It’s an all-too-familiar scenario for many parents: Your preschooler starts to act up just as the phone rings or you start dinner. Maybe you hand over an iPad or smartphone to soothe the child so you can get down to business. And this probably does the trick. But if this is your go-to strategy, your child may be at risk for developing longer-term behavioral issues — especially boys and kids already hard-wired to be hyperactive or impulsive. “If a child is upset and has big emotions and you hand over a smartphone or tablet to distract them, it may keep the peace in the moment, but if this is the main way you soothe your child, it will be a setback in the long run,” said study author Dr. Jenny Radesky. She is a developmental behavioral pediatrician at the University of Michigan Health Children’s Hospital, in Ann Arbor. Instead, kids need to learn how to identify these emotions and develop self-soothing strategies, she said. “Kids who don’t build these skills in early childhood are more likely to struggle when stressed out in school or with peers as they get older,” Radesky added. For the study, the researchers looked at 422 kids and 422 parents, analyzing how often parents used screens to calm kids aged 3 to 5. Over a six-month period, the investigators charted kids’…  read on >  read on >

Once a year, giant motorcycle rallies ride into places like Daytona Beach, Fla., and Sturgis, S.D., bringing hundreds of thousands of people, an economic boost — and a wave of crash-related deaths. That means more organs available for donation and the need to be prepared, according to a new study that examined the issue. Researchers looked at seven major U.S. rallies between 2005 and 2021 that each drew between 200,000 and 500,000 people. During these events, there were 21% more organ donors per day and 26% more transplant recipients on average in the regions near the rallies compared to the weeks before and after the events. “That highlights a clear need to improve the safety of the public and the attendees around these events,” said co-author Dr. David Cron, a general surgery resident at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “That being said, so long as there continues to be increased risk associated with these events, we should at least recognize the potential for there to be an increased number of organ donors arising during these events.” Ahead of rallies, health care systems should prepare for increased demand for trauma care, and those involved in organ transplantation should also be prepared, researchers said. Cron said the study was an outgrowth of a get-together where medical colleagues chatted about ideas that could make a difference on public…  read on >  read on >

That smartphone in your hand could be triggering your allergies, a new study by an 18-year-old high school student suggests. A science fair project by Hana Ruran, of Hopkinton, Mass., found that cellphones are often loaded with cat and dog allergens, bacteria and fungi. “I have my phone always with me. It’s always in my hand. I never put it down for anything,” said study author Hana Ruran, a senior at Hopkinton High School. “And I have a lot of allergies. I just got interested in doing something that affects me.” The bottom line: It’s a good idea to wipe down the surface of your phone, especially if you have allergies. The research is being presented Thursday at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) annual meeting in Louisville, Ky. “The study demonstrates exposure to inhalant allergens and molecules that trigger innate immune reactions from a source most people haven’t considered,” study co-author Peter Thorne, Ruran’s mentor, said in an ACAAI news release. “If you have allergies or asthma, you may want to think about cleaning your smartphone more often to minimize exposure to these allergens and asthma triggers,” said Thorne, a professor in the University of Iowa College of Public Health, in Iowa City. For the study, the researchers created phone models that simulated the size and surface of a real phone…  read on >  read on >

Telemedicine became widespread during the pandemic, and that may have shifted patient views about using technology as way to communicate with their doctors, a new study suggests. Certain groups, including Black patients and those with lower education levels, became especially more apt to use it. “Our findings suggest that more Americans are becoming comfortable with telehealth and using video technology,” said study author Dr. Shira Fischer, a physician scientist at RAND Corp., a nonprofit research organization. “This is important because there are concerns that lack of access to or willingness to use video telehealth may exacerbate disparities in the delivery of high-quality health care,” she said in an organization news release. In the study, data was collected on 1,600 adults who participated in the RAND American Life Panel, completing surveys in February 2019, May 2020, August 2020 and March 2021. Participants answered questions about their use of telehealth and their attitudes toward the technology. Willingness to use video telehealth increased overall from 51% in February 2019 to 62% in March 2021. That willingness grew from 42% to 67% among Black adults and from 30% to 56% among adults with less than a high school education. Lower trust of technology and lower rates of access to high-quality internet service may have been the reasons that some groups were less willing to engage with telehealth prior to…  read on >  read on >