Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Restoring Public's Trust In Public Health; Why Is 'Havana Syndrome' Still A Mystery?
The Washington Post: How To Restore Trust In Public Health
“Follow the science.”That has become a mantra in public health policy. Health officials and politicians — including President Biden — invoke it to justify their decisions. Social media partisans hurl it back and forth to bolster their arguments. (Leana S. Wen, 3/7)
Scientific American: How 'Anomalous Health Incidents' In Cuba Sidelined Science
In 2016, U.S. diplomats began suffering from a bewildering collection of neurological symptoms, officially known as “anomalous health incidents” (AHIs) and widely branded as “Havana syndrome.” (Mitchell J. Valdes-Sosa, 3/6)
Bloomberg: Colon Cancer Isn’t Just An Older Person's Disease Anymore
A new report from the American Cancer Society points to an alarming increase in colon cancers among younger people. (Lisa Jarvis, 3/7)
Los Angeles Times: Could Our Love Affair With Sugar And Artificial Sweeteners Literally Break Our Hearts?
Our intense love for sugar, and the knowledge that sugar can adversely impact health, particularly for people who have diabetes and/or obesity, has led to a booming market in artificial sweeteners — $7.2 billion globally in 2021. This, in turn, has led to a proliferation of studies about whether artificial sweeteners might also have adverse health effects. (Robin Abcarian, 3/5)
The Star Tribune: Mental Health System Must Be Able To Help Those Who Don't Know They Need It
A woman with schizophrenia calls 911 but won't respond to paramedics, case managers or social workers embedded with police. So, police bust down her door. Despite pleas from her family that she hasn't eaten or taken her medication for days and is catatonic, she refuses to go with them. So, they leave. All agree she has to say she wants help. (Mindy Greiling, Ron Latz and Norman Ornstein, 3/6)
Stat: Lessons From PEPFAR On Global Health Planning
During the 2022 U.S. Global Leadership Summit, former President George W. Bush asked an audience of American changemakers to consider the following: “What’s the role of a great country in the world? Is it to look inward? Is it to think about how to solve big problems?” Bush was speaking about the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) — landmark legislation crafted under his leadership by an unlikely coalition of partisans and idealists who believed the U.S. could change the face of global health. (Peter Yeo, 3/7)
Orange County Register: The Real Value Of Having End-Of-Life Options
President Jimmy Carter’s last days in hospice are a profound reminder of the importance of comfort care at the end of life. Our ailing president’s decision to stop medical treatment and die at home in hospice was also my mother-in-law’s last wish. Throughout her later years, Mrs. Genoveva de la Rosa always prayed and told us that when her time came, she wanted to die in her sleep. (Patricia Gonzalez Portillo, 3/5)
