Health
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Bot Bias: Study Finds a Medical Algorithm Favors White Patients Over Sicker Black Ones
An algorithm used by major hospitals and healthcare providers misjudged how sick black patients were compared with their white counterparts, allowing healthier white patients to get additional medical supports more often. That’s according to the findings of a study published Thursday in the journal Science that looked at patient care based on medical practitioners’ use…
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Report: Suicide Attempts Among Black Teens Increased by 73 Percent
According to a new report, attempted suicide is on the rise among a very specific demographic: black teenagers. From CNN: From 1991 to 2017, the rate of reported suicide attempts by African-American teens rose, especially the rate among black boys, according to a study published Monday in the medical journal Pediatrics. The rate for black…
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8 Thoughts I Had While Getting My First Professional Massage
Last Saturday—October 12—was my one-year wedding anniversary. My wife and I made a whole day out of it, doing lunch, dinner and getting our staycation on at a hotel in downtown Washington, D.C., and hitting up a speakeasy for the nightcap. One thing we did early in the day was a couple’s massage at a…
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‘Am I Supposed to Be the Representation?’: A Black Mother Navigates Our Convoluted Mental Health System
Waiting for Tearah, a short documentary about how a black family navigates the labyrinth mental health system in Hartford, Conn., is symbolic of mental health dysfunction on a national level—and a testament to the beauty, innovation, and the sheer determination and grit of black mothers who walk through walls for their children. The 22-plus-minute film…
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Watch: Waiting for Tearah Spotlights How Our Children Are Languishing in Mental Health Facilities Far From Home
To honor Mental Illness Awareness Week (Oct. 6-12) , Frontline PBS and Firelight Media have partnered with The Root to bring you Waiting for Tearah, a short documentary by Juliana Schatz Preston. Waiting for Tearah tells the story of one African-American family’s struggle to navigate America’s dysfunctional mental healthcare system. Tearah, then 16 years old…
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Mathew Knowles Reveals He Has Breast Cancer and Emphasizes the Importance of Early Detection
On Tuesday night, a sad bit of news hit the Twitter timeline as Good Morning America promoted its Wednesday morning show. Mathew Knowles sat down with the show’s co-anchor, Michael Strahan, and revealed that he has breast cancer. “I’m hoping by me coming here today, speaking out, letting folks know that you can survive this…
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Lizzo Gets Real About Her Blues in ‘I’m Listening,’ Kicking Off Suicide Prevention Week
In June, “Truth Hurts” singer Lizzo went on social media to share that she was going through a rough time, ending her Instagram post, “Life hurts.” The IG post, which has garnered more than two million views noted, “I’m depressed and there’s no one I can talk to because there’s nothing anyone can do about…
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Suicides in Jails Are Preventable: How a Unique Approach May Help Curb Self-Harm in Confinement
Conspiracy theories aside, Jeffrey Epstein is one of the latest and most prominent of the hundreds that die by suicide yearly in America’s jails. His untimely death saw the Bureau of Prisons chief fired and caused heads to roll at the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center: the warden of the jail was reassigned, and two staffers…
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Terry Crews Gets Candid on Porn Addiction: 'I Knew I Had to Change'
Despite his superhuman exterior, Terry Crews faces trials and tribulations like the rest of us. The sexual assault he suffered at the hands of William Morris Endeavor executive Adam Venit is well-documented, and throughout the years, he’s made no secret about his battles with porn addiction. On Sunday, during the latest episode of Bravo’s Watch…