Episode 57DHWS June 18 2025 How should Public Health respond to people doing their own research?
Episode 57DHWS 1 How should we in Public Health respond to people doing their own research? 2 Obama Back in Public Eye Offers a Careful Warning of a Democratic Slide He spoke about the risks of autocracy during an appearance on Tuesday night with the writer Heather Cox Richardson at a time of deep volatility for his party the country and the world 3 Headlines 4 A Cutting Edge Cancer Therapy Offers Hope for Patients With Lupus 5 Why a Vaccine Expert Left the C D C Americans Are Going to Die 6 I Will Never Trust Robert F Kennedy Junior but I Want to Trust Public Health 7 Regulators Approve a Twice Yearly Shot to Prevent H I V Infection 8 Utilities and Air Pollution Why Eliminating Coal Could Take a Long Time 9 Cancer is just everywhere Could farming be behind the Iowa unfolding health crisis? 10 Women more worried about economy under Trump than men poll finds Main Content
1 How should we in Public Health respond to people doing their own research? Excerpts edited by RAWSEP for brevity and clarity and relationship to Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501c3 nonprofit organization Your Local Epidemiologist June 18 2025 misinformation and disinformation the phrase doing your own research has become deeply polarizing To some it is a call to think critically about health information and do their due diligence before making health decisions To others especially in science and medicine it represents the mistaken belief that a Google or AI chatbot search can substitute for years of scientific and medical training Adding to the polarization some prominent voices use this phrase to undermine trust in clinicians urging people to reject medical advice in favor of their own research In response some in science and medicine view the desire to do your own research as an outright rejection of expertise and respond with ridicule An array of memes mocking people for trying to research health topics themselves But this dysfunctional dynamic misses the bigger picture of what is happening For many this phrase represents a sincere effort to find answers they are struggling to get elsewhere And when that genuine search for information is met with scorn from experts it can push people away from trustworthy sources Why are people doing their own research? Health information is complicated confusing and conflicting People are often told to take their medical questions to their doctor but for many this is unrealistic Over 100 million Americans encounter barriers to accessing primary care wait for appointments for months and many find a 15 minute visit is not enough time to answer questions accumulated over a year So people turn to alternative sources of information their friends family social media and the internet To some degree we are all forced to do our own research and navigate the confusing health information landscape on our own And it is not easy 1 Reputable online health information is too complicated Most reputable sources of online health information like government and academic websites are written at a 10th grade to college reading level far above the recommended 6th grade level making them hard for many Americans to understand 2 Experts sometimes give conflicting answers Trust the experts is not simple when they are not all saying the same thing This sometimes occurs due to true lack of consensus over emerging data and other times due to a few loud but incorrect voices sowing confusion 3 People feel like they have to be their own investigative journalist Bias real and perceived is everywhere and people feel a responsibility to sort through the information they receive A recent focus group found that people feel a responsibility to fact check source and synthesize the vast amount of information they encounter tasks that were traditionally ascribed to journalists 4 The desire for unfiltered knowledge and autonomy Many people want raw information they can interpret themselves without it being filtered through values of someone else or bias so they can apply their own values to their health decisions Everyone to some degree is doing their own research for health information We cannot escape it in this information age For some the answer is simple ask your doctor or look on the CDC or university website For others the answer is not so simple they do not trust those institutions the information is incomplete or difficult to understand their doctor did not know or dismissed them for even asking or they have heard conflicting information from another trusted source and are left unsure who to believe This has led hundreds of thousands of people to try to find answers on their own Doing your own research is hard and easy to get wrong The problem of course is that investigating things on your own takes time and skill and it is easy to get it wrong Nobody can do all of the work on their own ultimately everyone must rely on the data analysis and summaries of other people This can sometimes send a well intentioned beginner on a quest for knowledge that goes sideways 1 The bubble of a beginner In early stages