Hispanic health disparities in the US trace back to the Spanish Inquisition

Early modern societies in Latin America and Spain saw a convergence of traditional medical knowledge and the professionalization of medicine. The resulting differences in access to care endure today.

Margaret Boyle, Associate Professor of Romance Languages and Literatures, Director of Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies Program, Bowdoin College • conversation
March 5, 2024 ~10 min

What is IVF? A nurse explains the evolving science and legality of in vitro fertilization

IVF is a decades-old procedure that has allowed increasing numbers of prospective parents to have children. Evolving legislation may put it under threat.

Heidi Collins Fantasia, Associate Professor of Nursing, UMass Lowell • conversation
Feb. 29, 2024 ~7 min


Treatment can do more harm than good for prostate cancer − why active surveillance may be a better option for some

People with low-risk prostate cancer are more likely to die from something else. Overdiagnosis and overtreatment can lead to life-changing complications.

Jinping Xu, Chair of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University • conversation
Jan. 26, 2024 ~10 min

Literature inspired my medical career: Why the humanities are needed in health care

While medical school may teach students about how the body works, it often neglects the social, political and cultural factors that determine health and disease. The humanities can help.

Irène Mathieu, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Virginia • conversation
Jan. 5, 2024 ~11 min

Why do some men commit domestic violence? Trauma and social isolation may play a role

Childhood adversity can put people at risk of perpetrating domestic violence in the future. Having a supportive social network and learning ways to regulate the stress response, however, can help.

Laura Voith, Associate Professor of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University • conversation
Dec. 19, 2023 ~9 min

Racism produces subtle brain changes that lead to increased disease risk in Black populations

Racial threats and slights take a toll on health, but the continual invalidation and questioning of whether those so-called microaggressions exist has an even more insidious effect, research shows.

Nathaniel Harnett, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School • conversation
Dec. 15, 2023 ~8 min

Who is still getting HIV in America? Medication is only half the fight – homing in on disparities can help get care to those who need it most

Two-thirds of new HIV infections are among gay and bisexual men. Although cases have decreased among white men, they have stagnated among communities of color.

Angel Algarin, Assistant Professor of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Arizona State University • conversation
Dec. 1, 2023 ~6 min

Cancer has many faces − 5 counterintuitive ways scientists are approaching cancer research to improve treatment and prevention

From math to evolutionary game theory, looking at cancer through different lenses can offer further insights on how to approach treatment resistance, metastasis and health disparities.

Vivian Lam, Associate Health and Biomedicine Editor • conversation
Nov. 1, 2023 ~11 min


HIV self-test kits are meant to empower those at risk − but they don't necessarily lead to starting HIV treatment or prevention

Many people at heightened risk for HIV have never been tested. Those who have self-tested for HIV often don’t go on to receive care or change their sexual behavior.

Oluwaseun Abdulganiyu Badru, Ph.D. Candidate in Community and Behavioral Health, University of Iowa • conversation
Oct. 2, 2023 ~5 min

LGBTQ+ caregivers of people with dementia face unique stresses that lead to poorer physical and mental health

Discrimination, isolation and stigma related to sexual orientation or gender identity likely contribute to the higher rates of depression and lower quality of life of LGBTQ+ caregivers.

Joel G. Anderson, Associate Professor of Nursing, University of Tennessee • conversation
Aug. 24, 2023 ~8 min

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