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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"What's good for the heart is good for the brain," one neuroscientist says. In addition to physical exercise, researchers say mental exercise, socializing and a good diet can help preserve memory. -
In the ongoing debate about the possible benefits of vitamin D supplements, a study suggests that the vitamin might indeed play a role in mildly reducing high blood pressure. The study was small and looked at just African-Americans, but the authors say the findings warrant further research. -
Researchers aren't sure exactly why certain women are more vulnerable to postpartum depression. But authors of a new study are recommending that all pregnant women and new mothers be screened for depression. -
Involving kids in preparing dinner may be a better way to get kids to eat their vegetables than strictures like "no dessert until you eat your vegetables." But health experts say there's nothing wrong with an occasional treat. -
Many parents struggle to find the time to get their kids the exercise they need. But some parents are trying to make walking and biking part of their daily lives, not something they have to schedule. -
A new poll explores how crucial everyday decisions are made in American households about food and exercise. -
Whether fighting about texting or curfew, the key to resolving parent-child disputes is by helping them understand why they're angry in the first place. It usually turns out to be another stress like trouble at school or fear of embarrassment. -
Parents will be reassured to hear there's no evidence linking the current timeline for vaccinations to health problems. A review of all available scientific data looked at a wide range of medical conditions — including diabetes, autism and epilepsy — before declaring that there's no reason to worry.
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Researchers find that when young people exercise, their mental health improves through a more positive self-image and through winning friends. But sports psychologists aren't sure whether exercise makes teenagers more confident or more confident teenagers take part in sports. -
For years, researchers have struggled to understand the mental fog that envelops some patients getting chemotherapy. Now a study has found that the cancer treatment significantly decreases brain activity in regions responsible for memory, attention, planning and prioritizing.
