Public Health Archives - Page 19 of 183

Live from Austin, Examining Health Equity

Episode 362

Sept. 9, 2024

The term “health equity” means different things to different people. Beyond guaranteeing all Americans access to adequate, affordable medical care, the pursuit of equity can include addressing social determinants of health, such as housing, education, and environment. Systemic and historical racism — manifested in over-policing or contaminated drinking water, for instance — can negatively affect health. In a live taping at the Texas Tribune Festival, special guests Carol Alvarado, the Texas state Senate’s Democratic leader, and Ann Barnes, president and CEO of the Episcopal Health Foundation, along with KFF Health News’ Sabriya Rice and Cara Anthony, join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss addressing health inequities.

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A man, Xavier Becerra, stands behind a podium behind a sign that reads "Protecting Communities from Extreme Heat"

Health Secretary Becerra Touts Extreme Heat Protections. Farmworkers Want More.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has a plan to protect farmworkers from extreme heat and wildfire smoke, but farmworkers who pick California grapes say they need more, as climate change brings more extreme weather.

By Vanessa G. Sánchez

Sept. 9, 2024

A photo of a woman standing in front of her blue mobile home.

As Record Heat Sweeps the US, Some People Must Choose Between Food and Energy Bills

An increasing number of Americans struggle with energy poverty, the inability to adequately heat or cool one’s dwelling. Health officials and climate experts are sounding the alarm as record-breaking heat sweeps the nation.

By Melba Newsome

Sept. 6, 2024

A used, discarded face mask lying on wet pavement.

Boom, Now Bust: Budget Cuts and Layoffs Take Hold in Public Health

State leaders are cutting public health spending and laying off workers hired during a pandemic-era grant boom. Public health officials say the bust will erode important advancements in the public health safety net, particularly in rural areas.

By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez

Sept. 5, 2024

A woman with a protective sling on her arm stands outside to have her portrait taken.

Patients Suffer When Indian Health Service Doesn’t Pay for Outside Care

The Indian Health Service has a program that can pay for outside appointments when patients need care not offered at agency-funded sites. Critics say money shortages, complex rules, and administrative fumbles often block access, however.

By Arielle Zionts and Katheryn Houghton

Sept. 5, 2024

A photo of a doctor opening a refrigerator.

COVID-19

As Interest From Families Wanes, Pediatricians Scale Back on Covid Shots

Pediatricians want to vaccinate kids, but some say they’re keeping their stockpile of covid vaccines low to avoid being stuck with costly, unwanted shots. They can’t afford to stock up on costly shots that parents don’t want.

By Jackie Fortiér

Sept. 4, 2024

A man speaks into a microphone from behind a lectern. There are 2 large posters with text, graphics, and QRs codes on the wall behind him.

Payback: Tracking Opioid Cash

Public Voices Often Ignored in States’ Opioid Settlement Money Decisions

In many places, victims of the opioid epidemic are silenced in decision-making about how to use opioid settlement money, a first-of-its-kind survey conducted by KFF Health News and Spotlight PA found.

By Aneri Pattani, Henry Larweh, and Ed Mahon, Spotlight PA

Aug. 27, 2024

Postcard From Colorado

With Only Gloves To Protect Them, Farmworkers Say They Tend Sick Cows Amid Bird Flu

A Colorado picnic celebrated Farmworker Appreciation Day. But some dairy workers there said they aren’t feeling appreciated: They don’t have basic protective gear, even as bird flu spreads through area farms.

By Rae Ellen Bichell

Aug. 27, 2024

COVID-19

The New Covid Vaccine Is Out. Why You Might Not Want To Rush To Get It.

Although public health officials recommend the newly approved covid vaccine for everyone 6 months and older, it may make more sense to wait until closer to the holiday season.

