The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "disease" ...
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What a Life
A San Antonio lab says primate research is necessary for curing diseases like AIDS and hepatitis. But what progress has really been made? And is pressing retired lab chimps back into service worth it?
Tags: Primate researches; AIDS; hepatitis
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A rampant prescription, a hidden peril
The series investigated nursing homes’ use of antipsychotic medications on the elderly, a practice the US Food and Drug and Administration has long warned against because of potentially fatal side effects in people with dementia. The Boston Globe analyzed data from 15,600 nursing homes nationwide and found that about 185,000 residents received antipsychotics in 2010 alone, despite not having a medical condition that warranted such use. The series also revealed that Massachusetts nursing homes commonly use antipsychotics to control agitation and combative behavior in elderly residents who should not be receiving the powerful sedatives, yet state regulators seldom use their authority to reprimand or penalize facilities for this practice.
Tags: Antipsychotics; FDA; nursing homes; Alzheimer's disease
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No Small Thing
The Poughkeepsie Journal series “No Small Thing” goes where no other newspaper or media outlet has – it challenges the mainstream medical dogma on Lyme disease. In rigorously documented articles, Projects Writer Mary Beth Pfeiffer concludes that the major actors in this public health scandal -- chiefly the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Infectious Disease Society of America – have minimized and mismanaged a burgeoning epidemic of tick-borne disease at great harm to thousands of infected people. These two powerful institutions have held – in policy and pronouncement -- that Lyme disease is easy to diagnose and easy to cure. It is neither.
Tags: Media coverage; public health; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; CDC
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As Mine Protections Fail, Black Lung Cases Surge
A joint investigation by NPR and the Center for Public Integrity mined government databases and analyzed together for the first time ever, coal dust enforcement records and black lung occurrence data. We compiled what appear to be the most comprehensive accounts to date of an unexpected reemergence of black lung, sharp increases among younger miners, rapid progression to the most serious stages, widespread fraudulent coal dust testing by industry, weaknesses and loopholes in federal regulations, and ineffective enforcement by federal regulators. We asked Ken Ward Jr., the veteran coal industry reporter at the Charleston Gazette, to contribute web and print stories about the history of failed government regulation, as well as fraudulent coal dust testing specifically at the Upper Big Branch mine, where 29 miners died in an explosion fueled by coal dust in 2010. Our reporting prompted the Labor Department to establish an internal team to review the agency's enforcement of coal dust regulations, according to internal agency e-mails obtained by NPR. Federal regulators stepped up coal dust enforcement, targeting mines with a history of violations. Members of Congress cited the series in calling for tougher regulations, and one group launched a petition drive demanding action.
Tags: mining; miners; black lung disease; coal dust; government
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The Big Business of Breast Cancer
For the past 20 years, breast cancer has been the NFL of diseases, awash in money, marketing campaigns and endorsements deals. Each year, $6 billion is raised in the name of breast cancer, yet we are still no closer to a cure now than we were. Why is that? "The Big Business of Breast Cancer" is a powerful piece that exposes an uncomfortable truth about breast cancer fundraising; it's become a massive racket, overrun by scammers and profiteers.
Tags: breast cancer; fundraising; scammers; profit
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Hospital Regulations Let Formula Vie with Breast Milk
A new federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report says nearly 80 percent of U.S. hospitals give newborns formula when not medically necessary. The investigation compares how Chicago-area hospitals approach breast feeding and finds that some hospitals are not strongly encouraging it.
Tags: CDC; hospitals; breast milk; breast feeding; pregnancy
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When Immunity Fails: Whooping Cough Epidemic
KPBS and the Watchdog Institute investigated the whooping cough outbreak of 2010 that sickened thousands of people across the country and killed 23. This investigation contributed to the launch of new studies on the disease.
Tags: whooping cough; immunization; sickness; babies; vaccination; pertussis
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Drowning in Neglect
KHOU-TV discovers 1300 public swimming pools in Houston were getting a free pass for not meeting safety standards. City health inspectors failed to give violations for substandard drain covers, missing life preservers and emergency phones, and even a lack of chlorine. Health experts claim the condition of many of these pools invites the spread of disease and should warrant closure of the pool.
Tags: pools; safety; health inspection; chlorine; swimming
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When Immunity Fails: Whooping Cough Epidemic
The reporters investigate how the whooping cough, an epidemic wiped out 30 years ago, has come back with a vengeance. Thousands were sickened by the disease in 2009 and 23 people died.
Tags: whooping cough; epidemic; disease; dead; outbreak
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Dialysis: High Costs and Hidden Perils
The series examines the country's poor system of dialysis care that supports almost 400,000 Americans. One in four patients will die within 12 months of starting dialysis treatment in the U.S. The reporter shows how patients are often treated in unsafe and unsanitary conditions, exposing them to hepatitis and other diseases.
Tags: dialysis; health care; health; unsafe; unsanitary