Author Archives: Susan Heavey

Susan Heavey

About Susan Heavey

Susan Heavey, (@susanheavey) a Washington, D.C.-based journalist, is AHCJ’s topic leader on social determinants of health and curates related material at healthjournalism.org. She welcomes questions and suggestions on resources and tip sheets at determinants@healthjournalism.org.

#AHCJ18 to examine more holistic approaches to housing, health

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A spate of recent stories highlighting the nation’s housing crunch has shined a spotlight on how homelessness or other poor housing situations impact health. So what’s being done about it?

At Health Journalism 2018, a panel of experts will weigh how challenges when it comes to where people live can also affect how they live, as well as consider how programs and other potential solutions and policies aim to improve wellness by tackling the housing conundrum through a more integrated approach. Continue reading →

HuffPost reporter, drawn by data, paints larger picture of hepatitis outbreak

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Graphic courtesy of HuffPostLauren Weber and her colleagues recently tracked the increase in hepatitis A cases across the country, noting surges beyond California. What started off as a simple map soon drove a larger story about a growing national crisis.

It was supposed to be a simple map. But what started as a small graphics project at HuffPost soon transformed into a revealing piece on the nation’s hepatitis outbreaks.

Writer and editor Lauren Weber, who also runs HuffPost’s The Morning Email, and her colleague had been following the outbreak in San Diego. They built up their sources and kept pressing for more information, soon connecting the dots to other outbreaks outside of the one in California that had made national headlines. Continue reading →

How Medicaid work rules could impact public health

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Photo: 7_DSC9585dmitryzhkov via Flickr

The Trump administration opened the door to requiring work rules for recipients of Medicaid, the joint federal-state health insurance program for the poor and disabled. While such changes will inevitably affect some people’s access to the government coverage, it remains unclear what impact it could have on their actual health.

New York Times’ Margot Sanger-Katz took a look to see if, just like with higher income, requiring work would improve health. Continue reading →

For radio reporter, a Health Journalism 2017 panel comes to life

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Photo courtesy of Avery Schneider, WBFOAvery Schneider, NPR member station WBFO’s lead health reporter, found useful inspiration in a Health Journalism 2017 panel on health disparities and costs. Months later, it led him to a barber shop in Western New York to report on how one program is targeting barber shops to expand access to cardiovascular health care.

In the midst of a conference, sometimes the story is hard to see – or hear.

But for one AHCJ member, Avery Schneider of Western New York’s WBFO, a panel discussion on the social determinants of health helped ignite a story idea months later when contacted about a new health program in the area. Continue reading →

Signs of housing shortages in other cities evoke West Coast crisis

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Photo: brian hefele via Flickr

The deadliest outbreak of hepatitis A in the country flaring in southern California stems from a confluence of factors, from a lack of affordable housing and accessible health care to a shortage of public restrooms. But could other cities across the country face a similar crisis?

In Washington, D.C., outdoor retailer REI recently launched a new flagship store in the eastern part of the nation’s capital. But just outside the store, in a gentrifying neighborhood about one mile north of the U.S. Capitol, a tent city has sprung up “along the underpasses squeezed between some of the newest money in town,” according to local columnist Petula Dvorak. Continue reading →