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Policy & Ethics

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 22-Oct-2026 17:17 ET (22-Oct-2026 21:17 GMT/UTC)

Banned chemicals continue to endanger environmental health in the Middle East and North Africa

University of Sharjah
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A class of man-made chemicals formerly used as flame retardants in a wide range of products continues to pose a significant threat to environmental health.

Journal: Environmental Research

Strong, evidence-based leadership at CDC essential – SHEA encourages confirmed leadership at CDC

Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Business Announcement

SHEA has issued a statement urging the U.S. Senate to give timely consideration to the nomination of Dr. Erica Schwartz as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The statement highlights the critical need for strong, evidence-based leadership to advance infection prevention, antimicrobial stewardship, disease surveillance, outbreak response, and public health preparedness. SHEA also reaffirms its commitment to partnering with the CDC to protect patients, healthcare personnel, and communities through science-driven public health initiatives.

Dirk Leuffen elected as the next rector at the University of Konstanz

University of Konstanz
Business Announcement

The Senate and University Council elected Dirk Leuffen, a political scientist and current Vice Rector for Research, Innovation and Impact at the University of Konstanz, to succeed Katharina Holzinger.

Patient engagement with open notes following the 21st Century Cures Act

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

About The Study: The 21st Century Cures Act mandated that patients have immediate access to clinical notes and other health information (i.e., open notes). At a large, integrated health system, open notes engagement increased rapidly following implementation and plateaued at 55% within 2 months, with substantial sociodemographic disparities in engagement. These disparities may be attributed to the digital divide. Language may be another barrier, as notes are not routinely translated despite multilingual portal interfaces.

Journal: JAMA Health Forum

KAIST study finds politically salient immigration issues can lead to higher industrial pollution

The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

- A joint research team from KAIST and Singapore Management University (SMU) has provided large-scale empirical evidence of the association between political issues and environmental pollution by analyzing more than 14,000 manufacturing facilities in the United States.

- The study found that when government resources become concentrated on immigration issues, environmental oversight can weaken and firms’ toxic chemical releases can increase, as shown through the analysis of U.S. cases.

- The study presents the first empirical evidence of “institutional crowding,” a phenomenon in which competition among political agendas weakens environmental oversight.

Journal: Journal of Management

Biochar turns rice straw into a stronger tool for farming salty soils

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Rice straw is often returned directly to fields to improve soil health, but in highly saline-sodic soils, where salt, alkalinity, and poor structure slow decomposition, that strategy may not work fast enough. A new study published in Biochar reports that converting rice straw into biochar before returning it to the field can offer a more effective route for sustainable rice production in salt-affected regions.

Journal: Biochar

Iranian government failing to tackle environmental catastrophes while persecuting campaigners, new book says

University of Exeter
Book Announcement

The Iranian government is failing to tackle devastating environmental catastrophes affecting the country, and persecuting campaigners trying to raise awareness of the impact on communities, a new book says.

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