Different takes: It’s time to re-examine accessible spaces; School Health Centers Deserve Funding

Editorial writers work on these various public health topics.

The Washington Post: Students with Disabilities Deserve Accessible Campuses

Too often, shared spaces don’t equal shared experiences. A broken sidewalk may go unnoticed by most people crossing it, but be an obstacle for someone in a wheelchair or who is blind. Or maybe it’s not a broken sidewalk that divides experiences but rather too narrow a doorway or excessive bureaucracy for accommodation; or a construction project that blocks nearby parking. (Therese Vargas, 5/18)

The CT Mirror: Expanding school health centers to underserved CT districts

School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) fill a critical gap in children’s mental health care in Connecticut, and funding should be extended to underserved school districts. In December 2021, the United States Surgeon General’s advisory, “Protecting Youth Mental Health”, reported that symptoms of anxiety, depression and other mental health disorders have increased among young people globally. But even before the pandemic, a mental health crisis was brewing. According to the Centers for Disease Control, up to one in five children aged 3 to 17 in the United States had a mental, emotional, developmental or behavioral disorder between 2013 and 2019, but less than 15% of children aged 5 to 17 years old received mental treatment. health treatment in 2019. (Tricia Orozco, 5/19)

Statistics: NEJM, other journals must make conflicts of interest more transparent

Are medical journals reliable sources of objective information or do they sometimes act as accomplices of the pharmaceutical industry and other interests? We believe the latter after reading a Perspective article on drug pricing in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) which presented the pharmaceutical industry’s view of what drugs should cost without explicitly disclosing the industry links of its authors. The editorial content of journals is expected to provide objective information about medical science, care, and health policy. This objectivity is threatened by authors of editorials, review articles, and other “perspective” articles with critical conflicts of interest due to financial associations with the topics discussed. To avoid this, or at least limit it, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors advocates transparency on such conflicts. (Martin F. Shapiro and Sidney M. Wolfe, 5/19)

Stat: Take a stand for those who cannot with the Promising Pathway Act

Every five years since 1992, Congress has reauthorized the Food and Drug Administration’s user fee package to allow the agency to raise funds from companies that produce human drugs and biologics. Over the past 30 years, this process has helped the FDA, the biomedical industry, and Congress rethink, redesign, and modernize existing FDA programs and pathways, as well as introduce new regulatory policies to advance development. and drug approval. But it’s still not fast enough or innovative enough to help Americans living with rare or life-threatening and progressive diseases. (Brian Wallach and Mike Braun, 5/19)

The CT Mirror: Connecticut desperately needs a stable supply of naloxone

“Can I have some Narcan?” asked a regular customer of one of Connecticut’s largest needle service programs recently. “No, we’re out,” I replied watching them exit for what might be the last time. Their request was reasonable, given that the United States is in the midst of one of the most volatile opioid epidemics in the world, with more than 100,000 deaths across the country in 2020 alone. equivalent of a Boeing 737-400 crashing every day for a year straight. (William Eger and Francesca Maviglia, 5/19)

Los Angeles Times: Heat waves are killing Californians at home. Cooling standards could save lives

In the summer, it can be up to 120 degrees inside the non-air-conditioned house that Agustin Pedro Pedro rents in the San Joaquin Valley town of Madera, so unbearably hot he’s sweating, feeling faint and has headaches. “I come in tired from work, but I can’t even rest at home because the heat doesn’t allow me to,” the 60-year-old farm worker told state lawmakers at a recent hearing in Sacramento. He asked his landlord to install something to cool the rental unit, but he refuses. (5/18)

Newsweek: HHS guidelines on trans pharmacology raise more questions than they answer

Last month, the Office of Population Affairs of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS/OPA) released a “guidance document” titled Gender Affirmation Care in Young People. The document purports to describe an established standard of care on how to perform social, pharmacological, and surgical “affirmation” of children and adolescents who identify as transgender. When announcing the new document, Assistant Secretary of Health Rachel Levine went so far as to state that “there is no argument among medical professionals – pediatricians, pediatric endocrinologists, adolescent doctors , adolescent psychiatrists, psychologists, etc. – on the value and importance of gender-affirming care.” (David Gortler, 05/19)

This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news outlets. Sign up for an email subscription.

Maria J. Book