Group Health Research Institute

Peggy O'Brien-Murphy receives a massage from therapist Loretta Lanz. O'Brien-Murphy was among the participants in a study that found both relaxation and deep tissue massage are effective treatments for lower back pain.

Medicaid may not be the best health coverage around, but a study out this week shows that it is way better than nothing.

The findings come from Oregon, where limited funding meant the state resorted to a lottery to determine who would get into Medicaid. Public health researchers compared the health of people who got Medicaid coverage and those who didn't, and we have Julie Rovner on hand to explain how it turned out.

And a new report suggests that publicity for screening tests seems to be working in the fight to prevent colorectal cancer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still looking for ways to get the third of 50 to 75-year-olds who aren't up to date on their screenings, though.

We also check in on Maryland's flip-flop on sunscreen on kids for kids at camp. In rules to prevent inappropriate touching, some parents and doctor worried there was too little concern about protection from the sun.

And we sort through some of the science on whether playing violent video games harms kids. It's clear that video games can lead to more aggressive and less empathetic behavior in the short run, but if gamers don't grow up to commit crimes, it might not count as harm.

Some relief for back-pain sufferers: research out this week confirmed that the masseuse's table is a medically effective destination for treatment. And we hear a health story from Mozambique about young mothers with HIV working to keep their babies healthy and HIV-negative.

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