Empathy 101: How medical schools are using improv theater, virtual reality and comics to help physicians understand their patients
In this research-based explainer, a comics journalist explores the use of the arts in medical education.
Health
Research roundups, tip sheets, articles and explainers related to health, health care and health equity
Expert Commentary
Seasonal holiday injuries: A research roundup
Holidays are a time for celebration, but also a source of injuries. Several research studies examine both common and uncommon types and sources of seasonal holiday injuries, which usually peak on the week after Thanksgiving and continue until the end of the year.
Expert Commentary
The push for Medicare to cover weight-loss drugs: A research-based explainer
The largest health insurer in the United States does not cover weight-loss drugs. This piece explains the issue and summarizes some recent publications on the benefits and costs of drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide.
Expert Commentary
Weight bias, common in health care, can drive weight gain and prompt people with obesity to avoid doctors, research finds
Weight bias is so damaging, 36 experts issued a consensus statement that asks health care providers, journalists and others to help change the narrative around obesity.
Expert Commentary
Silicosis: An explainer and research roundup
Silicosis is an ancient job-related lung disease affecting construction workers and miners who come in contact with silica dust. But in recent decades, it also has been affecting younger workers who fabricate artificial stone, which is used for countertops and has a high silica concentration.
Expert Commentary
6 story ideas in the 2023 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change report
Climate reports like the Lancet Countdown are large documents, laden with data, and can be difficult to summarize in one news story. But local journalists can look for specific issues that apply to their communities to produce stories that resonate with their audiences.
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Inconsistent state reporting requirements raise efficacy concerns about federal gun background check system
New papers in JAMA Health Forum and JAMA Internal Medicine explore the landscape of state laws on reporting people barred from buying guns to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
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How do science journalists decide whether a psychology study is worth covering?
A recent study finds that sample size is the only factor having a robust influence on 181 science journalists’ ratings of the trustworthiness and newsworthiness of a study. But they note that, overall, these journalists are doing a ‘very decent job’ vetting research. Here’s how they do it.
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5 tips to help you cover the college mental health crisis
Mental health experts Gino Aisenberg, co-director of the Latino Center for Health at the University of Washington, and Tony Walker, senior vice president of academic programs at The Jed Foundation, share advice to help journalists improve their coverage of college mental health.
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Long COVID: An explainer and research roundup
Researchers are working to better understand the physical and mental health problems some people can experience long after first getting infected with COVID-19. We’ve summarized what’s known so far about the collection of symptoms known as long COVID.
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