on public health,' he said.  A full announcement will be in next month's JRSH.

3. CLIMATE CHANGE AND PUBLIC HEALTH: FLOODING
Online Exclusive - JRSH presents a new feature on the health impact of flooding and ways to manage flood risks.  It is part of a series of three online articles discussing the public health impacts of climate change.  Topics covered include food poisoning and skin cancer.  All three can now be read here.

4. MEMBER BENEFITS
Don't forget to check out RSPH Members' benefits online, including exclusive deals on a variety of services and products.  Click here to go to the membership benefit page.
 

HEALTH NEWS (3 Items)

1. VIRTUAL LIFE HELP YOUNG COPE WITH REAL LIFE
An Australian web-based youth advice service has launched the world’s first video game to help young people deal with life issues. Reach Out! Central (ROC), an initiative created by the Inspire Foundation, is an online game where players can learn how to cope with stress, make decisions and build resilience to tough times. ‘Research has found that 72% of young males and 48% of young females play some kind of electronic game,’ said Inspire Foundation's Director of Programs, Jonathan Nicholas. ‘We are the first to bring mental health information to them in the gaming environment and we hope to have a positive impact on young men who are traditionally hard to reach and the most at-risk group.’ The project, designed for 16 to 25-year-olds, has been developed in collaboration with psychologists, gaming experts and young people. The one person role-playing game uses cognitive behaviour therapy to help young people learn how to deal with difficult situations, such as managing depression and coping with anxiety. The players interact with a virtual ROC town and make friends with computer characters. It is hoped the skills they learn online will transfer to the real world. Please click here for the original press release or here to play the game.
 

2. CANADIAN HPV VACCINE TO START NEXT YEAR
The Government of Quebec plan to implement a voluntary cancer vaccination programme for young girls next year.  The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine will be made available for girls between nine and 26; and will be available in schools.  'It will be voluntary and, of course, it will require the authorization of parents,' said Alain Poirier, Quebec's director of public health, according to the Montreal Gazette.  In the past, some epidemiologists have been wary of mass vaccination programmes, citing concerns with methods of testing the success of the scheme and lack of public education.  The Quebec programme is predicted to cost $40 million per year in the beginning and $10 million per year in the long term, averaging a cost of $600 per patient.  For more information, click here to read the press release from the Government of Quebec; and for related RSH articles, see Newsbrief Sept07 and Newsbrief June07.
 

3. Older men sexually active but not sexually safe
Many Australian men over 40 are not practising safe sex, according to a new survey.  Around 40% of sexually active older men do not use condoms, with an even higher percentage in rural areas (50%) compared to urban (35%).  The telephone questionnaire, conducted by Monash University, polled over 5900 people and also found 78% of men over 40 had had sex in the last year.  'It seems that safe sex practices are being ignored by older men who may be putting themselves and their partners at risk of sexually transmitted infections,' said Dr Carol Holden, chief executive of Andrology Australia. 'We need to understand sexuality in later life and more appropriate sexual health campaigns are needed,' she added.  Please click here to read the original study or here to read the press release from Andrology Australia.

HEALTH & SAFETY NEWS (1 item)

1.  UNION DEMAND INQUIRY INTO FATAL FACTORY BLAST
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) union, Prospect, are demanding a public inquiry to an explosion in a Glasgow plastic factory in 2004.  Michael Macdonald, Prospect Negotiations Officer, said, 'The prosecution of ICL Plastics Ltd and ICL Tech Ltd focused on the narrow range of issues covered by the law but this inevitably left many broader policy questions unanswered.'  They say there is a need to focus on the effectiveness of HSE after recent job cuts and office closures.  The Stockline disaster happened in May 2004 when leaking gas from a corroded pipe caused an explosion, killing nine people and injuring over 40.  ICL Plastics and ICL Tech were fined £400,000 for health and safety breaches in August.  Please click here for the press release from Prospect.

 FOOD SAFETY & NUTRITION (1 item)

1. COULD BEER BE POTENTIAL BRAIN FOOD?
Drinking in moderation may actually improve memory, according to New Zealand scientists.  They have also found that drinking to excess stops the brain from maturing and therefore impairs memory, except in times of heightened emotion.  'Low levels of alcohol promoted neutral memories, such as remembering objects,' Auckland University's Dr Maggie Kalev told The New Zealand Herald.  'However, contrary to popular belief, we also found that excessive levels of alcohol enhanced memories of highly emotional stimuli, meaning the concept of 'drinking to forget' is unlikely to be true.'  The researchers were not sure why moderate drinking improved memory, but believe it could be linked with the way alcohol interacted with NMDA receptors.  To view the original paper, click here. J Neurosci. 2007 Sep 27;27(39):10456-10467
 

EVENTS (3 items)

Workplace Health and Wellbeing
15 October 2007, Institute of Occupational Health and Safety, Watford, UK
This seminar aims to raise awareness of occupational health and wellbeing issues as well as showcase some examples of the help that's available to you.  This event is ideal for: health and safety practitioners and directors, students and lecturers from health and safety disciplines, mangers with occupational health concerns and responsibilities and occupational health professionals.  Click here for more details.

Diseases and poverty
18 October 2007, Royal Institute of Medicine, Liverpool, UK
A series of talks organised by the Royal Society of Medicine and The Liverpool Medical Institution, The Manchester Medical Society and TB Alert.  The lecture topics range from TB to lung and heart disease in relation to poverty.  Click here for more detail.

Harben Lecture
13th November 2007, Royal Institute of Public Health, London UK
This year will see Barbara Young, Chief Executive, the Environment Agency delivering the Harben Lecture, entitled: 'Poor Communities. Poor Environments. Poor Health. How can we break the eternal triangle?'  Admission is free but places are strictly limited so please book early to avoid disappointment.  Click here for more details.

Please visit rsph.org for more events listings

CONSULTATIONS

For the latest consultations visit our website here.
 

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