Dominica Cancer Society trains community volunteers in Psychosocial Support and Advocacy in Cervical Cancer

The Dominica Cancer Society (DCS) conducted the first of four trainings planned for community volunteers in the seven Health districts through the Cervical Cancer Prevention Initiative (CCPI). The training took place on Thursday. March 3, 2014 at the La Plaine Agricultural Training Centre. This timely and relevant workshop saw fifteen (15) participants from the La Plaine and Castle Bruce Health Districts receiving completion certificates at the end of the seven-hour day.

This project is being funded through a grant received from the Australian Government, under the Direct Aid Project. The grant was secured through the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) with Dominica being one of five islands benefiting.

The theme of the training is "WHIP Cervical Cancer”: W-illingness to act now, H-ave a pap smear, I-nform yourself and others and P-revent Cervical Cancer.

The goal of this training is to build psychosocial support capacity around cervical cancer prevention and management for those affected by cancer in Dominica. The objectives are as follows:

• To increase awareness among Dominican women about cervical cancer and the need for screening.
• To train a cadre of district-based volunteers who can provide psychosocial support for women and families affected by Cervical Cance
• To strengthen capacity among district volunteer groups in Cervical Cancer advocacy.

Read more

Barbados virtual HIV research unit provides access to Caribbean data - BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Thursday April 3, 2014, CMC – Barbados has launched a Virtual HIV Research Unit (VHRU) as it seeks to better understand and address issues related to HIV/AIDS. Comprising 5,000 scientific publications and reports on HIV in Barbados and the Caribbean, the VHRU will be accessible to researchers, students, non-governmental organisations and others through the www.hivgateway.com portal. Read more

Chronic Disease Policy in Barbados - Analysis and Evaluation of Policy Initiatives

The Port of Spain Declaration, signed on 15th of September 2007 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, by the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) outlines five action areas to Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the region: risk factor reduction; integrated disease management; surveillance; public policy and advocacy; and programme management. The government response to NCDs in Barbados pre-dated the Port of Spain Declaration by several years, and current local and regional indicators suggest that Barbados has made the greatest progress in comparison to other Caribbean islands. Read more

iDoctor Could a smartphone be the future of medicine - One of the world’s top physicians, Dr. Eric Topol, has a prescription that could improve your family’s health and make medical care cheaper. The cardiologist claims that the key is the smartphone. Topol has become the foremost expert in the exploding field of wireless medicine. Dr. Nancy Snyderman reports on NBC News. Read more

NCD Alliance E-Alert - Webinar Slides and Recording, The slides and recording are now available; Update: UN NCD Review, Member States met on Tuesday for the second round of informal consultations on the modalities for the upcoming UN NCD Review; IHME Report - Funding for Global Health. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) released its fifth annual report of global health expenditure this week. Read more

Big Tobacco's stealthy ads - THE EDITOR, Sir:The Jamaica Coalition for Tobacco Control (JCTC) notes with concern the recent advertising campaign by the tobacco industry in the print and electronic media in relation to the Tobacco Control Regulations (2013). Advertising by the tobacco industry is banned in the electronic media - with good reason! And until recently, there was a voluntary agreement by the tobacco industry in relation to the print media. This has detrimentally fallen by the wayside. Read more

Concerned about ads from tobacco industry - The Jamaica Coalition for Tobacco Control notes with concern the recent advertising campaign by the tobacco industry in the print and electronic media in relation to the Tobacco Control Regulations (2013). Advertising by the tobacco industry is banned in the electronic media with good reason. And, until recently, there was a voluntary agreement by the tobacco industry in relation to the print media. This has detrimentally fallen by the wayside. The tobacco industry is now very disingenuously placing these advertisements under the guise of providing information about the tobacco control regulations while in reality it is using the opportunity to promote products which kill at least half of its regular users. Read more

