Encouraging handwashing

A study published in the American Journal of Public Health has investigated the way different messages influenced handwashing behaviour in a natural setting.1 So what types of messages changed behaviour? Fittingly, given the measurement problems faced in previous handwashing research, messages relating to social norms and reputation management were most effective for both men and women (for example, “Is the person next to you washing with soap?”). Intriguingly, this social dimension o … Read this article >>

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Older mothers

Maria del Carmen Bousada de Lara died this July. Her death fulfilled the prophecy that older mothers in their 50s and 60s risk abandoning their children early in their lives.1 Bousada had sold her home and travelled from Spain to California for treatment, a case of so called IVF (in vitr … Read this article >>

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News in brief: October 2009

US students fret about pay As US lawmakers graft away at implementing Barack Obama’s dream of a comprehensive healthcare package, heavily indebted US medical students and doctors in training are worrying that the reforms will damage their chanc … Read this article >>

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Assisted suicide

Debby Purdy, the UK patient with multiple sclerosis, won a landmark legal battle in July (BMJ 2009;339:b3131, doi:10.1136/bmj.b3131). The ruling requires the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, to revise and clarify the policy on prosecution of people who travel abroad to assi … Read this article >>

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News in brief: September 2009

Swine flu may strike one in three The A/H1N1 swine influenza virus might infect as many as two billion people in the next two years, or one out of every three people on the planet, the World Health Organization has predicted. The global out … Read this article >>