Author: 1333-healthvot

Dec. 7, 2021 — When the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe and eventually made its way to North America, communities scrambled to find protection against the infectious disease. But at the Toronto-based Canadian Women’s Foundation, there were other safety measures underway.The foundation’s leadership team knew that quarantines during a time of global panic would lead to more domestic violence. In April 2020, they launched the “signal for help,” a hand gesture that has led to the rescue of endangered women.“We knew gender-based violence would spike during the pandemic,” says Andrea Gunraj, vice president of public engagement at the Canadian…

Dec. 7, 2021 — Efforts to combat burnout in health care professionals can be expanded to include patients with chronic conditions — who can display some of the same telltale signs, such as prolonged stress, hopelessness, or feeling a loss of control.Identifying these patients and acknowledging their increased burnout risk could improve the doctor-patient relationship as well as make patients more likely to follow treatment guidelines and boost outcomes, according to Adrienne Martinez-Hollingsworth, PhD, and colleagues.The investigators created the “Burnout Dyad Model.” This strategy considers both sides of the health care professional-patient relationship, independently and together. It also moves burnout…

By Cara MurezHealthDay ReporterTUESDAY, Dec. 7, 2021 (HealthDay News) — A condition called lymphedema is a well-known side effect of breast cancer treatment that can lead to swelling in the arms and legs. New research suggests that Black women experience are at more than three times the risk of this painful issue compared to white women. “Lymphedema worsens quality of life for breast cancer patients,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Andrea Barrio. She is an associate attending physician in the breast service department at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.Understanding the links between race, cancer treatment…

By Amy Norton HealthDay ReporterTUESDAY, Dec. 7, 2021 (HealthDay News) — People who undergo surgery to treat cataracts may have a lower likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease, a new study suggests.Of more than 3,000 older adults with the eye disease, those who had surgery were about 30% less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in the coming years, researchers found.The findings cannot prove cataract surgery helps protect against Alzheimer’s, said lead researcher Dr. Cecilia Lee. However, it provides strong evidence that that could be the case. Lee and her colleagues were able to account for numerous other factors that might…

Dec. 7, 2021 — Studies are underway in test tubes and animals to determine whether the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus can slip past the immune protection of vaccination or a previous infection.Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the results from tests of disabled and live Omicron viruses mixed with the serum — the clear part of the blood — of vaccinated or previously infected people should be ready next week.The results of those tests should give us a better idea about how well protected Americans may be against the new…