Pew Health
Health news, research & policy recommendations from The Pew Charitable Trusts. Making a difference on antibiotics, substance use, dental care access, and more.
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FDA Unveils List of Suspected Unlawful Ingredients in Dietary Supplements
Consumers would benefit if Congress required companies to provide basic information on these products
FDA Update on Permitted Antiseptic Hand Wash Ingredients Took 45 Years
Forty-five years after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) started to update the agency-approved recipe—called a monograph—for over-the-counter hand sanitizers, it announced in April that it had…
How States Address Opioid Use Disorder in Prisons
Individuals within the criminal justice system have a high prevalence of substance use disorder (SUD), including opioid use disorder (OUD). Based on the latest data from the Bureau of Justice…
What Are In Vitro Diagnostic Tests, and How Are They Regulated?
Health care providers rely on a variety of tools to diagnose conditions and guide treatment decisions. Among the most common and widely used are in vitro diagnostics (IVDs), which are clinical tests…
Opioid Overdose Deaths Among Women Have Increased Sharply
International Women’s Day, a global call for gender parity celebrated annually on March 8, provides an opportunity to draw attention to recent trends in opioid use disorder (OUD) among women: From…
Hospital and Clinic Executives See Rising Demand for Accurate Exchange of Patient…
Increased pressure from government and patients for doctors’ offices and hospitals to share information highlights a perennial challenge: linking records for the same individual when those files are…
Pew-Funded Scientists Shape the Future of Biomedical Research
Each year, The Pew Charitable Trusts welcomes a new class of promising scientists to its scholars and fellows programs in the biomedical sciences. Current and former Pew scholars and fellows—nearly…
Tracking the Global Pipeline of Antibiotics in Development
To shed light on the antibiotic pipeline, evaluate public policies, and monitor the potential impact on public health, The Pew Charitable Trusts has assessed antibiotics currently in clinical…
The Antibiotic Market Is Broken—and Won’t Fix Itself
Over the past year we’ve watched two troubling trends escalate. First, patients increasingly face—and their doctors struggle to treat—infections that do not respond to existing antibiotics. Second,…
The Fight Against Antibiotic Resistance
Nearly a century after Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin, bacteria continue to develop the ability to defeat antibiotics. Doctors worldwide are concerned about the spread of superbugs that…
New U.S. Drug Overdose Data Show Treatment Still Too Elusive
For the second time in recent years, life expectancy in the United States declined in 2017. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported this news in November, citing a record…
Severe Infection in Pregnancy Could Contribute to Autism
For 11 years, nations and organizations have observed World Autism Awareness Day on April 2 to increase understanding of the disorder and acceptance of people with autism. The United Nations marked…
New Way to Target Lung Tumors Unveiled Through Creative Research
Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in men and women, making up about 14 percent of all new cancers. On Sunday, we will observe World Cancer Day to raise awareness about the disease. Cancers…
Most Americans Take Supplements. FDA Should Know Something About Them.
Most American adults take at least one dietary supplement daily — products that include vitamins, herbs, botanicals, or amino acids, among other ingredients. But not all of them are safe.
Southern States Slowly Embracing Harm Reduction to Curb Opioid Epidemic
Activists are convincing conservative Southerners to buy in to needle exchanges.
Scientists See Promising Leads in Battle Against HIV
The first day of December marks the 30th anniversary of World AIDS Day, a chance for individuals, organizations, and governments to highlight efforts to eradicate the disease, support people living…
Antibiotic Use in Retail Health Clinics, While Encouraging, Shows Room for Improvement
Retail health clinics—walk-in clinics located within a retail business—play an important role in the fight against antibiotic resistance as outpatient care providers in the United States. Overuse of…
Racial Divides Persist in U.S. Health Outcomes
Data from a variety of sources show that health outcomes for African-Americans often fall short of those for white populations, a persistent reality that can be attributed to multiple factors such as…
5 facts about vaccines in the U.S.
Most Americans believe the health benefits of the MMR vaccine are high and the risks are low. Many favor school-based vaccine requirements.
After the Fact: A Podcast from The Pew Charitable Trusts
Welcome to “After the Fact,” a new podcast from The Pew Charitable Trusts that brings you data and analysis on the issues that matter to you. Experts from Pew and other special guests discuss the…
Scientists at Work: Craig Mello on the Mysteries of Genetic Code
How does genetic information transmit across generations? While trying to find out, scientists Craig Mello and Andrew Fire quite by accident made a discovery in 1998 that would earn them a Nobel…
2019 NAS Election
The National Academy of Sciences announced today the election of 100 new members and 25 foreign associates in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Forty…
UN, global health agencies sound alarm on drug-resistant infections; new recommendations to…
Deaths caused by infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria will skyrocket over the next two decades, along with huge economic costs, without immediate, ambitious and coordinated action, the UN…
FDA Lacks Ability to Effectively Safeguard Public From Risky Supplements
The Food and Drug Administration cautioned consumers in January to avoid a product called GoLean Detox. The agency’s laboratory analysis showed that the product contained ingredients from two…