National Health Journalism Fellowship Project: A Tale of Two States

Through three separate stories I will delve into some of Wisconsin's most poignant health disparities, including infant mortality rates that are worse than those in some third-world countries, one Madison African-American community's grassroots campaign to combat smoking through photodocumentation and support groups, and the lack of health care faced by many Latino dairy workers, who now help prop up the state's farming industry. I have also proposed writing about Hmong shamans and how they are sucessfully weaving their ancient practice with modern medicine in Madison housing projects as a back-up. I will use state statistics and records, interviews with academics, researchers, officials and health care workers, and most important lots of on-the-ground reporting on the people and communities affected by these disparities to put together these stories.