The United States election outcome will have profound and wide-ranging damaging impacts for the health of people in the US and globally, according to a survey of experts by Croakey.
In addition to policies directly undermining public health, the inequalities that contributed to voters’ support for Donald Trump and his agenda are expected to worsen under his Administration, further exacerbating health inequities, both in America and around the world.
Clear messages for health leaders, in Australia and globally, emerge from the survey, which also examines implications for the upcoming federal election in Australia.
“The international health community will need to refine its approach to communications so that it can more effectively convey its messages to sceptical, distrusting audiences,” said health policy expert Alison Verhoeven.
“Finding a way to be credible, easy to understand, more compelling and more meaningful than the anti-science community must be an urgent priority.”
Health policy analyst Dr Lesley Russell said “human rights must be fought for on every front”.
“We know where the rise of authoritarianism can lead and it’s a slippery slope,” she said. “The first signs of what is to come will be when the Trump Administration starts removing ‘illegal’ immigrants.
“There are lessons to be learned from the rise of fascism, nationalism and isolationism in America in the 1930s.”
In the long read below, health leaders examine the health concerns at stake, the implications for First Nations communities and global security, and advise the health community on ways forward.
What are the key health concerns at stake?
Professor Kent Buse, Co-CEO, Global Health 50/50
My immediate concerns are for the marginalised and oppressed people living in the US, including those who fear mass deportation, the millions of women who fear for their rights to reproductive and bodily autonomy as well as for the LGBTQ+ community who fear a rollback of their rights.
Trump has been vocal on these threats; and the plans laid out in Project 2025 reveal how determined his backers are to advance their causes and interests in ways they were unprepared for during his first term.
In the health community, alarm at Trumps war on sexual and reproductive health rights has been widely discussed over the past year. What has had less attention is the impact of the pending further rolling back of the state and the unchecked influence of industry on politics and the regulatory apparatus. This will have profound consequences that go beyond an enfeebled and increasingly captured Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other institutions with a mandate to protect and promote health and produce other public goods.
Yet it is arguably the case that increased inequality and an enfeebled regulatory apparatus will have a far-reaching impact on health. And it is inevitable that an unprecedented level of inequality will result from renewed and accelerated neoliberalism and unfettered capitalism – or what some are now calling the e-Muskification of the economy.
Indeed, Musk’s support for Trump is already leading to very real gains for the ultra-wealthy with Tesla shares surging close to 15 percent in the hours after Trump’s election victory was declared.
The MAGA economy will likely see reversal on progressive policies and programmes to address the social/structural determinants of health and the systems that sustain or constrain population health – the most obvious systems are the decent work, welfare, social protection and social care systems as well as the systems governing food, water, health-harming products, sanitation and housing.
And within this financialised capitalist system – lacking even the illusion of government control – and instead seeking its evisceration – we can expect to see even greater forms of privatisation of access to healthcare over the next four years, which will likely hasten declines in life expectancy for the average American.
For the one percent, these unchartered times represent the American Dream; but for many, the nightmare will represent an unprecedented assault on their wellbeing –including for the poor, for gig economy workers, for racial and other minorities as well as growing numbers of people incarcerated in the prison industrial complex.
And while the right seeks to regulate women’s bodies, they are sanguine about gun control, an epidemic that for the past three years has killed more children and teens than any other cause including car crashes and cancer.
In a globalised world, the health consequences of a Trump presidency do not end at its border – particularly considering its dominance of the world economy. If history is anything to go by, Trump 2.0 will likely destabilise the rules based international order, defund the multilateral system, including the World Health Organization (WHO), indeed he sought to withdraw from WHO during his first term.
The impulse will be America First with whatever is left of the foreign aid budget. It seems highly unlikely that Congress will be able or interested to restrain these impulses. Nonetheless, one can imagine an impact on a range of global issues including a set back to the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a meaningful pandemic agreement.
And circling back to sexual and reproductive health rights, we are likely to see conservative Christian forces in the US become more emboldened to support like-minded movements elsewhere in the world, and other authoritarian Governments feeling legitimised to promote their own reactionary and regressive agendas.
Professor Melissa Haswell, Professor of Practice in Environmental Wellbeing, University of Sydney
I feel deeply for my friends and family who didn’t vote for this but will be directly subjected to it every day. I also feel deeply for all infants and children whose whole lives will be affected and for the people of countries around the world who will be impacted by something they did not cause.
