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About Health Dialogues

Health Dialogues is a special series from KQED's "The California Report" that facilitates an ongoing discussion of California health care issues that are important to the underserved: children, low-income residents, minorities, and people with disabilities to name just a few.

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ouRXperience: California Reports

Calling All Community Correspondents!

Are you interested in being our eyes and ears on the ground, filling us in on the health lives of your community? ouRXperience, a blog chronicling life in neighborhoods across California, needs correspondents from the communities listed below. We're looking for local residents concerned with community health and driven to blog about it on a weekly basis. If this sounds like you, download an application and follow the directions for submission. We look forward to hearing from you!

Recent Posts from State of Health

California faces health care challenges seen across the country: soaring costs, increasing chronic illness and a high rate of uninsured. At a time of intense focus on reform, State of Health explores these issues and more, bringing you stories of challenge and change in the Golden State. The blog is edited by Lisa Aliferis.

Parenting an Autistic Child

Policy | Jan 27, 2012

Parenting an Autistic Child

Posted by Lisa Aliferis

Still, they did recognize when Shane started missing milestones. He was late to crawl. Then he was late walking and they had him evaluated. When Shane started walking shortly after the evaluation, Eric and Cindy hoped all was well. But they were seeing other issues as well. Shane was not not babbling or making any noises, a key marker for learning language. He was not responding when his parents called his name. Finally the formal diagnosis came. Shane had autism, a neurodevelopment disorder. The communication problems their son had, repetitive behavior they had seen, problems with social interaction, these are all hallmarks of autism. Continue reading

Work-Life Balance: Tips and Empathy

Policy | Jan 27, 2012

Work-Life Balance: Tips and Empathy

Posted by Lisa Aliferis

A friend once told me conspiratorially that there is no such thing as work-life balance. “It’s more like a work-life see-saw,” she said. “If one thing is up, the other is down.” Continue reading

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Recent Posts from ouRXperience

ouRXperience is a blog chronicling health in neighborhoods and communities across California. Our citizen correspondents are our eyes and ears on the ground, so we can form a more complete understanding of just what state our health is in.

The Trauma of Escape: A Hmong Refugee's Journey to the U.S.

Merced | Jan 24, 2012

The Trauma of Escape: A Hmong Refugee's Journey to the U.S.

Posted by Changvang Her

During the Central Intelligence Agency’s “Secret War” in Laos, when a secret guerilla army of some 30,000 Hmong were recruited to fight against the North Vietnamese, my father, Chue Zang Her, and my three older brothers were killed. As a young male teenager, I had to be responsible for everything as the head of the household. After the CIA withdrew in 1975, we had to join the resistance group in attempt to evade capture of our family, including my elderly mother, Nou Thao, who was blind for as long as I can remember. Continue reading »

Combating Childhood Obesity in Butte County

Greater Oroville | Jan 18, 2012

Combating Childhood Obesity in Butte County

Posted by Rachelle Parker

In 2005 the rate of obesity for children in middle school in Butte County was 34.41 percent. Today, the rate has risen 0.9% according to a report from the California Center for Public Health Advocacy and UCLA. Cindy Wolff, Director of the Center for Nutrition and Activity Promotion (CNAP) at Chico State University, would like to see that rate go down. Believing that unhealthy food is just too easy to get, Wolff has begun a county-wide program called "Harvest of the Month" that seeks to provide fruits and vegetables as options right along with the grains and potatoes that children are used to seeing on a daily basis in their school lunches. Continue reading »

Visit ouRXperience »


Health Dialogues Archive

Medical Mistakes

Are California hospitals reporting medical mistakes and infections accurately - or at all? Learn about efforts to reduce these risks, and find out what officials and consumers can do to safeguard against medical mistakes.


Disordered Eating

This month, Health Dialogues explores what experts call "disordered eating." We look at the causes and effects of abnormal eating patterns, from the less severe to classic eating disorders including anorexia, bulimia and binge eating.


Baby Boomers and Medicare

In January 2011, a demographic tsunami will hit Medicare as Baby Boomers start turning 65 and become eligible for federal health care benefits. Are there enough doctors to meet the demand for care? Is Medicare ready for the Boomers?


Mental Health

Health Dialogues takes a look at successes and unmet needs in treating mental illness - from adolescents to veterans, in rural and urban areas. We also check in on the effects of Proposition 63, the state's mental health services act.




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