news in brief
News Briefs Acupuncture May Help Pregnant Women with Depression, Says UT at Austin Pharmacy Researcher Acupuncture may hold promise for depression in pregnant women, says a new study co-authored by a University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy researcher. The findings, published in the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, show that 12 acupuncture treatments over eight weeks might help reduce the severity of depression symptoms. “The protocol we have tested was effective, indicating that acupuncture may be a viable alternative to treat depression during pregnancy,” said Dr. Rosa N. Schnyer, clinical assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy, whose research has focused on the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for major depression in women, and who was one of the leading investigators in the study. The study on depression and pregnant women, led by researchers at Stanford University, followed 150 pregnant women with major depression. Researchers found women who received depression-specific acupuncture were more likely to have a treatment response—meaning the severity of their symptoms fell by at least half and they no longer met all of the criteria for diagnosing major depression. It is estimated that 3 to 5 percent of pregnant women are diagnosed with depression. Although antidepressant medications are one treatment option, there are safety concerns. Because of the potential for harm from medications, many pregnant women with depression may prefer psychotherapy or other non-drug options.
Outreach Effort at The University of Georgia Provides Healthcare for Migrant Farm Workers “Poverty has a tremendous impact on healthcare,” said Dr. Trina J. von Waldner, director of The University of Georgia College of Pharmacy’s Office of Postgraduate Continuing Education and a strong advocate for public health programs. Von Waldner developed a two-week summer program for student pharmacists to experience working in healthcare clinics set up for migrant farm workers in south Georgia. Last summer’s initial group of six second-year student pharmacists, all with a working knowledge of Spanish, had such a rewarding learning opportunity that von Waldner plans to make the outreach program an annual event.
For more than 15 years, the Farm Worker Family Health Program (FWFHP) has been a community partnership designed to increase the delivery of healthcare services for migrant farm worker families. The two-week summer experience brings together more than 100 students and faculty members from five different colleges and schools. Together, they provide physical examinations, health screenings, physical therapy, health education, pharmacy services and dental care to approximately 1,000 migrant farm workers and their children at eight farm camps in the Colquitt County area. The student pharmacists, she said, developed a two-pronged approach for providing pharmacy services to this underserved population: health education for the summer school children and patient care at the field clinics. Typically each morning the student pharmacists worked at the school reviewing charts and providing health education. They also provided many basic pharmacy services such as inventorying medications and supplies, entering data into the computer and filling prescriptions at the base pharmacy.
West Virginia University Grant Puts Focus on Health Disparities The West Virginia University (WVU) School of Pharmacy is one of only two schools nationwide to receive $1.5 million over the next three years to continue studies of the state’s health disparities. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality grant involves faculty collaboration from all four health professions schools at WVU: pharmacy, dentistry, nursing and medicine. Health disparities are inequalities in the prevalence of disease, health outcomes or access to care when comparing one population to another. “West Virginians are afflicted with many chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes,” said Dr. S. Suresh Madhavan, chair of the WVU School of Pharmacy Department of Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy. “High smoking, obesity and low physical activity rates add to the problem.” Because the state has such high mortality rates and disease prevalence, the West Virginia Collaborative Health Outcomes Research of Therapies and Services (WV CoHORTS) Center was established in 2006, Dr. Madhavan said. Under his direction, the team of scientists at the WV CoHORTS Center will house state and federal healthcare data to help document disparities; foster partnerships and projects that bring researchers together; include a mentoring program for junior faculty members; and aim to achieve more federal grant funding.
academic Pharmacy now Apr/May/Jun 2010
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