Health News Trends: Spotlights on Women’s Health, Sleep Awareness and More

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

 

 

By Rocky Parker | Published May 2, 2024

 

It’s been a busy few months for health news. During March and April, PR Newswire distributed over 5,300 healthcare-related press releases. Among all those headlines, we spotted a few overarching trends.

Many releases were tied to annual awareness events for topics like sleep and stress awareness. We also saw a spike in releases related to women’s health, whether as a part of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day celebrations in March or related to ongoing discussions surrounding women’s reproductive health. Another big topic that’s been dominating news headlines, weight loss drugs, also saw a boost among announcements from healthcare companies.

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at these trends and how companies are joining the conversation as well as some of the most-read healthcare press releases of the past two months.

Popular Health Releases

Despite the larger trends, some health releases drew in large numbers of readers because they were just plain newsworthy or interesting. Here are a few of the most-read health releases of the past two months:

• In-space manufacturing company Varda Space Industries announced $90 million in new funding, which will help the company advance its capabilities to process pharmaceuticals and other materials in microgravity.
• Kroger announced a definitive agreement for the sale of its specialty pharmacy business to CarelonRx, a subsidiary of Elevance Health.
• Behavioral health solution provider Spring Health acquired the exclusive rights to Bloom's suite of self-guided therapy tools and digital content to “accelerate its long-term vision to enhance personalized mental healthcare with engaging digital solutions.”
• This year’s 2024 Main Residency Match Day saw a 2.8% increase in total positions offered compared to 2023 and 93.8% of the 41,503 certified training positions were filled.
• A €15 million funding round for techbio company Cure51 will enable it to “build a unique cohort, exploring the molecular processes by which certain cancer patients survive for very extended periods of time despite having highly aggressive forms of the disease.” 

 

Health News Trends

Below, we dive into the big health news trends of March and April.

A Focus on Women’s Health

Throughout March and April, our team noticed an increase in the number of press releases related to women’s health issues.

What factored into the increase? March was Women’s History Month and we also celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8. This led to a number of brands announcing new initiatives and products to help improve women’s health, raise awareness for women’s health issues and put a focus on health equity for women, especially women from minority groups.

Women’s health has also been a major legislative issue in recent months. The first OTC birth control pill was approved in the U.S. President Biden signed an executive order to expand and improve women’s health research. Plus, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could impact how women get access to mifepristone, one of the two pills used in the most common type of abortion in the nation.

As a result of these ongoing events, the wire saw a clear focus on women’s reproductive health among health-related releases in March and April. In all, PR Newswire distributed over 200 releases related to women’s health.

Here are a few you might have missed:

• Period underwear brand Thinx launched Get BodyWise, an online education and information platform to normalize conversations and fight stereotypes surrounding menstruation, menopause and more.
• Elvie, a FemTech health and wellness brand, released results of a survey that uncovered a trio of serious pregnancy and postpartum challenges that mothers currently face: breastfeeding, pelvic floor health and mental health.
• Baby Dove launched its Expecting Care campaign “to increase awareness of the importance of lifesaving doula care and the right for Black moms to receive superior care at every step of their pregnancy and birthing journey.”
• I-Health began discussions with Congress to advocate for additional funding and research into natural and non-hormonal therapy options for women experiencing menopause.
• New women’s health research from Resonate and Butler/Till found that despite their diverse backgrounds and growing economic influence, many women feel the medical system and their healthcare providers overlook their unique needs and concerns.

Weight Loss Drugs

Weight loss drugs are nothing new, but with the recent explosion of  options like Wegovy, Zepbound and Ozempic, a renewed focus has been placed on these medications and other methods of addressing obesity.

According to the CDC, over 40% of U.S. adults are obese and nearly 10% are severely obese. Weight loss medications have grown in popularity as about two-thirds (65%) of Americans say willpower alone is usually not enough for people who are trying to lose weight and keep it off.

But these pricey methods aren’t the only weight-loss-related headlines we spotted on the wire. Brands across the healthcare industry have been sharing updates about their new products, technology and other news tied to battling obesity in the U.S.

