Public health

Public health

A baby, in Britain, in 2025, takes its stuttering final breaths. All deaths in infancy are harrowing. But the fact that this particular death might have been prevented had neonatal care not depended so heavily on charity, had the NHS not failed to fund more than two-thirds of the healthcare babies need is unforgivable. Mercifully, the dystopian scenario I've just described does not exist in the UK today. Although paediatric care is undeniably overstretched, it is at least regarded as a core, bedrock NHS service.

Health care is at the heart of the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history. That shutdown is on the brink of ending, but the health care issue that started it is still not resolved. Since 2021, people who buy their health care on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces have had extra help -- in the form of tax credits -- to buy their plans.

This fall, multiple states including Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee and Wisconsin have reported outbreaks of hand, foot and mouth disease, a contagious virus that commonly infects children under 5 but can also cause symptoms in older kids and adults, too. "This year, [cases seem] to be out of control," said Dr. Allison Agwu, a professor of adult and pediatric infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

The Microsoft founder is heavily involved with programs to prevent disease across the globe, efforts that will likely ramp up in the coming years after he issued his philanthropic foundation with a task: He would donate the vast majority of his wealth, some $100 billion, to the body as long as the funds are spent within the next 20 years.

His two-year-old daughter died first, then his mother, then his wife. But Bope Mpona Heritier still had no idea what illness had taken their lives. Then the 25-year-old also began to develop symptoms. When his blood was tested and sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo's capital, Kinshasa, the results confirmed he had the Ebola virus. I felt pain everywhere, he says. I had a migraine, a sharp pain in my eyes and throat, and I was vomiting.

Instead, he spends that time sifting through the online appointment requests to work out what each patient needs. Last week there were 84 requests, and the week before it was more than 100. "It's relentless - you get about two minutes to look at each," Dr Turner says. "We're getting lots of requests we would not have had previously - questions like, 'Should I take this food supplement?' Previously patients would not have bothered GPs with things like that."

Aquil Basheer believed that ending gang violence wasn't the kind of career you just fall into. "In this type of work, you're usually chosen. You don't choose it," he said in 2024 in an interview for "The Storytelling Project," an L.A. County Public Health Department project that documented the effects of violence on local individuals and communities. Basheer, it seems, was among the chosen.

The pomegranates, squash and apples were in season, pink guavas were so ripe you could smell their heady scent from a distance, and nutrient-packed yams were ready for the holidays. But with federal funding in limbo for the 1.5 million people in Los Angeles County who depend on food aid from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - or SNAP - the church parking lot hosting the market was largely devoid of customers.

The way you talk about yourself shapes not only how others perceive you, but also how you see and feel about yourself. Now, new research suggests that the same principle applies to how women talk about their genitals: the nastier they dirty talk, the happier they are in bed and with their bodies. Published in the journal Sex Roles, the findings suggest that the wordswomen use to refer to their private parts are closelyassociated with positivebody image,

Sunnyvale's Public Safety Citizens Academy saw another graduating class last month. Participants spend one evening a week for six weeks learning about Sunnyvale's public safety model, which integrates police, fire and emergency medical services into one department. Through a combination of lectures, tours and hands-on training, academy sessions covered topics including emergency vehicle operations, fire suppression, defensive tactics and use-of-force scenario training.

The U.S. Surgeon General recently called loneliness a public health epidemic, comparing its impact on our health to smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. It's not hyperbole. It's data. In one CDC survey, nearly a third of adults said they feel lonely at least once a week. Among younger adults, that number rises to almost half. Harvard researchers found that 61 percent of young people and over half of mothers with small children report "serious loneliness."

I found a lump a few weeks ago, and it came and went, but then I was working on the Masked Singer and Lorraine, the TV show Lorraine Kelly, had put signs on the back of all the doors saying, check your breasts. And every time I went for a wee I did that, and it was still there. And then one morning, I saw it in the mirror, and I thought, I'm going to get that looked at.

People can get the virus, but it's rare and occurs only in those with weak immune systems

"I had no idea what was being injected into me," Lizzie said. "It's just hype - it's a trend, a bit like fashion - if everyone buys the same handbag it becomes popular and I'd say it's the same for aesthetics."

In the first study on this topic that we published in 2023, we found that increasing levels of union membership tends to make working-class people happier. We zeroed in on a question in the General Social Survey, which the University of Chicago makes available. It asks respondents to choose whether they are "very happy," "somewhat happy" or "not at all happy" with their life.

when my cardiologist friend-the one who runs marathons and tracks his heart rate variability like it's the stock market-turned to me and said, "You know who's going to live longest? You." I laughed. Actually laughed. "Seth, you're literally the picture of health. You've got perfect labs. You eat salmon and blueberries. I had wine for breakfast." (Kidding. Mostly.) He looked at me with that doctor face, the one that means he's about to tell you something that matters.

Passengers will not use the public transport network if they feel unsafe

"Whatever their circumstances are, we welcome them. We opened it to families as well because they too are entitled to benefits, and sadly most of them are caregivers," Escalante told San José Spotlight. "The Stand Down ... is a way of providing that support that so many veterans need when they transition from service to the civilian world. ... We have never forgotten the sacrifice they've made. We are here to support them."

Still, with the recent trend of decriminalization and legalization of cannabis around the globe, doctors are rediscovering many of the health benefits associated with this plant. Some clinically proven benefits include pain management, reduced inflammation, sleep management, muscle relaxants, and effective treatment for illnesses such as epilepsy, certain mental health disorders, fibromyalgia, endometriosis, Parkinson's disease, interstitial cystitis, and other forms of chronic pain.

Newham Council wants the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, to develop a "food delivery charter" that companies would have to sign up to. This would compel them to provide riders with guidance and help to ensure their bikes are legally compliant and roadworthy. Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just Eat say they require their riders to use roadworthy and legal vehicles, and they would welcome the chance to work more closely with London's fire and transport authorities. The mayor said he was considering extending current guidance.

"There's no doubt this winter will be one of the toughest our staff have ever faced. "Since stepping into this role, the thought of a long, drawn-out flu season has kept me awake at night. And, unfortunately, it looks like that fear is becoming reality. "Australia has just endured its worst flu season on record over 410,000 cases and all the signs suggest the NHS will face similar challenges in the months ahead. From December through to March, our hospitals will be at capacity."

Specialist ADHD services for adults in England are stopping taking on new patients as they struggle to cope with demand, a BBC investigation has shown. The BBC has identified 15 local areas that have closed waiting lists and another 31 that have introduced tighter criteria, making it more difficult to access support. Reacting to our investigation, Prof Anita Thapar, chair of NHS England's ADHD taskforce, said the findings were "disturbing", adding there were "enormous risks" for patients.

When technology executive Logan Maley returned to the office after her first child in 2018, she had an ideal setup: She worked four days a week in a private office with a mini fridge and blackout blinds so she could pump milk at her desk, but her heart still broke being away from her infant daughter. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic. She could have breakfast and lunch with her daughter and put her down for naps.