Nearly 60 hospitals have closed in the U.S. since 2010. In reporting on how hospital closures affect poor patients in Rust Belt towns, reporter Sean Hamill found first-person accounts to be crucial. But backing up those stories with data and geographical comparisons also provided essential context.
Community & Public Health
The idea that childhood trauma and adversity can become embedded in the body and shape one's health decades later is not new. But a recent study throws the idea into stark relief: Even when psychological distress disappears by adulthood, the elevated risk of chronic disease remains.
Stigma is one reason that African Americans are less likely to get a colonoscopy. But a recent study found that doctors may be partly responsible as African Americans are more likely than any other racial and ethnic group to say that their doctor never recommended colon cancer screening.
There is a growing understanding that improving student health isn't just about serving healthier foods – it’s also about promoting healthier lifestyles. Reducing junk food marketing to children is a key part of that task, and San Francisco Unified has been at the leading edge of such efforts.
Today, Sept. 25, marks the one-year anniversary of Thomas Eric Duncan walking into a Dallas emergency room, where two of his nurses contracted the disease before Duncan died. Many nurses still feel unprepared and are seeking stronger safety protections.
Kids in poorer families eat more fast food more than their peers, right? Not necessarily, as new data from the CDC show. The idea that poverty status isn't directly correlated with fast food intake may be heartening, but it doesn't mean low-income kids are consuming equally nutritious food.
What does "Talk to you doctor” mean? It’s a legal and ethical security blanket. But it's also a solid piece of advice at a time when people increasingly find health info online. It also keeps doctors on their toes, as they encounter a steady barrage of new treatments and questions.
People with insurance are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with a chronic condition than uninsured people. That means that as the number of insured grows, the health system will have to cope with an influx of patients newly diagnosed with conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
There can be no discussion of Indian culture without dedicating a portion of the topic to food. The country has a culinary history and lifestyle as diverse as it is rich. Does Indian food, however, come with a price?
Older approaches to homelessness required people to achieve sobriety or enter treatment before being moved into permanent housing. Under Housing First, people receive support to stay in their homes and are later paired with services such as health care, substance abuse treatment, and job counseling.