The 59th Annual CARPHA Health Research Conference (CHRC) will be held in Aruba during May 1-3 2014 - The theme for 2014 is Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases Through the Life Course i.e. from childhood to the elderly. The Annual CARPHA Health Research Conference has been successfully hosted every year since 1956 by the former CHRC. Usually held the third week in April, it is the largest health research conference in the English speaking Caribbean with over 200 delegates in attendance. Comprising of policy makers and health care providers thus creating a unique network of health stakeholders who share needs, information and experiences. Read more

Mayo uses mHealth to reduce cardiac readmissions by 40% - Cardiac rehabilitation patients who use a daily mHealth monitoring app were significantly less likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 90 days of discharge, says research from the Mayo Clinic. While 60% of patients who did not participate in a smartphone app program landed back in the hospital, only 20% of those who recorded their blood pressure and weight on a daily basis were readmitted within three months. Read more

The Lancet - From public to planetary health: a manifesto - This manifesto for transforming public health calls for a social movement to support collective public health action at all levels of society. Our aim is to respond to the threats we face: threats to human health and wellbeing, threats to the sustainability of our civilisation, and threats to the natural and human-made systems that support us. Read more

Love your Heart Walk in T&T - The Chest and Heart Association Of Trinidad And Tobago and The Physiotherapy Association Of Trinidad and Tobago are organising a ‘Love Your Heart Walk’ Saturday 26th April 2014, it Starts At 7 am from opposite the Memorial Park. Read more

Reminder - Barbados Association of Palliative Care Public Lecture - In our continued effort to sensitize Health Care Professionals and the Public at Large about the benefits of Palliative Care, we will be continuing our series of "The Conversation” on Friday, May 16th at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital commencing at 2 pm to 4 p.m. The Guest Facilitator will be Dr. Susan Krauter of Fort Myers, Florida, USA. Read more

Youth and young professionals invited to pre-WCC workshop on tobacco - "Youth Take Action on NCDs: A focus on Tobacco” will be a full-day workshop held in Melbourne, Australia on 4 May. The event is designed for youth and young professionals, as well as professionals committed to engaging youth and young professionals in NCD action.The workshop will bring together young leaders and leading health experts. Read more

World Cancer Day 2014 Report Now Available!

On 4th February 2014, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) celebrated World Cancer Day hand-in-hand with its members, partners and supporters around the world. In the last couple of years the World Cancer Day campaign saw a breakthrough in recognition and visibility with the levels of public and media interest growing exponentially in 2013 and seeing an even bigger step-up in 2014. We are proud to say that this year we achieved 8.7 billion opportunities to see, hear or read about World Cancer Day. These results have led to this international awareness day becoming a firm and significant fixture in calendars around the globe. Read more

16th World Conference on Tobacco or Health - Online Submission of Sessions Now Open - Deadline 30th April 2014 - Submissions are now open for sessions to be included in the Scientific Programme of the 16th World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH) 2015, to be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, from 17-21 March 2015. The Conference is a call for a Collective Resolution to fight Tobacco through Cohesion and Integration of Tobacco Control in two broader health and development agendas for achievement of our common health and development goals. Read more

NCD Articles on WebMD

• Breast Cancer Screening and Detection - When it comes to breast cancer screening and detection, experts and advocacy groups don't agree on when women should start getting regular breast cancer screening mammograms. Read more
• Understanding Heart Attack: The Basics - The heart requires its own constant supply of oxygen and nutrients, like any muscle in the body. Read more
• Prediabetes - Prediabetes, also known as "impaired glucose tolerance" or “impaired fasting glucose,” is a health condition with no symptoms. Read more
• Signs of a Pending Asthma Attack - Asthma attacks rarely happen without warning. Knowing the signs of a pending attack could help you prevent an asthma emergency. Read more

HCC News Roundup Archive - If you have missed any of our News Roundups you can view previous Roundups on our News Roundup Archive webpage here

HCC Featured - Previously featured Members, events and news can now be found on our HCC Featured webpage here