Children & Families

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

Photojournalist David Gross hatched a plan to crowdfund a project in which he'd photograph and offer art therapy to Syrian refugee children. It did not go as planned. Here he shares some of the lessons he learned along the way, and the images he captured.

Mental Health, Environmental Health, Community Safety

An updated look at youth suicides recently found that suicide rates in rural U.S. counties are double those of urban areas. Figuring out the causes behind the widening disparity is more difficult, but lack of access to mental health services is a big part of the problem in rural areas.

Mental Health, Environmental Health

A new study of kids in the Los Angeles basin found that as air quality “improved dramatically” in recent years, so did the capacity of children's lungs. The study's attributes the gains to more stringent emissions standards. But can the air quality gains continue amid a resurgent economy?

Chronic Disease, Environmental Health

Two high-profile studies came out this week with similar conclusions: Exposing kids to microbes and allergens may well lead to fewer allergies and better-adjusted immune systems. Tolerance of potential triggers, the studies suggest, is looking more and more like an acquired skill.

Chronic Disease

Technology to care for very sick and premature infants has improved dramatically over the past two decades. But these incredible measures also mean parents and neonatologists in the NICU face complex ethical questions when deciding how much care to provide and when to stop.

If you are a Californian having a baby for the first time, choose your hospital wisely. You might even wish to move. A recent report from the California Hospital Assessment and Reporting Taskforce revealed alarming discrepancies in outcomes for low-risk pregnancies at high-performing and low-perform

Patient Safety and Ethics, Environmental Health, Women's and Maternal Health