A roundup of recent newspaper stories about children's health...
Monday, Oct. 8, 2007:
SCHIP Supporters Develop Strategy for Veto
Supporters of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) are building a strategy to override an expected presidential veto of legislation to expand the program. Elements of the plan include criticism of spending for Iraq and calling upon advocacy groups to protest the veto. Republicans who oppose the legislation say they are confident they can sustain a veto. (NY Times, 9/29/07 )
Children's Cough and Cold Medicines Ineffective, Dangerous.
Safety experts at the Food and Drug Administration have suggested that the agency ban over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for children ages 6 and younger. The experts said there is little evidence that the medicines are effective, but there is increasing evidence that they may be dangerous. (NY Times, 9/29/07 , by Harris)
Shortage of Subsidized Childcare in San Mateo County .
Childcare is the second largest expense for San Mateo County families, after housing, officials say, and subsidized child care is hard to find. With the county's high cost of living, the childcare income qualification of $4,031 a month for a family of four leaves out those who are not poor enough to receive subsidized childcare, but who live in poverty. Those who work multiple jobs and receive subsidies for childcare find that every increase in income leads to a decrease in childcare funds. (SF Examiner, 9/28/07 , by Barak)
Study: One Puff May Be All It Takes.
A single puff of a cigarette may be enough to make preteens addicted to nicotine, according to researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. The study of more than 200 sixth-graders found that nearly 29 percent said they felt relaxed after their first puff of a cigarette, and 67 percent of those went on to become nicotine dependent. (HealthDay, 10/1/07 , by Mozes)
Bush Vetoes Children's Health Insurance Expansion.
President Bush today vetoed legislation that would have expanded the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), saying that it is too costly and would encourage people who can afford private insurance to choose government-funded health care. Supporters of the bill in Congress are still hoping to overturn the veto. The legislation passed with enough votes for an override in the Senate, but not in the House. (AP, 10/3/07 , by Loven)
States Consider Lawsuit to Combat SCHIP Restrictions.
Eight states, including California , support a lawsuit to stop the federal government from imposing new restrictions on the existing State Children's Health Insurance Program. The Bush administration has developed policies that would make it difficult for states to expand the program to families with household incomes that are more than 200 percent of the federal poverty level. With a high cost of living in some areas, many families who have incomes higher than the federal poverty level still cannot afford private health insurance. (Reuters, 10/1/07 , by Gralla)
Study: Therapy-Drug Combo Best to Fight Teen Depression.
A combination of therapy and antidepressant medication leads to the quickest recovery among depressed teens and prevents the sudden suicidal urges associated with using medication as the only treatment, according to a Duke University study of 654 youth ages 12 to 17. The possibility that antidepressants may lead to suicidal behavior has been under recent debate by experts, causing many patients to refuse medication. (NY Times, 10/2/07 , by Carey)
Child's Age a Factor in Effects of TV Watching, Study Says.
It's not just how much television children watch, but at what age they watch it, according to a study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health. Children who watched television for two or more hours per day from about age 2 to age 5 were more likely to have problems with social skills and behavior than kids who watched less television, researchers found. The study also found that children who had significantly reduced television time by age 5 had no social or behavioral problems. ( USA Today, 9/30/07 , by Manning)
Study: More Girls Than Boys Get Concussions from School Sports. In high school sports, girls involved in soccer and basketball are more susceptible to concussions than boys in the same sports, according to a study conducted by researchers at Ohio State University and Nationwide Children's Hospital. In soccer, girls sustained concussions 68 percent more often than boys during the 2005-2006 academic year, and in basket ball , girls were three times more likely to suffer concussions than boys, the study found. (NY Times, 10/2/07 , Schwarz)
9) Report: Foster Parents Need More Funding.
Foster parents in most states receive less money than a typical middle-income family spends to raise a child, according to a report by University of Maryland researchers. The report proposes that payments for foster parents be based on their expenses, plus increases for families caring for foster children who have been abused or malnourished in the past. ( USA Today, 10/2/07 , by Koch)
Violence Among Middle School Students Increases.
Education officials in Massachusetts have noted that middle schools there are following a national trend of increased student violence. In that state, the rate of violence in middle schools is higher than in high schools. Although they say there is no one explanation for the increase, experts suggest that middle school students have less parental supervision, easier access to violent images through media and the Internet, and rebel earlier than previous generations. ( Boston Globe, 10/2/07 , by Jan)
California Lawsuit Seeks Increased Foster Care Funds.
Contending that foster parents receive less each month to care for children than the average cost of boarding a dog in a kennel, several advocacy groups have filed a federal lawsuit to force California to increase foster care funds to meet actual costs. The suit notes a University of Maryland study released Tuesday that says most states pay foster families less than the average amount non-foster families spend on their children. (SF Ch ron icle, 10/4/07 , by Egelko)
Heartburn Medication Prescriptions on Rise for Kids.
The number of young children who are on prescription drugs for heartburn and other digestive diseases jumped an estimated 56 percent between 2002 and 2006, according to a study conducted by a pharmacy benefits management company . A n estimated 2 million children under the age of 18 used gastrointestinal and digestive drugs last year, possibly linked to gastric problems caused by obesity. (SF Gate, 10/4/07 , by Tanner)
National Children's Study Expands.
Twenty-two new research centers have been added to the existing seven that participate in the National Children's Study, a 25-year, $3.2 billion project that aims to track 100,000 U.S. children from birth to age 21. The study assesses how behavioral and social factors interact with genetics and the physical envi ron ment. The study is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Envi ron mental Protection A gency. (Reuters, 10/4/07 , by Steenhuysen)
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