School Nurse Challenges Guidelines

[LucyGoosey]

John Smithkey. RN, BSN says "I could find no sign of independent peer review," and uses their resistance factors as a reason to question the validity of the Guidelines. He even questions "Did anybody proof this document?" and asks if anybody even read it before adopting it as public health policy. Finally he wonders: "How did the professional organization that represents school nurses approve this report?"

http://www.headlice.org/news/pr050103.htm

[Nurse Ratched, RN]

Wow - amazingly glaring errors and logical fallacies. Thanks for the article, Lucy.

[WashYaHands]

Smithkey has very valid points. Thanks for the article.

Linda

[LucyGoosey]

The supposed "Guidelines for Resistant Lice" are no longer posted. The "journal" (ha!) that published them threatened lawsuit as their client for whom they did what they call "the custom education piece" was not happy to see the guidelines up for discussion. So much for "unrestricted educational grants."

Nurses are overloaded and overworked no doubt but should continuously be reminded not to let their guard down to avoid becoming industry pawns.

Don't buy into anything until you check out what or who or how much money was behind the people who put their names on it. The Guidelines for Resistant Lice had more red flags than you could count to sell lice shampoos and deny simple manual methods -- but most everybody missed them or worse yet, looked the other way.

If head lice aren't a health issue, as the "Guidelines" say, then the pesticides and poison shampoos for children who have them shouldn't be on the market. Can't have it all ways.

Whether you care about lice or not -- this is a model for all that is wrong with health care and everything that can be right if the health professionals in the trenches say NO to being scammed.

The public pays for all the corporate slick paper, association meetings and yogurt bars. We pay in dollars, wasted efforts and risk to health.

Thanks for having the activism section of the board to vent.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Thanks for the update. Hope to see more of your posts.

[LucyGoosey]

Here's a more recent example of the lunacy. Makes the point all over again.... if head lice are not a health issue then let's get the poisons for kids off the market. Obviously the person writing the article didn't understand the topic well enough to ask the right questions. Here's examples of how the media propagates the disinformation and becomes part of the problem.

http://www.nbc11.com/health/2254216/detail.html

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/6097292.htm

[TinyNurse, RN]

Great theory I think as new grad in Ohio.

xo Jen

[LucyGoosey]

Does anybody know of another example of a company that promotes its product by using marketing tactics to dictate public health policy for a communicable disease or illness?

Reports from "expert panels" is a ploy that's been around for a long time. If you know of one please post. If you don't -- you might wonder why not because they are all too common.