Weekly Health Digest: Ginsburg & Abortion Rights; Preventing Physician Burnout; Mental Health Care; & Covid-19 Testing in the U.S.

A summary of important health news from the past week

What Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death means for the future of abortion rights

By Anna North

With the recent tragic death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, journalists and politicians have been in a nonstop debate over who should have the right to pick the next justice. Since Ginsburg was an avid advocate for one’s right to chose whether they want to get an abortion, this highly contested topic will surely be up for re-evaluation with a new justice. Recent cases in Louisiana leaves Roe in a precarious state which could potentially be overturned. It is predicted that state legislatures will take control and the country’s access to abortions will become fragmented based on local politics. This “two-tiered” access is dangerous because only Americans in blue states or with enough money to travel will generally be able to find a safe avenue for abortions.

Researchers to use wearable device to measure resident wellness, prevent burnout

By Scott Gilbert

Training to become a physician is no easy feat. The training is intense and stressful and interventions are necessary to respond to the growing rates of burnout among medical professionals. Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine are conducting a study to determine if WHOOP, a wearable device, can measure wellness levels and predict burnout among resident physicians. The device will measure their heart rate, respiratory rate, sleep and other physiologic data to examine if the physiologic data aligns with how residents report they feel. This study is important because depression and burnout in residents can increase medical errors and worsen patient outcomes. Dr. Alexander Hajduczok, a third-year internal medicine resident and principal investigator for the study, hopes that the data collected from the study can identify stress triggers and be used to develop interventions to help residents cope with those triggers.

WHO and UNICEF recommit to accelerating health and well-being at all ages

By: World Health Organization

Both the WHO and UNICEF signed the Strategic Collaboration Framework on September 18 to collaborate on addressing the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing on vulnerable populations first. The organizations will focus on 4 areas: universal health coverage, mental health, public health emergencies, and maternal and child nutrition. Both organizations also signed a new Joint Programme on Mental Health and Psychosocial Well-being and Development of Children and Adolescents, a 10-year plan to promote mental health and access to mental health care.

Why the number of people getting test for Covid-19 dropped in the U.S.

By: German Lopez

As of September 17, the number of average daily tests were down about 100,000 from 830,000 in late July. Although testing has slowed down, the percentage of tests coming back positive remained the same at around 5%. U.S. health experts have attributed this decline to three major factors. As the worst outbreaks have receded, the demand for tests has dropped as well. State governments may not be accurately reporting the number of tests within their borders. And President’s Trumps administration has recently recommended less testing but backtracked on these changes this week. These combined factors have led to testing shortages amidst a spike in cases. Every time America makes progress, we stop short of truly containing the pandemic. Testing is necessary to detect, track, and preventing outbreaks. If those tests aren’t done, the U.S. will likely suffer from more Covid-19 related illness and deaths.