US state laws on medical freedom and investigational stem cell procedures: a call to focus on state-based legislation.

The premature marketing of investigational stem cell interventions (SCIs) is a growing market in the US. Several US states have passed legislation to permit and promote unproven and experimental SCIs for individuals with terminal or chronic diseases. These SCI medical freedom laws, which are largely based on right-to-try legislation, increase access to experimental SCIs with little to no oversight. They undermine federal regulatory authority and can compromise patient safety and informed decision-making. SCI medical freedom laws have gone largely unnoticed by scientific societies interested in the responsible translation of stem cell medicine. In this article, we analyze state SCI medical freedom laws and describe their detrimental impact on patients and society. We contend that scientific and medical societies are uniquely poised to advocate against state-based policy promoting unproven SCIs but recognize resource and other constraints to advocate for or against legislation in 50 states. We recommend societies establish coalitions and share resources to address state-based SCI medical freedom laws and other legislation surrounding unproven SCIs.

Beliefs and Attitudes about Vermont's Buprenorphine Decriminalization Law among Clinicians Who Prescribe Buprenorphine.

BACKGROUND: On June 1, 2021, Vermont repealed all criminal penalties for possessing 224 milligrams or less of buprenorphine. We examined the potential impact of decriminalization with a survey of Vermont clinicians who prescribed buprenorphine within the past year. METHODS: All 638 Vermont clinicians with a waiver to prescribe buprenorphine were emailed the survey by Vermont Department of Health; 117 responded. We estimated the prevalence of the following four outcomes, for all responding clinicians and stratified by clinician demographics and practice characteristics: awareness of decriminalization, beliefs about the effects of decriminalization, support for decriminalization, and changes in practice resulting from decriminalization. RESULTS: 72 (62%) prescribers correctly stated that Vermont does not have criminal penalties for buprenorphine possession. 107 (91%) support decriminalization. 56 (48%) believe that, because buprenorphine is decriminalized, their patients are more likely to give, sell, or trade the buprenorphine that is prescribed to them to someone else. However, only 5 providers (4%) said they now prescribe to fewer patients. CONCLUSION: The great majority of Vermont clinicians who prescribe buprenorphine support its decriminalization and have not changed their prescribing practices because of decriminalization.

In 2021, Vermont repealed criminal penalties for buprenorphine possession.We surveyed Vermont (n = 117) buprenorphine prescribers about decriminalization.91% of providers support decriminalization.48% of providers believe decriminalization will increase diversion of medications.Only 4% of providers prescribe to fewer patients because of decriminalization.

VA Providers' Perceptions of Cannabis Use Policies in a Legalized and Nonlegalized State.

Background: Providers in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) system are caught between two opposing sets of laws regarding cannabis and cannabidiol (CBD) use by their patients. As VA is a federal agency, it must abide by federal regulations, including that the Food and Drug Administration classifies cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug and therefore cannot recommend or help Veterans obtain it. Meanwhile, 38 states have passed legislation, legalizing medical use of cannabis. Objective: The goal of this project is to examine how VA providers understand state and federal laws, and VA policies about cannabis and CBD use, and to learn more about providers' experiences with patients who use cannabis and CBD within a legalized and nonlegalized state. Materials and Methods: We identified 432 health care providers from two VA facilities in northern Illinois (IL) where medical and recreational cannabis is legal, and two VA facilities in southern Wisconsin (WI) where medical and recreational cannabis is illegal. Participants were invited via e-mail to complete an anonymous online survey, including 31 closed- and open-ended questions about knowledge of state and federal laws and VA policies regarding cannabis and CBD oil, thoughts about the value of cannabis or CBD for treating medical conditions, and behaviors regarding cannabis use by their patients. Results: We received 50 responses (IL N=20, WI N=30). Providers in both states were knowledgeable about cannabis laws in their state but unsure whether they could recommend cannabis. There were more providers who were unclear if they could have a conversation about cannabis with their VA patients in WI compared with IL. Providers were more likely to agree than disagree that cannabis can be beneficial, χ2 (1, 49)=4.74, p=0.030. Providers in both states (81.6%) believe cannabis use is acceptable for end-of-life care, but responses varied for other conditions and symptoms. Discussion: Findings suggest that VA providers could use more guidance on what is allowable within their VA facilities and how state laws affect their practice. Education about safety related to cannabis and other drug interactions would be helpful. There is limited information about possible interactions, warranting future research.

