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As health-care costs skyrocket, a down-to-earth approach to healing is emerging, complementing high-tech medicine with high-touch arts.

This article from the Harvard school of medicine talks about the rise of marijuana use among college students. They explain that from 1993 to 2000 the number has increased from 12.9 to 15.7 percent. This is a issue and many students have shown that this does not affect their grades. This survey was put out to show the rise in use among college students. Also there are many factors that imply the rise in use among college students. With this information it shows the rise in marijuana use among college students. Many students are turning to marijuana use rather than alcohol use during the weeks. This is a good alternative because it gives some input on how and why some students would choose marijuana over alcohol. This is solid back up information because it shows the increase in marijuana use and gives some statistical information to back it all up. This give some good numbers to support my research paper.

Many older adults in Medicare managed care programs have low health literacy, and this may affect use of preventive services. Objectives. To determine whether older adults with inadequate health literacy were less likely to report receiving influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations, mammograms, and Papanicolaou smears than individuals with adequate health literacy after adjusting for other covariates. Research Design. Cross-sectional survey; home interviews with community dwelling enrollees. Subjects. Medicare managed care enrollees 65 to 79 years old in four US cities (n = 2722). Measures. Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults and self-reported preventive service use. Results. In bivariate analyses, self-reported lack of preventive services was higher among individuals with inadequate health literacy than those with adequate health literacy: never had an influenza vaccination: 29% versus 19% (P = 0.000); never had a pneumococcal vaccination: 65% versus 54% (P = 0.000); no mammogram in the last 2 years: 24% versus 17% (P = 0.017); never had a Papanicolaou smear: 10% versus 5% (P = 0.002). After adjusting for demographics, years of school completed, income, number of physician visits, and health status, people with inadequate health literacy were more likely to report they had never received the influenza (OR, 1.4% 95% CI, 1.1-1.9) or pneumococcal vaccination (OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.7), and women were less likely to have received a mammogram (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.0-2.2) or Papanicolaou smear (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.0-3.1). Conclusions. Among Medicare managed care enrollees, inadequate health literacy is independently associated with lower use of preventive health services. (Abstract taken from JSTOR.)

Consideration for smoking marijuana for medical purposes in the U.S. Types of groups which pushed for the legalization of marijuana for all purposes. Cases reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court concerning medical marijuana and legalization. There are benefits to the legalization of marijuana dealing with economic and social problems. Harvard has gave supporting evidence for marijuana and health issues. Marijuana is a proven pain reliever. Also it help cancer patients maintain appetites, this is another supporting reason for medical marijuana legalization.

Health literacy is basic reading and numerical skills that allow a person to function in the health care environment. Even though most adults read at an eighth-grade level, and 20 percent of the population reads at or below a fifth-grade level, most health care materials are written at a 10th-grade level. Older patients are particularly affected because their reading and comprehension abilities are influenced by their cognition and their vision and hearing status. Inadequate health literacy can result in difficulty accessing health care, following instructions from a physician, and taking medication properly. Patients with inadequate health literacy are more likely to be hospitalized than patients with adequate skills. Patients understand medical information better when spoken to slowly, simple words are used, and a restricted amount of information is presented. For optimal comprehension and compliance, patient education material should be written at a sixth-grade or lower reading level, preferably including pictures and illustrations. All patients prefer reading medical information written in clear and concise language. Physicians should be alert to this problem because most patients are unwilling to admit that they have literacy problems. (Am Fam Physician 2005;72:463-8. Copyright© 2005 American Academy of Family Physicians.)

Many patients misunderstand the written questions American doctors have them answer before physical exams, a finding that calls into question the usefulness of these screening tools, new reports say.