Articles in Health

In his book The Omnivorous Mind: Our Evolving Relationship with Food, neuroanthropologist John S. Allen discusses the history of human eating, from foraged foods on the savannah to four-star meals cooked by celebrity chefs, and discusses why crunchy foods like tempura and fried chicken have universal appeal.

A new poll finds 34 percent of patients hospitalized for at least one night in the past year said "nurses weren't available when needed or didn't respond quickly to requests for help." We asked nurses why that might be. Stories poured in about being overworked, comparing the job to "spinning plates."

Memorial Day Weekend usually marks different summer festivities for locals in the Ozarks. Some spend time outside, host cook-outs, or take time to honor those serving in the armed forces. For those who are race fans, Community Blood Center of the Ozarks (CBCO) is hosting Laps for Life Blood Drive, featuring the Indy 500, Coca-Cola 600 and numerous races on local tracks, like Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri. KSMU’s Rebekah Clark has details.

Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan are the only three countries left where poliovirus remains endemic. But work to put the paralyzing virus on the ropes there is in danger of failing. The setbacks have spurred a renewed focus on defeating the disease.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said the harms, such as false alarms and unnecessary surgeries that leave some men impotent and incontinent, outweigh the benefits of routine PSA blood testing for prostate cancer. But it's far from clear that doctors and their patients will heed the advice.

Have you thought about switching to barefoot running? New York Times exercise columnist Gretchen Reynolds did — and promptly injured herself. She details what she did wrong — and how to keep your own running feet healthy — in her new book The First 20 Minutes.

Joplin health officials are finding lead contamination in the soil throughout the tornado zone.  They believe the tornado -- and Joplin's rich history as a lead mining town -- are to blame. KSMU's Jennifer Moore has this Sense of Community Report from Joplin.

Shuai, a Chinese immigrant who lives in Indiana, is still facing charges of murder and feticide following a failed suicide attempt in Dec. 2010, when she was 33 weeks pregnant.

Author Alice Randall recently raised eyebrows when she wrote in an op-ed, "black women are fat because we want to be." This comes after the release of her new novel Ada's Rules where a preacher's wife takes care of everyone but herself, until she realizes she's gained 100 pounds. Host Michel Martin speaks with Randall and regular moms contributors.

More than 40 Catholic educational, charitable and other entities filed a dozen lawsuits in federal court around the nation Monday, charging that the Obama Administration's rule requiring coverage of birth control in most health insurance plans violates their religious freedom.

In this segment of KSMU's Sense of Community, Michele Skalicky talks with Mercy Joplin President/CEO Gary Pulsipher about how far the hospital has come since a tornado destroyed the building one year ago.

Katie Beckett died Friday morning in the same hospital where she'd once made history. Beckett was 3 years old when her case changed health care law and 34 when she died. NPR's Joseph Shapiro explains why she was important to other children with disabilities.