At 18 years old, my mother took me to play bingo at a local American Indian reservation. It was a bare hall, lined with long rows of tables and filled with mostly middle aged women. My mother bought eight cards - 4 for her and 4 for me. The woman next to me had 32 cards enclosed in a perimeter of lucky trinkets. I remember thinking, "she's got a problem". The woman listened intently, then marked her cards quickly and with conviction. At several points, I lagged behind in marking my cards. My mom was no better. We were novices. The woman next to us looked annoyed.
Today's Daily Briefing travels to Chinese mental institutions, California prisons, and all over the map with bogus trend stories.
Here’s what we’re checking out today:
STDs: Writing in BNET’s Placebo Effects blog, Jim Edwards writes about the political, moral and health issues surrounding the HPV-preventing Gardasil vaccine for boys. They’re more complicated – and expensive – than you’d think, and Edwards wonders whether the current debate reflects sexism in medicine.
Health Dialogues examines the health of Native Americans in California. Have gambling revenues impacted the population's health status? We'll explore the current condition of Native American health, and hear from people doing something to help.
KQED's Health Dialogues looks at the low rates of prenatal care for Native American women in California, and why it is hard to change the numbers. Reporter: Shuka Kalantari
California launched its new Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan Oct. 25, but it won't help Soquel resident Michael Rosenberg.
Here’s what we’re checking out today:
HuffPo Health: Orac of the Respectful Insolence blog opines on the new Huffington Post health section, and it’s not pretty: “A soon-to-be one-stop shop for quackery.”
I’ve spent years covering health and medicine, and because I teach kids, I’m especially aware of the public health gospel: Control your diet, exercise, and if you smoke, stop.
But the person who’s really taught me about healthy living is my Aunt Nicole.
The California Health Journalism Fellowship is officially underway after our first meeting tonight, here in downtown Los Angeles. Keynote speaker and social epidemiologist Carolyn Cannuscio presented her jaw-droppingly thorough report on health in needy Philadelphia communities, and I wanted to share a few thoughts before calling it a night.
