Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Health Experts Want Private Donors To Fill Public Funding Gap On Gun Violence Research
Despite being one of the leading causes of death in the US, gun violence has received聽very little federal research funding for decades. So a聽group of public health researchers are taking matters into their own hands, calling for their field to take the lead in securing private funding for studies of gun violence, and聽to push forward pragmatic gun safety rules at聽the local and state level. The group of 80 people, consisting聽of聽deans and professors from 42 schools of public health as well as gun safety activists and politicians, first met in Boston in November 2016. The 鈥渁genda for action鈥 that resulted from that meeting was聽published Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health. (Sheridan, 1/19)
On the whole,聽fewer聽US families have opted out of school-required immunizations in recent years, thanks in part to stricter state laws. But data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that, while nonmedical exemptions (which includes religious and philosophical opposition) are on the decline nationally, they鈥檙e rising in certain states, including states that haven鈥檛 previously been considered hotbeds of anti-vaccination sentiment 鈥 which may put those areas at risk of a disease outbreak. (Samuel, 1/20)
For many pregnant women, understanding what seafood is safe and healthy, and what should be avoided because of mercury concerns comes with a lot of hand-wringing. In part, that's because the federal government's advice on the matter, first issued in 2004, has long been criticized as unclear.聽That guidance has included advice on how much seafood to eat, and which species pregnant and nursing women should avoid over concerns about mercury contamination. (Leschin-Hoar, 1/19)
Cereal makers have happily encouraged the belief that eating breakfast can help keep us thin and bring other benefits, partly by paying for studies that seem to support the idea.聽So, does that mean breakfast is bad for you? Not that either. What it does show is how difficult it can be to sort the hype from reliable dietary advice when studies are funded by the makers of Froot Loops, nutrition science is often inconclusive, and gray areas can be spun for marketing. (Choi, 1/19)
