The news from the CIA, that Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was greatly aided by Russia, surely comes as no surprise. What was always surprising, to me at least, was how Trump’s Putin hero-worship didn’t seem to bother the “patriotic” American voters one bit. But then again, not much did, did it?

Speaking with somebody I know, I recently discovered that he donated $1000 to the Trump campaign. A person earning around $45k a year, who keeps an excel spreadsheet of his every expense and even cuts out his £2 daily coffee if he feels expenses are getting out of hand, donated the equivalent of around £800 to a foreign election. That’s right; he’s not even a US citizen, nor do any of his family or friends live there. He’s Portuguese, living and working in England.

If Trump’s campaign can speak to him: a young, educated man with limited disposable income, and compel him to make such a large donation, who else was his brand of “toxic masculinity” speaking to? How many millions of men sat at home on their computers each night, frantically sharing and tweeting messages of hatred across the globe, fuelled by their anger that what should be theirs by right has been denied them, by people just like Hillary. And now she dares to stand alongside their hero and present herself not only as his equal, but to have the audacity to suggest even that she might be better at the job in question. Better than a dominant, successful man; a man who takes whatever he wants, in business and from women, because he’s entitled to it. Just like you. You, who see people doing better than you, who have no right to. You, who have been turned down by all the women you’ve ever asked out. It’s time we righted these wrongs. You can be part of this. You can finally be a winner, too. You can “Trump that bitch” – you can show her.

Trump probably didn’t even need the extra funding. But his campaign knew that once you get someone to invest financially in something, you get them to invest emotionally, too.

It’s true that not everyone who voted Trump in the 2016 US election suffered from mental health issues, or are racists or misogynists. But they voted for someone whose enormous reach was funded by, shared by, and perpetuated by people from all over the world, united in bitterness.

What does the future hold for the USA, and for the world? And for readers of our blog, what changes will 2017 bring for healthcare systems in both countries? NHS budget cuts – certainly not looking to get any better post-Brexit – rock the very foundations of our healthcare system, meaning that taking personal control of one’s healthcare using home use devices, such as blood pressure monitors and oximeters, is more important than ever. Individuals with newly diagnosed or long-standing conditions find greater success if they proactively work with their doctors, providing data and feedback on oxygen saturations, blood pressure, heart rate, body composition and so on (depending on the details of their conditions). In such an unpredictable environment, let’s start here. Let’s start with the most important thing that we have.