Editor's Note Raising awareness of misinformation and encouraging people to register as organ donors are among the ways organizations throughout the country are highlighting organ transplant disparities during Hispanic Heritage month, which ends October 15. Citing data from the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health,…

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Editor's Note Research shows black women are 25% more likely to undergo cesarean sections (C-sections) than white women, even when presenting similar medical histories, The New York Times reported September 10. The article focuses on a study analyzing nearly one million births across 68 New Jersey hospitals. Conducted between 2008…

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Editor's Note Extensive training and lower wages lead healthcare workers to accrue more debt than those in other industries, according to a recent analysis published in JAMA Health Forum.  Findings were based on 2018-2021 data from U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation. According to an August 5…

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Editor's Note COVID-19 can be considered endemic worldwide, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on the heels of reporting a drop in overall US death rates from the disease. CDC’s classification of the disease as endemic “means, essentially, that COVID is here to stay in predictable ways,”…

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Editor's Note Surgeons and surgical trainees who are female or from minority racial or ethnic backgrounds report higher levels of negative emotions and self-doubt after adverse events, according to a recent study in JAMA Network Open. According to a June 5 report in MedPage Today, the single-site, mixed-methods study found…

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Editor's Note Nine out of 10 American adults have Cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic syndrome (CKM)—interrelated factors that progress to heart disease—and almost 10% already have heart disease, according to a report published in JAMA by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. HealthDay news reported on the…

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Editor's Note Addressing social determinants of health (SDOHs), strengthening emergency preparedness, and improving maternal heath are among the top priorities of the fiscal year (FY) 2025 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System (LTCH PPS) rules released April 10. These and other efforts aim to…

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Editor's Note A standard kidney function test has been underestimating the seriousness of disease in Black patients, delaying their eligibility for transplants, The Associated Press reported March 31. Now, that test is changing – and Black patients awaiting kidneys are moving up the list.  Among other factors, transplant eligibility is…

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Editor's Note In a recent study, black children undergoing emergency appendectomy had a four times greater risk of postoperative complications than white children, independent of socioeconomic status or type of appendicitis. Anaesthesia, the journal of the Association of Anaesthetists, published the findings February 22. Researchers note that this is the…

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Editor's Note: Already shown to have a heightened risk of esophageal cancer, Asian Americans are also more likely to experience complications from esophagectomy, according to a study published January 4 in the American Journal of Surgery. The retrospective analysis, performed using ACS-NSQIP esophagectomy targeted database 2016–2021, compared 30-day postoperative outcomes…

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