Health Policy News

April 18, 2024

Top Headlines

More Premature Babies Born Following Swedish Parental Leave Policy

Apr. 8, 2024 — The introduction of a policy protecting parental leave benefits in Sweden in 1980 had unintended consequences on child health. The policy appears to have led to an increase in premature birth ...

Climate Policies to Reduce Motor Vehicle Emissions Can Improve Children's Health, Save Money

Mar. 12, 2024 — A new study finds that policies to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from motor vehicles combined with investments in electric vehicles and public transportation would reduce air pollution and ...

Space Tourism? Cosmic Radiation Exposure

Mar. 5, 2024 — Space weather experts are urging regulators and space tourism innovators to work together to protect their passengers and crews from the risks of space weather radiation ...

Heart Disease Research Challenges 'One Size Fits All' Aspirin Guidelines

Feb. 27, 2024 — Findings of a review of data from three clinical trials challenge current best practice for use of the drug for primary prevention of heart disease or stroke -- otherwise known as atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The analysis of data from ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:45pm EDT

Just Ask: Patients in the ER Are Willing to Get a Flu Shot

Mar. 26, 2024 — Simply asking patients to get the flu vaccine, and combining it with helpful video and print messages, is enough to persuade many who visit emergency departments to roll up their sleeves, according ...

Treating Anxiety, Depression in People With Heart Disease Reduced ER Visits, Hospitalizations

Mar. 20, 2024 — Treating anxiety and depression significantly reduced hospital readmission and emergency room visits in people with heart disease.This may be the ...

Delta-8-THC Use Reported by 11% of 12th Graders in 2023

Mar. 12, 2024 — Approximately 11% of 12th-grade students across the United States reported past-year use of delta-8- tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8-THC, or delta-8 for short), according to an analysis of data from ...

Study Results Show 25% of Pregnant People Are Not Getting Enough Omega-3 Fatty Acids from Their Diet or Dietary Supplements

Mar. 1, 2024 — Results from a new US nationwide cohort study show that, despite strong recommendations in favor of consuming omega-3 fatty acids for optimal ...

Detailed Study Demonstrates How Pulse Oximeters Significantly Overestimate Oxygen Readings in People With Darker Skin Tones

Feb. 29, 2024 — A systematic review draws together five decades of research -- including more than 730,000 individual measurements -- to assess how a person's skin ...

How Children's Birthdays Help Show the Best Month for Flu Shots

Feb. 22, 2024 — First large-scale analysis of optimal timing for flu shots finds October is the best month for children to get vaccinated against influenza. Study of 800,000 pediatrician visits leverages links ...

Study Identifies Increase in Antibiotic-Resistant Typhoid

Feb. 20, 2024 — A study has shown that shortly after an increase in antimicrobial use -- specifically the antibiotic ciprofloxacin -- rates of antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella typhi ...

Raised Blood Pressure Is the Leading Risk Factor for Death in Australia

Feb. 21, 2024 — Raised blood pressure has been the leading risk factor for death in Australia for the past three decades, according to a new study. It is also the main contributor to deaths from cardiovascular ...

Could Ultra-Processed Foods Be the New 'Silent' Killer?

Feb. 20, 2024 — Hundreds of novel ingredients never encountered by human physiology are now found in nearly 60 percent of the average adult's diet and nearly 70 percent of children's diets in the U.S. An emerging ...

This Common Medication Could Save Half a Million Children's Lives Each Year. So Why Is It Underprescribed?

Feb. 8, 2024 — Health care providers in developing countries know that oral rehydration salts (ORS) are a lifesaving and inexpensive treatment for diarrheal ...

Reducing Late-Night Alcohol Sales Curbed All Violent Crimes by 23% Annually in a Baltimore Neighborhood

Apr. 1, 2024 — New study findings suggest that shortening overnight operations by seven hours at bars and taverns in a Baltimore, Md. neighborhood resulted in a 51 percent immediate drop in homicides within the ...

Confusing Assistance Requirements Contribute to Food Insecurity Among College Students

Mar. 25, 2024 — Food insecurity among college students is associated with negative physical and mental health and lower academic performance and graduation rates. A recent research study investigates why over half ...

Dehydration Is Rampant Among Florida Farm Workers, New Study Shows

Mar. 19, 2024 — Nearly all farm workers who participated in a recent study in Florida were dehydrated at the end of their shifts, and more than half were still dehydrated the following ...

