Category: NPR

Medical Anthropologist Explores ‘Vaccine Hesitancy’

Families learn to be skeptical about vaccines in communities where incomplete vaccination is the norm. A researcher into the phenomenon found that people are ready to listen, if they’re heard, too.

‘Church Of Safe Injection’ Offers Needles, Naloxone To Prevent Opioid Overdoses

The group says it has 18 chapters in eight states, all of them funded by private, anonymous donations. Members distribute free and clean drug-use supplies even at the risk of being arrested.

Doctor Weighs In On Supreme Court’s Decision To Block Louisiana Abortion Law

NPR’s Michel Martin speaks with Dr. Willie Parker about the recent Supreme Court decision regarding abortion access in Louisiana.

An Overview Of State Abortion Laws

Scott Simon talks to Julie Rovner, chief Washington correspondent for Kaiser Health News, about new abortion laws in state legislatures across the country.

How To Demand A Medical Breakthrough: Lessons From The AIDS Fight

When the AIDS crisis started in the 1980s, the official response was tepid. Then activists channeled their anger into into one of the most effective protest movements in recent history.

Former Rep. John Dingell Left An Enduring Health Care Legacy

During the 1980s and early 1990s, Rep. John Dingell was instrumental in expanding the Medicaid program, reshaping Medicare and modernizing the Food and Drug Administration. He died Thursday night.

Utah Voters Approved Medicaid Expansion, But State Lawmakers Are Balking

Political fights over health care continue to flare. In Utah, angry voters say lawmakers are disregarding their wishes by trying to limit the scope of a ballot referendum that expanded Medicaid.

Avoiding The Ouch. Scientists Are Working On Ways To Swap The Needle For A Pill

A lot of vaccines and some medications need to be delivered by injection. Two groups of researchers are designing ways of delivering these medications by putting them in pill form.

GOP Rep. Ann Wagner Discusses Prospect Of National Paid Leave

NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., who enthusiastically shouted “Yes!” when President Trump raised the prospect of national paid leave in his State of the Union address.

U.S. Prosecutors Sue To Stop Nation’s First Supervised Injection Site For Opioids

The U.S. government is intervening to stop the creation of a medical facility in Philadelphia where people could inject heroin without risk of overdose. Canada and Europe already have such sites.