Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Creating Threat Assessment Teams In High Schools Could Prevent Shootings, Secret Service Report Says
The New York Times: Secret Service Issues Guide To Help Prevent School Shootings
Mock-shooting drills. Metal detectors. Bulletproof classroom shelters. As deadly school shootings continue to be a fixture in headlines and an everyday fear for districts and students, schools across the country have resorted to “hardening” their campuses. But a federal report released Thursday backs another model that school safety experts have for years supported as a way to save lives: the formation of “threat assessment teams” that employ mental health, law enforcement and education professionals to help identify and support troubled youths. (Yoon-Hendricks, 7/12)
The Washington Post: How Adoption And Support Programs Failed The Hart Siblings And Ushered Them To Their Deaths
One day, she thought, the three kids would come back and find her. They would return to Houston and reunite with the woman who fought to keep their family together. Priscilla Celestine held on to that dream for years, long after the state of Texas took the children — all younger than 6 at the time — and sent them 1,300 miles away to live in a Minnesota town she didn’t know, in a home she didn’t know with a family she didn’t know. The interstate adoption, finalized in 2009, was in Devonte, Jeremiah and Ciera’s best interest, the state determined. They would be safe and cared for.The state was wrong. (Heim and Tate, 7/12)
The New York Times: Did Flawed Data Lead Track Astray On Testosterone In Women?
Researchers have found flaws in some of the data that track and field officials used to formulate regulations for the complicated cases of Caster Semenya of South Africa, the two-time Olympic champion at 800 meters, and other female athletes with naturally elevated testosterone levels. Three independent researchers said they believed the mistakes called into question the validity of a 2017 study commissioned by track and field’s world governing body, the International Federation of Athletics Associations, or I.A.A.F., according to interviews and a paper written by the researchers and provided to The New York Times. (Longman, 7/12)
NPR: Citizen Scientists Collect 16,000 Ticks For Research
Could the tick that just bit you carry a pathogen that causes Lyme disease or another ailment? If you're worried, you could ship the offending bug to a private testing service to find out. But between August 2016 and January 2017, you could have gotten a free analysis by sending it to Nathan Nieto's lab at Northern Arizona University. You'd get back info on the critter that bit you and, if applicable, a pathology report. (Blakemore, 7/12)
The New York Times: Mice Don’t Know When To Let It Go, Either
Suppose that, seeking a fun evening out, you pay $175 for a ticket to a new Broadway musical. Seated in the balcony, you quickly realize that the acting is bad, the sets are ugly and no one, you suspect, will go home humming the melodies. Do you head out the door at the intermission, or stick it out for the duration? Studies of human decision-making suggest that most people will stay put, even though money spent in the past logically should have no bearing on the choice. (Goode, 7/12)
CNN: Heat Waves Lower Cognitive Function, Study Finds
We might be able to blame the heat for our bad decisions: A small study published this week found that college students who lived in dorms without air conditioning during a heat wave did worse on cognitive assessments than students who had air conditioning. "To us, this is a way of saying yes, some of the effects are common sense, but what do you do about them?" said Jose Guillermo Cedeño Laurent, associate director of the Healthy Buildings Program at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and lead author of the study, which was published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Medicine. "And this is giving more precision to the opportunity of better controlling thermal environments in our buildings." (Moulite, 7/12)
The Associated Press: New Ways To Conquer Sleep Apnea Compete For Place In Bedroom
Every night without fail, Paul Blumstein straps on a mask that prevents him from repeatedly waking up, gasping for air. It's been his routine since he was diagnosed with a condition called sleep apnea. While it helps, he doesn't like wearing the mask."It's like an octopus has clung to my face," said Blumstein, 70, of Annandale, Virginia. "I just want to sleep once in a while without that feeling." (Johnson, 7/12)
Bloomberg: E-Cigarette Maker Juul Will Offer Lower-Strength Nicotine Pods
Juul Labs Inc., the maker of the popular e-cigarette brand that has recently come under fire from health officials over its popularity with young adults, plans to introduce a line of lower-nicotine pods. The company will begin to sell pods with a 3-percent nicotine concentration in its mint and Virginia tobacco flavors later this year, according to a statement Thursday. It currently offers eight flavors -- mango is a top seller -- containing a 5-percent nicotine level, which is about as much nicotine as a pack of traditional cigarettes. (Wolf, 7/12)
The New York Times: Don’t Be Afraid Of Pain
Learning a bit of neuroscience may provide some relief from pain. In a randomized clinical trial, researchers assigned 120 men and women with chronic back or neck pain to one of two treatments. The first group received the commonly recommended program of physical therapy and general exercises. (Bakalar, 7/11)
WBUR: Hospital Lockdowns Can Leave Patients' Loved Ones Locked Out
Hospital administrators in Broward County — and around the country — said enhanced security protocols like lockdowns are standard when victims of violence are being treated. ... But hospital administrators recognize the indirect consequences of mass shootings — the far-reaching ripple effects on an entire community — like the distress people experience when they're separated from sick loved ones during a lockdown. (Bakeman, 7/13)
Los Angeles Times: Though He Lived 5,000 Years Ago, Otzi The Iceman Was Not A Strict Adherent To The Paleo Diet
If you were thinking that the ancient Alpine traveler known as Otzi — and often known simply as Iceman — scraped by on a diet of foraged grasses and berries, you’d be very wrong. A comprehensive new study of his stomach contents reveals that Otzi, who perished roughly 5,300 years ago on a mountain in the Eastern Alps of Italy, died with a belly full of fatty meat, some whole seeds from the einkorn wheat plant, and maybe a bit of goat’s milk or cheese — all eaten just a couple of hours before he died. (Healy, 7/12)
Kaiser Health News: Retooled Vaccine Raises Hopes As A Lower-Cost Treatment For Type 1 Diabetes
For Hodalis Gaytan, 20, living with Type 1 diabetes means depending on an assortment of expensive medicines and devices to stay healthy. Test strips. Needles. A glucose meter. Insulin. The increasing cost of Type 1 diabetes, one of the most common serious chronic diseases, has created heavy financial burdens for families and generated controversy, with insulin prices more than doubling in the past decade. Without her parent’s insurance, “I would not be alive,” said Gaytan, a student at the University of Maryland. (Heredia Rodriquez, 7/13)
