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Writing about vaccine hesitancy? There’s a study for that
Vaccines and vaccine hesitancy has been my primary micro-beat since I began working as a full-time health/science journalist, so it’s…
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‘Sexology’ fraud duped dozens of reporters — don’t be among them next time
We journalists rely on many tools in our trade: research articles, books, interviews, pen and paper, accumulated knowledge and experience,…
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A good story about medical studies begins with a responsible headline
Many journalists have little to do with the final headline that ends up on their story, while others — such…
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Breakthrough research reveals parachutes don’t prevent death when jumping from a plane
It’s been 15 years since BMJ published the most rigorous type of study there is — a systematic review of…
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VA surgery database explanation available for medical research reporting
Surgery research can become complex very quickly: Not only are there the underlying conditions and demographics of each patient to…
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Roxane Gay’s ‘Hunger’ a worthy, perhaps necessary, read for medical journalists
Content note: This blog post mentions sexual assault. I read (and write) nonfiction all day long, so most of my…
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Be cautious, skeptical with comprehensive reviews of evidence
I recently was assessing a lengthy review of the evidence on environmental exposures and breast cancer risk, and as I…
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Get ready to cover the coming tide of clinical research preprints
The bread and butter of medical research reporting traditionally has been coverage of peer-reviewed studies. However, some new kids are…
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What was that number again …? The solution to re-using stats in your writing
Like many reporters, I have developed several niches in my reporting within medical research. I most often write about pediatrics,…
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Journalists can learn from these ‘9.5 Theses for a Reformation of Evidence-Based Medicine’
At the American Academy of Pediatrics annual meeting last fall, I attended a talk by Kevin Powell, M.D., Ph.D., called…