Poor sleep quality linked to increased Alzheimer’s risk in Hispanics

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Liz Seegert

About Liz Seegert

Liz Seegert (@lseegert), is AHCJ’s topic editor on aging. Her work has appeared in NextAvenue.com, Journal of Active Aging, Cancer Today, Kaiser Health News, the Connecticut Health I-Team and other outlets. She is a senior fellow at the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement at George Washington University and co-produces the HealthCetera podcast.

Sleep disturbances among Hispanics may increase their risk of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study.

Photo: Alex Proimos via Flickr

Sleep disturbances among Hispanics may increase their risk of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study. Researchers found that insomnia and prolonged sleep duration appear to be linked to a decline in neurocognitive functioning that can precede the onset of Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias.

This finding is particularly important because Hispanics have a significantly higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease compared with non-Hispanic whites. Onset also occurs sooner, according to prior research from Duke University. Continue reading →

Tip sheet dives into resources for rural health, social determinants

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Joanne Kenen

About Joanne Kenen

Joanne Kenen, (@JoanneKenen) the health editor at Politico, is AHCJ’s topic leader on health reform and curates related material at healthjournalism.org. She welcomes questions and suggestions on health reform resources and tip sheets at joanne@healthjournalism.org. Follow her on Facebook.

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Photo: Julie Falk via Flcikr

Rose Hoban, a long-time health journalist who founded and now leads North Carolina Health News, has written an AHCJ tip sheet chock full of resources about both rural health and social determinants of health.

The resource guide grows out of her presentation at Health Journalism 2019 in Baltimore last spring in which she provided both an overview of some national trends in rural health, and also dived into some innovations in communities around the country. Continue reading →

New bills could hinder freelancers’ work in 2020

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Carolyn Crist

About Carolyn Crist

Carolyn Crist (@cristcarolyn) helps AHCJ’s freelance members find the resources, tips and contacts they need to create and run a successful business. A freelance journalist and author, Crist covers health, medicine and science stories for national news outlets such as Reuters, Runner’s World and Parade. She also writes for trade and custom publications. Contact her at carolyn@healthjournalism.org.

California State Capitol

The California State Capitol is the state’s working seat of government.

Lawmakers in several states have introduced — and in some cases, already approved — legislation that could restrict the way freelance writers operate next year.

In California, Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) restricts employers from classifying workers as independent contractors rather than employees under certain conditions. Approved by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September, it goes into effect on Jan. 1. Similar bills in New York and New Jersey (S4204) will make waves during the 2020 legislative session. Continue reading →

Crist joins AHCJ team to enhance resources for freelancers

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Pia Christensen

About Pia Christensen

Pia Christensen (@AHCJ_Pia) is the managing editor/online services for AHCJ. She manages the content and development of healthjournalism.org, coordinates AHCJ's social media efforts and edits and manages production of association guides, programs and newsletters.

Carolyn Crist

Carolyn Crist

Carolyn Crist, an independent journalist based in Georgia, will lead AHCJ’s efforts to expand its resources and services for freelance journalists.

As AHCJ’s freelance community correspondent, Crist will be writing about issues of concern to independent journalists, such as finding assignments, running a business, ethical guidelines, negotiating contracts and much more.

She will work with our freelance members to build out the existing Freelance Center at healthjournalism.org. That will include updated and new market guides, tip sheets and “How I Did It” stories from other freelancers.

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Military’s heat-related illnesses, deaths demonstrate link between climate change, health reporting

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Cheryl Clark

About Cheryl Clark

Cheryl Clark (@CherClarHealth) is AHCJ's core topic leader for patient safety, a MedPage Today contributor and inewsource.org investigative journalist. For most of 27 years, she covered medicine and science for the San Diego Union-Tribune. After taking a buyout in 2008, she became senior quality editor for HealthLeaders Media.

Climate change and health care are two separate beats, right? Usually that’s the case.

Environmental reporters worry about endangered species and greenhouse gases. Health reporters worry about hospital and physician quality and safety and reducing costs of care.

But the two are increasingly intertwined, as my former San Diego Union-Tribune colleague and Pulitzer Prize winner David Hasemyer points out. Continue reading →

AHCJ announces 10th class of Health Performance Reporting Fellows

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Pia Christensen

About Pia Christensen

Pia Christensen (@AHCJ_Pia) is the managing editor/online services for AHCJ. She manages the content and development of healthjournalism.org, coordinates AHCJ's social media efforts and edits and manages production of association guides, programs and newsletters.

The Association of Health Care Journalists has awarded AHCJ Reporting Fellowships on Health Care Performance to six journalists who intend to pursue significant projects in 2020. The program, in its 10th year, is meant to help journalists understand and report on the performance of local health care markets and the U.S. health system as a whole.

The fellowship program, supported by The Commonwealth Fund, is intended to give experienced print, broadcast and online reporters an opportunity to concentrate on the performance of health care systems – or significant parts of those systems – locally, regionally or nationally. The fellows are able to examine policies, practices and outcomes, as well as the roles of various stakeholders.

Continue reading →