Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
A Dose Of Upbeat And Inspiring News
CNN: Kindness Will Make You Happier Than A Higher Salary, Report Shows
The world may feel cold, scary and cruel, but if you are open to seeing it, there is a lot of kindness, according to a new report. The World Happiness Report, released each year on the International Day of Happiness, is a global analysis on happiness and well-being in partnership with Gallup, the University of Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. This year’s report paid special attention to acts of benevolence and people’s expectations of their communities. (Holcombe, 3/20)
AP: Stressed? Sick? Swiss Town Lets Doctors Prescribe Free Museum Visits As Art Therapy For Patients
The world’s woes got you down? Feeling burnout at work? Need a little something extra to fight illness or prep for surgery? The Swiss town of Neuchâtel is offering its residents a novel medical option: Expose yourself to art and get a doctor’s note to do it for free. Under a new two-year pilot project, local and regional authorities are covering the costs of “museum prescriptions” issued by doctors who believe their patients could benefit from visits to any of the town’s four museums as part of their treatment. (Keaten, 3/24)
San Francisco Chronicle: Stephen Curry Makes Mouthguards Cool, Says Dental Expert
The California Dental Association is applauding Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors star, not just for his game-changing 3-pointers, but for becoming an unexpected champion of oral health. ... Though mouthguards are typically associated with protecting teeth from injury, Curry’s unique and visible use of his mouthguard has made it a notable part of basketball culture. [UCSF oral epidemiology professor Benjamin W.] Chaffee suggests that Curry’s behavior may have shifted public perception of mouthguards, making them seem more mainstream. (Vaziri, 3/17)
Fierce Healthcare: Peaceful Pups—Therapy Dogs Reduce Kids' Anxiety In ED, Study Finds
Pediatric emergency departments could turn to dogs to reduce anxious kids and parents alike, potentially offering an alternative to medications, new data suggest. The randomized clinical trial of 80 children, published in JAMA Network Open, found that roughly 10 minutes with a therapy dog and its handler—alongside standard mitigation from a certified child-life specialist—was followed by “modest but significantly greater” reductions in child-reported anxiety and parent-reported perceptions of child anxiety, as compared to child-life therapy alone. (Muoio, 3/20)
The San Diego Union-Tribune: Bird Flu Has Decimated Flocks — But Not At San Diego Zoos. Here’s How They Keep Condors, Penguins And More Safe.
Three years of working to protect exotic and endangered animals in captivity has been no small feat for experts at the San Diego Zoo, San Diego Safari Park and SeaWorld San Diego. And things have gone well. So far, none of the birds or animals in the collections of the zoo, Safari Park or SeaWorld have tested positive for the strain of the virus now causing outbreaks, called H5N1. Officials credit close surveillance of wild migratory birds, a slew of biosecurity measures — and a little luck. (Kucker, 3/23)
Scientific American: Kanzi The Bonobo, Who Learned Language And Made Stone Tools, Dies At Age 44
Kanzi was the subject of many studies aimed at illuminating ape cognition and the origins of human language and tool use. (Wong, 3/20)