By Arthur Allen, Eliza Fawcett, Healthbeat, and Rebecca Grapevine, Healthbeat

Aug. 26, 2024

KFF Health News On Air

Journalists Talk Shooting’s Toll on Children and State Handling of Opioid Settlement Funds

KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and local media in the last two weeks to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Aug. 24, 2024

What the Health? From KFF Health News

Let the General Election Commence

Episode 361

Aug. 23, 2024

Abortion and reproductive health issues headlined the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, as expected. But what Vice President Kamala Harris has in mind for other health policies as the Democratic nominee remains something of a mystery. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump says he would not use the 19th-century Comstock Act to impose, in effect, a national ban on abortion, which angered his anti-abortion backers. Alice Miranda Ollstein of Politico, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Johns Hopkins University, and Shefali Luthra of The 19th join KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner to discuss these stories and more. Also this week, Rovner interviews KFF Health News’ Tony Leys, who reported and wrote the latest KFF Health News-NPR “Bill of the Month” feature about a woman who fought back after being charged for two surgeries despite undergoing only one.

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KFF Health News & PolitiFact HealthCheck

Trump Drastically Inflates Annual Fentanyl Death Numbers

The former president’s claim of 300,000 annual opioid deaths contradicts government statistics.

By Jacob Gardenswartz

Aug. 23, 2024

The back of a row of apartments where some of the windows are boarded up. A sidewalk runs parallel to the building.

Systemic Sickness

A Teen’s Murder, Mold in the Walls: Unfulfilled Promises Haunt Public Housing

For years, federal lawmakers have failed to deliver the money needed to fix derelict public housing, leaving tenants — mostly people of color and families with low incomes — living with mold and gun violence that has had lasting health consequences.

By Fred Clasen-Kelly and Renuka Rayasam

Aug. 22, 2024

Health Brief

The Rapidly Evolving Field of Street Medicine

By Angela Hart

Aug. 21, 2024

A photo of a woman wearing a mask and gloved hands reaching for medical supplies.

Cautious Optimism in San Francisco as New Cases of HIV in Latinos Decrease

New HIV diagnoses have decreased among Latinos in San Francisco, potentially marking the first time in five years that the group hasn’t accounted for the largest number of new cases. Public health experts express cautious optimism, but outreach workers warn that many Latinos still struggle to find testing and treatment.

By Vanessa G. Sánchez

Aug. 21, 2024

KFF Health News On Air

Journalists Discuss African Mpox Upsurge, EpiPen Alternative, and Medicaid Unwinding

KFF Health News and California Healthline staff made the rounds on national and state media this week to discuss topical stories. Here’s a collection of their appearances.

Aug. 17, 2024

A close-up photo of a person writing on a clipboard.

Amid Medicaid ‘Unwinding,’ Many States Wind Up Expanding

The end of pandemic-era Medicaid coverage protections coincided with changes in more than a dozen states to expand coverage for lower-income people, including children, pregnant women, and the incarcerated.

By Phil Galewitz

Aug. 16, 2024

Two photos are shown next to each other: a young girl with her dog on the left; a young boy seated alone on the right.

The Injured

Kids Who Survived Super Bowl Shooting Are Scared, Suffering Panic Attacks and Sleep Problems

Six months after the Feb. 14 parade, parents of survivors under 18 years old say their children are deeply changed. In this installment of “The Injured,” we meet kids who survived the mass shooting only to live with long-term emotional scars.

By Bram Sable-Smith and Peggy Lowe, KCUR

Aug. 14, 2024

Native American Public Health Officials Are Stuck in Data Blind Spot

For decades, state and federal agencies have restricted or delayed tribes and tribal epidemiology centers from accessing public health data, a blackout that leaves health workers in Native American communities cobbling together information to guide their work, including tracking devastating disease outbreaks.

By Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez

Aug. 6, 2024

KFF Health News On Air

Shingles Vaccine May Stall Dementia, and Vaccine Mandates Save Lives, Studies Suggest

KFF Health News senior fellow and editor-at-large for public health Céline Gounder discussed vaccines in a couple of recent media appearances.

Aug. 3, 2024

Trump 2.0

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