SAME DOCTOR, BETTER OUTCOME
These authors reviewed papers evaluating the degree of continuity of care, defined as repeated contact between a patient and doctor, and its relationship to patient survival. Of the 22 observational studies included in the analysis, 18 showed that higher levels of continuity of care with doctors were associated with lower mortality rates. The authors speculate that patients disclose more, doctors are more responsive, and medical management may be more tailored to patient needs and therefore more effective as the strength of the patient-doctor relationship grows. Perhaps greater patient optimism or increased uptake of immunizations also contribute to these survival improvement findings.
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DO AMERICANS KNOW THE HEALTH IMPACTS OF GLOBAL WARMING?
The majority of Americans believe that global warming is real. However, citizens’ understanding of climate-driven health risks has not been described. Dr. Edward Maibach and his team conducted an online survey of US adults to measure respondents’ understanding of the impact of global warming on human health.
As shown in the Figure, survey participants were asked an open-ended question, “In your view, what health problems related to global warming are Americans currently experiencing, if any?” More than half of the 1,275 respondents didn’t provide a response or know of an answer. Eleven percent believed that no health impacts exist. Only 27% named a health-related problem. Respiratory diseases were most frequently cited as a threatened health condition (14%), followed by injuries or deaths due to extreme weather (6%), and skin cancers and other skin diseases (5%). Americans rarely identified other well-known climate-driven health problems such as the spread of insect-borne diseases, the contamination of food and water, and threats to food supplies and mental health, which may not yet be perceived as pervasive in the US.
Feature image: The Annals of Global Health, “Do Americans Understand That Global Warming Is Harmful to Human Health? Evidence From a National Survey,” Edward W. Maibach, Jennifer M. Kreslake, Connie Roser Renouf, Seth Rosenthal, Geoff Feinberg, Anthony A. Leiserowitz
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