Laws That Punish Drug Use During Pregnancy Likely Lead to Worse Health Outcomes for Families, Study Finds

Mar. 18, 2024 — Contrary to some claims, laws that criminalize or otherwise punish drug use during pregnancy are more likely to worsen rather than improve health outcomes. The study is the first to systematically ...

Changes in Flu Circulation Means U.S. Likely to See Vaccines Move from Quadrivalent to Trivalent

Feb. 29, 2024 — U.S. flu vaccines are likely to move from quadrivalent to trivalent due to a change in circulating influenza viruses, according to a new ...

Study of Usefulness of Lockdowns During Epidemics Identifies Alternate Solution

Feb. 21, 2024 — The COVID-19 pandemic raised questions about when and to what extent costly nonpharmaceutical interventions (e.g., lockdowns) should be used to slow the contagious spread of the virus. In a new ...

Maternal Mental Conditions Drive Climbing Death Rate in U.S., Evidence Review Finds

Feb. 21, 2024 — Researchers culled years of data demonstrating that maternal mental illness is an under-recognized contributor to the death of new mothers. They are calling for urgent action to address this public ...

Environmental Monitoring Offers Low-Cost Tool for Typhoid Fever Surveillance

Feb. 15, 2024 — Researchers can accurately track where typhoid fever cases are highest by monitoring environmental samples for viruses called bacteriophages that specifically infect the bacterium that causes typhoid ...

England's Oldest Became Frailer During Austerity, Study Suggests

Feb. 8, 2024 — The speed at which England's oldest adults became frailer accelerated during the UK Government's era of austerity politics, according to a new ...

Music May Bring Health Benefits for Older Adults, Poll Suggests

Feb. 7, 2024 — Three-quarters of people age 50 to 80 say music helps them relieve stress or relax and 65% say it helps their mental health or mood, according to a recent poll. Meanwhile, 60% say they get energized ...

Many Excess Deaths Attributed to Natural Causes Are Actually Uncounted COVID-19 Deaths, New Analysis Reveals

Feb. 6, 2024 — A new study provides the first concrete data showing that many of these excess deaths were indeed uncounted COVID-19 deaths. The study compared reported COVID-19 deaths to excess deaths due to ...

Psychological Care Delivered Over the Phone Is an Effective Way to Combat Loneliness and Depression, According to a Major New Study

Feb. 1, 2024 — The results of the study, a major clinical trial carried out during the Covid pandemic, showed rapid and enduring improvements in mental health and quality of life when older people received weekly ...

Paper Calls for Patient-First Regulation of AI in Healthcare

Jan. 31, 2024 — A new paper describes how, despite widespread enthusiasm about artificial intelligence's potential to revolutionize healthcare and the use of AI-powered tools on millions of patients already, no ...

Pedestrian Injuries from Falls Versus Motor Vehicle Collisions: Are We Lacking Critical Policy and Interventions?

Jan. 31, 2024 — When comparing the national burden of pedestrian injuries from motor vehicles to that of pedestrian falls occurring on streets and sidewalks researchers found that the probability of a pedestrian ...

Death Toll Shows Extreme Air Pollution Events a Growing Urban Threat

Jan. 31, 2024 — New research has estimated that 1454 avoidable deaths (one person every five days) occurred in Australian capital cities in the past 20 years because of fine particle air pollution from extreme ...

Asthma Rates Climb for High School Students as Cannabis Use Increases

Jan. 30, 2024 — Asthma is more common among high school students who use cannabis, relative to those who do not and the prevalence of asthma increases with the frequency of its use among the students, according to a ...

A Study of How Americans Die May Improve Their End of Life

Jan. 24, 2024 — Nearly all older U.S. citizens follow one of nine trajectories in their last three years, researchers ...

Obesity Spiked in Children During COVID-19 Lockdowns -- Only the Youngest Bounced Back

Jan. 24, 2024 — Obesity among primary school children in the UK spiked during the COVID-19 lockdown, with a 45% increase between 2019/20 and 2020/21 among 4-5-year-olds, according to a new study. The authors ...

Exposure to Flame Retardants Linked to Premature Birth, Higher Birth Weight

Jan. 24, 2024 — Exposure to organophosphate ester flame retardants during pregnancy is linked to premature births and greater fetal growth, according to a new ...

AI Surveillance Tool Successfully Helps to Predict Sepsis, Saves Lives

Jan. 23, 2024 — Researchers find that utilizing a unique AI algorithm that monitors several patient variables, like vital signs and lab results, can detect sepsis before symptom ...