Public health

Public health

Several maternal health experts described a sobering list of dangers for the girls at the San Benito shelter: If one of them develops an ectopic pregnancy (where the fertilized egg implants outside the uterus), if she miscarries or if her water breaks too early and she gets an infection, the emergency care she needs could be delayed or denied by doctors wary of the abortion ban.

But experts from Silent Spring Institute have now discovered several 'chemicals of concern' in these additions - including those made from human hair. In their study, the team screened 43 popular products sold online for a wide range of chemicals. Their analysis uncovered traces of dozens of chemicals, including flame retardants, phthalates, pesticides, styrene, tetrachloroethane, and organotins. Worryingly, previous research has shown that these substances are linked with cancer, hormone disruption, developmental problems, and effects on the immune system.

While the designs of San José's tiny home shelters vary from site to site, nearly all offer a private room with a locked door - and access to case managers who can help coordinate medical needs and search for permanent housing. The tiny homes have consistently been more than 95% full. The utilization rate across 13 locations tracked on an ongoing basis stands at 96% over the last seven months.

In a statement sent to DW News, the World Health Organization (WHO)stressed that cooking with biomass fuels is one of the "most overlooked public health emergencies" in Africa. "The smoke generated contains extremely high levels of fine particulate matter (PM.), carbon monoxide, black carbon, benzene, and other toxic pollutants that penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream," the WHO statement warned, adding that these exposures could lead to pneumonia in children, chronic respiratory and cardiovascular disease, adverse pregnancy outcomes, and preventable mortality.

In 2021, amid the COVID‑19 pandemic, Kristin Wall became pregnant with her second child. Her physician told her that little was known about the COVID-19 vaccine's safety and effectiveness in pregnant people. Observational data - collected from those vaccinated before they knew that they were pregnant - suggested that the vaccine was safe, so she could have it. Still, she'd have to weigh up the risks and benefits herself.

While the move came as a surprise to the high-profile vaccine maker, it is just the latest hostility toward vaccines-and mRNA vaccines in particular-from an agency overseen by the fervent anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In his first year in office, Kennedy has already dramatically slashed childhood vaccine recommendations and canceled $500 million in research funding for mRNA vaccines against potential pandemic threats.

It arose out of safety concerns in 2022 in relation to the treatment of a number of patients with Spina Bifida who had spinal surgery at CHI at Temple Street. These concerns related to poor clinical outcomes of some complex spinal surgery, including a high incidence of post-operative complications and infections, and two particularly serious surgical incidents, which occurred in July and September 2022.

Medicare has launched a six-year pilot program that could eventually transform access to healthcare for some of the millions of people across the U.S. who rely on it for their health insurance coverage. Traditional Medicare is a government-administered insurance plan for people over 65 or with disabilities. About half of the 67 million Americans insured through Medicare have this coverage. The rest have Medicare Advantage plans administered by private companies.

A Code Orange air quality alert has been issued for thousands on Tuesday due to high levels of air pollution. The alert covers the Liberty and Clairton area in Pennsylvania, including Clairton, Glassport, Lincoln and Port Vue, as well as the Susquehanna Valley, including Dauphin, Lebanon, Cumberland, York and Lancaster counties. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) warned that pollution levels may become unhealthy for sensitive groups, including children, the elderly, and people with asthma, heart disease, or other lung conditions.

When she was 16, Bethan James told her YouTube channel that by 2026 she hoped to have a partner, an enjoyable job and maybe even children. Bethan would have been 27 now - but her dreams were taken when she died aged 21 from a combination of sepsis, pneumonia and Crohn's disease. Bethan's sepsis wasn't spotted early enough and life-saving care was delayed.

You get sick from staying inside, breathing the same germ-filled air. Open your windows, even for five minutes, to circulate the old air out and let in fresh air. Also, if you're taking your child to the doctor, don't wait to treat their fever because you want 'the provider to see the fever.' Your child might wait two hours to be seen, meanwhile their temperature goes up, and they might have a seizure. If you say they've been having fevers, we believe you.

Picture this: You're getting ready for a night out, running 10 minutes behind (as usual), and putting the finishing touches on your makeup before you call your Uber. But before you go, it's time to stash essentials in your purse, like your lipstick, phone charger, condoms, perfume rollerball, and keys. For most, these are the must-haves, and for good reason: They help you feel confident and prepared - after all, keeping your lip color fresh should feel just as routine as taking care of your sexual health.

Alejandra's unwavering commitment to serving others is deeply inspiring, from her efforts to expand access to high-quality healthcare in historically underserved communities to her tireless advocacy for first-generation students,

In a country where one in five of those over 40 has type 2 diabetes, the foods enjoyed by their grandparents have showed remarkable results in reversing the condition. Diabetes medication is largely unaffordable in Nepal, and type 2 diabetes often sets off a cascade of complications which can include kidney disease, limb loss and blindness. Uncontrolled, it will eventually lead to premature death.