of learning confidence tends to increase faster than skill meaning people often overestimate their accuracy when they are first learning something new 2 The quest to do it all on your own can backfire Epistemic superheroes want to figure out everything on their own and distrust the information of other people But their task is impossible Nature is too complex for us to solve by ourselves When the trust no one mantra inevitably leads to I must decide who to trust it is easy to gravitate towards other like minded skeptics This creates a highly biased information bubble the exact opposite of the original goal 3 Assuming unbiased knowledge will contradict consensus For many doing their own research began with doubting the consensus view Challenging consensus is healthy when new data emerges but assuming real truth always opposes the consensus creates bias undermining the search for unbiased answers 4 Avoiding responsibility Some use do your own research to avoid citing sources encouraging others to do their own research to figure out if it is true This allows people to spread unverified information while giving the appearance of supporting autonomy and shifts the burden of proof entirely onto the audience Study comparing confidence vs accuracy of a beginner learning a new diagnostic task revealing confidence in diagnostic ability rose faster than diagnostic accuracy Sanchez et al Journal of Personality and Psychology 2018 How do we stop talking past each other and what should we do instead? In the health landscape of today doing your own research is unavoidable But too often it leads to people navigating complex and at times conflicting information without the tools to make sense of it Rejecting expertise is not helpful mocking people for doing their own research is not helpful either Here is how we can do a better job meeting in the middle 1 Recognize the value of experience No generation before has had the information sorting task that we have and it is hard Experts play a critical role in helping people navigate the noise A bias against expertise will derail the quest for unbiased information 2 Do not demand trust because you are an expert On the flip side experts should realize that trust me I am an expert does not work well anymore Expertise matters but building trust is often more about how we treat people than the letters after our names 3 Offer knowledge do not push it For those who want more autonomy in their health decisions offering knowledge is helpful but telling them what to do is not For this audience it is more helpful to provide information the benefits of the M vaccine outweigh the risks here is why without telling them how to use it you need to vaccinate your child 4 Acknowledge uncertainty in the data When the data are not straightforward we must embrace nuance—acknowledge what we do and do not know instead of giving overly simple answers 5 Do not gatekeep do explain Telling people not to read research studies because it is too complicated will not stop them but it will alienate them Instead invite people to understand the data here is why that study was flawed is a whole lot better than stop trying to read papers you do not understand Bottom line In our chaotic health information landscape many people are being forced to do their own research as they try to sort fact from fiction While some use this phrase to sow distrust there are many more who genuinely want a better understanding of health information to make informed decisions Experts can help rebuild trust by meeting people where they are partnering with them in their search for answers and offering tools to help them navigate the chaos Many find that a 15 minute visit is not nearly enough time to address questions accumulated over a year On top of that each separate question you ask can result in additional charges since insurance may bill separately for each concern raised This creates a system that actively and I believe purposely discourages open conversation The idea that you can just ask your doctor is not only outdated and disingenuous it is often a reflection of privilege At worst it is deeply dismissive of the realities many people face And the truth is unless we are also willing to tackle the deeper issue of healthcare access much of the rest is an exercise in futility Those hit hardest by the system already know this deep in their bones They have lost loved ones because of it They are suffering because of it And they can tell without question when people talking about solutions have no idea what it actually means to live this every day Edited to add During the pandemic I worked for unnamed company that brought in a doctor who happened to be the personal physician of a C E O to speak to all U S employees He ran a concierge medicine practice and repeatedly referenced access to care that none of us had Much of his advice was not only irrelevant but frankly offensive It is hard to overstate how discouraging and infuriating it is to hear people weigh in on our medical care when they have either never had to navigate the system we do or it is been so long it may as well have never happened This disconnect is exactly what fuels the maddening divide between the haves and the have nots