Assessing interstate racial and socioeconomic disparities in newborn screening policies in the United States.

Introduction: This paper explores racial and socioeconomic disparities in newborn screening (NBS) policies across the United States. While inter-state inequality in healthcare policies is often considered a meaningful source of systemic inequity in healthcare outcomes, to the best of our knowledge, no research has explored racial and socioeconomic disparities in newborn screening policies based on state of residence. Methods: We investigate these disparities by calculating weighted average exposure to specific NBS tests by racial and socioeconomic group. We additionally estimate count models of the number (and type) of NBS conditions screened for by state racial and socioeconomic composition. Results: Adding to the knowledge base that social determinants of health and health disparities are linked, our analysis surprisingly reveals little evidence of substantial inter-state inequity in newborn screenings along racial and socioeconomic lines. Discussion: While there is substantial nationwide racial and socioeconomic inequity in terms of infant health, the distribution of state-level policies does not appear to be structured in a manner to be a driver of these disparities. Our findings suggest that efforts to reduce inequities in outcomes related to NBS should shift focus toward the delivery of screening results and follow-up care as discussion builds on expanding NBS to include more conditions and genomic testing.

Hitting closer to home: State policies' impacts on health by race and legal status.

While the proliferation of inclusionary and exclusionary state policies has led to an increasingly heterogeneous patchwork of state climates, state policy and the climates they create have become increasingly important for health outcomes. We leverage the heterogeneity across state policy climates to test the relationship between state-level policies and health inequality across the US. We include 24 state policies related to public health and safety, immigration enforcement, integration, and healthcare to capture the state climate. Using the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), a nationally representative study of households in the U.S., we estimate multilevel regression models to assess the relationship between state policy climate and healthcare utilization. We further examine differential effects of the policy climate across various vulnerable groups, by examining differences by citizenship status and race. We find that more exclusionary policies may be detrimental to healthcare utilization for all residents regardless of race and legal status- but ultimately racial minorities and noncitizens see the greatest benefits from inclusive policy climates.

Comunicação pública da ciência e da saúde no pós-pandemia / Post-pandemic science and health public communication / Comunicación pública de la ciencia y de la salud tras la pandemia

A pandemia de covid-19 demonstrou a relevância da comunicação pública da saúde e da ciência, mas também evidenciou suas fragilidades. No Brasil, como em outras partes do mundo, a desinformação foi institucionalizada, com grave impacto na saúde dos cidadãos. Após a pandemia, coloca-se o desafio de estruturar políticas públicas de comunicação para combater a desinformação e de fortalecer a carreira de comunicador público como suporte a essas políticas. A mobilização de organizações da sociedade civil ligadas ao tema produziu um projeto de Lei Geral da Comunicação Pública que tramita na Câmara dos Deputados. Também permitiu incluir o estabelecimento de uma política de comunicação para o Sistema Único de Saúde entre as diretrizes aprovadas pela 17ª Conferência Nacional de Saúde

The covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the relevance of public health and science communication, but also highlighted its weaknesses. In Brazil, as in other parts of the world, disinformation has been institutionalized, with a serious impact on the health of citizens. After the pandemic, there is a challenge of structuring public communication policies to combat disinformation and to strengthen the career of public communicator to support these policies. The mobilization of civil society organizations linked to these issues produced a public communication bill which is currently discussed in the Chamber of Deputies. It also made it possible to include the establishment of a communication policy for the Unified Health System among the guidelines approved by the 17th National Health Conference

