AJN, American Journal of Nursing:
In the News
Section Editor(s): Pfeifer, Gail M. MA, RN
Editor's note: AJN begins news coverage in 2011 with an eye toward health care goals and the roles nurses will play in achieving them. For a perspective on what progress has been made so far, and what remains to be achieved, here is a sampling of some of the global wins and losses seen in 2010.
HIV and AIDS
* Global condom use among men doubled over the past five years.
* In 2008 there were 200,000 fewer AIDS-related deaths than in 2004.
* A vaginal microbicide gel containing the antiretroviral drug tenofovir used during intercourse showed promise in giving women a prevention tool they can control.
* An estimated 42,000 preventable deaths from HIV occurred in pregnant women.
Source: UNAIDS report, MDG6: Six Things You Need to Know About the AIDS Response Today (http://bit.ly/9M3gCx)
* As many as 80% of cholera cases can be treated with oral rehydration salts.
* As we went to press, cholera (which is a preventable disease) had killed more than 700 in Haiti and more than 1,800 in central Africa in 2010.
Sources: World Health Organization, cholera fact sheet (http://bit.ly/cQ7oY0) and Global Alert and Response: Cholera in Central Africa (http://bit.ly/ancmoJ); Pan American Health Organization updates (http://bit.ly/1afJjr)
* Prevention projects (insecticidal nets and indoor residual spraying) save an estimated 485 children from malarial death every day.
* Malaria prevention programs in several African countries are lacking as much as 90% of the funding they need for full implementation.
Source: Roll Back Malaria Progress and Impact Series, Saving Lives with Malaria Control: Counting Down to the Millennium Development Goals (http://bit.ly/cHheFW)
(For more on goals and progress toward malaria elimination, see the Lancet's series on the topic at http://bit.ly/aTg1FO)
* Fifteen African countries launched a synchronized campaign to eradicate polio by immunizing 72 million children.
* Polio remains endemic in Nigeria, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
Source: World Health Organization, Africa Seizes Chance Against Polio (http://bit.ly/bnlHVO)
* The incidence of colorectal cancer declined over the past 20 years, which is attributed to increased screening that facilitates the detection and removal of precancerous polyps.
* An estimated 51,370 deaths from colorectal cancer occurred in 2010, accounting for 9% of all cancer deaths in the United States.
Source: American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts and Figures 2010 (http://bit.ly/cXBFdn)
© 2011 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc.