Health & Safety

Women wait by a maternal health care clinic in Pabre, Burkina Faso, for a free cervical cancer screening.

A Crowd Is Waiting For A Cervical Cancer Clinic On Wheels

7:00am February 04, 2018

by Matthea Roemer

The cancer takes a devastating toll in sub-Saharan Africa. In Burkina Faso, health workers have come up with a creative way to offer free screenings in the farthest corners of the country.

Why A Cancer Patient Opposes The 'Right To Try' Experimental Cancer Drugs

8:07am February 03, 2018

Michael Becker is dying from cancer. But he tells NPR's Scott Simon that he opposes the passage of the Right To Try Act, which gives terminally ill patients access to experimental drugs.

New treatments for migraines could change how physicians treat patients with the debilitating headaches.

Gone With A Shot? Hopeful New Signs Of Relief For Migraine Sufferers

8:00am February 03, 2018

by Lauren Gravitz

Novel migraine therapies could change how physicians treat these debilitating headaches. But they are likely to be expensive and the long-term side effects will not be known for some time.

A new public toilet at a park in China's southwestern Guizhou province. Don't worry — the fence keeps it private.

Health & Safety

China's 'Toilet Revolution' Is Flush With Lavish Loos

7:00am February 03, 2018

by Yuhan Xu

China has sunk $3 billion into the building or renovating of 68,000 public bathrooms, with sometimes strange results: Outhouses that look like castles, homes, even human faces.

The Liberian Elbow Bump Is Your Good Friend During Flu Season

7:00am February 03, 2018

by Marc Silver

With this flu season in the U.S. described as "severe," is high-fiving a no-no? How do we keep those flu germs at bay?

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced federal approval for changes to Indiana's Medicaid program Friday in Indianapolis.

Indiana Adds Work Requirement To Medicaid, Will Block Coverage If Paperwork Is Late

8:27pm February 02, 2018

by Phil Galewitz

Federal officials signed off on an Indiana plan that would lock out people who fail to promptly file Medicaid paperwork. The provision could drive thousands of people off Medicaid in the state.

Undergraduate Shira Rubin gamely demonstrates the Gesundheit machine, which collects samples of virus from the breath that sick students exhale. Rubin helps Dr. Somayeh Youssefi (left) set up the machine before patients use it.

When The Flu Hits Campus, The Gesundheit Machine Will Be Ready

4:29pm February 02, 2018

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

It's a particularly harsh flu season. In the close quarters of dorm rooms and cafeterias and study groups, the flu will come to college campuses. And when it does, one scientist will be ready.

Queue Listen Now

Matt Damon talks about the partnership between Stella Artois and Water.org.

Fact-Checking Matt Damon's Clean Water Promise In A Super Bowl Ad

4:16pm February 02, 2018

by Malaka Gharib

It's a powerful claim: Buy a limited-edition Stella Artois beer glass and part of your money will help provide clean water for someone in the developing world for five years. Does it hold up?

A doctor and nurse confer inside a room used for flu patients at Northside Hospital in Cumming, Ga. The U.S. government's latest flu report, released Friday, showed flu season continued to intensify, with high volumes of flu-related patient traffic in 42

CDC: Flu Season Getting Even Worse, Especially For Children

3:35pm February 02, 2018

by Richard Harris

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu hospitalizations are the highest since the CDC started tracking those numbers, and we may only be halfway through the season.

Matilde Gonzalez (left) and Cesar Calles hold their son, Cesar Julian Calles, 10 months old, as he is immunized with a flu shot in January at Sea Mar Community Health Center in Seattle.

Budget Delays Bring Uncertainty To Health Programs For The Needy

12:40pm February 02, 2018

by Shefali Luthra

With another federal budget deadline looming, there's a push to add provisions to a spending bill that would help community health centers and other providers of health services for low-income people.