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Groups Want NJ To Restore Immigrant Outreach Funds
"Immigrant and health-care advocacy groups" are calling on New Jersey to "restore $1 million in funding that has been eliminated in the latest round of budget tightening," the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports. "The money was earmarked for community-outreach efforts to educate legal immigrants on available state health programs." A report released yesterday by Rutgers University concluded that "New Jersey"s percentage of uninsured immigrant children is higher than the national average, and the state has a poor track record of making sure those children receive health coverage."

Shanghai To Relax One-Child Policy As China Faces Aging Population, Shrinking Work Force
Nearly three decades after China implemented its one-child policy, the city of Shanghai is planning to encourage young couples to have a second child in an effort to address the country"s aging population and shrinking work force, the New York Times reports. The city"s plan is the most public effort made by the government to counteract a program that is "considered both a tremendous success and a terrible failure," the Times reports. The policy has managed to keep population growth under control but also has led to forced abortions, according to the Times.The country is not abandoning the one-child policy, which applies mostly to residents in urban areas. Rather, the government is allowing more exceptions to the rule, with Shanghai -- where about 22% of its 20 million residents are older than age 60 -- leading the effort. China as a whole faces a similar problem seen in Shanghai, the Times reports. About 8% of the country"s population was older than age 65 in 2006. That figure is expected to increase threefold by 2050 to about 322 million people, or nearly 25% of the population, according to the United Nations.In Friday"s issue of China Daily, Xie Lingli, director of the Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission, was quoted as saying, "We advocate eligible couples to have two kids because it can help reduce the proportion of the aging people and alleviate a work force shortage in the future." City officials plan to visit homes, pass out leaflets, and offer counseling and financial incentives, the Times reports. Current exceptions to the one-child policy are in place for ethnic minorities and rural residents, who can have a second child if the first child is a girl. Couples made up of two parents who have no siblings have always been allowed to have a second child and are now being encouraged to do so (Barboza, New York Times, 7/24).
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Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) Activates Clinical Trials 30-40 Percent Faster Than Industry Standard
The Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC), an innovative research model comprised of a network of 15 academic Member Institutions across North America and leadership in Norwalk, Connecticut, announced preliminary data from an analysis showing that clinical trials opened through its clinical trials network were activated 30 to 40 percent faster than comparable clinical trials in oncology. Based on the implementation of specific business solutions, particularly scientific leadership, standardized clinical contracts and on-site project management res, the MMRC has been able to decrease by an average of 100 days the time from the development and finalization of the trial"s protocol to actual patient enrollment.
Health Insurance

Policymakers, Experts, Public Agree: Physical Activity Plan Needed

Dozens of the nation"s leading organizations in health care, science, medicine and public health are meeting in Washington, D.C., this week with one goal in mind: to develop a national physical activity plan that will make America healthier. Congressional leaders and members of the public both agree that emphasizing disease prevention measures, such as increasing physical activity, is essential to combating chronic diseases, which account for 70 percent of all deaths in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The preventive power of physical activity has been noted by lawmakers. During mark-up of the Affordable Health Choices Act in the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) said: "The one overarching goal of health care reform is to recreate America as a genuine wellness society - one that emphasizes wellness, fitness, good nutrition, and disease prevention. Consider this: Right now, some 75 percent of health care costs are accounted for by heart disease, diabetes, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and obesity. What these five diseases and conditions have in common is that they are largely preventable and even reversible by changes in nutrition, physical activity, and lifestyle." Reflecting a growing consensus on the subject, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said during the 2008 Presidential campaign, "Parents should provide their children with healthier meals and make exercise a family activity; schools must provide children with nutrition education and should offer more opportunities for physical education; and health-care providers should use yearly checkups as an opportunity to guide their patients through diet and fitness goals." The plan will focus on eight key sectors that have heavy influence on physical activity: business and industry, the nonprofit sector, health care, transportation, education, mass media, parks and recreation, and public health. The American College of Sports Medicine originally called for the development of the plan following a 2006 policy conference. Russell Pate, Ph.D., FACSM, is the scientific lead for the national plan and also served on the advisory committee for the first-ever federal physical activity guidelines. Pate believes the plan will spur necessary change for Americans. "A comprehensive National Physical Activity Plan will build on the momentum created by release of the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans," he said. "This Plan will be aimed at launching a social movement that shifts the American lifestyle to one characterized by high levels of health-promoting physical activity." The public agrees. A national omnibus survey commissioned by ACSM found that: - 94 percent of Americans feel a national physical activity plan is important in helping citizens avoid chronic conditions and diseases. This was especially true in younger generations - nearly 10 percent more citizens age 49 or younger thought a plan was "extremely important," possibly signaling their heightened knowledge about the importance of disease prevention in the aging process. - 97 percent of Americans think changes in health care system that support disease prevention through physical activity are important. Minorities especially endorsed these changes, with 83 percent of African-Americans recognizing them as "extremely important." The survey represented a national sample of 1,000 Americans age 18 and over from various geographic regions and demographics. Kelton Research, a leading national public opinion and market research firm, conducted the survey June 19-25. Margin of error is less than 3.1 percent. During implementation of the plan, the national plan coordinating committee will use the survey information to target specific populations in need of physical activity intervention. The full national plan will be unveiled in the first quarter of 2010. For more information, visit http://www.physicalactivityplan.org. American College of Sports Medicine


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