Public Health
No-Cancel Culture: How Telehealth Is Making It Easier to Keep That Therapy Session
When the covid-19 pandemic forced behavioral health providers to stop seeing patients in person and instead hold therapy sessions remotely, the switch produced an unintended, positive consequence: Fewer patients skipped appointments. That had long been a problem in mental health care. Some outpatient programs previously had no-show rates as high as 60%, according to several […]
If You Are Vaccinated, You Can Dance the Night Away
Marissa Castrigno was walking through downtown Wilmington, North Carolina, when she spotted the sign in the window of one of her favorite dance clubs. After months of being shuttered by the pandemic, Ibiza Nightclub was reopening April 30, it announced. Thrilled, Castrigno immediately made plans with friends to be there. About 50 miles north in […]
KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Roe v. Wade on the Ropes
Can’t see the audio player? Click here to listen on PRX. The Supreme Court agreed to hear a case next term that could result in a significant modification or overturn of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that legalized abortion nationwide. At issue is a Mississippi law that would ban the procedure after 15 weeks of […]
Stark Racial Disparities Persist in Vaccinations, State-Level CDC Data Shows
Black Americans’ covid-19 vaccination rates are still lagging months into the nation’s campaign, while Hispanics are closing the gap and Native Americans show the highest rates overall, according to federal data obtained by KHN. The data, provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in response to a public records request, gives a sweeping […]
Seed Money: Black Entrepreneurs Hope Pandemic Gardening Boom Will Grow Healthier Eating
DENVER — Ietef Vita had planned to spend most of 2020 on the road, promoting “Biomimicz,” the album the rapper had released on his #plantbasedrecords label in January. Vita, known to his fans as “DJ Cavem Moetavation” and “Chef Ietef,” had those plans unexpectedly cut short. “We were in Berkeley, California, on Feb. 29, playing […]
Despite Pandemic, Newsom Declines to Boost Local Public Health Budgets — Again
SACRAMENTO — In spite of a pandemic that has killed about 62,000 Californians — more than enough to pack Dodger Stadium — Gov. Gavin Newsom has again declined to boost the budgets of the state’s underfunded and understaffed local public health departments. Local public health officials, responsible for steering the state’s covid-19 response, had asked […]
Viaje a la cueva de los murciélagos: mientras buscan el origen de covid, científicos reavivan el debate sobre la “fuga de laboratorio” de Wuhan
La idea de que el virus que causa covid escapó de un laboratorio chino, una teoría que en su momento se consideró conspirativa, está cobrando fuerza. Al mismo tiempo, peligra la reputación de renombrados científicos, al igual que su seguridad personal. En el centro de la tormenta se encuentra Peter Daszak, cuya EcoHealth Alliance ha […]
Racism Derails Black Men’s Health, Even as Education Levels Rise
More education typically leads to better health, yet Black men in the U.S. are not getting the same benefit as other groups, research suggests. The reasons for the gap are vexing, experts said, but may provide an important window into unique challenges faced by Black men as they try to gain not only good health […]
To the Bat Cave: In Search of Covid’s Origins, Scientists Reignite Polarizing Debate on Wuhan ‘Lab Leak’
Once dismissed as a conspiracy theory, the idea that the covid virus escaped from a Chinese lab is gaining high-profile attention. As it does, reputations of renowned scientists are at risk — and so is their personal safety. At the center of the storm is Peter Daszak, whose EcoHealth Alliance has worked directly with Chinese […]
‘Kicking You When You’re Down’: Many Cancer Patients Pay Dearly for Parking
For cancer patients, the road from diagnosis to survivorship feels like a never-ending parade of medical appointments: surgeries, bloodwork, chemotherapy, radiation treatments, scans. The routine is time-consuming and costly. So, when hospitals charge patients double-digit parking fees, patients often leave the garage demoralized. Iram Leon vividly remembers the first time he went for a follow-up […]