Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
How Libraries Have Become Public Health Hubs In The Middle Of Rural Health Deserts
When most people visualize the day-to-day happenings at a public library, diabetes prevention courses, lectures on wound care and Zumba classes aren’t necessarily the first things that spring to mind. But for small town and rural librarians across Eastern Kentucky, health-centered activities are becoming every bit as common as checking out a book. ...But funding can be a concern. Librarians are constantly looking for ways to stretch their dollars to provide public health information, from asking experts to volunteer to getting creative with materials, said Lisa Lewis, president of the Association for Rural and Small Libraries, via email. (Baird, 9/19)
Drugmakers and global public-health regulators are taking steps to remove supplies of a popular heartburn medication that may have become tainted with a cancer-causing agent from the market. Novartis AG’s Sandoz unit said Wednesday that it was halting worldwide distribution of generic versions of the stomach drug Zantac, just days after regulators in the U.S. and Europe began investigating the discovery of a likely human carcinogen called NDMA, or N-Nitrosodimethylamine, in the medications. (Edney, 9/18)
Most U.S. physician practices and hospitals are screening patients for at least one social need, but only a small percentage are screening for all five social needs recommended by the federal government, a new study found. Nearly a quarter of hospitals and 15.6% of physician practices screened patients for all five social determinants of health prioritized by the CMS — food insecurity, housing instability, utility needs, transportation needs and interpersonal violence, according to the study published in JAMA Wednesday. (Meyer, 9/18)
A panel of scientists issued new nutritional guidelines for children on Wednesday, describing in detail what they should be allowed to drink in the first years of life. The recommendations, among the most comprehensive and restrictive to date, may startle some parents. Babies should receive only breast milk or formula, the panel said. Water may be added to the diet at 6 months; infants receiving formula may be switched to cow’s milk at 12 months. For the first five years, children should drink mostly milk and water, according to the guidelines. (Rabin, 9/18)
The number of U.S. deaths and illnesses from a rare mosquito-borne virus are higher than usual this year, health officials report. Eastern equine encephalitis has been diagnosed in 21 people in six states, and five people have died. The infection is only being seen in certain counties within a small number of states. The U.S. each year has seen seven illnesses and three deaths, on average. (9/18)
Researchers are beginning to understand why certain brain cancers are so hard to stop. Three studies published Wednesday in the journal Nature found that these deadly tumors integrate themselves into the brain's electrical network and then hijack signals from healthy nerve cells to fuel their own growth. (Hamilton, 9/18)
