Courtenay Harris Bond
Courtenay Harris Bond is the staff writer covering health for PhillyVoice. She enjoys writing about behavioral health, maternal health and inequities in the healthcare system, as well as human rights and criminal justice. A veteran daily newspaper reporter, Courtenay has also written for national outlets, including KFF Health News, Undark Magazine and Filter. She was a 2018 Rosalynn Carter Fellow for Mental Health Journalism and has master's degrees from Columbia Journalism School and the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education.
July 25, 2024
Children's Health
The U.S. infant mortality rate has risen for the first time in 20 years, CDC says
The U.S. infant mortality rate increased for the first time in two decades in 2022, rising 3% from 2021, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. New Jersey was among 12 states with an infant mortality rate that was lower than the national rate. Pennsylvania's was slightly higher.July 24, 2024
Prevention
Mixed messages about mammograms can leave women confused about when to get them
Determining when to get a mammogram for the first time can be confusing for women due to conflicting messages from experts on breast cancer prevention. But a pair of breast cancer specialists from Philadelphia say the gold-standard guidelines come from the American College of Radiology and the American Society of Breast Surgeons. They recommend annual screenings beginning at age 40.July 24, 2024
Parenting
To help parents facing adversity nurture their children, a Delaware prof created a program now used by 10 countries
The ABC program created by University of Delaware professor Mary Dozier aims to help parents facing homelessness, poverty, addiction and other adversities learn to nurture their children, follow their children's leads and avoid frightening behaviors. The program is now used in 26 states and 10 countries.July 23, 2024
Mental Health
Montgomery County to open crisis center for people facing mental health and addiction emergencies
Montgomery County plans to open an $18 million crisis center that will respond to people experiencing mental health and addiction crises. The center also will help divert people who need behavioral health services away from the criminal justice system when it opens in 2025.July 18, 2024
Depression
Moving even once during childhood increases risk of being diagnosed with depression, study shows
Children who move at least once during childhood are at significantly higher risk of being diagnosed with depression later in life, a new study finds. Remaining settled during childhood in one place, even in a lower-income environment, may offer 'protective factors' against the mental health condition, the researchers concluded.July 18, 2024
Addiction
LGBTQ people smoke cigarettes at higher rates, and they face barriers to quitting
LGBTQ people are more likely to smoke cigarettes than heterosexual and cisgender people, research shows. Tobacco companies have targeted them, and they face many barriers to quitting. If actions aren't taken, the LGBTQ community will have an influx of tobacco-related illnesses, Temple Health pulmonologist Dr. Jamie Garfield says.July 17, 2024
Illness
Wistar Institute opens research center dedicated to finding an HIV cure
The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia has invested $24 million to open a new HIV research center in University City. The nonprofit seeks to find a vaccine to prevent the virus from spreading or a way to eradicate the virus once people have contracted it – or both.July 16, 2024
Adult Health
Your bathroom habits provide insights on your overall health, study finds
Having a bowel movement once or twice a day is associated with better health, according to research published Tuesday in Cell Reports Medicine. Pooping too often, or not often enough, puts people risk for reduced kidney function and liver disease, researchers found.July 16, 2024
Health News
What causes an ice-cream headache?
Cold-stimulus headaches, more commonly known as brain freeze or ice-cream headaches, are most likely caused by something cold touching the roof of the mouth or the back of the throat, prompting blood vessels to constrict and then to dilate rapidly, activating pain receptors.July 11, 2024
Wellness
Night owls perform better on tests than morning people, a new study says
People who are naturally more active or alert in the evening performed better on tests than people who are more lively in the morning, according to research published Wednesday in the journal BMJ Public Health.
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