public health

Lack of knowledge about the drug, and stigmas attached to sleeping with men and to perceived promiscuity, are major barriers to PrEP treatment. The costs and side effects are also concerns for many.

Doubters have said that merely shaking a baby can't cause brain damage or death. Listing six injuries associated with the syndrome will make it easier to identify child abuse, a study says.

It's easy to think that hardcore smokers will never quit, and thus e-cigarettes without the smoke is a better alternative. The changing demographics of smoking suggests otherwise, a study finds.

Lots of people say they're having trouble with alcohol. Native Americans and young, college-educated white men are most apt to be at risk. And most people don't get any help cutting back.

When you hold your breath underwater, you might pass out before you realize you need oxygen right now. Experienced swimmers have drowned as a result, and most people aren't aware of the risk.

People living just a few miles from each other in American cities can have radically different chances of living a long healthy life.

An effort to get doctors to improve their communication skills didn't reduce the number of new mothers hesitant about vaccines. But researchers say this is just a first try at a worthy concept.

It seemed to make sense that the childhood Hib vaccine could cut leukemia risk by keeping the immune system in check. But proving there's cause and effect at work turns out to be a challenge.

In some counties in the South, almost 20 percent of adults have severe vision loss. And those communities are also likely to be among the nation's poorest. Lack of regular eye care is just one issue.