Fickle media drive disaster relief. Guess who loses.
These estimates come from a terrific analysis of the influence of mass media on U.S. government response to 5,000 natural disasters around the world from 1968 to 2002. It shows […]
Category Archives: journalism
Brutal inequalities in diabetes care: amputation hot spots
Surgical amputation of toes, feet or legs is a dreaded outcome of diabetes that can be prevented with good medical care. That can be hard to get if you live […]
The inequality of violent death
News outlets duly noted the recent study showing that injuries and violence kill more young people in the U.S. than any other cause of death. But the coverage scarcely mentioned […]
A ‘birth lottery’ still determines who gets to live longest, healthiest life
“Since when in America do we have classes? Since when in America are people stuck in areas or defined places called a class? That’s Marxism talk.” – Rick Santorum, former […]
How medical research stumbles on socioeconomic status
Medical study authors routinely claim to have “controlled” for socioeconomic status. That kind of sweeping assertion should set off alarm bells. The authors probably haven’t come close to fully accounting […]
Relativity in pop culture: ‘Men of Science More or Less Agog’
This vintage science writing makes me wonder how quaint – or even laughable – contemporary science journalism will look 100 years from now. A total solar eclipse on May 29, 1919 […]
Food deserts: Just one facet of an obesogenic world
[Re-posting my latest commentary on social determinants for Covering Health, the blog of the Association of Health Care Journalists] ••• It seems pretty far-fetched that bringing a supermarket to a disadvantaged […]
Uncovering the real drivers of obesity in young people
It’s great that the rapid rise in youth obesity since the 1980s has started to level off. But there’s an unsettling trend hidden in the data: Progress has largely been […]
Oregon emergency rooms and Obamacare
Studies from the dismal science don’t often make big headlines, but an economic study of emergency room utilization in Oregon set off a thundering media stampede earlier this month: “Obamacare […]
Eating healthy: Prohibitively expensive or surprisingly cheap?
Income, education, neighborhood environment and other social forces shape and limit the food choices people make. For instance, studies consistently have found a socioeconomic gradient in food choices: at lower levels of […]
