Mental Health

Even when persistence and dedication enable a reporter to find undocumented communities willing to share their stories, outside events can tempt sources to withdraw. One reporter shares how she overcame this challenge.

A young boy and his mother fled vicious gang violence in Central America, but the nightmares have followed him to Los Angeles. The lingering effects of trauma now pose a whole new threat to his health.

At least 400 U.S. doctors commit suicide every year, a higher rate than in the general population. For this tragic fact to change, medical schools and hospitals will need to undergo a cultural revolution.

"The magic is in how we listen and how we ask," writes reporter Gisela Telis. "When reporting on people who are struggling or have struggled, give them space to let you in to their world, and be vulnerable enough to say: Help me understand."

A development biologist finds that the common zebrafish holds clues for how repeated exposure to stress can harm children's developing bodies and trigger a host of chronic health problems.

Homelessness is a health crisis, and the clock is ticking. With homeless life expectancy between 42 and 52, and half of the nation's homeless at least 50, it's not surprising that Orange and several other California counties have seen a dramatic rise in homeless deaths in recent years.

Social isolation and ageism are issues that many LGBT older adults encounter in retirement, as a growing body of academic papers and health research has documented.

Stresses like poverty, neglect and abuse all manifest differently in the brain and can cause different mental health issues later in life, explains researcher Katie McLaughlin of the University of Washington.

“In my newsroom, reporters are encouraged to have obsessions rather than beats,” Cary Aspinwall told fellows at the 2017 National Fellowship this week. “And my obsession is women in jail.”

Many immigrants are now afraid to leave their homes for work or school for fear of being arrested and deported. This climate of fear has made children in these familes newly vulnerable to what psychologists call "toxic stress."