April Dembosky, KQED

@adembosky

‘All You Want Is to Be Believed’: The Impacts of Unconscious Bias in Health Care

KFF Health News Original

One woman shares her experience trying to get care in a Bay Area hospital for COVID symptoms. At nearly every turn, a doctor dismissed her complaints. Is bias part of why people of color are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus?

California Hits Up Libraries and Tax Offices To Recruit 20,000 New Disease Detectives

KFF Health News Original

As California begins one of the largest contact-tracing training programs in the country, many of the new recruits will be librarians: who are known to be curious, tech-savvy and really good at getting people they barely know to open up.

California Tries Again To Make Medication Abortions Available At Its Colleges

KFF Health News Original

A proposed state law would require on-campus health centers to provide students with the medicines that allow them to end an unwanted pregnancy. Former Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill last year, but Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he would sign it.

Postpartum Psychosis Is Real, Rare And Dangerous

KFF Health News Original

Postpartum psychosis is rare but very real, doctors say. And, unlike in some countries, U.S. moms who need inpatient psychiatric care can’t bring along their babies, adding to the trauma.

Docs Worry There’s ‘Nowhere To Send’ New And Expectant Moms With Depression

KFF Health News Original

California’s legislature will soon take up a bill that would require doctors to screen pregnant women and new mothers for mental health problems. Many doctors oppose the idea, and laws elsewhere haven’t increased the number of moms treated.

Mamás deprimidas… ¿hay que ayudarlas o llamar a la policía?

KFF Health News Original

Cuatro meses después de tener a su segundo bebé, Jessica Porten comenzó a sentirse realmente irritable. Pero cuando buscó ayuda, en vez de conseguirla se sintió tratada “como una criminal”.

Seeking A Peaceful Death Amid The Flames

KFF Health News Original

During Northern California’s recent wildfires, dozens of hospice patients who had hoped to spend their last days in the comfort of their homes had to be relocated to evacuation shelters, assisted living facilities and relatives’ homes instead.