Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Common Red Flags Found In Backgrounds Of Perpetrators Of Mass Violence Could Help Prevent Next Massacre
The Washington Post: Mass Violence In The U.S. Usually Follows Warning Signs From Attackers, Report Finds
The attacks have taken on a numbing familiarity in recent years: five shot to death at an airport in South Florida. Twenty-six slain at a church in Texas. Five killed by a gunman rampaging through Northern California. These violent outbursts last year, and others like them, had key things in common. Chief among them: Long before the violence, the people identified as attackers had elicited concerns from those who had encountered them, red flags that littered their paths to wreaking havoc on unsuspecting strangers. (Berman, 3/29)
The Washington Post: ‘Our Greatest Fear’: Highly Drug-Resistant Gonorrhea Confirmed By Health Officials
A super-resistant strain of gonorrhea has been reported in the United Kingdom following warnings from global public health officials that the common sexually transmitted disease is becoming more difficult to treat. Health officials in England said it is the first time that a case of gonorrhea could not be treated successfully with antibiotics that are commonly used to cure it. (Bever, 3/29)
The Washington Post: One Year After Delaying Obama’s Nutrition Rules, Trump’s FDA Says It Will Embrace Them
The Trump administration will encourage the food industry to reduce the salt in processed foods and will take steps to overhaul some food labels to make them easier to understand, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced Thursday. The FDA will also move forward with Obama-era plans to require calorie labeling on restaurant menus and new “Nutrition Facts” panels on food products, two rules the agency had delayed. (Dewey, 3/29)
The New York Times: Why Do Cracking Knuckles Make That Noise? You Might Need A Calculator
In some households, cracking your knuckles is a declaration of war. Whether you’re in the camp that can’t stand the sound or the one that can’t see what the fuss is about, you might be surprised to learn that where exactly the sound is coming from — what precisely in the knuckle produces it — is still a subject of scientific research. (Greenwood, 3/29)
The New York Times: Many Americans Try Retirement, Then Change Their Minds
Sue Ellen King had circled her retirement date on the calendar: March 8, 2015. She had worked as a critical care nurse and nursing educator at University of Florida Health (UF Health) in Jacksonville, Fla., for 38 years; co-workers joked that she was there when the hospital’s foundation was laid, which happened to be true. So the send-offs went on for days — parties in the units where she had worked, a dinner in her honor, gifts including a framed photo signed by colleagues. (Span, 3/30)
The Baltimore Sun: Workplace Is No. 5 Leading Cause Of Death In The U.S., Professor Says
Stanford professor Jeffrey Pfeffer doesn't mince words. Workplace stress -- the result of conditions like long hours, a lack of health insurance, little autonomy on the job, high job demands -- don't just hit productivity or damage morale. They're killing us. "It's pretty clear that the human costs -- in terms of death -- and the economic costs, in terms of elevated health care spend, are quite substantial," Pfeffer said in a recent interview about his new book, "Dying for a Paycheck." (McGregor, 3/29)
Kaiser Health News: ‘Aggressive’ New Advance Directive Would Let Dementia Patients Refuse Food
Treading into ethically and legally uncertain territory, a New York end-of-life agency has approved a new document that lets people stipulate in advance that they don’t want food or water if they develop severe dementia. The directive, finalized this month by the board for End Of Life Choices New York, aims to provide patients a way to hasten death in late-stage dementia, if they choose. (Aleccia, 3/30)
