Oona Zenda

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ozenda@kff.org

Florida Foster Kids Are Given Powerful Medications, but Feds Find State Oversight Lacking

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

A report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services raises troubling questions about the use of powerful medications within Florida’s child welfare system and the risk of overdoses or dangerous side effects if children are given the wrong combination of drugs.

Officials Agree: Use Settlement Funds to Curb Youth Addiction. But the ‘How’ Gets Hairy.

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

Parents, educators, and elected officials agree that investing in school-based prevention efforts could help curb the rising rate of youth drug overdoses. The well-known D.A.R.E. program is one likely choice, but its effectiveness is in question.

Illustrated Report: How Gun Violence Goes Viral

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

As chatter and images about guns and violence slip into the social media feeds of more teens, viral messages fueled by “likes†can lead to real-world conflict and loss.

Need to Get Plan B or an HIV Test Online? Facebook May Know About It

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

Twelve of the largest drugstores in the U.S. sent shoppers’ sensitive health information to Facebook or other platforms, according to an investigation by The Markup and Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News.

Mood-Altering Mushroom Sales Bloom Despite Safety Concerns

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

The well-known “Amanita muscaria†mushroom is legal to possess and consume in 49 states. The market for gummies, powders, and capsules containing extracts of the fungus is raising eyebrows, though, amid concerns from the FDA and in the absence of human clinical trials.

Can a Fetus Be an Employee? States Are Testing the Boundaries of Personhood After ‘Dobbs’

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

Laws granting rights to unborn children have spread in the decades since the U.S. and Missouri supreme courts allowed Missouri’s definition of life as beginning at conception to stand. Now, a wrongful death lawsuit involving a workplace accident shows how sprawling those laws — often intended to curb abortion — have become.

How One Patient’s Textured Hair Nearly Kept Her From a Needed EEG

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

An EEG can help diagnose conditions like epilepsy, sleep disorders, and brain tumors. But a design flaw and outdated Eurocentric practices make the test less effective on thicker, denser, and curly hair types, potentially excluding or deterring some people from getting screened.

Depressed? Anxious? Air Pollution May Be a Factor

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

A growing body of research is finding links between air quality and mental health, as therapists report seeing patients with symptoms linked to pollution.

Feds Launch Criminal Investigation Into ‘AGGA’ Dental Device and Its Inventor

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News and CBS News recently reported that multiple lawsuits allege the device has led to grievous injuries to patients’ mouths, resulting in loss of teeth.

How Private Equity Is Investing in Health Care: A Video Primer

Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½Ò•îl Health News Original

Investors are putting money into everything from emergency room obstetrics units and dermatology practices to nursing homes and hospice care — from cradle to grave.