KQED profiles those who live with disease, injury
This month’s edition of Health Dialogues, part of KQED’s California Report, focuses on living with disease. In the report, KQED reporters talk to folks living with chronic disease, the effects of traumatic injury and other conditions that can have lasting effects on a person’s quality of life.
To provide insight into the life and routine of someone coping with chronic disease, reporters profile a music programmer ‘coping’ with diabetes, an activist who stumbled upon a forgotten childhood diagnosis of hepatitis B and a cellist with multiple sclerosis. They also talk to a couple dealing with cancer and two sisters on opposite ends of an organ donation chain.
In addition to cancer and disease, KQED reporters also explore how the lasting effects of traumatic injury can shape your life. Pieces include a KPBS reporter talking about his own traumatic brain injury and the story of a surfing-based physical therapy program for veterans.
CJR: Be skeptical of miraculous study results
In the Columbia Journalism Review, Katherine Bagley urges journalists to use caution when reporting the results of medical studies, citing reports on a recent study on the effectiveness of using stem cells to halt or even reverse multiple sclerosis as an example.
Done with caution and a critical eye, coverage of limited but promising research can provide a needed dose of optimism for people with MS and their families. Unfortunately, in this case, that journalistic prudence was almost totally missing.
Bagley said that, through over-the-top reporting and selective coverage of the small-scale control-free study had inspired false hope and misled readers.
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