2 Obama Back in Public Eye Offers a Careful Warning of a Democratic Slide He spoke about the risks of autocracy during an appearance on Tuesday night with the writer Heather Cox Richardson at a time of deep volatility for his party the country and the world RAWSEP View This Obama interview happened on June 17 2025 not next week as reported in error yesterday June 17 2025 in this podcast Excerpts edited by RAWSEP for brevity and clarity and relationship to Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501c3 nonprofit organization The New York Times June 17 2025 Former President Barack Obama warned on Tuesday night that the country was dangerously close to allowing its government officials to act in a way consistent with autocracies offering a veiled rebuke of the Trump administration that was delivered with trademark caution Appearing before a civic group in Hartford Conn during a tumultuous stretch for the country both at home and abroad Obama offered a winding explanation about the dangers facing American democracy He pointed to an erosion of traditional values like the rule of law an independent judiciary the freedom of the press and the right to protest If you follow regularly what is said by those who are in charge of the federal government right now there is a weak commitment to what we understood and not just my generation at least since World War II our understanding of how a liberal democracy is supposed to work he said during a discussion with Heather Cox Richardson a popular anti Trump writer and historian Democracy Obama said requires government workers judges and lawyers at the Justice Department to uphold the Constitution and follow the law It requires them to take that oath seriously and when that is not happening we start drifting into something that is not consistent with American democracy he said It is consistent with autocracies It is consistent with Hungary under Orban He went on We are not there yet completely but I think that we are dangerously close to normalizing behavior like that And we need people both outside government and inside government saying Let us not go over that cliff because it is hard to recover Yet at a time when the country faces protests political violence and the possibility of entering another foreign war Obama kept his remarks to veiled critiques and professorial musings Obama encouraged others particularly those at law firms universities and businesses to speak out against the demands of the Trump administration Obama recognizes that he is unlikely to sway Republicans or Trump himself with any public critiques so he has been focusing on issues where his words can have an effect according to people who work with him In April he also called on universities and law firms to resist intimidation from the Trump administration On Tuesday evening he offered a particularly stinging critique of affluent liberals before the audience in Connecticut a wealthy Democratic state You might lose some of your donors if you are a university and if you are a law firm your billings might drop a little bit which means you cannot remodel that kitchen in your house in the Hamptons this summer Obama has made clear that he does not intend to become a leader of the opposition Audio and video recordings of his remarks on Tuesday night were forbidden hampering their widespread transmission His remarks on Tuesday which wound through the use of the internet in his early campaigns to a brief history of globalization over the past half century amounted to a call to restore democracy by resuscitating core values of the past Obama lamented the loss of common ground trust and even basic facts Woven into his comments was a critique of Trump and the Republican Party though he never mentioned his successor by name Behind the scenes Obama maintains an open door to Democratic elected officials He frequently offers advice to congressional leaders governors members of Congress and potential candidates who contact him for advice Next month he will headline a fund raiser for the Democratic National Committee at the home of Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey At a time when the approval ratings of his party are at historical lows Obama remains the most popular living Democrat Before his appearance on Tuesday attendees posed before a backdrop with signs reading Yes we still can and Hartford still has hope But his influence is not what it once was His positions on policing health care immigration and trade were publicly rebuked by progressive Democrats during their contentious 2020 presidential primary race Several of his former strategists including played key roles in the losing campaign of the Democratic party last year Many Democrats looked dimly on a campaign appearance last year for Kamala Harris then the vice president where Obama admonished some Black men who he said were not feeling the idea of having a woman as president Trump ended up nearly doubling his share of the vote from young Black men from 2020 according to exit polls and post election surveys Obama aides anticipate that he will offer