Patti Neighmond
Award-winning journalist Patti Neighmond is NPR's health policy correspondent. Her reports air regularly on NPR newsmagazines All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition.
Based in Los Angeles, Neighmond has covered health care policy since April 1987. She joined NPR's staff in 1981, covering local New York City news as well as the United Nations. In 1984, she became a producer for NPR's science unit and specialized in science and environmental issues.
Neighmond has earned a broad array of awards for her reporting. In 1993, she received the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award for coverage of health reform. That same year, she received the Robert F. Kennedy Award for a story on a young quadriplegic who convinced Georgia officials that she could live at home less expensively and more happily than in a nursing home. In 1990, Neighmond won the World Hunger Award for a story about healthcare and low-income children. She received two awards in 1989: a George Polk Award for her powerful ten-part series on AIDS patient Archie Harrison, who was taking the anti-viral drug AZT; and a Major Armstrong Award for her series on the Canadian health care system. The Population Institute, based in Washington, DC, has presented its radio documentary award to Neighmond twice: in 1988 for "Family Planning in India" and in 1984 for her coverage of overpopulation in Mexico. Her 1987 report "AIDS and Doctors" won the National Press Club Award for Consumer Journalism, and her two-part series on the aquaculture industry earned the 1986 American Association for the Advancement of Science Award.
Neighmond began her career in journalism in 1978, at the Pacifica Foundation's DC bureau, where she covered Capitol Hill and the White House. She began freelance reporting for NPR from New York City in 1980. Neighmond earned her bachelor's degree in English and drama from the University of Maryland, and now lives in Los Angeles.
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Glucosamine and chondroitin have been popular supplements for arthritis for years. But clinical trials in humans haven't shown that they're any better than sugar pills at reducing pain. Some doctors say that if placebos or supplements help people exercise and lose weight, then that's OK. -
It smells like vinegar and tastes like spoiled cider. But fans of the fermented tea say that kombucha helps fight off diseases and aging. Sounds fantastical? Well, it probably is. At this point, scientists still know little about kombucha's health effects. -
If obesity were a disease, would you be more likely to seek medical help because insurance would pay for treatment? Or would you feel stigmatized and just give up? That's the debate surrounding increased efforts to classify obesity as a disease. -
The flavors may be sweet, but it's still tobacco. That's why tobacco control advocates are trying to restrict sales of candy- and fruit-flavored tobacco products, which they say lure in teenagers. -
The question of how to treat ductal carcinoma in situ is roiling the medical profession, and making for tough choices for women. The condition may never become invasive cancer. But some women choose to have mastectomies rather than live with uncertainty. -
At first the pounds melt off and then, nothing. But diet plateaus are a normal part of the body's adjusting to a lower weight. Weight loss experts say trying a variety of tactics can help move beyond the diet plateau. For most people exercise works best. -
The anterior approach for total hip replacement involves going in through the front of the hip, rather than the back. Proponents say it speeds up recovery time. But recovery time has improved a lot with the traditional techniques, too, and there's not yet enough evidence to say this is better. -
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report women are more likely to have chronic pain. They're also more likely to shop around for a doctor who will prescribe pain pills. -
Alzheimer's disease and depression have a lot in common, and people with depression face a greater risk of dementia as they age. Researchers aren't sure why and are seeking clues. They are trying to find out if treating depression will then help prevent or delay dementia. -
Nearly 1 in 4 tell pollsters they're having a hard time paying for needed prescription medicine; 1 in 3 say they struggled to pay bills from hospitals or doctors last year.
