EurekAlert! News by Subject: Policy & Ethics - News by Subject: Policy & Ethics

Policy & Ethics

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 19-Nov-2025 02:11 ET (19-Nov-2025 07:11 GMT/UTC)

29-Sep-2025

Modeling the health impact of discontinuing COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy in the US

About The Study: This decision analytical model study estimates that COVID-19 vaccination (primarily annual COVID-19 vaccination) during pregnancy will likely continue to yield meaningful public health benefits in the U.S., especially to reduce COVID-19 hospitalizations in infants. COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy has been shown to be safe. While there is global variation in policy recommending COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy, the U.S. has a high risk of severe COVID-19 in newborns, underscoring relevance of maternal COVID-19 vaccination.

Journal: JAMA Pediatrics

29-Sep-2025

Reform of federal drug discount program should target misaligned incentives

University of Southern California
Reports and Proceedings

Meaningful 340B reform must end “spread pricing,” the practice where providers buy discounted drugs and bill insurers at higher rates, pocketing the difference.

Funder: Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics

29-Sep-2025

QQM Checklist enhances research quality appraisal across quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods

ECNU Review of Education
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Evaluating research quality is central to building scientific knowledge, yet social sciences often face challenges due to methodological limits and disciplinary biases in existing tools. A new study addressed these gaps by systematically reviewing current approaches and developing the Quality Appraisal Checklist for Quantitative, Qualitative, and Mixed-Methods Studies (QQM Checklist). This concise, versatile tool enhances rigor in assessing diverse study types and supports more transparent, evidence-based decisions in both research and funding.

Journal: ECNU Review of Education

29-Sep-2025

Japan’s national standardized health checkup program: impacts on self-employed and unemployed populations

Waseda University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Lifestyle-related diseases are rapidly increasing, particularly among the lower socioeconomic brackets of the society. To address this public health concern, Japan introduced the Specific Health Checkups and Specific Health Guidance policy in 2008. The policy mandates municipalities across Japan to standardize health checkups for all populations. This study explored how the policy and its resultant expansion in municipal healthcare funds have impacted health outcomes and lifestyle behaviors among self-employed and unemployed individuals.

Journal: Journal of Health Economics

27-Sep-2025

Emergency medicine workers report job satisfaction, though burnout and staff retention remain major problems

European Society for Emergency Medicine (EUSEM)
Reports and Proceedings

One of the largest international surveys into job satisfaction among emergency department workers has revealed that while the majority found their work satisfying and rewarding, there are still many areas where improvements are needed, according to research presented at the European Emergency Medicine Congress. The paper, “Global Job Satisfaction Among Emergency Medicine Professionals: Results from the 2025 Emergency Medicine Day Survey”, is published in the European Journal of Emergency Medicine.

Journal: European Journal of Emergency Medicine
Funder: European Society of Emergency Medicine (EUSEM)
Meeting: European Emergency Medicine Congress (EUSEM 2025)

27-Sep-2025

Persistent “forever chemicals” threaten agriculture and food safety, new study warns

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called “forever chemicals,” are silently infiltrating farms and food supplies, posing growing risks to human and environmental health, according to a new perspective article published in New Contaminants.

26-Sep-2025

Study reveals roadmap for carbon-free California by 2045

Stanford University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study shows California can go carbon-free mostly using current and emerging solutions – but to get there, it must overcome regulatory challenges and scale technologies at an unprecedented pace.

Journal: Energy Policy
Funder: California Business Roundtable, California Cattlemen's Association, California Chamber of Commerce, California Manufacturers & Technology Association, California State Building and Construction Trades Council, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Western States Petroleum Association, Stanford Center for Carbon Storage