Dr Kate Wylie, Doctors for the Environment Australia
Regarding health for the people of the US, a Trump presidency means increased misogyny and the domestic and sexual violence that goes with it.
The loss of body autonomy for US women is a backwards step in human rights, and I am very concerned about reduced access to medical termination and what that means for women’s physical and mental health.
The signal that RFK Jr will be given the health portfolio shows Trump’s disregard for medical science. JFK Jr is a known anti-vaxxer and wants to stop water fluoridation, risking the health of Americans from infectious diseases and poor dental health.
I’m also worried about a reversal of Obamacare and increased unaffordability of healthcare.
Overall, it looks like the only people who will be able to access healthcare will be the wealthy and that preventative public health care will go out the window.
Adjunct Professor Scott Wilson, CEO Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council of SA
In four years’ time, diseases that had been eradicated in the past will surge if Trump and RFK go ahead with their stated desires to stop all vaccines such as polio, measles, rubella etc, which will have a major impact globally as more and more people travel.
It will have a major effect on global organisations such as WHO and their vaccine programs as America will pull out and stop funding, which will devastate third world countries.
Banning fluoride will mean oral health will decline and it will have an impact on places such as Australia as similar minded politicians will push similar ideas here.
Dr Stephen Parnis, emergency physician
To my mind, this isn’t about conservative versus progressive politics, it’s about integrity, fairness, and democratic institutions such as rule of law. This election will embolden other political leaders around the world to adopt Trumpian tactics in the pursuit of power – which fills me with fear.
If Trump also gains control of Congress, Americans will see the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and an increasing gap between haves and have-nots. Health inflation will only grow, and the USA will have worse outcomes for their citizens overall. Trump’s tendency to dispute expert advice on public health crises will undermine responses to emergencies, and the biggest public health issue of all – the impact of climate change –will be dismissed by the USA as a waste of time and effort. Should RFK Junior be given a role in US health policy, his delusional views about vaccination will see the return of diseases last seen by our grandparents.
Professor Bronwyn Fredericks, the University of Queensland and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures, and Co-Chair of Croakey Health Media
During the election campaigns, so many republicans declared via interviews that they were voting Democrat, Kamala Harris appeared to have more people at her rallies, and many would say she won the debate. Meanwhile, media, political commentators, policy analysts, and social commentators repeatedly demonstrated that Donald Trump tells lies, deliberately uses misinformation, and needs to be fact checked. As such, it’s hard to understand what happened.
I think Trump spoke to the working class, and even though he’s never been working class, he portrayed what it was like to be working class, that people were hurting, and the people turned out to vote for him.
The election result demonstrates that people choose what they believed addressed their personal needs and interests. They overlooked that Trump is 78 years old, roughly the same age that Biden was when so many were saying he was too old. They overlooked the fact that Trump is a convicted felon, convicted rapist, multiple bankrupt and proven liar and adulterer. Voters know exactly who Trump is and yet chose him anyway.
I imagine that First Nations communities, Black communities, immigrants, the elderly, girls, women, and the LGBTQ community may be feeling nervous today.
Dr Lesley Russell, Adjunct Associate Professor, Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Economics, University of Sydney, and a columnist at Croakey
As a dual Australian-American citizen, I am shocked and saddened. I find it very hard to understand how Americans could give such strong support to such a corrupt individual.
Trump has won back the White House with both a majority of electoral college votes and the popular vote. Republicans have won a majority in the Senate (this was expected) and may also have the majority in the House of Representatives (this will take some time to determine).
So it could be that Trump and the Republicans will control all the branches of federal government, including the US Supreme Court. We should expect Trump to force the two oldest justices on the Supreme Court to step down so he can appoint young replacements to ensure that conservatives dominated the Court for decades.
The rejection of Harris – Walz highlights some key issues:
- Voters’ economic worries and immigration fears were the issues that overrode concerns about loss of freedoms (reproductive, LGBTQI+) previously taken for granted and the erosion of civil rights and democracy.
- A majority of Americans are OK with Trump’s record and behaviours.
- American political polling is seriously defective.
- The United States is (still) not ready for a woman (especially a woman of colour) to be president.
Trump is the divider-in-chief and I fear that the US will become a nation even more polarised along socio-economic, racial and political lines.
When Trump was elected in 2016 the prevailing wisdom was that he would learn to be presidential; that really didn’t happen. And there are those who say that good things happened under his first term: that’s partly true but much damage was done.
