Health & Safety

Man, that PPE is hot. And not in a good way. One challenge for the designers was to come up a way to give health workers more time in personal protective equipment without overheating.

Ebola Design Challenge Says Yes To The Wedding Dress Designer

10:32am November 03, 2014

by Linda Poon

There were engineers. And virologists. And one wedding dress designer. Together, they're trying to devise a better design for protective gear worn by health workers in the Ebola ward.

A map of toxic waste sites can be combined with maps of waterways and cities to reveal potential health risks.

A Field Of Medicine That Wants To Know Where You Live

8:39am November 03, 2014

by Alison Bruzek

Where do you live? Health specialists think that simple question could make a difference in how doctors prevent and treat diseases for individuals. That's expanding its storied role in public health.

Umu Fambulle stands over her husband, Ibrahim, who'd fallen and knocked himself unconscious in an Ebola ward in Monrovia, Liberia.

When A Loved One Has Ebola, How Can You Reach Out Without Touching?

7:03am November 02, 2014

by Diane Cole

A hug, a back rub, holding hands — all these shows of compassion are dangerous when the patient has Ebola. Is there any way to make up for the loss of the ability to touch?

Can Changing How You Sound Help You Find Your Voice?

9:55pm November 01, 2014

by Laura Starecheski

Women's voices are often criticized, especially at work. We're called "shrill," told we "lack authority." Here's the story of two women who changed their voices in a quest to be heard.

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A burial team carries the body of woman suspected to have died from the Ebola virus in Monrovia, Liberia. Most of the organized burial teams in the country are assisted by the aid group Global Communities, which, among other things, trains workers to prop

As Epidemic In Liberia Slows, Burying Bodies Remains A Challenge

6:24pm November 01, 2014

by NPR Staff

The aid group Global Communities, which has been organizing safe burial teams for the bodies of Ebola victims in Liberia, says it has seen the number of deaths flatten off.

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Decontee Davis, 23, initially thought she had malaria when she came down with a fever. It took her more than a week after she got sick to seek treatment for Ebola.

She Lost Her Fiance To Ebola But Found A New Mission

5:13pm November 01, 2014

by Rebecca Hersher

Decontee Davis survived Ebola, but her fiance died of the virus. Now she is working with children whose parents have had the disease — and spreading the word that early treatment is critical.

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'Ebola Is Real': Group Works Beyond Government In Sierra Leone

2:25pm November 01, 2014

NPR's Scott Simon talks to John Caulker, executive director of the non profit Fambul Tok. His group has been working outside the government to contain the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone.

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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power had her temperature taken as she arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power Sees Signs Of Hope In West Africa

7:41pm October 31, 2014

by NPR Staff

After a four-day visit to Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, she reports progress — along with the need for continued support.

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Nurse Kaci Hickox and her boyfriend, Ted Wilbur, take delivery of a pizza at their home in Fort Kent, Maine, on Thursday. A judge has ruled that the state cannot compel Hickox to remain in isolation if she's not showing signs of Ebola infection.

Maine Judge Rejects State's Bid To Restrict Nurse's Movements

2:40pm October 31, 2014

by Scott Neuman

The request by state officials would have compelled Kaci Hickox, who shows no symptoms of Ebola, to isolate herself until Nov. 10.

A nurse uses a diagram of the female reproductive system to explain the do-it-yourself careHPV test at the Uganda Cancer Institute in Kampala.

Why My Grandma Never Had A Pap Smear

12:56pm October 31, 2014

by Nsikan Akpan

Women in the developing world may never be tested for cervical cancer. Clinics are far away, cultural biases may keep them away. Now an inexpensive test lets them do it themselves.