Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Living Alone Now More Common For US Adults
Fox News: More American Adults Living Alone, Census Bureau Reports
More American adults are living alone, according to newly released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's annual America's Families and Living Arrangement table package. In a news release, the bureau said the percentage of adults living with a spouse decreased from 52% to 50% over the past decade. Living alone became more common and 37 million adults age 18 and over lived alone in early 2021, up from 33 million in 2011. In 1960, single-person households represented only 13% of all households. (Musto, 12/1)
The New York Times: Trust In Science And Scientists Increased Globally, Poll Finds
As the coronavirus pandemic put a spotlight on scientific research, people around the world gained trust in both science and scientists, according to a new survey released on Monday. Results from the public opinion poll, in a report published by the Wellcome Trust, a foundation focused on health research in London, showed that about 80 percent of people from 113 countries said they trusted science either “a lot” or “some.” About three-fourths of the 119,000 surveyed said they trusted scientists, either “a lot” or “some.” (Imbler, 12/1)
The Washington Post: Planned Parenthood Los Angeles Says Hack Breached About 400,000 Patients’ Information
A hacker gained access to the personal information of hundreds of thousands of Planned Parenthood patients in October, the reproductive health-care group’s Los Angeles branch said Wednesday. The breach is limited to the Los Angeles affiliate, and spokesperson John Erickson said there is no indication at this point that the information was “used for fraudulent purposes.” (Schaffer, Marks and Knowles, 12/1)
Stateline: Telehealth May Be Here To Stay
The use of remote health services soared during the pandemic, opening the eyes of many medical providers and patients to telehealth’s convenience, efficiency and relative low cost. But its future depends largely on whether state lawmakers extend emergency measures that made telehealth a viable alternative for patients and providers wary of in-person contact. The most important changes most states made were to expand Medicaid coverage to different types of virtual appointments and to enact telehealth coverage requirements for private insurers. (Ollove, 12/1)
On mental health —
WUFT: A Look Into The Mental Health Of Student-Athletes
Matthew Seitz was introduced into the sports world at a young age. He grew up with a father who played Division 1 basketball and an uncle who was an athletic director. In high school, Seitz was on the swim, golf, basketball and baseball teams. He never played sports in college. “I was a four-sport high school athlete, a jack of all trades, a master of none,” the now licensed psychologist said. In 2019, Seitz started a private practice in Gainesville where he now works with athletes ranging from the high school to Olympic levels. (Hyde, 12/1)
KHN: As Climate Worsens, Environmentalists Grapple With The Mental Toll Of Activism
While growing up in the ’90s in Johnson County, Kansas, in a suburb of Kansas City, I had a friend, Kevin Aaron, who was a dedicated environmentalist. To strangers, Kevin appeared to be a laid-back punk-rock music fan with a dry and slightly mischievous sense of humor, but those of us who knew him best saw his passion for sustainability blossom during high school. In his barbecue-obsessed part of the country, he became the rare vegetarian, driven by witnessing large-scale meat production’s damage to the environment. As he grew into a young man, he eagerly researched and then adopted alternative practices — like driving a hybrid car — that he thought might reduce carbon emissions, if only by tiny measures. (Alex Smith, 12/2)
