Over the past decade, Jessica Guthrie has created systems and routines that include bright sticky notes and weeks worth of meal prep. Her playbook evolves with each chapter of her mom’s disease. There are personality shifts, paranoia, and talking to unknown people in the mirror. Then, the falls that result in calls to the fire […]
Health
Posted inHealth, Mental Health
Through Meditation and Therapy, Black Men Are Taking Care of Their Mental Health
Holding his son, Harold Hughes thought of all he’d pass down. His tech startup was part of the equation. The rest felt a bit more unsettling. “My trauma,” Hughes said, “he can inherit that, too.” It was somewhere between the birth of his son, the death of his father and the shooting of Philando Castile […]
Posted inHealth, Maternal Health
Will the FDA-Approved Blood Test for Preeclampsia Decrease Maternal Deaths?
The recently approved test that can predict which pregnant patients are at risk for developing severe preeclampsia is a promising step, Black doctors and midwives say, but there are limitations. “It’s definitely a welcomed tool, so we are hopeful,” said Dr. Garfield Clunie, president of the National Medical Association, which represents Black doctors. “The pause […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
As Heat Scorches Texas, Lawmakers Loosen Worker Protections
Eugene Gates worked for the U.S. Postal Service for nearly 40 years before dying on his route in Dallas. On that day in mid-June, the heat index hit 115 degrees, the highest since 1980. The exact cause of death has yet to be confirmed, but his wife and others attribute it to the brutal heat […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
Why the Warning Against BMI Won’t Ease Bias Toward Black Patients
The American Medical Association’s recent warning against the use of body mass index may be a step in the right direction — but longtime critics of the metric worry it won’t fix bias in health care assessments. It has been criticized for years because of its racist history, and many advocates and dietitians have questioned […]
Posted inHealth, Mental Health, Partner Content
Activist at 14, Burned Out by 26. Today, Emani Davis Teaches That to Change the World, You Must Also Take Care of Yourself
This story is published in partnership with MindSite News, a nonprofit digital news site that reports on mental health issues. Sign up for the MindSite News Daily newsletter here. When Devon Adams got out of a Washington State prison after 22 years, he hit the ground running. Toward the end of his stint, he’d begun working […]
Posted inHealth, Reproductive Health
80% of Black Women Experience Fibroids. Does Racial Trauma Play a Role?
This story was produced in partnership with Vox as part of the discrimination issue of The Highlight. Comedian Dulcé Sloan took to Twitter recently with a burning health question: “Soooo EVERY black woman has fibroids,” she wrote, injecting a bit of hyperbole, “and no one knows why?!” The tweet sparked a flurry of responses theorizing why 80% of […]
Posted inHealth, Maternal Health
Tori Bowie’s Death Shows the Severity of Our Maternal Mortality Crisis
Three-time Olympic champion Tori Bowie’s death from childbirth complications underscores the alarming reality that Black women are more likely to face the worst pregnancy-related outcomes in the U.S., regardless of socioeconomic status. Bowie was found dead in her home in Winter Garden, Florida, in May. She was estimated to be eight months pregnant and in […]
Posted inHealth, Health Equity
Racism’s Relentless Toll on Black Health in America
This story was produced in partnership with Vox as part of the discrimination issue of The Highlight. OAKLAND, Calif. — On most warm days, Stephanie McWoods catches the California breeze with the bubble wand she keeps on her patio. Sometimes, the bubbles float, then burst midair. Other times, when they don’t pop, it is unclear how many miles […]
Posted inHealth, Mental Health
How Mental Illness Among Black Americans Goes Misdiagnosed
First, came the depression diagnosis. Then, a catatonia diagnosis. PTSD and anxiety labels were thrown in the mix, too. In college, 12 people Natasha Pierre knew had died within six months, and all she could do was talk to the campus priests about how she was feeling. The trauma piled on, and being in New […]