We should not be lulled into complacency this time around. Trump has given us plenty of warnings and information about what he will do – and now he will do this knowing that the Supreme Court has ruled his presidential actions are immune from prosecution.
There are lessons to be learned from the rise of fascism, nationalism and isolationism in America in the 1930s.
We saw from Trump’s first term what a Trump Administration will mean for health and healthcare nationally and internationally. We should expect that his previous approaches will be magnified, with Robert F Kennedy Jr likely to be given full reign in health, Republicans set on repealing Obamacare, the withdrawal of the US from the WHO and related international organisations and limitations placed on how US aid funds can be spent.
There will also be severe budget cuts to health and social welfare programs, aided and abetted by Elon Musk’s role as “efficiency czar”.
There’s a good summary of what we can expect here.
Alison Verhoeven, health policy expert, director of Croakey Health Media
I’m not surprised by the result given the culture of celebrity, big money, guns, fundamentalism, misogyny and racism that pervades US society. What worries me is that other Western countries, including Australia, are being infected by this pervasive and negative culture.
The scale of Trump’s success highlights fundamental challenges for all those who are committed to building a society which is shaped by kindness and ethical behaviour, and prioritises equity and evidence-based policy.
I am deeply worried by the likelihood that Robert F Kennedy Jr will be leading health policy in the Trump administration. His disdain for science and public health, such as his anti-vax and anti-fluoride views, poses a risk for all Americans, but also globally. If the fear of an international measles or polio epidemic is not enough, imagine what the management of the next pandemic might look like.
Professor Rebecca Ivers, Head, School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney
Along with many others I feel like a bucket of cold water has been dumped over my hopes for a positive global future. The reality is this result was pretty likely but none of us really wanted to believe it was possible.
A key driver of this election result is rising inequality. Disenfranchised working- and middle-class people struggling with a rise in the cost of living, wanting to go back to the glory days of the US and believing Trump’s business rhetoric.
The impact on the social determinants of health will be marked. There are already major challenges with a declining standard of education in the US, inequitable health insurance coverage and the promised reduction in taxation is unlikely to turn this around.
Coupled with removal of investment in central health agencies such as the Centres for Disease Control, and the rise of misinformation, it’s hard to see how it won’t have an impact on health in the US. Add in a free-for-all in terms of gun laws, roll back of abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, and removal of any measures aimed at addressing climate change, it’s looking pretty miserable.
Globally too, US disinvestment in WHO, UN agencies and reduced support for all the treaties and other mechanisms that protect global health and wellbeing will mean others need to step up to the plate to protect global health. The US will be facing inwards for a while it seems.
Professor Fran Baum AO, Professor of Health Equity, The Stretton Institute, University of Adelaide
I think the results reflect the fact that the US is an increasingly unequal society in which many people are scared and afraid. Trump appealed to this fear as populists do.
Richard Wilkinson was the other keynote speaker at the International Health Promoting Hospitals and Health services conference I just spoke at and he spoke of how unequal societies do badly on so many measures and the US is one of the most unequal societies. He spoke of how many people in the US have mental health issues – see his slide below.
So the US is a sick society with a lot of scared sick people, so perhaps not surprising they elected a strong man promising to “Make America Great Again” – so many know it isn’t great for them.
Key health concerns include that the US will pull money out of WHO and other countries will follow. If we lose WHO’s leadership, then global health is in a very bad state.
The new president will be very bad for the Palestinians – he will support Israel to the hilt with likely even more devastation for Gaza and the West Bank
If Robert Kennedy plays a significant role in health policy, as has been suggested, his vaccine sceptical position and his linking of autism with childhood vaccines could pose real threats in terms of the spread of infectious disease. He’s also against fluoride in water which would be bad news for dental health.
Ginny Barbour, Adjunct Professor, QUT and MJA Editor in Chief. (personal views).
I’m very disappointed in that the result represents going back to a time that was devasting for many communities. On reflection, it seems to represent a deeply divided country and that will be hard for many to accept.
Trump consistently disregarded evidenced based medicine and science in his previous administration. It seems likely this will continue, since, as we can see, he has surrounded himself now with people with similar views, eg some who question the importance of vaccines, and others who don’t support reproductive rights.
It would seem there could be severe implications for both health care in the US, and, given its position globally, in the programs it supports internationally. It will be important for other countries to step in as needed to support organisations that advocate for healthcare globally.
