CenterforHealthJournalism.org Core Topics

The Center for Health Journalism invites journalists, policy thinkers and medical professionals to share their perspectives with our diverse and interdisciplinary community. Our member column captures a range of perspectives on health, health policy and health journalism. Interested in contributing? Reach out to editor@centerforhealthjournalism.org.

News, analysis and resources on the fast-moving coronavirus pandemic, featuring timely dispatches from reporters, experts and providers. 

What questions do you have about covering COVID-19? The Center for Health Journalism is answering questions on how reporters and newsrooms can respond during the pandemic.

Children's Health Matters is a column that shares the latest reporting, research, commentary and ideas on pediatric health and child development; prevention models to reduce health disparities for ill children and children born into poverty; links between maternal and children’s health; and broader trends in children's health and well-being.

This column offers thoughtful commentary on untold and overlooked issues that are ripe for journalism and policy exploration and investigation. We highlight great investigative journalism coverage, talk to leading reporters and thinkers, share resources and datasets rich with untold stories, and discuss how to navigate the roadblocks confronted in hard-hitting investigations.

This column explores how health reform is changing the ways in which we pay for and deliver health care in the U.S. It also highlights the ways in which our current system is falling short on measures of coverage, access and affordability. On any given week, that could mean a look at how Republican plans to repeal Obamacare could reshape the individual insurance market, how the safety net system is adapting to new financial pressures, or how the trend of doctors and hospitals merging into ever-larger entities is driving up costs. We also explore health care costs and whether the Affordable Care Act or its successor plans can live up to the promise to rein them in. Throughout, we keep watch on how the goals of health reform intersect with the shaping power of markets and human behavior. Contributors include veteran health journalist Trudy Lieberman and independent health journalist Kellie Schmitt, with occasional contributions from independent journalists such as Susan Abram and Sara Stewart.

The Health Divide explores the ways in which persistent disparities and inequities shape health in this country, with a focus on the role played by social factors outside of the doctor’s office. We look at the conditions where people live and work, and the influence of race, class and immigration status. We look at the health care policy landscape and efforts to close the gap between the haves and have nots when it comes to inequitable access and treatment in health care. The Health Divide explores the role of systemic racism and police violence as well as community safety and how such conditions can contribute to toxic stress and illness. Such factors can have an outsize role in determining individual and community well-being, influencing how long we live and the quality of our lives. We highlight great work around these themes in the journalism and policy sphere, and encourage our readers to weigh in with ideas.

“Slow Medicine” refers to a thoughtful, evidence-based approach to care and emphasizes careful clinical reasoning. It draws on many of the principles of the broader "Slow Movement,” which have been applied to a wide range of fields including food, art, parenting and technology. In this column, authors Dr. Michael Hochman and Dr. Pieter Cohen discuss a wide variety of topical medical and health care issues in an informal manner. 

Here is where you'll find news about the Center for Health Journalism Fellowships program and its participants. Check back often for updates on Fellows and their work, live-blogging of our seminars, and more from our staff.

A weekly conversation about following your passions and your paycheck.