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A conversation on ‘The Cure for Everything’: Where American public health is and where it’s headed
For the first time in a century, American life expectancy is declining, an unprecedented trend for a wealthy nation and one driven largely by preventable causes of early death. The foundations of public health reforms — sanitation, clean water, safe housing, pollution control, workplace safety, and more — doubled America’s life expectancy between the mid-1800s and…
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Building audience with local climate-health stories
Climate change is often covered as a vast, global crisis, defined by melting ice sheets, stalled international agreements and the persistent grip of fossil fuels. What gets far less attention are the local stories unfolding across the country: clinics adapting to wildfire, counties redesigning emergency response plans for extreme heat, public health responses to vector-borne…
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Trust, public health reporting and the CDC: Insider perspectives
A lot has happened this year at the CDC with walkouts, layoffs and the disappearance of data and reports, presenting major challenges for journalists who report on public health. Especially when reporting on infectious disease, the compromising of the CDC as a source of public health data and up-to-date information about outbreaks has huge implications…
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How the budget bill will impact older adults: What journalists should know
H.R. 1, or the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” imposes $1 trillion in funding cuts, along with sweeping reforms to Medicaid, Medicare and safety net programs like food assistance. The law adds new work requirements for Medicaid recipients under the age of 65; puts home and community-based services at risk; pauses minimum staffing requirements for nursing…
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AI chatbots and mental health: How to report responsibly on a new risk
Artificial intelligence-powered chatbots can provide round-the-clock access to supportive “conversations,” which some people are using as a substitute for interactions with licensed mental health clinicians or friends. But users may develop dependencies on the tools and mistake these transactions for real relationships with people or true therapy. Recent news stories have discussed the dangers of…
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Preparing for reporting on autism, vaccines and related science
In this webinar, moderator Tara Haelle and an expert panel — including Paul Offit, M.D. (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia), and Jessica B. Steier, DrPH, PMP (Founder and CEO of Unbiased Science) — help reporters navigate the science behind autism, vaccines, and the expected Health and Human Services report on autism causes. Facilitated by: Jesse Goodman, M.D., MPH, Chair of the E-VAT — Expert…
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Reporting on ‘sweeps’ and the criminalization of homelessness: How to handle the story
The Trump administration is making clear its intention to banish, arrest or imprison people who are homeless in the nation’s capital, as well as threatening forced treatment for those struggling with substance use disorders. But front-line workers, activists and experts are expressing skepticism about this old and failed approach to homelessness. So what is the…
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