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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How we view winning and losing may help shape whether we play sports as adults, some psychologists say. In NPR's recent poll, 56 percent of adults who play sports say winning is important to them. -
The current vaccine loses its protective value as people get older. A vaccine in the works maintains its strength over time. The biggest challenge may be getting adults to use it. -
Some antidepressants may be riskier than others when used during pregnancy. A study found the most widely used antidepressant, sertraline, wasn't associated with birth defects. -
In NPR's most recent poll, a majority of American adults say they played sports in their youth. Many say they encourage their kids to play, too, and see health benefits as well as lifelong lessons. -
A federal health advisory committee now says everyone aged 16 to 23 should talk to a doctor about whether they need to get immunized against a rare but dangerous strain of meningitis. -
For many Americans, an NPR poll suggests, walking is their most consistent exercise. But how much can a moderately paced walk really help your health?
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Music can energize, soothe or relax us. And it can also help reduce pain. Researchers found that listening to a favorite song or story helped children manage pain after major surgery. -
Even after the psychological pain is effectively treated, damage from long years of depression may linger. It seems to double the risk of stroke among adults over age 50, research suggests.
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Each year more than 12 million Americans go to the doctor because of severe, chronic headaches. Many are sent for expensive tests. Researchers say all this testing isn't doing people much good. -
Sounds good, right? Add two minutes of walking to each hour of your day and your risk of death drops. Even walking to the coffee machine counts. But it's not enough to meet federal guidelines.
