Are Your Air and Water Safe? How Air and Water Quality Affect Health
The quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink is essential to our overall well-being, our economic prosperity, and the environment. Clean air and water play an important role in maintaining our health, and contaminants in either one or bot… Read more »
Behavioral and Mental Health in Aging
In the United States and globally, the population is aging rapidly. The need for geriatric behavioral and mental health services will also increase dramatically. Mental health and well-being are important for older adults as at any other time of life… Read more »
Child Abuse, Prevention, and Mandatory Reporting
Child abuse is a national and international issue that has serious long-term consequences for the child and the community. A social problem that has existed for thousands of years, child abuse in all its forms first became a topic of national interes… Read more »
Childbirth And Culture – Practices, Beliefs, And Traditions
An intimate and complex experience, childbirth reflects a woman’s biology as well as the social context in which delivery takes place. The experience of every woman is unique to her and deeply personal because of the culture in which she gives birth… Read more »
Contemporary Ethical Dilemmas in Healthcare
With the advent of astounding scientific and technological advances in every area of health care, today’s healthcare environment is increasingly fraught with complex patient care issues. Healthcare professionals often have varying views on legal and… Read more »
Diabetes in Pregnancy
Diabetes during pregnancy can provide a special challenge to the patient and her healthcare providers. The effects of poorly controlled blood glucose levels can result in life-threatening effects for both the mother and the fetus.
Ectopic Pregnancy
Ectopic pregnancies are a gynecological emergency that can seriously affect a woman’s health and fertility. However, new developments in the diagnosis and treatment of this condition have resulted in greatly improved maternal mortality and morbidity…. Read more »
Emerging Global Infectious Diseases
Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are an ever-present threat to the health and livelihood of individuals, families, communities, and countries all over the world. The greatest burden of EIDs lies in developing countries and among infants and childr… Read more »
Energy Medicine Therapies: Therapeutic Touch, Healing Touch, Reiki, Reflexology, and Craniosacral Therapy
The concept that energy systems are part of the human interactive environment and a powerful part of therapeutic healing techniques has been part of many cultures for centuries. Energy medicine therapies use gentle techniques thought to help balance… Read more »
Ethical Foundations in Healthcare
Healthcare professionals face ethical dilemmas every day of their professional lives. Ethical decision-making is an important part of the care they provide to their patients and clients. A sound understanding of key ethical issues helps healthcare pr… Read more »
HIPAA and Patient Privacy
Personal health information is protected under federal law. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provides for the protection and security of personal health information. Both healthcare professionals and consumers must unde… Read more »
HIV/AIDS Education for Healthcare Professionals
Since they were first described in 1981, more than a quarter of a century ago, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) remain a persistent and widespread threat to the health, well-being, and human potential o… Read more »
HIV/AIDS Education for Kentucky Health Care Professionals
Since they were first described in 1981, more than a quarter of a century ago, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) remain a persistent and widespread threat to the health, well-being, and human potential o… Read more »
Human Health and Climate Change—Is There a Connection?
Numerous independent researchers and scientists all across the world know that Earth is warming and human activity is the primary cause. How much climate change we will experience in the future is dependent on the choices we all make as global citize… Read more »
Hunger and Malnutrition
Almost 800 million people in the world are suffering from hunger and malnutrition. Most of these individuals live in developing countries. However, there are millions more in developed countries who go to bed each night hungry. Children are the most… Read more »
Hyperemesis Gravidarum
Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) is a serious, potentially life-threatening condition affecting thousands of pregnant women each year. More severe than morning sickness, HG can affect every aspect of a woman’s life. With early recognition and treatment, h… Read more »
Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy
Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (previously called pregnancy-induced hypertension or PIH) are complex and serious conditions of pregnancy, which, if untreated or improperly treated, can result in maternal and fetal complications including death…. Read more »
Infection Control Basics
Each year, lives are lost due to the spread of infections in hospitals and other healthcare settings. Infection control procedures are a vital part of health care and patient safety measures used by every member of the healthcare team both in the Uni… Read more »
Influenza: Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention
Influenza (commonly called the “flu”) is a highly contagious respiratory disease that affects all ages and can cause significant illness and death. Striking hundreds of thousands of individuals worldwide every year, this disease can be prevented usin… Read more »
Is Your Home Hazardous to Your Health?
