who works on generative AI in health carefirst opinion
The unacknowledged health consequences facing trans youth
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
In her work as a pediatric psychologist, Melissa Santos has seen a surge in the number of families with transgender or nonbinary children who are moving to Connecticut, where she lives and works, and where young people can legally access gender-affirming care like hormones. The emotional harms of not receiving that care are clear, but people also need to recognize the overall health consequences that come from living in an unsupportive environment, Santos writes in a First Opinion essay.
Imagine you're a trans teen with back pain, she writes. "At school, you are bullied, called the wrong name, and disrespected. Your doctor uses the wrong name and pronouns. And you know you'll be laughed at trying on dresses at the mall." In that context, it's much harder for someone to manage their chronic pain. Read more on the difficult reality facing trans youth.
misinformation
Community notes accurately identified Covid misinformation on X (née Twitter)
Community Notes, the crowdsourced fact-checking system on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, were overwhelmingly accurate when correcting Covid-19 vaccine misinformation last year, according to a review published yesterday in JAMA. Of the 45,000 notes written in the first year of the system, 657 focused on Covid vaccines — and of those, 97% were entirely accurate, according to the study.
The review wasn't able to look at how users engaged with the notes, which addressed vaccine's adverse events, conspiracies, vaccine recommendations, and effectiveness — or if they had any effect on people's behavior. But given the promising results, the authors wrote, health officials hoping to do more vaccine education should consider participating in Community Notes.
stat events
Health care and life sciences leaders share their urgent priorities
At last night's celebration of the 2024 STATUS List, the honorees had to sing for their supper: Each was asked to describe one urgent, undercovered area in medicine that they hoped would garner more attention and focus. The answers were as varied as the recipients, from biotech investors and price transparency advocates to AI research leaders and cancer immunotherapy pioneers. One response even came from a generative AI chatbot — no surprise, that one came from Peter Lee, who works on the technology's applications in health care at Microsoft Research. Read more from me about all their responses.
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