to campaign for Representative Mikie Sherrill the Democratic nominee for governor of New Jersey and former Representative Abigail Spanberger the Democratic Party candidate for governor of Virginia Obama is also busy writing the second volume of his memoir He is producing television shows and documentaries through his company Higher Ground which recently released a documentary on the elite pilots of the Air Force Thunderbirds And he is preparing for the opening of his presidential center in Chicago which is scheduled for next spring The privately run museum will contain digital copies of some of papers of Obama In private discussions Obama has praised the bench of leaders of the Democratic Party in statehouses and in Congress saying a new generation must lead Democrats into the future He has compared this moment to early 2005 when he arrived in the Senate with Democrats out of power in Washington according to a person briefed on the conversations In the 2006 midterm elections Democrats gained control of Congress And two years after that he became the first Black president in America and re energized the party
3A Headlines The New York Times June 18 2025 Assassination of Democrat Minnesota State Senator Melissa Hortman and her husband United States Senator from Minnesota Tina Smith on a Hit List in Minnesota Speaks Out on Political Violence The New York Times Austria Moves to Tighten Gun Laws After Deadly School Shooting The New York Times Democrats Inside the Chaos Swirling Through the Ken Martin D N C The New York Times 2 Democrats Obama Steps Back Into the Public Eye Amid Political and Global Unrest The New York Times 4 Medicine and Science Cutting Edge Cancer Therapy Offers Hope for Patients With Lupus The New York Times 5 Medicine and Science Why a Vaccine Expert Left the C D C Americans Are Going to Die The New York Times 6 Medicine and Science Opinion I Will Never Trust Robert F Kennedy Jr but I Want to Trust Public Health The New York Times Medicine and Science Opinion The Kennedy Junior Purge Is a Code Red for Vaccines in America The New York Times 7 Medicine and Science Regulators Approve Lenacapavir for H I V Prevention The New York Times Trump Actions Investigating Democrats Opinion For Trump Investigations Are the Real Punishment The New York Times Trump Economy Fed Sees Higher Inflation and Lower Growth Ahead The New York Times Trump Economy House Policy Bill Would Add 3 point 4 Trillion Dollars to Debt Swamping Economic Gains The New York Times Trump Economy Live Updates Trump Calls Powell Stupid in Latest Attack on Fed Chair The New York Times Trump Economy Nippon Steel Completes Its Acquisition of U S Steel The New York Times Trump Economy Senate Passes Cryptocurrency and Stablecoin Rules Bill The New York Times Trump Economy The Fed Is not Calling It Stagflation but the Risks Are Rising The New York Times Trump Economy Trump Official Eyes Power of Rescission to Override Congress on Spending The New York Times Utilities and Air Pollution Sarah Stogner Elected Prosecutor in Texas Oil Country The New York Times 8 Utilities and Air Pollution Why Eliminating Coal Could Take a Long Time The New York Times 3B Headlines The Guardian June 18 2025 Assassination of Democrat Minnesota State Senator Melissa Hortman and her husband Tough whip smart and selfless Melissa Hortman singular force for democracy remembered Minnesota The Guardian Human Interest Actor Portraying Springsteen now stars in the Bear on Cable TV Deliver Me From Nowhere first trailer for Oscar tipped Bruce Springsteen biopic Biopics The Guardian 9 Medicine and Science Cancer is just everywhere could farming be behind the Iowa unfolding health crisis US news The Guardian Trump Economy Making sure everyone can see the plays! Can Hugh Jackman make theater less elitist? US theater The Guardian Trump Economy Canada said it would stand up to Trump Instead it is taking cues from him The Guardian Trump Economy G7 leaders are paralyzed by their fear of upsetting Donald Trump The Guardian 10 Trump Economy Women more worried about economy under Trump than men poll finds US economy The Guardian 3C Headlines Other June 18 2025 1 Medicine and Science How should we in Public Health react to people doing their own research? Your Local Epidemiologist Trump Action of ordering Parade Tanks Woman Struck Killed By Truck Carrying Trump Military Parade Tank In DC
4 A Cutting Edge Cancer Therapy Offers Hope for Patients With Lupus Excerpts edited by RAWSEP for brevity and clarity and relationship to Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501c3 nonprofit organization The New York Times June 18 2025 A woman physician offered her woman patient a chance to participate in a clinical trial that was testing a new therapy borrowed from the field of cancer research CAR T cell therapy a kind of living drug that modifies the immune cells of patients to help them attack misbehaving ones has been used with significant success to treat some cancers particularly of the blood A growing body of evidence has suggested that the therapy can also treat a severe form of lupus that at best can be managed as a lifelong condition and at worst resists treatment