News Briefs: Health of the Public Updates

This roundup includes the following public health news briefs:

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, or RWJF, has announced it will award as much as $2.4 million to fund the second phase of a national program, dubbed Project HealthDesign: Rethinking the Power and Potential of Personal Health Records, that launched in 2006.

RWFJ has issued a call for proposals to grant applicants who want to assess and test the potential of patient-recorded observations about activities of daily living to help patients and physicians better manage chronic illnesses.

Grants of as much as $480,000 each are available to as many as five grantee teams for 24-month demonstration projects. Brief proposals are due by June 3. Contact the program for additional information about the grant application process.

UnitedHealthcare, one of the country's largest health insurance companies, recently launched a new Web site designed as a resource for women of all ages. The site, Source4Women, aims to provide women with high-quality, comprehensive information on a range of health topics.

Users have access to tools that will help them simplify such tasks as handling health insurance claims; finding a physician; and accessing a range of health, wellness and disease-management programs.

UnitedHealthcare is targeting women because, according to the insurer, a recent study by the Kaiser Family Foundation reportedly found women make 85 percent of health care decisions for themselves and their family members. They also control two-thirds of U.S. health care spending.