Why Science Says Kids Should Still Learn To Write In Cursive
Experts discuss the research that shows why elementary students should still know how to use pens and pencils
Being A Good Patient Takes Work: How To Feel Empowered At The Hospital
Our expert reveals why this is a double-edged sword and how you can feel empowered walking into your next doctor’s appointment.
Improving Vaccine Communication
The White House and many health officials have taken an aggressive approach to communicating the need for Covid-19 vaccines. Most people are prompted to get vaccinated by mandates and words that generate fear, but it’s clear that they backfire with a sizable minority of others. A communications expert discusses how certain words motivate some groups and repel others.
Are Regular People Equipped to Make Complicated Medical Decisions?
Patients have to make medical choices today that they never did before. But do they have enough information to make those choices? Are normal people able to understand the flood of information and the medical terms to make good choices? An expert discusses how patients can work through these issues.
Psychology of Adoption: Birth Mothers
Birth mothers have historically been shunned and stigmatized, and often still do not receive the grief counseling and mental health services they need. Open vs. closed adoptions also differ. An expert psychologist and birth mother-author discuss.
Hospital Price Transparency
Hospitals are now required to post prices for many procedures on their websites, including cash prices and what insurers pay. The intent of the federal rule is to allow patients to shop around, putting pressure on hospitals to compete on price. However, many hospitals have yet to follow the rule. Experts discuss the rule, its likely outcome, and how patients can use it to their advantage.
How Covid Masks Have Affected Children’s Language Development
Infants, toddlers, and grade school children use many cues to learn language. Some of them are visual, involving seeing the mouth move. Some depend on clearly hearing speech. Both have been impacted by mask wearing during the pandemic. Experts now studying how far behind children are as a result discuss how language develops in children and how it’s been affected in the pandemic.
Covid and Kidney Disease
Covid-19 is usually a respiratory disease, but it can affect virtually any organ in the body. The nation’s top kidney disease expert discusses how Covid can prompt life-threatening kidney effects in the previously healthy, and how those with kidney disease are more susceptible to severe Covid infection.
Covid and PTSD
Studies show that as many as a third of people who were very ill with Covid-19 later develop PTSD. Caregivers and health care workers may be afflicted as well. An expert discusses how this develops and what people can do to get better.
Giving Cash to the Homeless
Homelessness continues to be a stubborn problem despite many well-intentioned programs. A new experimental study finds that giving homeless people thousands of dollars in cash helps get many of them off the streets for good, calling into question many assumptions about the homeless and how they got that way. Experts discuss the new program and its implications for ending homelessness.
The Benefits of Writing by Hand
Writing by hand is done less frequently, and some students are barely able to produce cursive writing. However, studies show that writing by hand creates a better connection to the brain for learning content. Experts discuss.
