The Glucose Crisis

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the US, and yet a quarter of the people who have it don’t know it. The most common form of diabetes, Type 2, is also the most preventable. Dr. C. Edward Geno, assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine, walked participants through the basics of…


Brussels Sprout Challenge Marks Fifth Year

Hundreds of walkers participated in University Medical Center’s annual Brussels Sprout Challenge March 2, eating one of the cruciferous vegetables at each mile of the 3.1 mile walk and helping to promote healthy lifestyle choices. This was the fifth year that UMC, which is operated by the College of Community Health Sciences, offered the Brussels…


High Ankle Sprains in Athletes

A high ankle sprain is a common sports-related injury and gets its name from the location of the injury – a little bit above the area injured in a common ankle sprain. A high ankle sprain occurs when there is a sprain to the ligaments that hold the two leg bones, the tibia and fibula,…


Research Roundup

Researchers at the College of Community Health Sciences receive funding for projects to better identify and assist patients at risk for high blood pressure, and to help reduce a significant racial disparity in infant mortality rates in Alabama College of Community Health Sciences researchers received $100,000 in additional funding for research designed to identify and…


Higginbotham named UA senior associate vice president of research

Dr. John C. Higginbotham, associate dean for Research and Health Policy for the College of Community Health Sciences, has been tapped for the role of senior associate vice president for Research and Economic Development for The University of Alabama. Higginbotham, who is also professor and chair of the College’s Department of Community Medicine and Population…


University Medical Center hosts fifth annual Brussels Sprout Challenge at Heart Walk

The fifth annual Brussels Sprout Challenge, hosted by University Medical Center as part of the American Heart Association’s West Alabama Heart Walk, will be held Saturday, March 2. University Medical Center is operated by The University of Alabama’s College of Community Health Sciences. Partnering again with Manna Grocery and Deli in Tuscaloosa, which prepares and…


The Value of Vaccines

“Vaccines are one of our best tools for prevention and health protection,” said Dr. Pamela Payne-Foster, a professor of Community Medicine and Population Health at the College of Community Health Sciences and a preventive medicine physician. During a presentation as part of Mini Medical School, the College’s collaborative program with The University of Alabama OLLI…


Grand Rounds: The Great Masquerader- GYN Edition

Between 5 and 12 percent of emergency visits to hospitals in the US are for complaints of abdominal pain. The cause can range from something as simple as indigestion to a ruptured colon. The difficult part for medical staff is knowing how to diagnose this common ailment. Women, especially those who are sexually active and…


Colonoscopies the Gold Standard: Other Screening Tools 

Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of mortality in the US, and last year the American Cancer Society began recommending screening at age 45 for those at average risk. The age had previously been 50. But many health insurers only pay for colonoscopies, considered the gold standard of colorectal cancer screening, for people beginning at…


Health equity still out of reach

African-American women are more likely to die of breast and cervical cancer than white women. African-American men are more likely to die of prostate cancer than white men. Hispanic and Native American women have higher rates of cervical cancer than women of other racial and ethnic groups. These disparities, as reported by the National Cancer…