Health Equity, Maternal Health and Other Recent Health News Trends

A look at health news from PR Newswire in July and August that you might have missed.

 

Health News Trends, July-August 2024

 

By Rocky Parker | Published Sept. 9, 2024

 

It was a busy summer for the healthcare industry. During the past two months alone, PR Newswire distributed more than 4,700 health-related press releases via our network.

Have trouble keeping up? Our team is here to help and, in this post, we’re looking back on the big health news in July and August. Health equity and maternal health were major focuses of headlines crossing the wire and cybersecurity continued to be a topic of interest in the fallout of several cyberattacks at healthcare providers.

In addition to the big trends, we’re also recapping a few of the most-read health releases of July and August to help you catch up on the must-read news releases.

Let’s get started.

Popular Health Releases

In July and August, these press releases dominated views on the website. They range in topics from skincare to AI’s growth in healthcare and a new Alzheimer’s treatment.

Health News Trends

Below, we dive into the big health news trends of July and August.

A Focus on Health Equity

The past two months featured a number of releases related to health equity and companies’ efforts to improve health outcomes and close disparities gaps across communities.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is focused on health equity as part of its Healthy People 2030 initiative. “Achieving health equity requires valuing everyone equally with focused and ongoing societal efforts to address avoidable inequalities, historical and contemporary injustices, and social determinants of health — and to eliminate disparities in health and health care,” the organization states on its website.

Here are just a few of the releases you might have missed:

  • The National Business League®, National Medical Association® and National Bar Association® announced a new advocacy agenda for Black Americans. One pillar of the agenda is improving healthcare access and outcomes for Black communities.
  • The Skin of Color Society released an educational video series to educate patients, physicians and the general public about dermatologic conditions and diseases of importance to people of color.
  • Novartis announced that it will award $500,000 CAD to non-profit projects focused on improving health equity in three areas: social/cultural inclusivity of care, health literacy and education, and the promotion of health support for immigrants to Canada.
  • Cigna announced the launch of its Health Equity Impact Fund. It’s committed $9 million over three years to reduce key health barriers by specifically targeting health disparities most prevalent in local communities.
  • The American Diabetes Association® and Genentech teamed up to increase equitable access to eye health care in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, specifically for the Black and Hispanic/Latino communities. 

Maternal Health

Leading up to and following Bump Day (July 24), which raises awareness and support for every mom to have a safe pregnancy, our team noticed a number of maternal health-related releases distributed in July and August.

According to the World Health Organization, almost 800 women died from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth every day in 2020. While the organization stresses that this number is “unacceptably high” and the issue must remain at the top of the agenda, it also makes the point that “simply surviving pregnancy and childbirth can never be the marker of successful maternal health care.”

The topic is becoming a serious concern as several states implement abortion bans, which are in turn having an impact on residents’ access to maternal health services.

The releases, which also tied into the health equity trend covered above, focused on advocacy and initiatives to improve the outcomes for pregnant women, regardless of their circumstances and throughout their pregnancy journey - during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period.

Here are a few of them:

  • Carol's Daughter and the Mama Glow Foundation debuted the first two Love Delivered Black Maternal Health Advocacy Training videos to provide viewers with valuable tools to advocate for their health and the health of their loved ones.
  • A new partnership between The American Diabetes Association® and the CVS Health Foundation focuses on “improving maternal health outcomes and addressing the gaps in care navigation for women with gestational diabetes (GDM) in New York City.”
  • Perinatal nutrition company Needed launched Needed Academy, an Instagram-native learning center for the brand's health practitioners, advocates, and influencer partners.
  • A new study from Quest Diagnostics found that adherence to guideline-based lab testing and treatment of pregnant women for chlamydia or gonorrhea is suboptimal in the United States.
  • March of Dimes announced the appointment of Cindy Rahman as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer and other executive changes as it continues to advance its maternal and infant health initiatives.

Cyberattack Fallout Continues

In our last recap, we covered a spike in healthcare cyberattacks and the ways brands are working to prevent and respond to such incidents in the future. That trend continued in July in August, with several healthcare releases distributed by PR Newswire mentioning terms like “cybersecurity” and “data privacy.”

Recent healthcare cyberattacks have affected hundreds of thousands of individuals whose personal details like birthdays, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers and medical records have been exposed. The trend is concerning enough that the government and big tech companies are getting involved to help prevent future incidents.

Here are a few of the latest headlines:

  • In mid-August, Kootenai Health and its subsidiaries notified individuals of a potential data security incident that may have impacted data belonging to certain employees, employees' dependents, and patients.
  • Education Management Solutions, a provider of advanced simulation-based training solutions for healthcare education, higher education, and government institutions, announced that it had received provisional approval for Texas's TX-RAMP Certification. The certification is a rigorous security framework designed to ensure that cloud computing services and products meet stringent cybersecurity requirements.
  • CHIME unveiled 10 AI principles designed to ensure the ethical and effective implementation of AI in healthcare, including in the areas of privacy and cybersecurity.
  • Diagnostics technology company DCN Dx announced its participation at NextGen Dx Summit 2024. It showcased the miniDxR customizable lateral flow reader, which features robust cybersecurity features.
  • Therap Services, a leader in offering HIPAA-compliant electronic documentation solutions, announced updates to its Therap Connect services which, among other benefits, “ensure data security and privacy, complying with HIPAA regulations.”

Looking Ahead

September is World Alzheimer’s Month and Suicide Prevention Month, so the team will be watching for the latest updates surrounding these topics. In October, the calendar features Mental Health Awareness Week (Oct. 6-12) and World Mental Health Day (Oct. 10), in addition to being the month-long Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We’ll be back soon with a full recap of these events and other health news trends that pop up over the next few months. Stay tuned!

Stay Caught Up On The Latest Healthcare News - Read the latest

 

About the Author

Rocky Parker headshotRocky Parker is the Manager of Audience and Journalist Engagement at Cision PR Newswire. She's been with the company since 2010 and has worked with journalists and bloggers as well as PR and comms professionals. Outside of work, she can be found trying a new recipe, binging a new show, or cuddling with her pitbull, Hudson.