Division News

Winter 2008

Epidemiology and Community Health

The Silent Danger of Peripheral Arterial Disease
More than 8 million people¿one in 20 adults¿have peripheral arterial disease (PAD), a condition that puts them at risk for heart attack, stroke, or leg amputation.

Diabetics May Face Higher Risk of Colon Cancer
Women with diabetes are 50 percent more likely to suffer from colorectal cancer than those who do not have the metabolic disorder, according to a study by School of Public Health researchers.

Biostatistics

Smokeless Tobacco As Hazardous as Cigarettes
It may not be inhaled into the lungs, but smokeless tobacco exposes users to some of the same potent carcinogens as cigarettes. The discovery comes from the University of Minnesota Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center (TTURC).

New Methods for Treating Liver Cancer
University of Minnesota researchers are launching research aimed at improving treatment for a deadly form of liver cancer found in people who have developed cirrhosis.

Environmental Health Sciences

Taconite Worker Project Progresses
The second meeting of the Minnesota Taconite Worker Lung Health Partnership, led by SPH Dean John Finnegan and representing organizations with an interest in mine worker health, took place in December in Eveleth, Minn. The partnership was formed to study whether particles generated by taconite mining are causing lung disease on Minnesota's Iron Range.

Flexibility and Support Help Cancer Survivors Return to Work
Improved screening and treatment means more and more cancer survivors are returning to the work force. Despite this trend, little is known about what helps these employees return to work successfully.

Health Policy and Management

Breast Cancer Survivors May Opt for Unnecessary Surgery
More and more women who have been diagnosed with cancer in one breast are choosing to have a double mastectomy, even though statistically the risk of cancer developing in the second breast is less than 1 percent. This trend was found by a University of Minnesota team in the first study of double-mastectomy use at a national level.

Medicare Lacks Tools to Enforce Coverage Policies
New School of Public Health research finds that Medicare lacks the tools and incentives necessary to enforce its evidencebased coverage policies. And Medicare appears reluctant to aggressively enforce policies that affect medical judgments, even if those decisions are inconsistent with scientific evidence.

Public Health Education and Outreach

Lab Learning Hits the Web
Lab classes at the University of Minnesota are getting a futuristic facelift, thanks to a partnership of the Digital Learning Group (DLG) and Clinical Laboratory Sciences.

Communication Skills Put to Test in Pipeline Explosion
Jeanine Brand's hectic schedule almost kept her from attending a risk communications course offered through Minnesota Emergency Readiness Education and Training (MERET). But Brand, a county attorney in Northern Minnesota, managed to make the class. Little did she know that in the weeks ahead a deadly emergency would force her to put her new skills to use.