While most of us consider our home a place of safety, the products we use every day and the communities in which we live can be causing our health to suffer. Common everyday items and medications can prove toxic to ourselves, our families, our pets,… Read more »
Legal Issues in Healthcare
Healthcare professionals today are acutely aware of the need to understand the legal environment in which they practice. Ever-shrinking resources, shorter lengths of stay, high-acuity patients, availability of more complex information, diverse patien… Read more »
Organ and Tissue Donation and Recovery
The gift of organ donation is the gift of life. However, the gap between those who need an organ or tissue donation and the number of donations available is wide and growing. Healthcare providers need to understand the issues surrounding organ and ti… Read more »
Perinatal Health – A Global Perspective
Poverty, scarce education, poor economic opportunities, gender discrimination, and unjust laws challenge the advancement of women’s health around the world. These factors restrict access to important health services and the education women need to im… Read more »
Pneumonia in Adults and Children
Pneumonia is an infection in one or both of the lungs. Globally, it is the leading killer of children under the age of 5 years. It is also common in the United States. There are several types of pneumonia, depending on the type of microbe (bacteria,… Read more »
Postpartum Depression
For most women, the birth of a baby is a joyous and exciting time. However, for some women, childbirth is accompanied by depression, anxiety, feelings of hopelessness, and even suicide. Depression following the delivery of an infant can take three ba… Read more »
Prevention of Neonatal Group B Streptococcal Infection
Great strides have been made in preventing and treating neonatal group B streptococcal infection during the last 20 years, especially with the use of prophylactic antibiotics during labor. In addition, the development of rapid detection tests and a v… Read more »
Social Media and Healthcare
Social media has many characteristics and has become part of the very fabric of today’s society. It can be immediate, irreverent, and incredibly powerful. The use of social media in all areas of life, especially health care, is growing exponentially…. Read more »
The ABCs of Hepatitis
Hepatitis A, B, and C are viruses that affect millions of individuals throughout the world. They affect the liver and have a variety of etiologies and mechanisms of transmission. All forms of hepatitis can have significant economic and social consequ… Read more »
The Biofield (Human Energy Field): Foundation for Energy Medicine
Energy is everything, and everything in the universe is in motion, even a rock at an atomic and subatomic level. Science is increasingly showing that human beings are comprised of an energy system that is highly integrated with the physical body, emo… Read more »
The Global Health Impacts of Overpopulation
The term “overpopulation” is not a common topic of conversation between citizens or among politicians. Yet, overpopulation is now considered to be the biggest threat to the future of the planet. Because the world’s population is growing at an alarmin… Read more »
Tickborne Diseases
In the United States, ticks carry many different pathogens that can cause a variety of human diseases. One of the most common of these is Lyme disease. Many tickborne diseases are challenging to diagnose because their symptoms imitate other common il… Read more »
Tuberculosis
Despite advances in their treatment and prevention, tuberculosis (TB) and multidrug-resistant TB, or MDR-TB, remain two of the world’s deadliest communicable diseases. An ancient disease found in Egyptian mummies, TB and MDR-TB are increasingly diffi… Read more »
Workplace Violence in Healthcare
Workplace violence is an increasing problem in organizations today and is especially challenging in the healthcare industry. Considered a human rights issue, workplace violence affects the dignity of millions of people worldwide and is a major source… Read more »
Zoonoses: Can Your Pet Make You Sick?
For many people, animals are an important part of their lives, providing valuable social bonds, emotional support, and joy. Pets and other animals can contribute to a healing environment with their companionship, assistance, sensory stimulation, need… Read more »