Children & Families

Laura Starecheski's recent NPR series on childhood adversity and trauma is an essential listen for those interested in how childhood events can shape long-term health. Starecheski recently spoke to Reporting on Health about how she reported the stories and what she learned along the way.

Mental Health, Chronic Disease, Community Safety

On Tuesday night, news reports focused on the Senate’s expected passing of a bill that changes how Medicare pays doctors. But for children's advocates, the big news was the two-year extension of the Children's Health Insurance program. Here's why it matters.

Healthcare Regulation and Reform, Health Insurance and Costs

A documentary premiering on PBS on Monday tracks the lives of Chicago teens struggling to regain their footing and stay in school after their home lives have fallen apart. The film's three heart-wrenching human stories give deeper meaning to the abstractions of statistics.

Mental Health, Housing and Homeslessness, Community Safety, Poverty and Class

A new study out this week from researchers at UC San Francisco suggests that a mutated form of enterovirus D68 is strongly linked to at least some cases of polio-like limb paralysis. But only a small subset of affected children are affected, for reasons that aren't entirely clear.

In Baltimore, violence has marred countless lives. But Baltimore Sun reporter Andrea McDaniels wanted to explore the deeper, long-lasting effects of violence. Her extended reporting crystalized in an award-winning three-part series. Here she shares the challenges she faced and lessons learned.

Mental Health, Community Safety

"Sure, I knew hundreds of residents died in homicides or were hurt and even disabled during assaults,” said McDaniels. "But I wondered if there was something deeper going on that needed to be explored.”

Mental Health, Environmental Health, Community Safety