Radio Health Journal
The latest in health, science, technology, and the intersection of medicine and public policy.
Most forms of cancer have a built-in constituency of patients, loved ones, and concerned others. Lung cancer patients, instead, are often blamed for their own disease because of its frequent connection with smoking. Patients are often isolated, and research dollars lag behind other, less common cancer killers.
Many Americans believe if they have good health care, they’ll have good health. But many factors beyond medicine contribute to our level of health. A noted public health expert explains these factors, and why our own health is much more than an individual concern.
Patients used to accept doctors’ orders without question. Today, more are asking questions and challenging their doctors’ opinions. However, even those who do it politely are likely to be labeled “difficult.” A doctor whose late wife nearly made a career of being a difficult patient discusses how patients can do it respectfully and fruitfully.
Many people have questions about their bodies that seem so silly, they never bring them up with their doctors. While the answers are sometimes humorous, often they are more complicated and important than we imagine. An expert physician/writer discusses.
Clinical trials drive medical advancement, but cancer clinical trials seldom meet their goals in recruiting patients. Experts discuss causes, consequences, and actions being taken to meet needs.
In the mid-1960s, many Ivy League and Seven Sister colleges as well as prestigious prep schools allowed researchers to photograph incoming students naked as part of work on a now-discredited theory linking physical characteristics to leadership potential. A former student who went through it, now a physician and writer, discusses how research ethics have …
Explorers and scientists are speculating that an age inhibitor, or "fountain of youth" drug may be ready for human trials. Lower speed limits increase crashes due to government overrides? A study suggesting, "Let's do science" is much more effective at getting girls engaged than suggesting, "Let's be scientists."
Experts say incest is the most common of all sexual abuse, but the least discussed openly. A noted expert on sexual abuse discusses how incest makes girls feel particularly responsible and unable to come forward, and a non-profit organization that seeks to help them.
Most people think of science as fact-based and not as subject to bias as the rest of the world. However, studies show that gender bias is rampant in science, and that women are not taken as seriously as men, even with identical qualifications. Experts discuss the problem and possible solutions.
Schools would be a good place for programs to screen for mental health issues in students, and to educate about mental health to lessen the pervasive stigma. Some states are making programs mandatory, but elsewhere schools and personnel may resist, seeing mental health as outside the normal role of teachers. Experts discuss how inventive programs are …
Thanks in part to its Biblical past, the disfiguring disease leprosy carries more stigma than most diseases. We hear little about it today, but it still exists, and because it’s now treatable, often the stigma is worse than the disease. An expert discusses.
Electroconvulsive therapy still has a stigma, with the reputation of being a painful, disturbing procedure that wipes out memories and, if movies are to be believed, even creates zombies. Experts explain the reality—that ECT is a quiet procedure that provokes a short brain seizure, releasing huge amounts of neurotransmitters to reset the brain in what is the …
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