AROUND UF HEALTH
Around UF Health
Red rules the day
2017 Wear Red Day
The fabled orange and blue of The Gator Nation gave way for one day to a sea of red in the UF Health Shands Hospital Atrium as part of the annual National Wear Red Day to raise awareness of heart disease. Those in attendance learned tips on how to have a healthier heart, including nutritional and lifestyle steps that can help prevent heart disease. — Greg Hamilton
The power of dignity
A UF College of Nursing researcher and her team have received grant funding for a five-year study of whether dignity therapy led by a nurse or a chaplain could help elderly patients facing a cancer diagnosis and receiving palliative care. Studies have shown that dignity therapy, a spiritual intervention, is well-accepted by patients, but it is not widely used and questions remain how best it can work in real-life settings. Funded by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute for Nursing Research, the study will include six sites across the country. Total funding over the five-year period is in excess of $3 million. Diana Wilkie, Ph.D., the Prairieview Trust – Earl and Margo Powers endowed professor, will be one of three principal investigators for the study. — Tracy Wright
Differing
A University of Florida-led advisory council tasked by the state with developing guidelines for early detection of prostate cancer has released recommendations that differ from federal guidelines on routine prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, blood tests for men, the most common screening for prostate cancer. Since 2011, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has recommended against routine PSA testing, which may give false-positive or false-negative results. The Florida Prostate Cancer Advisory Council, however, recommends that Floridian men 50 years or older with an average risk of getting the disease be encouraged to get early detection testing. All African-American men in the state and those 40 years or older with close relatives who have prostate cancer should also be urged to get tested. — Marilee Griffin
