focus -WSS

focus

author：focus 2025-08-19 15:02:08 - browse：52513

When it comes to childhood and young adulthood, most people in the U.S. think of carefree times of life with few major responsibilities. But for a small subset of young people, these years also mean caring for loved ones. Harvard medical students Kimia Heydari and Romila Santra both have firsthand experience being young caregivers, and they wrote about this often overlooked group in their First Opinion essay “Caring for young caregivers, a hidden population.”

Heydari and Santra spoke with “First Opinion Podcast” host Pat Skerrett about the unique challenges of taking care of family members at ages when few of their peers had similar experiences. “That no real social structure recognizes formally this experience was really striking for me,” said Heydari, who helped care for her twin brother who has autism.

This can be particularly challenging for students who must often balance the schedules and demands of work and school with their responsibilities at home. Heydari and Santra suggest how schools, the medical system, and society at large can make small changes to better support young caregivers.

Be sure to sign up for the weekly “First Opinion Podcast” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts. And don’t forget to sign up for the First Opinion newsletter to read each week’s best First Opinion essays.

Previous article： In Memoriam: Notable people who died in 2023
Next article： New oral drug delivery patch is modeled after octopus tentacles

focus

WSS

'Null' research findings aren't empty of meaning. Let's publish them

Study links childhood stress with decline in older age

The biotech scorecard for Q4: 16 stock

New oral drug delivery patch is modeled after octopus tentacles

CDC picks Alphabet's Verily for wasterwater surveillance contract

Medicare slashes safety net hospital payments by nearly $1 billion

explore

focus

knowledge

Supreme Court strikes down use of affirmative action

The a glaring gap in research on serious mental illness and primary care

Moonlake's readout produced a cash windfall. Risks remain

Lawsuit highlights wrinkle for disputes over surprise medical bills

Hollywood unions extend contract negotiations for actors

It costs an awful lot of money to give away a kidney

23andMe had bad news about my health. I wish a person had delivered it

The biotech scorecard for Q4: 16 stock

The Supreme Court will review a ruling striking down a domestic violence federal gun ban

Congress extends some pandemic preparedness programs

focus

H.R. 3 is the wrong path to lower drug costs

Listen: Biotech layoffs, eye drug drama, & gene therapy milestones

CRISPR base editing slashes cholesterol levels in monkeys

Lawsuit highlights wrinkle for disputes over surprise medical bills

Health insurers' Q3 question: how much care are people getting?

Nobel honors Karikó and Weissman's enduring partnership

Wikipedia

focus

focus

explore