PODCAST

Health Check

BBC World Service

Health issues and medical breakthroughs from around the world.

health & fitness

All Episodes

26:29

Monkeypox misinformation and stigma

Health Check ·

2022/06/01

Claudia discusses concerns about monkeypox misinformation and stigma with Andy Seale, Senior Strategic Advisor, department of HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections at the World Health Organisation.How psychologists are trialling a radio drama for tackling external and domestic insurgent attacks in Burkina Faso. Associate Professor Rezarta Bilali explains why the drama was needed. Plus Claudia hears of a new study on whether growing up in a city, town or countryside might impact our

26:28

Monkeypox in central Africa

Health Check ·

2022/05/25

Monkeypox is spreading in more than 20 countries where previously it has not been seen, but BBC Health reporter Smitha Mundasad explains that this is not a new disease. Presenter Claudia Hammond hears of an outbreak of a more serious strain in an area of the Democratic Republic of Congo that has no experience of Monkeypox. Professor Wim van Damme got in touch about his research trip to Maniema, a rural DRC province with more than 500 cases and 50 deaths. Plus, professor of virology Penny Moore

26:28

Healthcare provision in North Korea

Health Check ·

2022/05/18

Reports from North Korea have suggested a scarcity of data on healthcare provision but Claudia hears from Professor Hazel Smith who has researched North Korea for over thirty years that there is good information about health services. And do doctors have a professional duty to be kind? The General Medical Council in the UK are consulting on whether to require doctors to ‘treat patients with kindness’ and some have not taken kindly to the idea. Louella Vaughan, a hospital consultant in acute medicine

26:26

New trial results of a fourth Covid booster

Health Check ·

2022/05/11

Brand new results of a fourth Covid booster trial, with a mix and match approach including half doses, reveals good news for global vaccine rollout. BBC Health and Science correspondent James Gallagher explains.Plus evidence from Ohio where Professor Ihuoma Eneli's new paper shows how weight gain increased markedly in low-income US children and teenagers during early Covid-19.And the science of dreams, Claudia Hammond speaks to Brazilian neuroscientist Sidarta Ribeiro about his new wide ranging book

26:26

Combined protection of Covid vaccination and prior...

Health Check ·

2022/05/04

Claudia is joined by Matt Fox, Professor of Global Health at Boston University to discuss evidence investigating a hybrid combination of Covid vaccines and prior infection. Dr Vineet Arora explains how best to support health care workers who have received online attacks for trying to correct inaccurate information during the Pandemic. And advice for parents on how to cope when their children are having mental health problems from authors Roz Shafran, Alice Welham and Ursula Saunders.Presenter:

26:25

New Covid Research

Health Check ·

2022/04/27

Update on the latest global research into Covid-19 with BBC Health Reporter Smitha Mundasad and Claudia talks to the authors of a new study charting brain development over the human life span. Could this be a useful tool to understanding how the brain varies over populations and over time and what are the ethical questions involved? Plus if you carry excess weight, what difference does it make to your health if those extra kgs are round your waist or hips?Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika

26:29

Are we kinder to people like us?

Health Check ·

2022/04/20

Using the results of the Kindness Test, which 60,000 people took part in, Claudia Hammond asks whether we are kinder to people who we think are like us? And what happens once we move beyond family and friends to acquaintances and strangers. What can the evidence tell us about who it is that we choose to be kind to and why?Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Erika Wright

26:26

More cases of Covid in Africa than official figures...

Health Check ·

2022/04/06

Claudia Hammond talks to Chris Gill, Associate Professor at Boston University School of Public Health and co-author of a new paper revealing the devastating impact of Covid in Zambia. By conducting post mortem Covid swabs on more than 1000 bodies taken to a morgue in Lusaka, his work suggests a staggering 90% undercount of cases and goes a long way to countering the so called African Paradox – a narrative suggesting that Africa skipped Covid.Jane Chambers reports from Chile on progress to get 90% of

27:43

Treating stress and anxiety in Ukraine

Health Check ·

2022/03/30

Claudia Hammond talks to an Ukrainian psychotherapist about the increased demand for her services since Russia invaded her country.Is multiple sclerosis caused by a virus? Health Check looks at the latest evidence pointing to Epstein Barr virus, which more commonly causes glandular fever or mononucleosis. The discovery offers hope for a vaccine and new more effective treatments.Family doctor Ann Robinson joins Claudia to discuss the Epstein Barr findings as well as the extra risk of being infected

33:12

What should Hong Kong do about Covid-19?

