Insights

Ever consider sharing your health care knowledge? The California State University is looking for a professional to lecture in their Department of Public Health.

Complex pediatric heart surgeries can be scary and hard to understand for families. But a former print journalist is spearheading new interactive visualizations inspired by video games to educate patients and take some of the mystery and fear out of the surgical ordeal.

During Suicide Prevention Week advocates are conducting suicide awareness campaigns. But there is not evidence that awareness reduces suicide. More effective suicide prevention approaches are being ignored.

Industry groups have argued for a drug form that does not require a patient or family member signature. That possibility has raised deep concerns among some patient advocates, who point out the drugs' potential dangers.

ER visits are growing and the number of emergency departments is shrinking. Does that mean more people will be denied urgent care and suffer or die as a result? The effects might be smaller than you think, and a good reminder to question our assumptions as reporters.

Talk of the hygiene hypothesis, beneficial bacteria, and the microbiome is becoming increasingly common. But the science of how these concepts relate to allergies and other conditions is still very much in progress. And that makes reporting on these topics tricky.

The Affordable Care Act has spurred new conversations about how to best deliver mental health benefits. Ideas range from incorporating more mental health services into primary care visits to the use of avatar systems to help schizophrenics control hallucinations.

This week's listings include reporting positions with New York Public Radio's WNYC Health Unit and Bloomberg's Health team in New York, plus check out the fellowship opportunities in our weekly roundup.

What happens when a health reporter personally tries out some of the health trends she routinely covers? Jondi Gumz committed herself to taking more steps and eating healthier foods than ever before. Not that it always came easy, especially on deadline days.

Jenna Russell's recent three-part series for The Boston Globe presents a remarkably intimate, revealing portrait of a man and his family as they struggle to cope with his mental illness. Her reporting holds a number of lessons for journalists taking on projects that deal with mental health.