April Dembosky
April Dembosky is the health reporter for The California Report and KQED News. She covers health policy and public health, and has reported extensively on the economics of health care, the roll-out of the Affordable Care Act in California, mental health and end-of-life issues. Her work is regularly rebroadcast on NPR and has been recognized with awards from the Society for Professional Journalists (for sports reporting), and the Association of Health Care Journalists (for a story about pediatric hospice). Her hour-long radio documentary about home funeralswon the Best New Artist award from the Third Coast International Audio Festival in 2009. April occasionally moonlights on the arts beat, covering music and dance. Her story about the first symphony orchestra at Burning Man won the award for Best Use of Sound from the Public Radio News Directors Inc. Before joining KQED in 2013, April covered technology and Silicon Valley for The Financial Times, and freelanced for Marketplace and The New York Times. She is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and Smith College.
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As some young women head to HBCUs in states where abortion is restricted or banned, they're getting education and birth control to help safeguard their reproductive health during college.
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Expanding the use of involuntary commitment is being discussed in liberal California and Oregon, where severe mental illness, drug use and homelessness are becoming political liabilities for leaders.
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A spike in pandemic pets is increasing shortages and burnout among veterinarians — a field that already had high rates of suicide. A new mental health initiative offers professional help for free. -
People with schizophrenia are three times as likely to die from the virus, giving scientists an opportunity to study the potential relationship between the immune system and mental illness. -
Having schizophrenia has emerged as the second biggest risk factor for dying from COVID-19, after advanced age. This finding could help drive new research about mental illness and the immune system.
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Fatal drug overdoses, including from meth, have soared. California is preparing to roll out a controversial but proven treatment for meth addiction that involves paying users small sums not to use.
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2019 was the worst year on record for syphilis. Reasons range from drug use to dating apps to underinvestment in contact tracing, as well as the surprising role of pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV.
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Research shows that doctors' unconscious bias can hurt patients of color. Some hospitals are trying to train doctors and stop disparate treatment.
