News by Subject Policy & Ethics

Adolescents and young adults living in states with more liberal policies reported higher average rates of past-year cannabis use than those in states with more conservative policies. However, the rates of cannabis use disorder -- abuse or dependence on the drug -- were significantly lower in states with more liberal policies compared to states with more conservative policies. The study is one of the first to assess the relationship between policy liberalism and health outcomes, and specifically cannabis use-related outcomes.

If a patient has private insurance, doctors can get prior approval to prescribe a drug 'off-label' to make sure the medication will be covered, but when it comes to Medicare part D, coverage decisions are dictated by two compendia -- lists of medications and what they're indicated for. Researchers examined these lists and found they are incomplete, outdated, and frequently in conflict with each other.

A new study looks at the job satisfaction of front line conservation rangers working in challenging conditions at a national park in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and identifies ways to improve motivation to make them more effective at enforcing the law.

Erucic acid occurs in vegetable oils and fats. It is a natural component of plant seeds of the Brassicaceae family (crucifers such as rape and mustard). Chemically, it is a long-chain, simple, unsaturated omega-9 fatty acid.

Republican and Democratic governors have strikingly different visions for the future of health care, according to a new analysis published in the American Journal of Public Health. While Republican leaders favor maintaining or shrinking public health insurance programs, Democratic leaders are advancing several new proposals to expand public coverage, including 'public option' and single-payer health reforms.

What do songs by artists like Jay-Z and Public Enemy have in common? They feature representations of 'cop voice,' a racialized way of speaking that police use to weaponize their voices around people of color, according to faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York.

The American College of Physicians (ACP) today released the seventh edition of its Ethics Manual. New or significantly expanded sections of the ACP Ethics Manual include precision medicine and genetic testing, research and protection of human subjects, telemedicine, electronic communications, social media and online professionalism, electronic health records, and physician volunteerism.

A pioneering new report has devised a seven-point plan to help policymakers devise new, coherent and collaborative strategies to tackle the greatest global environmental threats.