Side Effects Public Media

Advocates are hopeful the three-digit mental health crisis number, 988, will make it easier for people to reach out for help starting July 16. But some worry about states where crisis call centers already struggle to keep up with demand.

A new study shows alcohol use increased during the pandemic for those 21 and older, but finding treatment can be a challenge.

So-called cryptic lineages may hold the key to better understand how the virus that causes COVID mutates to evade our immune systems.

The Biden administration is trying to close a gap in the Affordable Care Act that blocks 5 million people from getting affordable health care.

Health care providers often rely on digital tools to inform treatment decisions. A growing number of hospitals are moving away from factoring race into kidney disease calculations, after recognizing Black patients could be at a disadvantage.

A decision from the U.S. Supreme Court this summer could remove federal protections for abortion across the U.S. Most of the Midwest — and about half of all states — are certain or likely to ban or severely restrict access to abortion if given the chance.

Overturning Roe v. Wade, as a leaked draft document indicates the U.S. Supreme Court might do, would end the constitutional right to an abortion. For Michigan OB-GYN Lisa Harris, the leak confirmed she needed to double down.

Medical respite programs provide homeless people a safe place to recover from surgery or acute illness, learn to manage a chronic condition, and get help finding permanent housing. The decades-old concept has taken off in recent years.

Research suggests access to public health insurance can help curb recidivism. Reentry organizations in Missouri are working to enroll people in Medicaid after they leave prison to keep them from coming back.

Two years into the pandemic, data shows that the toll on children’s mental health has been profound. Children of frontline health care workers had a front row seat to the pandemic’s scariest moments from day one.