Medicine

Fewer than 6% of American physicians identify as Black, but census data show roughly 12% of the U.S. population is Black. Some experts say that disparity is one reason communities of color tend to experience worse health outcomes in the U.S., including higher rates of high blood pressure, shorter life expectancy and higher risks during childbirth. A new book from a former ProPublica reporter links today’s inequalities to a long history of structural racism — part of which runs through North Carolina.

Social prescribing is changing how health care is traditionally thought of by linking patients to community-based activities to address stress, loneliness and overall well-being. Through partnerships at hospitals and museums, Charlotte is beginning to explore how creative expression can support mental and physical health. We explore how social prescribing works and the research behind it.

Social prescribing is changing how health care is traditionally thought of by linking patients to community-based activities to address stress, loneliness and overall well-being. Through partnerships at hospitals and museums, Charlotte is beginning to explore how creative expression can support mental and physical health. We explore how social prescribing works and the research behind it.

The symptoms can include nerve pain, emotional numbness and sexual dysfunction and can last for years after stopping the drugs. Patients are pushing for recognition and more research.

Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended against flu shots containing the ingredient thimerosal. Why is the additive, safely used since the 1930s, being questioned again?

A new study points out success stories — and potential obstacles — to bringing vaccines to the world's children.

Jessica Chaikof says research into gene therapies could someday save her eyesight. But she worries cuts to federal research funding could mean that therapy won't be ready in time.

A growing body of research demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of self-managed abortion with pills, coupled with the global pandemic in 2020 and the fall of Roe in 2022, has many U.S. doctors changing their views.

Wearing traditional cosmetic face masks from their homeland of Madagascar, they agreed to be photographed to take a stand.

Former FDA chief Dr. David Kessler says the new weight-loss drugs are a powerful tool to fight obesity. But they come with pitfalls. Here's his tips for how to use them successfully.