and can lead to organ failure and death Before the treatment she could not travel for fear of getting sick and needing to carry medications around But the woman has now been able to visit Egypt South Africa and Australia Even when her lupus was controlled with steroids she said she felt well enough to do only one activity a day She has been able to return to her job at a factory and can now sleep well before waking up to start work at 5 a m She used to wake several times a night to urinate because of her kidney disease Pain free and more energetic she can now take long walks and lift heavy grocery bags Before her treatment the woman often answered yes to many of the symptoms on a checklist a reflection of how debilitating her condition had become But on her recent visit in May six months after she received CAR T cell therapy she answered no to every question
5 Why a Vaccine Expert Left the C D C Americans Are Going to Die Doctor Fiona Havers is influential among researchers who study immunizations The wholesale dismissal of the scientific advisers for the C D C crossed the line she said Excerpts edited by RAWSEP for brevity and clarity and relationship to Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501c3 nonprofit organization The New York Times June 18 2025 In 13 years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Doctor Fiona Havers crafted guidance for contending with Zika virus helped China respond to outbreaks of bird flu and guided safe burial practices for Ebola deaths in Liberia More recently she was a senior adviser on vaccine policy leading a team that produced data on hospitalizations related to Covid 19 and respiratory syncytial virus To the select group of scientists federal officials and advocates who study who should get immunizations and when Doctor Havers is well known an embodiment of the C D C intensive data gathering operations of the C D C On Monday Doctor Havers resigned saying she could no longer continue while the health secretary Robert F Kennedy Junior dismantled the careful processes that help formulate vaccination standards in the United States If it is not stopped and some of this is not reversed like immediately a lot of Americans are going to die as a result of vaccine preventable diseases she said in an interview with the first since her resignation Doctor Havers 49 cited an escalating series of attacks on federal vaccine policy by Kennedy When Kennedy was named to lead the Department of Health and Human Services Doctor Havers had expected to see some changes to vaccine policy Thousands of her colleagues at the agency were fired She held out hope even after the Kennedy Junior recent decision to restrict Covid shots for children and pregnant women because parents could still get healthy children vaccinated in consultation with a doctor But the dismissal of the entire vaccine advisory committee was too much to bear Doctor Havers said I have utmost respect for my colleagues at C D C who stay and continue to try and limit the damage from the inside she said What happened last week was the last straw for me
6 I Will Never Trust Robert F Kennedy Junior but I Want to Trust Public Health Excerpts edited by RAWSEP for brevity and clarity and relationship to Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501c3 nonprofit organization The New York Times June 18 2025 When Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Junior fired all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on June 9 I was devastated but not surprised He is a longtime vaccine critic and it was clear to me that he was gunning for the panel which gives recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines Though there has been public mistrust of new vaccines this is not a group that has historically been politicized In fact this is the first time that a health and human services secretary has dismissed the full panel The voting members of the advisory committee are highly vetted experts who typically meet three times a year and they consider the safety and effectiveness of vaccines as well as the feasibility of their recommendations There is a legitimate fear that if the committee stops recommending certain vaccines they will not be covered by insurance and Americans will have to pay out of pocket to get them On June 10 Kennedy posted on X that he was going to handpick the new panel and that none of these individuals will be ideological anti vaxxers He then appointed eight members to the committee one of whom posted this month The term anti vaxer it is not a slur but a compliment
