Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Which Is The Right Way To Eat Healthy?; TRAP Laws Make Abortion Care Dangerous
Bloomberg: Contradictory Diet Advice Is Making Healthy Eating Even Harder
Mainstream experts are still warning us against meat, cheese, sugar, and the ill-defined group known as ultra-processed foods. Now there are people saying to avoid tomatoes, peppers and eggplant and even one theory that we’re poisoning ourselves with spinach. (F.D. Flam, 1/21)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: On Roe V Wade Anniversary, I'm Trying To Protect Abortion In Pa.
Restrictive abortion laws do not decrease abortion rates. They just make them less safe. My mom saw this firsthand. Early in her Philadelphia nursing career, two of her emergency room patients needlessly died after illegal abortions. Her stories about these patients and others stayed with me, especially when I followed in her footsteps and began working as a nurse practitioner. (Tarik Khan, 1/22)
The Atlantic: The Pain Of Losing My Hair During Chemotherapy
One month after I completed chemotherapy for Stage 3 breast cancer, and two weeks after I underwent a double mastectomy, I sat in bed, my surgical wounds itchy, my morale at an all-time low. “I would pay $1,000 if I could have any real amount of hair right now,” I told my husband. (Miranda Featherstone, 1/20)
Modern Healthcare: Why Patient Trust In Healthcare Is Down—How To Improve It
Trust lies at the heart of healthcare. That’s because the level of trust between a patient and their care team affects an individual’s willingness to seek care and adhere to treatments. (Drs. Maria Ansari and Ramin Davidoff, 1/19)
The New York Times: Pain Management Tests The Limits Of Drug Addiction Recovery
There’s a common belief that people with past addictions should never take any potentially addictive substances for medical reasons — period. As a result, some languish in extreme pain because they believe that drug exposure will cause them to lose control and immediately return to active addiction. But the truth is, “While euphoria associated with drugs may be a trigger, the stress of profound pain also puts someone at risk of relapse,” said Dr. Sarah Wakeman, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. (Maia Szalavitz, 1/22)