Health Check ·

2022/03/23

The number of new Covid-19 infection cases worldwide has jumped by 10%. Tabitha Mwangi, Programme Manager at Cambridge Africa at Cambridge University, gives us a rundown of how that overall increase is playing out in different parts of the world.Hong Kong had been one of the most successful places at controlling Covid-19 but recently faced the highest death rates in the world. What went wrong? We hear from Vivian Wong, a public health advisor and honorary professor of Chinese Medicine at the

28:34

The kindness test: The results

Health Check ·

2022/03/16

Although the world might not feel like a very kind place at the moment, this might be just the time when acts of kindness matter the most. This week, Claudia Hammond reveals the results of the world's largest public science project on kindness. With over 60,000 participants from 144 countries, this unique study helps to fill some of the research gaps and learn more about how kindness is viewed within society at large. What is kindness? Are we more or less kind than before? Where do acts of kindness

26:29

How children think about maths and time

Health Check ·

2022/03/10

Claudia Hammond explores how children think with two psychologists; Dr Victoria Simms from Ulster University who researches how children’s understanding of maths develops and professor Teresa McCormack from Queens University Belfast who researches how children understand time. The discussion was recorded in front of an audience at the Northern Ireland Science Festival in February 2020. Presenter: Claudia Hammond Producer: Caroline Steel (Photo: A group of preschool children sitting on the floor

27:13

Helping children cope with anxiety about war in Ukraine

Health Check ·

2022/03/03

Health issues and medical breakthroughs from around the world. Hundreds of thousands are fleeing the conflict in Ukraine, and not all of them are Ukrainians. The country has a sizeable population of overseas medical students, many from African and Asian countries. Mathew Kalu is a Nigerian-born medical doctor who has lived in Ukraine for 12 years. He tells us why Ukraine is the go-to destination for so many future doctors and how he is helping them leave the country safely. Is the news cycle

38:52

Why measles is sweeping through Afghanistan

Health Check ·

2022/02/23

This week on Health Check, polio makes an unwelcome return to the African continent and measles cases are soaring among children in Afghanistan. We hear from WHO spokesperson Dr Margaret Harris and Médecins Sans Frontières’ Sarah Vuylsteke and Maxime Pirard who are based at Herat Regional Hospital in western Afghanistan. We also hear how the pandemic has impacted children worldwide, from disruption to routine vaccination services to studies suggesting high mortality rates among children with

27:31

Pig organs for transplant patients

Health Check ·

2022/02/16

People die waiting for replacement hearts, lungs and kidneys. Could genetically modified pigs be the solution to a worldwide shortage of organ donors? We meet the teams that have had impressive recent successes transplanting pig organs into people. We’ll explore the huge leaps of genetic engineering that are making 'xenotransplantation' possible and ask if it’s even ethical to try. In the studio with Marnie Chesterton, Dr Graham Easton guides us through the science of getting pig organs to

27:17

Black women and breast cancer

Health Check ·

2022/02/09

Breast cancer makes up a third of all cancer diagnoses for black women and for those with the most common type of cancer, ER-positive (estrogen or oestrogen positive) cancers, black women are 42% more likely to die of the disease than white women. The reasons for these disparities are complex and include socio-economic factors and racism. There is also a historical absence of samples from black women in research databases and lack of inclusion in clinical trials. Researchers at Stanford Burnham

26:28

Bringing death back into life

Health Check ·

2022/02/02

The pandemic has caused many people to die alone in hospital intensive care units - whilst others have died at home without the support and pain relief they needed. The Lancet Commission on the Value of Death is calling for a radical change in how we approach death. Co-author Dr Libby Sallnow explains what makes a good death, and palliative care consultant Dr M R Rajagopal shares how communities have transformed palliative care in Kerala, India. Mixed messaging around Covid vaccines for pregnant

26:33

Gene therapy hope for sickle cell patients

Health Check ·

2022/01/26

Positive results for a handful of patients on a trial in the United States offers hope for the millions of people around the world living with sickle cell disease. Doctors say the gene-editing therapy literally 'turns back the clock' by reducing the number of red blood cells that are sickle-shaped and increasing the type that a baby has, which can carry more oxygen around the body. Other cheaper, more widely-available medications can work, but we hear how the health of sickle cell patients depends

26:28

Are people with asthma who exercise healthier?

Health Check ·

2022/01/19

As Omicron spreads across the US, Claudia Hammond is joined by Professor Matt Fox from Boston University to discuss the latest Covid-19 news, including President Biden’s pledge to make high-quality masks available across the country.Wheezing and feeling breathless is a fact of life for the 262 million people around the world who have asthma. Some worry that exercise will worsen their asthma symptoms. But UK researchers say that evidence shows that all people with asthma can exercise safely – even if

26:28

Omicron set to infect half of Europe

Health Check ·

2022/01/12

Tabitha Mwangi, programme manager at Cambridge Africa at Cambridge University, joins Claudia to discuss the latest on the rapid spread of Omicron across Europe and the factors behind the waves of Covid-19 infections in Kenya.In light of the controversy surrounding Novak Djokovic’s participation in the Australian Open Tennis tournament, Dr Maggie Wearmouth explains the rare instances where people can be medically exempt from having a Covid vaccination. Also, what do the lung scans of Covid-19

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