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Kim Botteicher, founder and executive director of FAVOR ~ Western PA, runs the nonprofit out of the basement of an old church building in Bolivar, Pa. In addition to providing various addiction and recovery support services, she would like to hand out clean syringes to help prevent disease transmission. But doing that isn't authorized under state law.
Nate Smallwood
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According to the CDC, about one in four adults has a fear of needles. Many of those people say the phobia started when they were kids. For some people, the fear of needles is strong enough that they avoid getting important treatments, vaccines or tests. That poses a serious problem for public health. Researchers have helped develop a five step plan to help prevent what they call "needless pain" for kids getting injections or their blood drawn. Guest host Tom Dreisbach talks with Dr. Stefan Friedrichsdorf of UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals, who works with a team to implement the plan at his own hospital. Friedrichsdorf told us some of the most important research on eliminating pain has come from researchers in Canada. Learn more about their work here.
Want to stop needle phobia in adults? Make shots less painful for kids
Kevin Carlson, with nurse Joshua Lee (right) and respiratory therapist Eric Mathewson (left), watches a WWE match on October 2, 2023 in San Jose, Calif.
Gabriel Torres
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Kim Botteicher, founder and executive director of FAVOR ~ Western PA, runs the nonprofit out of the basement of an old church building in Bolivar, Pa. In addition to providing various addiction and recovery support services, she would like to hand out clean syringes to help prevent disease transmission. But doing that isn't authorized under state law.
Nate Smallwood
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Kevin Carlson, with nurse Joshua Lee (right) and respiratory therapist Eric Mathewson (left), watches a WWE match on October 2, 2023 in San Jose, Calif.
Gabriel Torres
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When relaying the difficult news of a cancer diagnosis to kids, it's important to give them time to process the information, says Elizabeth Farrell, a clinical social worker at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Mary Long/Getty Images
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J.J. Holmes was recognized this year among the News Service of Florida's 40 under 40 for his advocacy work for people with disabilities. The News Service's Dara Kam hosted the ceremony.
Erich Martin
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Melissa Wyaco supervises about two dozen public health nurses who search for patients across the Navajo Nation who have tested positive for or have been exposed to syphilis.
Navajo Area Indian Health Services
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Under Louisiana's abortion ban, doctors face penalties of up to 15 years in prison, $200,000 in fines and loss of their medical license. Dr. Neelima Sukhavasi, a Baton Rouge OB-GYN, says that doctors are scared. Here, Dr. Sukhavasi poses for a portrait in Baton Rouge, La., on Monday, March 18, 2024.
Christiana Botic
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People with symptoms of long Covid sit in the audience as they listen during a Senate Committee hearing on Long Covid earlier this year. Long Covid remains one of the most vexing legacies of the pandemic.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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People who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid face maddening challenges accessing health care. The government spends $500 billion on this care, yet patients often can't get what they need.
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Millions of people are affected by long COVID, a disease that encompasses a range of symptoms — everything from brain fog to chronic fatigue — and that manifests differently across patients.
The Washington Post/The Washington Post via Getty Images
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The Washington Post/The Washington Post via Getty Images
People with metabolic syndrome, which can include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar and several other conditions, are at higher risk of getting cancer, a new study finds.
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Jon Kabat-Zinn is a leading researcher into the health effects of meditation. He developed the Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction protocol in 1979.
D Dipasupil/Getty Images
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Most Americans also say women should be allowed to travel for medical care – including an abortion, a new KFF poll finds.
Gracey Zhang for NPR
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A digital illustration of a circle of hands extending from the edge of the image, each holding a sheet of paper. The papers overlap in the center and, like a puzzle, come together to reveal a drawing of a handgun.
Oona Tempest/KFF Health News
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Rod Nordland looks at the Istanbul old city from Galata Tower on Nov. 20, 2016. Nordland was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a terminal brain cancer, in 2019.
Yasin Akgul/AFP via Getty Images
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Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is working toward regulation to remove medical bills from consumer credit reports.
Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images
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Comirnaty, a new Pfizer/BioNTech vaccination booster for COVID-19, is displayed at a pharmacy in Orlando, Fla., on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023.
Joe Burbank/AP
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ProLife Across America, a national nonprofit, has placed multiple anti-abortion billboards in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Arielle Zionts/KFF Health News
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