Public health researcher Dr Miriam Vandenberg
There are large parts of society that are not ready for women to be leaders, for black people to be leaders and to put communitarian social values ahead of the economy. I feel perplexed at the decision making thoughts of large parts of US society.
I’m concerned about likely attacks to human rights – for women, for migrants and refugees, America’s alignment with Russia, North Korea and China, his denial of climate change, his influence in judicial processes, his interest in propping up the wealthy – even more! You name it…I can’t foresee anything that will help advance a health equity agenda.
Implications for First Nations peoples
Adjunct Professor Scott Wilson
First Nations will suffer disproportionately as funding will dry up.
I can imagine a Trump administration will do what it can to weaken and strip away rights of First Nations people in America, without any consultations. The health impacts due to anti-vaccination movement will be devastating.
Professor Bronwyn Fredericks Bronwyn Fredericks, The University of Queensland and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures.
I’ve already noticed on social media that some people have started asking for advocacy to ensure Trump protects Ukrainian sovereignty. They also need to think about what they’re going to do to protect Native American sovereignty and their treaties in the USA.
Last time Trump was in power we witnessed the violence against the people of Standing Rock, Dakota and their treaty broken, and sovereignty violated. See: Standing Rock Sioux tribe says Trump is breaking law with Dakota Access order (there are many articles with regards to Standing Rock, Dakota).
While I watch from afar people in the USA on social media, and being interviewed say, whether in jest or not, they might move to another country, Indigenous people in the USA, like in Australia, do not.
Indigenous people do not have the luxury to stop fighting. The fight continues whether with Trump, or with Harris, the fight continues.
Dr Kate Wylie
The Trump agenda is one of hate and division. The campaign saw disturbing signals of racism and fascism, notably the rally at Madison Square Garden, sending a clear message to Trump supporters that it’s OK to be xenophobic.
And such is the global power of the US narrative, this echoes to racists across the world.
First Nations people are most often at the receiving end of this form of violence and we should all be very concerned about increases in racial vilification.
Also, First Nations people bear the brunt of fossil fuel exploration on country and any undermining of human rights carries risks for the expansion of gas and oil projects.
Dr Lesley Russell
I think we will see arguments from those on the conservative side of politics that First Nations peoples do not need special consideration and specific programs such as Close the Gap initiatives to address inequalities.
Worse, there will be continued efforts to erase the teaching and study of the history of issues like slavery, colonialism and racial discrimination and the impact these have had on First Nations and minority populations.
How should the health community respond globally?
Professor Rebecca Ivers
We need to resist the temptation to respond with anger, ridicule and hate. Instead, a renewed focus to address inequality in Australia, in education, housing, employment and health with a good dose of respect and kindness – and a good dose of science –based education and anti-racism training.
Dr Stephen Parnis
No government lasts forever, and however difficult the funding or political environment may become, health professionals have an obligation to adhere to their ethical commitments: protection of the vulnerable, non-judgemental care, the pursuit of truth in science and ethics, irrespective of opinion polls.
Alison Verhoeven
The international health community will need to refine its approach to communications so that it can more effectively convey its messages to sceptical, distrusting audiences. Finding a way to be credible, easy to understand, more compelling and more meaningful than the anti-science community must be an urgent priority.
Professor Fran Baum
All we can do is keep referring to the evidence and be a voice for the value of evidence
Dr Kate Wylie
The health community cannot sit on the sidelines and pretend that healthcare is not part of politics. We need to stand up for science and health and accept our responsibility to protect health in the face of this result and we need to support our colleagues in the US as they deal with the implications.
We must remember the first line of the Oath of Geneva which states that we “consecrate our lives to the service of humanity,” and how we would be breaking that oath if we don’t stand up in the light of this threat.
Our medical colleges have a responsibility to call for climate action to protect health, recognising that climate policy impacts the health of all of us.
Dr Lesley Russell
There is so much work that needs to be done: endlessly addressing the mis-information and dis-information is a tiring task, but the undermining of scientific and medical expertise should not be accepted and normalised.
Human rights must be fought for on every front. We know where the rise of authoritarianism can lead and it’s a slippery slope. The first signs of what is to come will be when the Trump Administration starts removing “illegal” immigrants.
Adjunct Professor Ginny Barbour
There will be many in the US who are distressed about the result, who, regardless, have to get on with their jobs in healthcare and in health research and elsewhere. I think it’s important we remember that the day-to-day work of health care and health research is done by people committed to their work, whatever the political climate, and they will need support and validation of what they do over the next few years.