7 Regulators Approve a Twice Yearly Shot to Prevent H I V Infection The drug could change the course of the AIDS epidemic But the Trump administration has gutted the programs that might have paid for it in low income countries Excerpts edited by RAWSEP for brevity and clarity and relationship to Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501c3 nonprofit organization The New York Times June 18 2025 The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a twice yearly injection that provided a near perfect shield against H I V infection in clinical trials The approval is among the most anticipated developments in the prevention of H I V But it arrives during deep cuts to global health programs that were expected to purchase and distribute the drug in low income countries To what extent the drug called Lenacapavir can now be rolled out is uncertain We are on the precipice of now being able to deliver the greatest prevention option we have had in 44 years of this epidemic said Mitchell Warren executive director of the international H I V prevention organization AVAC And it is as if that opportunity is being snatched out of our hands by the policies of the last five months he said With much less money available governments abroad may instead choose to prioritize treatment of the infected We were so excited about the possibilities said Doctor Linda Gail Bekker who led a clinical trial of the drug I do not think any of us envisaged this year going quite the way it has Lenacapavir made by Gilead Sciences and to be marketed as Yeztugo is the second long acting option for H I V prevention An alternative cabotegravir brand name Apretude is a shot given every two months and is made by ViiV Healthcare The GSK H I V company Apretude is given to roughly 21000 Americans while daily pills to prevent H I V are taken by nearly 500000 Many public health experts believe that the convenience of a twice yearly injection has the potential to transform the epidemic In clinical trials Lenacapavir surpassed expectations Participants given just two shots each year were almost completely protected Other donor organizations including the Gates Foundation have not shown an interest in purchasing Lenacapavir My great concern is that we will miss this moment and not build the market for generics in the next two or three years if we do not work with Gilead Within the United States too the Trump administration has hobbled efforts to prevent H I V transmission It has withheld funds that were due to states and territories for the effort and the National Institutes of Health has terminated several grants related to research into preventive drugs Prevention just feels hugely at risk writ large Doctor Bekker said If we do not prevent this epidemic it will just drag on and on and on
8 Why Eliminating Coal Could Take a Long Time Excerpts edited by RAWSEP for brevity and clarity and relationship to Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501c3 nonprofit organization The New York Times June 18 2025 Coal use has been declining for decades but ending the use of the fuel is not going to be easy even in a place like California which has ambitious climate change goals In the high desert just south of Death Valley the hottest place on earth two small coal plants have been running for 50 years They provide heat and power to Searles Valley Minerals a mining and processing plant in Trona Calif that churns out raw materials used in wind turbine blades solar panels pesticides and other products One of the two plants will shut down within the next two years and be replaced with a type of solar thermal energy system that has been little used in the United States But the other plant could stick around for many years and be used at a reduced rate because the mining company needs a power source that can run all day and generate heat to run the steam driven equipment of the operation One of the best known concentrated solar power facilities operates in the Mojave Desert and is scheduled to close next year largely because its electricity is too expensive to compete with cheaper solar panel systems Solar thermal technology is not suited for many places Molchanov said but it works well in arid and hot climates like those in Southern California Arizona Nevada Chile parts of Africa Australia the Middle East and parts of Spain and Portugal Concentrated solar power works particularly well for certain industrial purposes in high heat locations like Searles Valley that have few other options It is not like you can say Let us move the mine he said It might take a decade a or two to eliminate the last coal unit of the company But Searles will need to find a substitute because of the long running decline of coal We just think coal is going to be a problem We are going to have a hard time sourcing it We need to be ready to pivot
9 Cancer is just everywhere Could farming be behind the Iowa unfolding health crisis? A new study probes possible ties to pesticides nitrates and other farm related risks Excerpts edited by RAWSEP for brevity and clarity and relationship to Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501c3 nonprofit organization The Guardian June 18 2025 Six months ago a man was diagnosed with colon cancer at the age of 37 A woman endured surgery chemotherapy and dozens of rounds of radiation to fight aggressive breast cancer and a second woman spends most days helping care for her 16 year old grandson who is still being treated for brain cancer he developed at the age of 7 The three were among a group of about two dozen people who came together last week in a small town in central Iowa to share their experiences of cancer They are part of a new research project investigating potential environmental causes for what