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Health news, sorted and explained

Health Report Desk is an online publication that gathers general health news and information and explains it in everyday language. It's here to help you follow health topics, not to replace advice from a health professional.

Topics the desk follows

  • Public health
  • Research in the news
  • Food and nutrition
  • Sleep and rest
  • Movement
  • Mental wellbeing
  • Health policy

Our mission

To help readers make sense of the health topics in the news, with clear writing and sources they can look up for themselves.

Everything on Health Report Desk is general information. For decisions about your own health, please speak with a qualified health professional.

About the desk

Health stories reach us from many directions: announcements from health agencies, newly published studies, policy updates and the conversations people have about all of them. Health Report Desk brings those topics to one place and explains what each one is about.

We think of the site as a reading desk. You can sit down, look at a topic, understand the background and see where the information came from, then decide what to read next or who to ask.

How we put articles together

  • Start with the source We work from publicly available material and link to it where we can.
  • Keep news and opinion apart When an article includes a viewpoint, we aim to label it as one.
  • Explain the terms Medical and scientific words get a plain description the first time they appear.
  • Show the date Each article shows when it was published, so you can judge how current it is.

Get in touch with the desk

Have a question about an article, an idea for a topic or a note about the website? Email us and include as much detail as you can.

What you can write to us about

  • A question about an article
  • A topic you'd like explained
  • An error you've spotted
  • Feedback on the website

Before you write

We can't respond to personal medical questions or offer diagnosis or treatment advice.

If you need urgent help, contact your local emergency services.

Prefer a form? Send a message from the next section.

Send a message

Use this form to reach Health Report Desk. All fields are required.

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Questions readers ask

Can't find what you're looking for? Email [email protected].

Articles that explain general health news and information, such as public health updates, research that's being discussed and changes to health policy, written for readers without a medical background.

No. Our articles are general information. They don't take your personal situation into account, so please speak with a doctor or another qualified health professional before making decisions about your health.

We work from publicly available sources, including health agency announcements, published studies and news reports. When we can, we link to the original so you can read it yourself.

No. Health Report Desk is an informational publication and doesn't sell products.

Email [email protected] or use the form above and choose "Error or correction." Let us know which article it is and what looks wrong.

We aren't able to. A qualified health professional who knows your history is the right person to ask. If you need urgent help, contact your local emergency services.