Health

Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing is common in outpatient settings across the United States. A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The Pew Charitable Trusts found that nearly 1 in 3 antibiotics prescribed at outpatient facilities—including physician’s offices, emergency departments, and hospital-based outpatient clinics—is unnecessary, equaling... Read More

People have been searching for effective methods of contraception for centuries. Ancient cultures have thoroughly documented the use of plants with contraceptive properties to prevent pregnancies. However, science has yet to discover how herbal-based medicine can work as a form of birth control. Read More

A recent MedStar Health study found that testing of electronic health record (EHR) systems does not require real-world usability trials—unlike the practice in two other high-risk industries, aviation and medical devices—and that may contribute to medical errors. Read More

Reverse payment agreements, also known as “pay-for-delay” deals, are settlements that involve a brand pharmaceutical manufacturer paying one or more potential generic competitors to resolve patent infringement lawsuits and agree upon a date by which the generic product can come to market. In fiscal year 2014 there were 21 such settlements involving 20 different branded drugs. Read More

At the 70th World Health Assembly (WHA), held in Geneva from May 22 to 31, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remained high on the agenda. Building on commitments from world leaders at last year’s United Nations General Assembly meeting, the WHA brought together stakeholders from around the world—including government officials, nongovernmental organizations, public health experts, and... Read More

Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing is common in outpatient settings across the United States. A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The Pew Charitable Trusts found that nearly 1 in 3 antibiotics prescribed at outpatient facilities—including physician’s offices, emergency departments, and hospital-based outpatient clinics—is unnecessary, equaling... Read More

People have been searching for effective methods of contraception for centuries. Ancient cultures have thoroughly documented the use of plants with contraceptive properties to prevent pregnancies. However, science has yet to discover how herbal-based medicine can work as a form of birth control. Read More

A recent MedStar Health study found that testing of electronic health record (EHR) systems does not require real-world usability trials—unlike the practice in two other high-risk industries, aviation and medical devices—and that may contribute to medical errors. Read More

Reverse payment agreements, also known as “pay-for-delay” deals, are settlements that involve a brand pharmaceutical manufacturer paying one or more potential generic competitors to resolve patent infringement lawsuits and agree upon a date by which the generic product can come to market. In fiscal year 2014 there were 21 such settlements involving 20 different branded drugs. Read More

At the 70th World Health Assembly (WHA), held in Geneva from May 22 to 31, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remained high on the agenda. Building on commitments from world leaders at last year’s United Nations General Assembly meeting, the WHA brought together stakeholders from around the world—including government officials, nongovernmental organizations, public health experts, and... Read More

The Pew Charitable Trusts announces 22 exceptional early-career researchers as Pew scholars in the biomedical sciences. Each scholar will receive four years of flexible funding to pursue foundational research. Read More

Ten pioneering postdoctoral scientists from Latin America will each be awarded two years of funding to conduct research at laboratories and academic institutions in the United States. The 2017 fellows are from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, and their research interests range from the design of mosquito control tools to combat the spread of malaria to how obesity, cancer, and... Read More

The work of the 2017 class is investigating several promising avenues to slow or stop the development of cancer, including research on how to destroy leukemia cells and how cancer cells evade destruction by drug therapies. Read More

The US health care system is not delivering the care that patients with serious illness need and want. For example, although most people say they would like to die at home, nearly 70 percent die in nursing homes, intensive care units, or other medical settings. Given that approximately 70 percent of people who die in the United States each year are Medicare beneficiaries, the new administration... Read More

The Pew Charitable Trusts announced today that it will provide $6.98 million over the next three years to 41 Philadelphia-area nonprofits that serve some of the region’s most vulnerable adults. More than 35,000 people, including those struggling with homelessness, mental health issues, and extended unemployment, will be assisted on an annual basis. Read More

As of March 2017, an estimated 32 new products with the potential to treat or prevent serious bacterial infections are in clinical development. Below is a snapshot of the current nontraditional products pipeline, based on publicly available information and informed by external experts. It is updated periodically, as products advance or are known to drop out of development. Because this list is... Read More

Where superbugs come from and what can be done to combat them. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose anurgent and growing public health threat. Read More

Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan research organization and a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, is surveying public views about science-related issues and public trust in scientists. One scientific finding sometimes in the news involves childhood immunization. Here, the center found that the vast majority of Americans—88 percent—believe that the benefits of vaccines for children outweigh... Read More

Health impact assessment can be a useful tool to address a range of health-related areas in the community development sector, including economic development, infrastructure, community organizing, and access to resources. This figure illustrates the connections among these factors and health. Read More

To improve safety for skaters in their neighborhood, a coalition of San Diego kids lobbied hard for a new skate park, but they were having a hard time getting city officials to take them seriously. To convince decision-makers and skeptical community members, the coalition used data from a health impact assessment (HIA) to make their case. Read More