Review: Doctors experimented on healthy people
Filed under: Government, Hot Health Headline, Member news
The Associated Press’ Mike Stobbe found more than 40 instances of doctors making patients sick for the sake of experimentation throughout U.S. history. Last fall’s government apology for doctors infecting Guatemala prisoners with syphilis 65 years ago sparked the review.
Stobbe, a member of AHCJ and a past board member, found healthy people were infected with malaria, Asian flu, gonorrhea, hepatitis and even a deadly stomach bug for the sake of broadening knowledge. Doctors violated the fundamental medical principle to “first do no harm.” Stobbe points out:
Attitudes about medical research were different then. Infectious diseases killed many more people years ago, and doctors worked urgently to invent and test cures. Many prominent researchers felt it was legitimate to experiment on people who did not have full rights in society - people like prisoners, mental patients, poor blacks. It was an attitude in some ways similar to that of Nazi doctors experimenting on Jews.
Disturbingly, some of these stories were never covered in the media.
APHA: Transportation policies impact health
Filed under: Health policy, Public health, Studies
Transportation policies and public health are inextricably linked, according to a new report released by the American Public Health Association.
Photo by Nrbelex via Flickr
“The Hidden Health Costs of Transportation” (PDF) attempts to put a dollar amount on the cost of transportation-related health outcomes and explores how such policies affect public health.
Our dependence on automobiles and roadways has profound negative impacts on human health: decreased opportunities for physical activity, and increased exposure to air pollution, and the number of traffic crashes. The health costs associated with these impacts, including costs associated with loss of work days and wages, pain and suffering, and premature death, may be as high as several hundred billion dollars.
The report lists other things that are impacted by transportation policy, such as noise, water quality, mental health and/or stress, equity and social capital or social cohesion.
The report cites a 2008 report from the Government Accountability Office that recommended the United States refocus its transportation planning to incorporate cost-benefit analyses and the APHA says those analyses should take health costs into account.
Perhaps somewhat predictably, the report says “Investment should shift toward transit, pedestrian and bicycling infrastructure in order to facilitate healthy, equitable and environmentally sound mobility.”
Journal focuses on AA and NHPI health disparities
The May issue of the American Journal of Public Health, published online today, focuses on data showing significant health disparities among Asian American, Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian, and Asian immigrant populations.
The issue explores the health threats faced by these minority groups – particularly from cancer, which is often under-recognized and undertreated among Asian American ethnic groups.
More specifically, it details serious health issues for these groups related to breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer and cervical and liver cancer.
Members of AHCJ receive complimentary press access to the American Journal of Public Health – if you haven’t registered for access yet, please click here to do so.
Kleyman: Reform scare tactics hurt ethnic elders
Filed under: Health care reform, Health policy, Hot Health Headline
Paul Kleyman of New America Media about a cruel twist: the “death panels” label propagated by some extremists may serve to scare away the people who would benefit most from the end-of-life care the much-maligned provisions are designed to organize. Kleyman writes that “fear mongering” in the health care debate will hit ethnic elders with particular force because “apprehensive about past racism in the health care system, many elders of color may be further deterred from taking advantage of opportunities to plan ahead and optimize their ability to leave this life with a sense of dignity and control.”
Older African Americans and Latinos are also more likely than whites to find themselves in ICUs during the last six months of their lives, a disparity that Kleyman says shows just how much elders in those communities need end-of-life planning assistance.
New America Media is a collaboration between and advocacy group for more than 2,000 ethnic media outlets in the United States.
Jones does health disparities in 10 voices (#ahcj09)
AHCJ member Chris King, of the St. Louis American, writes on his blog about Sarah Jones‘ performance on Thursday night at Health Journalism 2009.
Sarah Jones
In “A Right to Care,” the Tony Award-winning playwright and performer takes on the multicultural and class components of the U.S. health care system. Her performance highlights the broader racial, ethnic and socioeconomic elements of improving public health.
The character shifts were done almost entirely with her voice. The only props were a few rows of chairs with jackets thrown over them. As she changed characters she changed jackets, and (at most) eyeglasses.
Read all of King’s post, which includes a photo from Jones’ performance.
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New at HealthJournalism.org
- Data gives depth to investigation of patient safety
- What reporters should know about Alzheimer’s and related dementias
- Apply for fellowships to attend Health Journalism 2012
- AHCJ asks Supreme Court to permit broadcast of arguments in health reform case
- Tips for print, online journalists to embrace broadcast opportunities
- Numbers reveal how often, or how rarely, states check doctors’ disciplinary records
- How I did it: Falsified charts in nursing homes linked to patient care
- Access Denied: Looking at a lack of health care availability
- Transparency & medical errors: Public reporting of patient harm is a potent force
