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New Law Expands Medicaid Coverage For Eligible Women With Breast & Cervical Cancer
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Pharmacy Bodies Call For Reinstatement Of Community Pharmacists To The Shortage Occupations List, UK
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About 75% Of People In Rwanda Who Have Experienced Discrimination Are HIV-Positive, Survey Finds
A recently released survey on stigma in Rwanda indicates that at least 74% of people in various segments of society who have experienced discrimination are HIV-positive, the New Times/AllAfrica.com reports. The discrimination often is in the form of isolation from family and physical harassment, according to the survey. The study was conducted by the Association of Vulnerable Widows Infected and Affected by HIV and AIDS in conjunction with the Network of People Living with HIV and UNAIDS Rwanda. It found that although 87% of respondents reported never having been denied health services, 88% reported being denied other social services, such as family planning, because of their HIV status. An estimated one-third of respondents reported that their rights had been abused because of their HIV-positive status. Chantal Nyiramanyana, AVVAIS president, said, "We conducted this survey as a way of providing basis for advocacy, policy change, and programmatic interventions by the government and other interested bodies to address stigma and discrimination related to HIV." The survey found that other groups experiencing stigma in the country include commercial sex workers and asylum seekers (Kwizera, New Times/AllAfrica.com, 5/27).
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Risk For Sleep Apnea In Musicians May Be Reduced By Playing A High Resistance Wind Instrument

The naturalistic respiratory muscle training with high resistance wind instruments may potentially reduce musicians" risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a research abstract presented at SLEEP 2009, the 23rd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. Results suggest that instrumentalists who played high resistance, double reed woodwinds, such as the oboe, had a lower risk of OSA than other instrumentalists. No significant difference in risk for OSA was found in instrumentalists (29.1 percent) versus non-instrumentalists (33.3 percent). According to principal investigator Christopher Ward, PhD, assistant professor of psychology and lead author Kaki York, PhD, at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, Houston, it is difficult to determine why only instrumentalists who played double reed instruments showed the least likelihood of having OSA. The reduced risk could be caused by different physiological requirements to play the instrument, or simply by lifestyle choices made by certain musician groups. "The number of hours practiced per week seemed to be the most important variable in lowering risk for OSA. Double reed instrumentalists at low risk for OSA played their instrument 17 hours a week on average, while those at high risk only averaged 8.5 hours per week," said Ward. The study surveyed 847 professional musicians, including 760 instrumentalists and 87 conductors/vocalists. Participants" average age was 42.5, and the majority of the sample was male (62.2 percent). Musicians had an average of 30.2 years of experience and played for an average of 15 hours a week. Of the musicians, 29.2 percent were high risk for OSA and 4.3 percent of the participants were already diagnosed with OSA. Although future clinical trials will be needed to confirm this hypothesis, findings suggest that naturalistic respiratory muscle training with high resistance wind instruments may reduce risk for OSA in at-risk populations. Abstract Title: Risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Wind Musicians Presentation Date: Tuesday, June 9 Category: Sleep Disorders - Breathing Abstract ID: 0715 Kelly Wagner American Academy of Sleep Medicine


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