Photo via Flickr / Luis Marina

Each January, AJN takes a close look at the most noteworthy health care–related news of the past year, from general health stories and policy to specific nursing and clinical issues. Which stories stood out in 2019? Here’s a rundown:

Health care news

• Negative trends intensify for key measures of population health and access to care. As life expectancy declines again in the United States, signaling a three-year trend, the Affordable Care Act remains under threat from GOP-sponsored litigation; children have been losing coverage; new work requirements and paperwork barriers are undercutting Medicaid coverage gains; and rising drug costs are in the spotlight.
• Cyberattacks and hospital data security. Health care organizations’ cybersecurity spending lags behind that of other industries.
• A changing climate. As environmental protections are weakened or rolled back, new research details the significant and long-lasting health consequences of climate change.
• Women’s reproductive health. The U.S. maternal mortality rate continues to rise, and several states have passed legislation to curtail abortion access.
• Society in distress. In 2019, Americans experienced the public health consequences of political discord, poverty, and unaddressed social needs, as magnified by the crisis at the border and rising rates of gun violence and homelessness.