UN-HABITAT’s report, State of the World’s Cities 2006/7, finds that residents of urban slums in developing countries are as bad or worse off than their rural counterparts in terms of poverty and health. In sub-Saharan Africa, rates of child malnutrition are as high in slums as in rural areas, and women in slums are more likely to contract HIV/AIDS than women in rural areas.

The Kaiser Family Foundation’s statehealthfacts.org has released state-by-state comparisons for Medicare payments (FY2005) and personal health expenditures (FY2004).

The PRI Data Archive has acquired the RAND HRS Version F Dataset. This dataset is “a cleaned and easy-to-use version of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) with derived variables covering a broad range of measures and named consistently across waves. The file was developed by the RAND Center for the Study of Aging with funding from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and Social Security Administration (SSA).

As of 2006, nine HRS waves are available for study. The RAND HRS Data file (Version F) is based on 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, and 2002 final releases, and the 2004 early release of HRS data. The complete HRS includes five entry cohorts, as does the RAND file. The file incorporates only the core interviews. It does not include exit interview or any restricted data. Besides incorporating the 2004 early release, this version corrects known problems and adds a few new variables, including 2nd home value from 1998 forward.”
See the RAND Contributions Web Page for more information.

The data and documentation files are accessible in the PRI PopNet UNIX and SodaPop collections. Users must register with HRS prior to obtaining access to these files (if you have registered before to use any HRS public-use data, you do not need to register again).

The following grant announcements are new this week on the Population Research Institute Funding Announcements web page.

Funding for Faculty Investigators

Translational Research for the Prevention and Control of Diabetes and Obesity (R18) - National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) - National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) - Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)

AHRQ Small Research Grant Program (R03) - Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Basic, Clinical and Translational Research Grant Program - Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

Behavioral and Social Research on Disasters and Health (R01) - National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) - National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) - National Institute on Aging (NIA) - Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)

Behavioral and Social Research on Disasters and Health (R03) - National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) - National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) - National Institute on Aging (NIA) - Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)

Behavioral and Social Research on Disasters and Health (R21) - National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) - National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) - National Institute on Aging (NIA) - Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)

Breast Cancer Disparities Research - Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health (K12) - Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) - National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) - National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) - National Institute on Aging (NIA) - National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) - National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) - Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) - Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH)

Cancer Research Grant and Fellowship Program - Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation

Cancer Research Network (U19) - Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) - National Cancer Institute (NCI)

CDC Public Health Research: Health Protection Research Initiative - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Census Information Center Program - U.S. Census Bureau

Efficacy of Interventions to Promote Research Careers (R01) - National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Establishing Comprehensive NCMHD Research Centers of Excellence (P60) - National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD)

Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (K12) - National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Mentoring Programs to Diversify the Mental Health HIV/AIDS Research Workforce through Innovative Educational Initiatives (R25) - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) - National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Reproductive Health & Rights Program - General Service Foundation

Rural Research to Diverse Audiences - Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Research Training Grants (T32) - National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Small Grants for Behavioral Research in Cancer Control (R03) - National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Specialized Centers Of Interdisciplinary Research (SCOR) On Sex And Gender Factors Affecting Women’s Health (P50) - Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) - National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) - National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) - National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) - Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH)

Funding for Students (Pre-Doctoral Or Dissertation)

Early Researcher Awards - American Psychological Association (APA)

Japan Studies Dissertation Workshop - Social Science Research Council (SSRC)

Post-Doctoral Opportunities

Japan Program: JSPS Fellowship Program - Social Science Research Council (SSRC)

NCI Transition Career Development Award (K22) - National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Postdoctoral Fellowships - Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

Young Investigator Award - NARSAD: The Mental Health Research Association

The National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) plans to issue an RFA for exploratory research centers in July 2006. The competition will be open to both new and existing centers. For more information, see the Federal Register notice.

The NIH is seeking public input on a draft report, Policy Issues Associated with Undertaking a Large U.S. Population Cohort Project on Genes, Environment, and Disease. The report and request for comments are available online.

The National Institutes of Health Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research is celebrating 10 years of advancements in the behavioral, social, and population sciences with a 2-day celebration June 21-22, titled 10th Anniversary: Celebrating a Decade of Progress and Promise.

The AMA has adopted a recommendation that Americans who can afford health insurance be required to buy it. The recommendation particularly targets young adults who often forgo health insurance and argues that people without insurance create burdens on the health care system. (USA Today, June 14, 2006)

ILO director Gerry Finnegan said that while the rest of the world has recorded a decline in child labor, it has continued to increase in sub-Saharan Africa, due to the effects of HIV/AIDS, high population growth, and high poverty rates (The Post [Lusaka] via allAfrica.com, June 13, 2006). For more, see the ILO report, The end of child labour: Within reach.

Three new reports from the Institute of Medicine find US emergency rooms in bad shape:

• Hospital-Based Emergency Care: At the Breaking Point
• Emergency Medical Services At the Crossroads
• Emergency Care for Children: Growing Pains