Professor Melissa Haswell
Recognise that our knowledge, insights and voices are needed more than ever and that we have both privilege and responsibility for being able to speak out safely so far.
Dr Miriam Vandenberg
We must strengthen our resolve, unite and continue to advocate. This is not about the health community per say, it’s about everyone as citizens of the planet. I really hope that other leaders will stand up to him. I also think health people need to start advocating on global health issues – we get very bogged down in health education stuff and really none of that matters if human rights are under attack.
What are the implications for global security, and peace?
Alison Verhoeven
Global security and peace are definitely more vulnerable today than at any other time since the Cold War. Vindictive economic policies against China, support for a malevolent Russia, a Middle East policy driven by private financial interests put us all at significant risk.
Adjunct Professor Scott Wilson
We will be entering a very unstable period for global security and peace and I think it will embolden China to attack Taiwan as they know Trump want interfere. Israel will not just occupy Gaza etc they will permanently prevent Palestinians from rebuilding. Ukraine will be sacrificed and I think again it will embolden Putin to start attacking other satellite countries.
Professor Fran Baum
Very unpredictable. Very bad for the Ukraine and Palestine immediately. There will be a greater threat of nuclear war and the devastation that it will bring.
Dr Stephen Parnis
I suspect that America’s role will change, as it becomes more isolationist, protectionist, and less principled in the approach it takes to dictatorships and rogue states. In turn, countries that have relied on strong American political and military support will consider the need to become less reliant on Washington. The world is already a divided, unstable place. Trump’s return will only accentuate the risk of further deterioration.
Dr Lesley Russell
Expect that Trump will attempt, even before he is sworn in (although this will be illegal), to end the war in Ukraine by allowing Putin to keep annexed Ukrainian territory.
It’s hard to predict what Trump will do in the Middle East, but it seems he will go along with anything Netanyahu wants.
Dr Kate Wylie
The election of Trump has seen Netanyahu calling himself “the great winner”. The implications for the people of Gaza are beyond appalling as are Trump’s signals to “get it over with.”
Trump is known for his unpredictability and for the Ukraine this means the US could withdraw its support. We can only hold our breath and watch what happens to this war-torn country.
What are the implications for the Australian election?
Dr Stephen Parnis
Trump’s modus operandus – make things up, unhesitatingly vilify one’s opponents, appeal to the repulsive aspects of human nature, racism, greed, misogyny – will look more appealing to the far right of Australian politics. That used to be an isolated group. I don’t think that applies any longer. The politics of grievance will take centre stage, with little in the way of solutions being put forward.
Alison Verhoeven
Cost of living and rising prices are the concern of communities in Australia and across the world. ‘Small change’ measures and policies didn’t convince voters in Queensland or the United States, and they are not likely to convince Australian voters either.
Poverty, inability of many to house and feed their families, cost of healthcare all require significant policy changes, not just Band-Aids.
Unless the Albanese Government can demonstrate they can make these changes, voters will fall back on their traditional view that conservative governments are better economic managers.
The ‘tough on crime’, ‘tough on borders’ narrative that has been employed so successfully by conservative parties in the NT, Qld, US and several European countries will inspire conservatives in Australia, and is likely to be attractive to those Australians who feel disempowered and financially challenged.
Adjunct Professor Scott Wilson
Dire. If the Government doesn’t bring in truth in reporting and work out ways to stop misinformation, such as was seen for months on X, our elections will be the same. Full of hate and lies and it won’t matter about the policies. You saw that in the Voice Referendum and we will see it in a general election if government doesn’t act now.
Dr Lesley Russell
We have already seen the impact of Trumpism in Australia: anti-vaccination efforts, abortion back as an issue, issues over treatment for trans children – can anti-fluoridation efforts be far behind?
Australian politicians are increasingly into dismissing issues they don’t want to address as “false news”, and too often the media is delivering opinion rather than news.
In this US election we have seen how Trump and Republicans are beholden to big business and billionaires (some of them Australian). Expect to see more of that in Australian politics, especially where issues like energy, climate and taxes are concerned.
Professor Fran Baum
I suspect it will embolden the far right in Australia and we will see more Trump-style rhetoric and policies form the Coalition. I hope Labor will move to the left and adopt more progressive policies on issues such as housing and welfare payments.
