Health Equity & Social Justice

New statistics show just how quickly rates of babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome have risen over the past six years, particularly in largely rural states such as Kentucky. Here's why that's so worrying.

“I call it present traumatic stress disorder. When you have post-traumatic stress disorder it means the trauma has ended. With our people it is a perpetual trauma that is inflicted on almost a daily basis,” one lifelong resident of Bakersfield says.

Diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes when she was 11 years-old, Carolina takes three types of insulin and four other medications every day. Diabetes experts say the family's situation is fairly common.

After living there for over a decade, I know San Francisco is uniquely situated when it comes to HIV and AIDS. But I wondered, How are other counties in California fairing in their prevention efforts?

A sizable percentage of California farmworkers are still struggling to get access to health services for themselves and their families.

The very economic decline that contributed to rural hospitals' closure is likely to be worsened by their disappearance.

Bad housing has emerged as a key issue in California's Sonoma County races for elected office since The Press Democrat published a four-part series investigating the prevalence of substandard housing across the county.

Three out of four adults of Mexican origin who experience a mental illness will not seek professional help, and the problem of under utilization is even higher among Mexican immigrants.

Dr. Glenda Wrenn of Morehouse School of Medicine discusses narratives of recovery and how journalists can do justice to the concept of resilience in their reporting.

This article was produced as a project for the USC Center for Health Journalism’s California Fellowship.
Other stories in the series include:
Tobacco companies put up a fight against California's Prop 56
UCLA SAFE program to help low income residents avoid second hand smoke
Climbing Fences: Obstacle