Emad Yassa is a healthcare entrepreneur and nonprofit founder with more than three decades of professional experience across clinical practice and international philanthropy. Yassa is the Founder and Chairman of Touch of Love International (TOLI), a nonprofit organisation focused on economic empowerment through micro-loans in underserved communities. Born and raised in Egypt, Emad studied physical therapy at Cairo University, graduating in 1985.

By the mid-1980s, the AIDS epidemic had completely gripped the nation. Its victims, primarily queer men, were dying by the thousands. Fear and misinformation reigned supreme, and our government refused to respond to the crisis. Reverend Charles Angel, a community leader and activist who was living with HIV himself, recognized that queer men of color faced additional disparities due to cultural norms and societal inequities.

The 340B program allows hospitals to buy outpatient drugs at steep discounts, with the purported purpose of helping them fund care for low-income and uninsured patients. The now-axed rebate model would have invited drugmakers to participate voluntarily in a rebate-based discount system. Basically, instead of the provider receiving a discount upfront at purchase, the 340B discount would be applied after purchase via rebate - and subject to tedious data submission requirements.

Asia's healthcare challenges include aging populations, rising disease, and strained infrastructure, but the crisis is better understood at the kitchen table, where families decide what conditions to treat, and what to ignore, according to their savings. While the APAC region makes up 60% of the world's population, the region accounts for a mere 22% of global healthcare spending. According to the World Health Organization, most developing Asian countries spend just 2-3% of GDP on health, and in many cases public

By the mid-1980s, the AIDS epidemic had completely gripped the nation. Its victims, primarily queer men, were dying by the thousands. Fear and misinformation reigned supreme, and our government refused to respond to the crisis. Reverend Charles Angel, a community leader and activist who was living with HIV himself, recognized that queer men of color faced additional disparities due to cultural norms and societal inequities.

DEAR ANNIE: I genuinely like my job and most of the people I work with. We are a small office, so we see a lot of each other, share the same kitchen and bump into one another all day long. Normally that is fine, but lately one co-worker has turned cold and flu season into his own personal hobby. I will call him "Carl."

The United States publishes the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) every five years. These guidelines have historically been established by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. The new DGA for the years 2025-2030 focuses on the overall message of "eating real food." By shifting to a stronger emphasis on limiting added sugar intake in the diet, this marks a pivotal shift in the guidelines that drive American nutrition.

Black people account for almost 40% of people living with HIV in the U.S., despite only representing 12% of the population. To address this disparity, Emil Wilbekin - the founder of Native Son, a platform created to inspire and empower Black gay men - assembled a panel of Black HIV activists and health experts during the last World AIDS Day to discuss how the medical, media, and queer communities can engage the topic of HIV among Black people with greater effectiveness.

More than 3,000 pharmacy and lab workers with the United Food and Commercial Workers union in Southern California joined a second wave of health care professionals striking Kaiser Permanente on Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. Meanwhile, the strike is showing signs of spilling over beyond just Kaiser. Grocery union pharmacists with certain supermarket chains have a four-year labor contract expiring March 1,

From the moment Nathaniel Dye was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in 2023, he had an overwhelming desire to raise awareness of the disease. He raised more than 37,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support through challenges including walking from Land's End to John o' Groats and running the London Marathon while playing the trombone, in the hope of improving cancer screening in the capital.

Sometimes it's a fall that brings a broken hip and a loss of mobility. Or memory problems that bubble into danger. Or the death of the partner who was relied upon for care.The need to move to a nursing home, assisted living facility or another type of care setting often comes suddenly, setting off an abrupt, daunting search. It's likely something no one ever wanted, but knowing what to look for and what to ask can make a big difference.

People who have a couple of teas or coffees a day have a lower risk of dementia and marginally better cognitive performance than those who avoid the drinks, researchers say. Health records for more than 130,000 people showed that over 40 years, those who routinely drank two to three cups of caffeinated coffee or one to two cups of caffeinated tea daily had a 15-20% lower risk of dementia than those who went without.

The tech-backed charity also edited out references to children feeling unable to stop using TikTok and Snap, social media exacerbating a devastating epidemic of isolation, and a passage questioning why people would want to spend years of their lives scrolling TikTok and binge-watching Netflix, the edits show. The 2026 iteration of the Childnet-run event takes place on Tuesday with more than 2,800 schools and colleges listed as supporters.

When I first found out I was pregnant, I did what most moms do-I started researching. I wanted to make the best possible choices for my baby and myself, and giving birth in a hospital just didn't feel like the safest option. So many women do it, but the more I learned, the more I realized that the reality of hospital birth in the U.S. is even less reassuring than I had thought. I wanted to birth at home.