CDC Wants To Research Whether Doctors Talking With Gay People Of Color Earlier Will Improve HIV Outcomes
"If this study is able to demonstrate that getting people who test for HIV enrolled in coverage when they test, it could improve their health generally no matter their HIV test result," said Jeffrey Crowley, who served under President Barack Obama as director of the Office of National AIDS policy. In other public health news: LGBTQ youth and homelessness, the Goldwater Rule, the mysterious illness in diplomats, exercise and more.
Modern Healthcare:
CDC To Research Coverage Gaps For Gay People Of Color
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants to research whether gay and transgender people of color could receive better access to care and experience reduced HIV infection rates if they discuss insurance coverage with their providers earlier. The agency is seeking approval from the White House's Office of Management and Budget to launch the study in Chicago, focusing on black and Hispanic males who have sex with men and transgender persons. The CDC will work with community partners to help people connect to coverage. (Dickson, 6/28)
The Associated Press:
Cyndi Lauper Unveils Report On LGBTQ Youth Homelessness
Years before reaching pop music stardom, Cyndi Lauper was down on her luck, broke and homeless. She was in her late teens and ready to move out of her family’s house, but her parents wouldn’t sign a lease for her own place. She found a job at a restaurant, but that didn’t pan out either and she ended up living on the streets and in a shelter in Vermont. “I felt like a failure because I couldn’t even be a good waitress,” the singer recounted Thursday morning to a small group of journalists in the courtyard of a luxury hotel off the Sunset Strip. (Pena, 6/28)
The Hill:
Psychiatrists Ask APA To Change Rule Prohibiting Analysis Of Public Figures
A group of prominent psychiatrists are calling on the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to change a controversial rule that prohibits members from speculating about the mental state of public figures. In a letter sent to the APA Thursday, the psychiatrists said that the so-called Goldwater Rule can put the public in danger by denying trained professionals from addressing mental health issues demonstrated by public figures, such as an elected official. (Weixel, 6/28)
The Associated Press:
Another US Diplomat Hurt In Mystery Incidents In Cuba
The State Department confirmed Thursday that another U.S. diplomat has been affected by mysterious health incidents in Cuba, bringing the total of Americans suffering from such ailments to 26. Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the diplomat was "medically confirmed" to have experienced health effects similar to those reported by other members of the U.S. Havana diplomatic community. (6/28)
San Jose Mercury News:
Can Exercise Battle Depression?
Just as suicide rates are spiking and a national conversation has begun on to how to fight depression, a disease that impacts 16 million adults in the U.S., a new study shows that exercise may be a key weapon in the battle. Published in JAMA Psychiatry, this new study shows that exercise combats depression, particularly in middle-age. (D'Souza, 6/28)
The Associated Press:
Officials: Kentucky's Hepatitis A Outbreak Now Worst In US
The hepatitis A outbreak in Louisville and other parts of Kentucky is now the worst in the country. The Courier Journal reports state health officials confirmed Wednesday at least 969 people have contracted the liver disease. State Public Health department Commissioner Dr. Jeff Howard says the outbreak is the worst on record across the nation and in Kentucky. (6/28)
State House News Service:
Mass. Senate Votes For Tobacco Purchase Age Of 21
The Massachusetts Senate on Thursday agreed to raise the tobacco-buying age to 21, ban e-cigarettes in places where smoking is already prohibited, and ban the sale of tobacco products at pharmacies. A similar bill cleared the House in May and if Gov. Charlie Baker signs the bill into law Massachusetts will become the sixth state in the country to refuse to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21, according to the American Lung Association. (Young, 6/28)
The Associated Press:
Appeals Court: Infants, Preschoolers Must Get Flu Shot
New York City's requirement that infants and preschoolers in city-regulated child care or school-based programs must get yearly flu shots was upheld Thursday by the state's highest court. The Court of Appeals said that the city's Department of Health had the authority to require the shots, a rule the city first enacted in 2013 during Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration. (6/28)
The Washington Post:
College Students Are Forming Mental-Health Clubs — And They’re Making A Difference
Mental-health problems among college students have been climbing since the 1990s, according to the American Psychological Association. And with services increasingly stretched at campus health centers, students have been taking action themselves through peer-run mental-health clubs and organizations. The approach appears to be paying off, a new study finds. (Nutt, 6/28)