the American Cancer Society advocacy arm calls a cancer crisis For the last few years Iowa has had the second highest rate of cancer in the nation and is only one of two US states where cancer is increasing People in rural communities are getting sick Cancer is just everywhere said a woman senior director of policy at the Iowa Environmental Council a non profit focused on improving the environment that is helping to lead the project Every person I talk to knows somebody that has recently had a cancer diagnosis she said The association vice president of research and sustainability cited smoking radon obesity tanning beds and alcohol as additional potential causes to consider When it comes to pesticides the association urges farmers to follow the recommendations of the EPA and ensure that they apply pesticides appropriately At the listening session last week in Indianola a woman described how she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 50 She lives about 20 miles south of Indianola where she and her husband farm 1000 acres She said many others in her area have also suffered from cancers and though she does not know what caused her illness which is now at bay she stays far from farm chemicals Do I think it is chemicals? Do I worry about the water? she asked rhetorically I do Richard Deming a cancer doctor in Iowa for 36 years feels more independent research to help cut the cancer rates It is not trying to throw any industry under the bus If you can prevent cancers you can make a bigger difference than treating each cancer that comes into your office
10 Women more worried about economy under Trump than men poll finds Exclusive poll shows 62% of women and 47% of men across political spectrum say economy and inflation getting worse Excerpts edited by RAWSEP for brevity and clarity and relationship to Residents Against Wood Smoke Emission Particulates a 501c3 nonprofit organization The Guardian June 18 2025 Women across the political spectrum are more concerned about the state of the US economy and inflation under Donald Trump than men are according to a new exclusive poll for the Guardian More Democrats than Republicans are now concerned about the economy following the Trump return to power But pessimism was higher for women even among Republicans and independents according to a new Harris poll Overall 62% of women and 47% of men said that the economy and inflation is getting worse a gap of 15 percentage points The gender gap crossed party lines with both Democratic and Republican women expressing greater concerns about the economy than men did Here is what everyone missed women are not being pessimistic about the economy – they are being realistic said the chief strategy officer of Harris Poll Women are experiencing the sharp edge of inflation on essentials like groceries and childcare in ways that stock portfolios cannot capture The news will be worrying for the Trump administration Women are more likely than men to be registered to vote and to show up at the polls While Trump made gains among women in the 2024 election women were still 10% more likely to vote for Kamala Harris Recent analysis has shown that much of the Trump win can be attributed to gains made among men particularly non white men Across a series of questions about their outlook on the state of the economy most respondents 78% both men and women expressed concerns about the amount of uncertainty particularly around prices Yet women appear to be bearing the brunt of the Trump economic policy particularly around his tariffs Previous research has shown that women are more likely to feel the impacts of inflation because of broader gender inequality including gaps in pay and household responsibilities While a majority of respondents said they were primarily responsible for the shopping for their household more women 71% than men 62% reported being the primary shopper for their household This difference in household shopping responsibility translates into broader gaps in concern over affordability and prices More women said they are very worried about food prices 52% of women compared to 39% of men More women said they are spending more time trying to find deals or go to more affordable stores 36% versus 26% More women said their financial security is getting worse because of their difficulty in affording essential goods and services 55% versus 46% The differences increased when respondents were asked about their comfort in affording their lifestyles in the current economy including affording a family a home life as a single individual and childcare Just 27% of women said they felt comfortable affording a family now compared to 43% of men Although confidence in switching jobs was low among all respondents 34% of men were confident in a job switch compared to 25% of women Women are also more pessimistic about receiving a meaningful raise this year 54% of women said they think they will get a raise compared to 63% of men Lack of confidence in the economy can impact the behavior of people particularly the big milestones they can make in their lives They are more likely to delay buying homes starting a family or switching jobs