Success follows failure less often; A push for reusable PPE; Fishing for longevity? – Morning Medical Update

Success follows failure less often

According to research from the American Psychological Association (APA), the notion that failure leads to success may be inaccurate and damaging. In one experiment, participants overestimated the percentage of prospective nurses, lawyers, and teachers who pass licensing exams after previously failing them.

“People expect success to follow failure much more often than it actually does,” said lead researcher Lauren Eskreis-Winkler, PhD, an assistant professor of management and organizations at Northwestern University. “People usually assume that past behavior predicts future behavior, so it’s surprising that we often believe the opposite when it comes to succeeding after failure.”

Read more of the APA’s findings about the misguided beliefs of success here.

National Academies push for increased use of reusable PPE

Recently, the National Academies released findings that call for an increased use of reusable scrubs, surgical gowns, and other personal protective equipment (PPE) in health care, wanting to see action from lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

The findings come after a bipartisan congressional letter to the U.S. Health and Human Services’ secretary Xavier Becerra. The letter highlighted supply shortages of PPE that hospitals experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maryann D’Alessandro, top PPE expert for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said legislation will be needed and her agency will aim to identify partners to strengthen the support for legislative and regulatory changes regarding reusable PPE equipment.

Fishing for longevity?

Researchers from the Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan found eating small fish whole may reduce the risk of death by cancer or any other cause, particularly in Japanese women. The study was recently published in the journal, Public Health Nutrition.

The study followed more than 80,000 participants for an average of nine years, discovering there was a significant reduction in all-cause and cancer death among female participants who ate small fish whole on a regular basis. Meanwhile, 2,400 participants died throughout the study, with about 60% attributed to cancer.

Find out how you can fish for longevity in this article.