According to the CDC, about one in four adults has a fear of needles. Many of those people say the phobia started when they were kids. For some people, the fear of needles is strong enough that they avoid getting important treatments, vaccines or tests. That poses a serious problem for public health. Researchers have helped develop a five step plan to help prevent what they call "needless pain" for kids getting injections or their blood drawn. Guest host Tom Dreisbach talks with Dr. Stefan Friedrichsdorf of UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals, who works with a team to implement the plan at his own hospital. Friedrichsdorf told us some of the most important research on eliminating pain has come from researchers in Canada. Learn more about their work here.
This episode was inspired by the reporting of our colleague April Dembosky, a journalist at member station KQED and KFF Health News. Read her digital story here.
A team of scientists argue that new vaccines and treatments wouldn't be critical if humans could figure out how to stop viruses from spilling over from animals in the first place.
There are legal safeguards to protect patients from big bills like out-of-network air-ambulance rides. But insurers may not pay if they decide the ride wasn't medically necessary.
On the Tuesday, March 26 edition of Georgia Today: Opioid settlement dollars are headed to Georgia; some lawmakers are calling for an expansion of the Port of Savannah; more professional soccer could be coming to metro Atlanta.
Only seven states have legalized human composting as a burial practice. That's why 29 percent of the bodies brought to Recompose, a composting facility in Seattle, come from out of state.
On the Monday, March 25 edition of Georgia Today: Atlanta plans to build new MARTA stations; Sen. Jon Ossoff wants answers to the USPS delays; Emory and Georgia Tech are teaming up to help prevent heat-related injuries
It can be confusing for shoppers to wade through the bounty of information about the differences between organic and conventional produce. An expert clears the air on some common questions.
The case could affect not just abortion access but oversight of the drug industry and the authority of federal agencies. The court hears arguments Tuesday.
Few humans have had the opportunity to see Earth from space, much less live in space. We got to talk to one of these lucky people — NASA astronaut Loral O'Hara. She will soon conclude her nearly seven month stay on the International Space Station.
Transmitting from space to your ears, Loral talks to host Regina G. Barber about her dreams in microgravity, and her research on the ISS: 3D-printing human heart tissue, how the human brain and body adapt to microgravity, and how space changes the immune systems of plants.
Have questions you want us to send to outers pace? Email us at shortwave@npr.org!
For a decade, Florida lawmakers have debated whether to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Advocates are trying to circumvent the legislature and take the issue directly to voters.
The state was on the cusp of making new rules to protect people who work in places like warehouses from dangerous heat. A last-minute shake-up leaves workers wondering if they'll be safe come summer.
Yes, as Oprah enthused, the drugs help people shrink their bodies. But the psychological damage of weight stigma can't be so easily cured, a doctor writes.
Like many countries in Africa, The Gambia has a law criminalizing the practice of female genital mutilation. Now, amid a religious backlash, it could become the first country to repeal its ban.
A report out this week says hunger, malnutrition and even starvation are widespread in Gaza, but stopped short of declaring it a 'famine.' Here's a primer on what that means, and who gets to decide.
