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Opinion Pieces Discuss Violence Against Abortion Providers, Future Of Profession
The Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post recently published opinion pieces responding to the shooting death of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller. Summaries appear below.~ Suzanne Poppema, Los Angeles Times: "We must turn [Tiller"s] terrifying end into the beginning of a new era when doctors can save lives without risking their own," Poppema, a former abortion provider and current board chair of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health, writes in a Times opinion piece. Poppema, a friend and colleague of Tiller"s, writes that the state and local police, the FBI, the state of Kansas and the federal government all "should have done more to protect" Tiller, who since the 1970s had endured bombings, a nonlethal shooting, harassment of his family and other threats. "We can all pay tribute to [Tiller"s] legacy by treating abortion providers as physicians, not pariahs, and by explaining and openly supporting their work as doctors," Poppema writes, adding, "Wherever women"s access to abortion is in danger, our government, our medical institutions and the public must step forward to protect it." She continues, "A show of strength and support will give courage to doctors who have the training to provide abortions but are afraid to use it." Poppema writes that Tiller "trained hundreds of doctors in abortion procedures," concluding, "We must erase fear as the reason young physicians won"t enter the field that George found so rewarding. ... We owe it to George to let them practice" (Poppema, Los Angeles Times, 6/6).~ Rozalyn Farmer Love, Washington Post: Deciding to terminate a pregnancy is "a very private, intensely personal decision," Farmer Love -- a University of Alabama-Birmingham third-year medical student studying obstetrics and gynecology -- writes in a Post opinion piece. Farmer Love writes that she was raised in a conservative Christian household and used to "believe that abortion is wrong," but now supports abortion rights and hopes to eventually provide abortion services as part of her ob-gyn practice. She adds that she formerly felt that abortion in the third trimester of pregnancy "crossed a line," but she "began to see late-trimester abortions in a very different light" while working in a research job in graduate school. In a case involving a fetus with a lethal congenital abnormality, Farmer Love says she learned how the woman and her partner "needed a caring and compassionate physician to help them through this dark moment, and if they chose not to continue the pregnancy, they also needed a physician who was both skilled enough and brave enough to provide them with the care they needed. They needed Dr. Tiller" (Farmer Love, Washington Post, 6/7).

Correct Placement Of Defibrillators Key To Effective Use
The appropriate placement of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) is critical to optimize their use in public places, according to two studies published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
News of the day
Health and Safety Executive Warns Employers About The Safety Of Equipment After Worker's Hand Is Damaged By Rotating Blades, UK
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is warning employers to ensure they assess the safety of equipment and ensure that it is sufficiently guarded after an employee"s left hand was severely damaged by the rotating blades of a valve that forms part of the extraction system in a metal recycling process.
Nutrition

Unique Study Into Health And Wellbeing Of Older People

A unique Network studying the health and wellbeing of older people is bringing together health, social science and mathematics experts in a revolutionary project which will help shape the long-term provision of health and social care services across the UK and ultimately benefit older people. The Collaborative Development Network is being pioneered by Northumbria University and will build on a 25 year study into the wellbeing of a group of pensioners from the North East who are now in their 80s. It has been awarded ÷£50,000 by the Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Cross-Council initiative and is designed to build research capacity and capability by establishing multi-disciplinary partnerships focused on some of the major issues affecting older people. Professor Charlotte Clarke, Associate Dean of the School of Health, Community and Education Studies at Northumbria says: "Society today is often guilty of focusing on older people as a problem instead of concentrating on what people can offer to society and how to develop ways of managing. "This exciting new Network is taking a completely different approach by identifying those aspects of the social, psychological and physical environment that enable an older person to use their own skills and abilities to the best effect." Professor Clarke is working with a multi-disciplinary team on the project and believes that by taking a holistic approach to the research and drawing on experts, not usually associated with healthcare, the outcome will provide huge benefits to older people in the future. She says: "There are important policy issues to be addressed through this Network with the potential for health and social care res to be directed in such a way that they really maximise what individuals have to offer. We believe the Network will both inform and support individuals, policy makers and healthcare professionals to ensure the UK is able to provide the very best support for older people in the future." The Collaborative Development Network will involve health, social science, psychology and mathematics experts from Northumbria and academics from the Universities of Sheffield, Newcastle and Manchester, as well as international advisors from Australia and South Africa. Professor Clarke says: "Research into ageing has traditionally been done in discreet areas, looking at either psychological issues, community influences or health related issues. We believe this is the first study of its type, drawing together social, health and economic factors, combining these with very individual and personal ability factors and then using mathematical modelling techniques to enable us to accurately plan for the future." The Network will build on three key platforms including work by the British Academy International Research Network on risk and ageing, the UKCRC Centre for Translational Research in Public Health and comprehensive data collated by North East Age Research, from a cohort of older people - as part of a study which commenced over 25 years ago. Dr Lynn McInnes is the co-ordinator of the 25 year study. She says: "The original research actually started back in the 1980s when we wanted to examine what happens to people"s cognitive abilities as they get older. We discovered that age has little bearing on cognitive performance and there"s great variability amongst older people. However, we also discovered that older people felt good cognitive performance helped enhance their quality of life and that having better cognitive abilities was intrinsically linked to better health in general. "Now we have the opportunity to feed those findings into an important piece of research which will draw on a wide range of expertise to help shape the future provision of services for older people right across the country." The Medical Research Council, who leads Lifelong health and Wellbeing on behalf of the Research Councils, says: "One of the key priorities for this Cross-Council initiative is to fund networks of multi-disciplinary researchers to come together to tackle major issues facing an ageing society. We are delighted to be supporting this team of researchers who are working towards making a difference to the health and wellbeing of the population in later life." Northumbria University


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