Courtenay Harris Bond
Courtenay Harris Bond is the staff writer covering health for PhillyVoice. She enjoys writing about behavioral health, maternal health and inequities in the healthcare system, as well as human rights and criminal justice. A veteran daily newspaper reporter, Courtenay has also written for national outlets, including KFF Health News, Undark Magazine and Filter. She was a 2018 Rosalynn Carter Fellow for Mental Health Journalism and has master's degrees from Columbia Journalism School and the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education.
December 26, 2025
Health Stories
As a health writer, here are five steps I took in 2025 that improved my life
In 2025, I made a few strides toward a better diet — and improving my overall physical and mental health. Eating Grape-Nuts, saying the Ho’oponopono forgiveness prayer and napping may help you, too.December 26, 2025
Mental Health
Not happy with how you look in photos? There's a psychological explanation
Mere-exposure effect, confirmation bias and spotlight effect help explain why people dislike how they look in pictures. Taking more photos may be one of the best ways to become more confident looking at photos, psychologists say.December 25, 2025
Health News
Medical school enrollment surpasses 100,000 for first time as application numbers rebound
U.S. medical school enrollment surpassed 100,000 students for the first time in 2025. Women accounted for 55% of new students, continuing an upward trend.December 24, 2025
Children's Health
Pennsylvania, New Jersey join lawsuit against federal rules restricting gender-affirming care for minors
Pennsylvania and New Jersey joined a 19-state lawsuit challenging federal rules that would cut funding to hospitals providing gender-affirming care to minors.December 24, 2025
Marijuana
Smoking 'a few harmless joints' a month can hurt school performance, study says
Using cannabis products just once a month was associated with worse grades and more emotional turmoil in teenagers, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Pediatrics.December 23, 2025
Health News
Philadelphia sues pharmacy benefit managers, drug makers for inflating insulin prices
Philadelphia is suing several pharmacy benefit managers and insulin manufacturers for allegedly inflating the price of the diabetes medication while falsely claiming they were working to lower prices.December 23, 2025
Illness
With norovirus cases on the rise, here's how to prevent the 'stomach bug'
Norovirus, also called the 'winter vomiting disease,' causes vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps for about three days. With cases on the rise, here are tips to guard against it.December 19, 2025
Parenting
People test out parenthood by getting dogs — but not cats
People test out parenthood by getting dogs and then moving on to having babies, new research from Taiwan suggests. Getting a dog increases the probability of later having a child by 33%, the researchers found. Getting a cat does not increase the likelihood.December 18, 2025
Adult Health
Waking up with headaches and jaw pain? You might be grinding your teeth at night
Waking up with headaches and jaw pain may signal that you are grinding your teeth at night. Also called bruxism, unconscious, repetitive teeth grinding can also cause tooth erosion. Mouth guards are one of the common treatments.December 18, 2025
Health News
Virtua Health, ChristianaCare decide not to merge operations
Two of the Mid-Atlantic region's largest health systems have abandoned plans to merge. Virtua Health in New Jersey and ChristianaCare in Delaware had been exploring a potential $6 billion merger since July.
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