La pandemia de covid-19 demostró la relevancia de la comunicación pública de la salud y de la ciencia, pero también puso de relieve sus debilidades. En Brasil, como en otras partes del mundo, la desinformación ha sido institucionalizada, con un grave impacto en la salud de los ciudadanos. Después de la pandemia, queda el desafío de estructurar políticas públicas de comunicación para combatir la desinformación y también de estructurar la carrera de comunicador público para apoyar estas políticas. La movilización de organizaciones de la sociedad civil vinculadas al tema ha producido un proyecto de Ley General de Comunicación Pública que se encuentra en trámite en la Cámara de Diputados. También permitió incluir el establecimiento de una política de comunicación para el Sistema Único de Salud entre las directrices aprobadas por la XVII Conferencia Nacional de Salud

SUS, política pública de Estado: seu desenvolvimento instituído e instituinte e a busca de saídas / The Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), State Public Policy: Its institutionalized and future development and the search for solutions

O texto resgata significados do movimento da reforma sanitária e do movimento municipal de saúde no contexto dos anos 70 e 80, sua força social, política e inovadora na reconstrução democrática na época. A seguir constata que a implementação das diretrizes constitucionais, regulamentadas em 1.990 pelas Leis 8080/90 e 8142/90, vem sendo marcada nos últimos 22 anos por quatro pesados e crescentes obstáculos impostos pela política de Estado a todos os governos: subfinanciamento federal, subsídios federais ao mercado de planos privados de saúde, resistência à reforma da estrutura gerencial estatal da prestação de serviços e, entrega do gerenciamento de estabelecimentos públicos a entes privados. O SUS incluiu no sistema público de saúde metade da população antes excluída, mas estes obstáculos mantêm a cobertura da atenção básica focalizada abaixo da linha de pobreza e com baixa resolutividade. Conclui que a real política de Estado para a saúde nesses 22 anos vem priorizando a criação e a expansão do mercado dos planos privados de saúde para os direitos do consumidor, e secundarizando a efetivação das diretrizes constitucionais para os direitos humanos de cidadania.

This paper redeems the significance of the health reform movement and the municipal healthcare movement in the context of the 1970s and 1980s, and its social, politic and innovative power in the democratic reconstruction of the day. It then notes that the implementation of the constitutional guidelines, regulated in 1990 by Laws 8080/90 and 8142/90, has been characterized in the last 22 years by four major and mounting obstacles imposed by State policy on all governments: federal underfunding; federal subsidies to the private health plan market; resistance to reform of the State management structure of service provision; and the handing over of administration of public facilities to private entities. The Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) included half the population that was once excluded in the public health system, though these obstacles keep the coverage of primary care focused below the poverty line and with poor resolution. The conclusion drawn is that the real policy of the state for healthcare in the past 22 years has prioritized the creation and expansion of the private health plan market for consumer rights, and relegated the effectiveness of constitutional guidelines for civic human rights to second place.

Entre o nacional e o neonacional-desenvolvimentismo: poder político e classes sociais no Brasil contemporâneo / Between the national and the neo‑national developmentalism: political power and social classes in contemporary Brazil

Diversos cientistas sociais que se dedicam à difícil tarefa de estudar o governo Lula da Silva têm retomado a reflexão sobre o período desenvolvimentista brasileiro. Neste artigo, examinamos as relações entre poder político, regime político e política de Estado durante: 1) o apogeu e crise final do nacional‑desenvolvimentismo; 2) o neonacional‑desenvolvimentismo. Nosso objetivo é contribuir para a análise de dois importantes momentos do Brasil contemporâneo.

Several social scientists engaged in the difficult task of studying Lula da Silva's government have resumed the reflection on Brazilian developmentalist period. In this article, we examine the relationships among political power, political regime and State policy during: 1) the rise and final crisis of national developmentalism; 2) the neo‑national developmentalism. Our purpose is to contribute to the analysis of two important moments of contemporary Brazil.