Two years ago, domestic workers in Houston, Texas, took part in the first national survey documenting the conditions they face on the job. The experience — a process of shedding light on the often isolating and invisible world of domestic work — was so moving that Houston workers decided they didn’t want to stop there. Instead, they decided it was time to put their personal stories to paper.
Health Impact Assessments
Tennessee’s Jekyll and Hyde Moment: Should Pregnant Women Who Use Drugs Be Treated as Criminals?
By Sara Satinsky: Should pregnant women who use drugs be charged as criminals or given help? From a public health perspective the choice is clear: provide treatment to help women quit drugs before their use harms their child. Less than a year ago, Tennessee adopted a progressive policy to provide such treatment, but now is on the brink of taking a big step back.
Cancer
Will farm workers be better protected? EPA proposes new pesticide protection standards but farm worker advocates see some steps backward
“For us it’s personal,” said Jeannie Economos, Farmworker Association of Florida Pesticide Safety and Environmental Health Project Coordinator. “It’s a daily issue for us. Every day with a weaker protection standard is another day a worker is exposed to pesticides,” she said. On February 20th the EPA proposed revisions to its Worker Protection Standard for agricultural pesticides. Farm worker advocates are welcoming the proposal – the first update since 1992 – but see both improvements and what some are calling “steps backward.”
Affordable Care Act
Massachusetts study: High demand for publicly funded family planning services, despite near universal insurance
Higher insurance rates don’t mean people stop seeking care at publically funded health centers, found a recent study of family planning clinics in Massachusetts. The findings speak to serious concerns within public health circles that policy-makers may point to higher insurance rates as a justification to cut critical public health funding.
“There’s a lot we don’t know about preterm birth and we know even less about the disparities in those births.” Those are words from Ondine von Ehrenstein, who recently examined the links between occupational exposures and preterm birth rates among Hispanic women.
People who hold down more than one job not only experience an increased risk of injury at work, but while they’re not at work as well, according to a new study.
As a woman with breast cancer, isn’t it time to move beyond awareness and focus on prevention?
Nearly half of 2010 US births were covered by Medicaid, and nearly half of US pregnancies are unplanned. Women’s health prior to conception influences the health of their babies, but it’s been hard for non-pregnant low-income women to qualify for Medicaid in most states. The Medicaid expansion will help more low-income women access healthcare before they become pregnant and can improve the health of their babies in coming years.
Scientific Integrity & Ethics
Should women who have undergone FGM be granted asylum in the U.S. on medical grounds?
Since 1994, when a Nigerian woman and her two daughters were granted asylum in the U.S. based on fear of female genital mutilation (FGM) in their native country, the legal community has been avidly debating the question of whether FGM should be considered grounds for asylum. A 1996 case, in re Kasinga, established a precedent […]
Women's Health
With new Plan B decision, FDA takes a step toward better emergency contraceptive access
FDA lowers the age limit for purchasing emergency contraceptive Plan B — and makes an important change to how the drug can be sold.