During March and April, PR Newswire distributed over 200 releases that mentioned “weight loss” and/or “obesity.” Here are just a few of them:

• Labcorp introduced its Weight Loss Management portfolio, which includes educational resources and testing solutions to help physicians and patients during their weight loss journey.
• Eli Lilly released two obesity-focused films as part of its Get Better campaign. The films address the importance of treating obesity as a disease and the appropriate use of anti-obesity medications. It also announced that Zepbound® was found to reduce sleep apnea severity.
• In early March, Novo Nordisk announced that Wegovy® had received FDA approval for cardiovascular risk reduction in adults with known heart disease and overweight or obesity.
• The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH), Eli Lilly and the World Obesity Federation announced a collaboration to address priority global healthcare challenges and drive innovative solutions for obesity prevention and management.
• Portions Master released an AI-powered app that helps users stick to their caloric targets by accurately gauging the volume of their food portions using their smartphone camera.

Sleep Awareness

According to the National Institutes of Health, sleep helps support growth and development in children and teens. Over time, poor sleep can raise a person’s risk for chronic health problems. It can also affect how well you think and learn as well as your heart and circulatory system, metabolism, respiratory system and immune system.

The importance of a good night’s sleep cannot be overstated, yet it’s not usually at the top of people’s wellness goals. Despite its benefits, about 1 in 3 adults — and even more adolescents — say they don’t get enough sleep.

So how did this issue show up on the wire? During Sleep Awareness Week (March 10-16) and throughout March and April, we spotted releases tied to improving sleep health. Brands debuted new wearables to track your sleep patterns, new products were launched to help you sleep better and more.

During March and April, PR Newswire sent over 150 health-related releases that mentioned “sleep.” Here are a few that stood out:

• The National Sleep Foundation’s annual survey focused on the connection between sleep health and mental health in American teens. The survey found that eight out of 10 teens don’t get enough sleep and teens who have trouble falling or staying asleep two or more nights a week have significantly more depressive symptoms.
• MyFitnessPal, a nutrition and food tracking app, launched Sleep Factors, which provides users with insights into how the foods and drinks they consume during the day impact their nightly rest.
• Wellness app Welltory introduced Sleep Flow, a library of AI-generated bedtime stories that adapt to each user's heartbeat in real time to make the transition from wakefulness to relaxation a smooth one.
• Beacon Biosignals announced the FDA 510(k) clearance of its SleepStageML™️ sleep monitoring software.

Stress Awareness Month

Stress awareness and mental health are regular topics in press releases distributed via PR Newswire and we’ve covered them regularly in previous roundups. But during April, which is Stress Awareness Month, we saw a spike in announcements related to the negative impacts of stress and ways to manage it.

Americans continue to feel stress related to the pandemic, multiple global conflicts, the economy and more. The American Psychological Association’s Stress in America 2023 report found that although the average stress level among U.S. adults was reported as a five out of 10, a quarter of adults (24%) rated their average stress between eight and 10, up from 19% in 2019.

If it's undealt with, stress can lead to issues like high blood pressure, trouble sleeping, heart disease, stroke, obesity and more.

Long-term stressors like the pandemic are sure to be compounded during another tense election year, so healthcare companies are doing their part to help consumers recognize the signs of stress and find ways to cope.

During the last two months, nearly 350 releases related to mental health crossed the wire. Here are a few that caught our eye:

• Sesame Workshop released a new PSA featuring Elmo and friends showing how humming can help support people's emotional well-being.
• The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention commended President Biden and his 2025 budget proposal, which includes significant funding and attention to critical suicide prevention and mental health activities.
• Legends launched out of stealth with $6 million in seed funding. The confidence-building tool offers a subscription platform for kids aged 7 to 11 to use with their parents.
• Psychiatry and therapy provider Talkiatry announced that it’s working to overcome the barrier of paying for mental healthcare by partnering with Cedar to provide an online, stress-free payment experience.

Conclusion

Several topics dominated the healthcare headlines in March and April. Hot topics like women’s health and weight loss drugs are leading to new studies and products and raising new questions. Mental health continued to be a focus for companies as they worked to help patients and consumers find ways to prevent and overcome the negative effects of ongoing stress. And during recent months, we learned about new methods to improve sleep, the benefits of which can sometimes be overlooked.

In the coming months, we expect mental health to continue showing up in the headlines, as May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We’ll also be watching for potential updates in the health space around AI, healthcare prices, patient data privacy and more.

Stay tuned for the next recap!

 

About the Author

Rocky 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.