Kristen Hwang

Kristen Hwang is an award-winning filmmaker and journalist based in Northern California with a passion for humanizing data-driven stories. Her work seeks to examine stories at the intersection of public health and social justice through compelling and diverse characters. In 2021, she graduated from UC Berkeley with a dual master’s degree in journalism and public health. She works as a health policy reporter at CalMatters. Her current film, WHEN THEY’RE GONE, examines humanity’s fragile dependence on nature, casting a spotlight on industrial agriculture’s reliance on honey bees for hire. It received the Gold Medal in documentary film from the Student Academy Awards.

Articles

Fresno County STD investigator Hou Vang speaks with a patient to inform them of their diagnosis in July 2022.

My reporting revealed a deep reticence to talk about STDs. Here’s what we lose by not doing so.

Even when people were willing to talk about the issue generally, they weren’t willing to put a face to it, one reporter finds.

STD Investigator Hou Vang (left) works in his office as Jena Adams (right), Communicable Disease Program manager, checks in on h

Community & Public Health

Healthcare Systems & Policy

Congenital syphilis rates soar across California as public health funding dwindles

The number of congenital syphilis cases has ballooned to rates not seen in two decades. Public health workers say the increase coincides with a decline in funding for public health and a drop in the rate of women accessing prenatal care.

Chronic Disease

A formerly homeless mother, Cassidy, holds her child in her apartment in Redding on Sept. 20, 2022. Like many mothers who contra

Mental Health & Trauma

Community health workers hit the streets to battle the surge in congenital syphilis

Once considered an infection nearly eradicated, congenital syphilis rates have risen dramatically in California. Community health workers fan out across communities to find and treat patients who are often homeless or battling addiction.

Chronic Disease

(Photo by City of Minneapolis Archives via Flickr/Creative Commons)

Why is this ancient disease ravaging California communities?

Thirty years ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was ready to declare syphilis a dead disease. The cure was simple: Penicillin. We had defeated smallpox in 1949. The elimination of syphilis felt like an inevitable medical success. But in 2014, Fresno County issued a health alert for

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

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Reporting Topics

Kristen Hwang

Articles

My reporting revealed a deep reticence to talk about STDs. Here’s what we lose by not doing so.

Congenital syphilis rates soar across California as public health funding dwindles

Community health workers hit the streets to battle the surge in congenital syphilis

Why is this ancient disease ravaging California communities?