Back to school for happy and healthy kids
Every September, caregivers and kids alike prepare for one big change: the start of a new school year.
Shining light on sun safety for Sun Awareness Week 2025
Kicking off today, Sun Awareness Week (12-18 May) is the start of the British Association of Dermatologists’ (BAD) summer-long campaign to encourage everyone to protect their skin from sun damage and skin cancer, the most common cancer in the UK. There are several types of skin cancer, with melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers being the most common.
Ultra-processed foods are making us old beyond our years
In recent years, ultra-processed food (UPFs) consumption has surged globally, raising concerns about its impact on health. Ultra-processed foods are industrial formulations typically containing ingredients not commonly used in home cooking, such as hydrogenated oils, high-fructose corn syrup, flavour enhancers, and emulsifiers.
Searching DNA databases: cold hits and hot-button issues
Many criminal investigations, including “cold cases,” do not have a suspect but do have DNA evidence. In these cases, a genetic profile can be obtained from the forensic specimens at the crime scene and electronically compared to profiles listed in criminal DNA databases.
The best of Health Affairs Scholar 2024
As we welcome 2025, we reflect on the milestones and achievements that shaped Health Affairs Scholar in 2024. Among the highlights, we introduced our first Calls for Papers, focusing on the critical topics of: Global Aging, Intersections of Social Policies, and Health and Policy Options for the 340B Discount Program.
The risks of dopamine agonists for the treatment of restless legs syndrome
An extraordinary breakthrough of modern medicine occurred in 2005 when the FDA approved ropinirole for the treatment of restless legs syndrome (RLS). With the first drug ever approved for this misery-inducing condition, patients finally had a highly effective treatment with relatively few side effects.
We need to support our health and social care system
Far too often health and social care workers are blamed. The decision of the conservative government to prevent social care workers from bringing their families to this country from abroad, for example, suggests that the immigration which is needed to keep the care system afloat is a problem. Indeed, nearly one in five of the social care sector area international, and The King’s Fund suggest that without them the sector will struggle to function. As such governmental actions have inevitably had knock on effects on the availability of care provision in this country. We need a political system that supports and guides health and social care workers. Not one which demonises and detracts from them.
Second-hand smoke exposure—it’s time to move beyond the pregnant woman herself
Second-hand smoke exposure causes approximately 1.2 million deaths globally each year. Exposure to second-hand smoke during pregnancy has negative health effects both for the mother and for her baby, including preterm delivery, low birth weight, and congenital malformations. Most of the exposure to smoking during pregnancy occurs at home, mainly from the pregnant woman’s partner and/or other household members who smoke.
Cooperation and the history of life: is natural selection a team sport?
Cooperation is in our nature, for good and ill, but there is still a nagging doubt that something biological in us compels us to be selfish: our genes. This is the paradox: genes are inexorably driven by self-replication, and yet cooperation continually rears its head. Not only are humans fundamentally team players, but all of nature has been teaming up since the dawn of life four billion years ago.
Speech, AI, and the future of neurology
Imagine what your life would be like if you did not know where you are or who you are with, and a young man told you, “We’re home and I’m your son.” Those who do not need to imagine are the 55 million people living with Alzheimer’s and the 10 million living with Parkinson’s, respectively, as they experience similar challenges every day.
Behind the scenes: what it’s like to be a junior author for the OHCM
To mark the release of the much anticipated 11th edition of the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine (OHCM), Oxford University Press spoke with the three new authors of this edition: Peter Hateley, a GP based in New Zealand; Dearbhla Kelly, a Critical Care Medicine fellow in Oxford; and Iain McGurgan, a Neurology Resident in Switzerland. The author team shared their experiences of writing the world’s best-selling medical handbook.
When health care professionals unintentionally do harm
The Hippocratic Oath, which is taken by physicians and implores them to ‘first, do no harm,’ is foundational in medicine (even if the nuances of the phrase are far more complex than meets the eye). Yet what happens when doctors bring about great harm to patients without even realizing it? In this article, we define microaggressions, illustrate how they can hinder the equitable delivery of healthcare, and discuss why the consequences of microaggressions are often anything but “micro”.
The importance of sun safety: Sun Awareness Week 2024
Sun Awareness Week (6-12 May) kicks off the British Association of Dermatologists’ (BAD) summer-long campaign dedicated to raising awareness of non-melanoma skin cancer, a very common type of cancer. The week also aims to teach the public about the importance of good sun protection habits, including ways you can check for signs of skin cancer.
The hidden toll of war
During war, the news media often focus on civilian injuries and deaths due to explosive weapons. But the indirect health impacts of war among civilians occur more frequently—often out of sight and out of mind.
Who do you think you are? Genetics and identity
Ethnicity and ethnic identity have been recently brought to the fore in the Western world. One important reason is that immigration and globalization have resulted in a variety of clashes among different groups in very different contexts. However, there is another reason: DNA ancestry testing.
The need for expertise in quality improvement at every stage of a healthcare worker’s career
The quality improvement in healthcare movement has been around for the past 25 years with variable degrees of success.