President Trump and health care: a content analysis of misleading statements.

BACKGROUND: This study examines President Trump's misleading language in the area of health care. According to 'The Washington Post', President Trump has made over 10 000 misleading or false statements about public policy. METHODS: We use content analysis to examine the 662 health-related statements made over the period from his inauguration on 20 January 2017 to 27 April 2019. RESULTS: Analysis of these statements identified seven themes, and we also found that a plurality of the statements spreads false information about the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare. DISCUSSION: President Trump's misleading statements about health care are unprecedented and potentially damaging to public health. The communications may adversely affect the public's knowledge about their health care, their understanding of the health care system and their understanding of health care procedures.

Community-level internet connectivity and mental health: an analysis of United States counties.

Background: Access to the Internet is often viewed as a positive feature of communities, but little research has been conducted examining the effects of internet access on mental health at the community level. Aims: To examine the relationship between internet connectivity and mental health in United States (US) counties, an analysis that has not been conducted in the public health literature. Methods: We analyzed predictors of mental health in US counties. Data from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the U.S. Bureau of the Census, and the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps were used to construct a time-series regression analysis. The data were available from 2013 to 2016. Results: US counties that increased their internet connectivity over this period also had more citizens report suffering from mental health conditions. Conclusions: Public health needs to focus on the county-level predictors of mental health and how internet connectivity may not always produce positive effects and may be contributing negatively to the mental health of communities.

From Compassionate Conservatism to Obamacare: Funding for the Ryan White Program During the Obama Administration.

OBJECTIVES: To examine President Obama's fiscal commitment to the Ryan White Program (formerly Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resource Emergency Act), which provides funding for economically disadvantaged people and families affected by HIV. METHODS: We analyzed budgetary request and congressional appropriation data from 2009 to 2016. The data are available from the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. RESULTS: Increased coverage for people living with HIV/AIDS provided by the Affordable Care Act most likely led the Obama administration to request small increases and at times decreases in funding for the Ryan White Program. Congress passed either small increases or decreases in appropriations for the Ryan White Program. CONCLUSIONS: Decreases or small increases in the Ryan White Program funding risk progress made in treating HIV among economically disadvantaged patients.

Compassionate conservatism: federal funding for the Ryan White CARE Act during the Bush administration.

President George W. Bush has proposed modest increases, when he has proposed any at all, in funding for the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act during his administration, and Congress has appropriated little funding increase since fiscal year 2004. Growing numbers of Americans living with HIV or AIDS, 40 000 people newly infected with HIV each year, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-recommended efforts to identify people with undiagnosed HIV infection indicate an increasing need for services funded by CARE Act programs. Inadequate CARE Act funding harms the most vulnerable people with HIV.

A pilot study of young adults with multiple sclerosis: demographic, disease, treatment, and psychosocial characteristics.

BACKGROUND: Although multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common neurologic disease disabling younger adults, very little is known about the characteristics of young adults with MS and the impact of MS on their lives. OBJECTIVES: To conduct a pilot study of the demographic, disease, treatment, and psychosocial characteristics of young adults with MS (aged 18 and 31 years). METHODS: We solicited participation from all 452 members of the Registry of the North American Research Committee On Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) Project aged 18 to 31 years, collecting data from 100 of these young adults (22%) by computer-assisted telephone interviews. Data included basic demographic, disease, and treatment characteristics, ratings of satisfaction with access to and quality of MS and mental health care, and beliefs about the impact of MS on their current and future lives. RESULTS: Participants were 93% female and averaged 28.6 years of age, and 88% had relapsing-remitting MS. Forty-three percent received the majority of their MS-focused care at an MS clinic and 94% had seen a neurologist in the previous 12 months. More than 40% reported depressive symptoms at the time of the survey. These young adults with MS had relatively low rates of concern about the impact of MS in the present but higher rates of worry about their future. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest the need for a study with a larger, representative sample of young adults with MS to guide development of programs, interventions, and services tailored to meet their needs.

Age-related comparisons of people with multiple sclerosis: demographic, disease, and treatment characteristics.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if the demographic characteristics and health care needs of younger people with MS differ from older people with MS. PARTICIPANTS: The study analyzed enrollment data from the NARCOMS Registry to compare 1,987 younger adults with MS (30 years and younger) to 29,245 other adults with MS (over 30 years). METHODS: Analyses of the NARCOMS data focused on descriptive characteristics of these adults with MS, using a t-test to identify any statistically significant age-related differences in means and a chi-squared test to identify any statistically significant age-related differences in proportions. RESULTS: A significantly larger proportion of younger adults with MS were female and African American compared to other adults with MS. We found significant age-related differences in the expression of physical disability domains but few significant age-related differences in symptoms of depression. We also observed significant age-related differences in the utilization of health providers, with larger proportions of other adults with MS treated by internists, urologists, rehabilitation specialists, and physical and occupational therapists. CONCLUSIONS: The comprehensive care of younger adults with MS should include monitoring for mental health conditions and the availability of mental health services.