Dr Kate Wylie
For us in Australia, a Trump election demonstrates the power of division as an electoral tactic and how misinformation and disinformation can be used to sway the vote.
We have already seen this tactic used effectively at last year’s referendum and we can only hope that our elected leaders choose to act with integrity in next year’s campaign.
This is likely a vain hope, however, and all progressives in Australia should pay attention to the Trump result and recognise that now is the time to stand up for the health of our planet and human rights.
Now is the time to stand up against ongoing fossil fuel expansion, and call out any party that seeks to continue Australia’s coal and gas exports. We must be clear that fossil fuels are health hazards, and that we need to rapidly phase out fossil fuels to protect human and planetary health.
Advice for health equity advocates ahead of Federal election?
Adjunct Professor Scott Wilson
Start putting the case now as to why vaccines are necessary, why fluoride is a health benefit, call out false statements from politicians every time.
We need to be ever vigilant; I think the MSM such as the Murdoch presses are already starting the denial campaigns along with Fox. Unless we stand up, we will go the same way. People like Gina Rinehart and other billionaires, who were at Mar-a-Lago fawning Trump, will try and repeat the roll backs in Australia.
We already have attacks on woman’s reproductive rights, eg a SA Parliament motion just defeated, and the Matt Canavan private members bill. These are thin edge of the wedge and Australians need to start to take notice.
Professor Fran Baum
Argue for the benefits of equal societies as being better for everyone on the gradient. Stress the way in which high levels of inequity are more likely to lead to populism and extremism in politics.
Dr Miriam Vandenberg
Go hard on taxation policy and initiatives that will reduce wealth based inequality.
Professor Melissa Haswell
Keep going – Remember it’s in our hands to protect our people from similar traps. Support each other. Break down siloes.
Adjunct Professor Ginny Barbour
This election result will affect vulnerable and marginalised communities the most. More than ever, this is a time for those that care about health equity and evidenced based medicine and science, and who have power and a voice, to step up and be vocal. We also need to be especially rigorous in how we work and in ensuring that our arguments are well constructed.
Dr Lesley Russell
Fights for health equity do not win elections.
Addressing inequalities and disparities must be couched as economic investments in productivity and the future (and supported by data to make the case).
If / when initiatives are offered to some population groups and not others, there will always be pushback and claims about unfairness. These need to be recognised and addressed.
Alison Verhoeven
Refine your messaging so it is compelling, easy to understand, and relevant to the very people for whom you are trying to make a difference.
Dr Kate Wylie
For those of us who advocate for health equity, we need to harness our resolve and call on our elected representatives to put the health and wellbeing of the people ahead of the profits of the fossil fuel industry.
All health professionals and professional bodies need to recognise that undermining social justice and women’s rights has detrimental health impacts for our community and work against Australia following the US down that dangerous divisive road. We already have far too much inequity, climate denialism and racism in this country for things to get any worse.
Climate care is healthcare and while I recognise the need for our medical colleges to advocate for the needs of our workforce, they must also advocate to phase out fossil fuels to protect health.
The Trump win reminds me of the old saying that “A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on”. We are living in a time where misinformation and disinformation is being wielded as a weapon against the action we need for a liveable planet.
If there was ever a time to stand up for our children’s future, now is that time. Let’s remember that the world is run by those who turn up, so let’s all turn up and do everything we can for the health of the people and our beautiful planet.
Dr Stephen Parnis
Never lose hope. Derive satisfaction from those episodes of care you provide individual patients, and recognise what is out of your control. For all its shortcomings, Australia still has an impressive health system compared with most other countries. Let’s resist pressure to be the 51st state.
Like any bad news, this will take time to absorb. After the dust settles, it will be important to see what lessons can be learned. After all, adversity is the greatest teacher.
Further reading
Nature: ‘We need to be ready for a new world’: scientists globally react to Trump election win
Columbia Journalism Review: Trump Wins, the Press Loses. A second Trump administration is poised to be devastating to journalism.
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: What Trump might do on vaccines, pandemics, global health, and more
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Trump’s potential impact on emerging and disruptive technologies
More commentary from social media
See Croakey’s archive of stories on the US election and health
Croakey Health Media and its correspondants are shroud-waving as usual. The US States have a lot of power, which will prevent easy implementation of his policies,. We survived the first round and Trump’s bark is generally a lot worse than his bite. It’s by the clear “will of the people” that he is there, or do you side with Plato and Aristotle with a vote only for the “best” qualified?