HealthWise | UNC-TV

Be wise about your health and your heart—join host Christine Rogers for the UNC-TV special HealthWise: Heart Disease as a panel of experts from across North Carolina examine what the state is doing to address the many challenges of heart disease and how its citizens can improve their own cardiovascular health.

Join host Christine Rogers for the UNC-TV special, HealthWise: The Environment & Health as a panel of experts from across North Carolina discuss the ways in which environment influences human biology and the risk of developing disease. This hour-long program also examines the many programs underway across the state to address the possible link between environmental factors and disease.

Join host Christine Rogers for the UNC-TV special HealthWise: Complementary & Alternative Medicine. During this hour-long program, a panel of experts and practitioners from across North Carolina will examine the growing industry of alternative and complementary medicine in the state to expose why so many Tar Heels are now seeking therapies outside conventional medicine modalities.

Join host Christine Rogers for the UNC-TV special HealthWise: Alcohol and Drug Addictions. During this hour-long program, a panel of distinguished experts from across North Carolina will examine the challenges of drug and alcohol addictions and how North Carolina is meeting those challenges.

Join host Christine Rogers for the UNC-TV special HealthWise: Vision Loss & Correction. During this hour-long program, a panel of distinguished experts from across North Carolina will examine the challenges of vision loss and the treatments and procedures available for vision correction throughout the states

Arthritis is one of the most common chronic diseases and is the leading cause of disability in the United States. Arthritis has a tremendous impact on the health and well-being of many North Carolinians. The term “arthritis” refers to more than 100 different conditions affecting the joints surrounding connective tissues. These include osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, gout, lupus, bursitis, Lyme disease and many others. Most of these conditions are characterized by pain, stiffness and sometimes swelling around joints. According to the 2002 North Carolina Arthritis Report by the North Carolina Division of Health, State Center for Health Statistics, almost a quarter of North Carolinians (24.8%) surveyed reported physician-diagnosed arthritis. This represents more than 2 million adults. North Carolina's arthritis prevalence is one of the highest in the nation.Join host Christine Rogers for a UNC-TV HealthWise special on arthritis.

Cancer is a very rare childhood disease, yet despite its rarity, cancer is the chief cause of death by disease for children between ages one and 14. According the North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics, between 1973 and 1991, incidence rates for childhood cancers increased by 10%. The incidence rates are higher among Whites than African Americans, 14.4 and 11.8 respectively. About 16% of childhood cancers occur during the first two years of life. The most common cancers in children are leukemia, bone, lymph nodes, brain, kidney and soft tissues. UNC-TV presents an hour long live call in show about childhood cancers. Christine Rogers moderates a panel of experts from across the state to discuss risk factors, early detection and new treatment options on Healthwise: Pediatric Cancer.

A panel of experts will discuss the role of mental health in North Carolina's overall health. They will talk about the state's efforts to reform the mental health system in North Carolina, teenage suicide, discrimination against people with mental illness, misconceptions of the mentally ill, and drugs created for mental health disorders.

The report card provides a clear picture of the state of women's health in North Carolina. On Healthwise: Women's Health, host Christine Rogers leads a panel of experts in women's health in a focus on the highlights of the study and discuss the areas where women's health needs improvement and how to accomplish it. Viewers can also call in and query panelists with their own concerns around women's health issues.

On Healthwise: the State of Preventive Healthcare in North Carolina, a panel of experts try to answer these questions and explain why preventive healthcare is important for all North Carolinians. The panel also discusses the current state of preventive healthcare in North Carolina, prevention programs across the state and the future of preventive healthcare. In addition, panelists answer viewer questions about prevention.

In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, UNC-TV presents Healthwise: Domestic Violence. This program explores North Carolina's groundbreaking statewide efforts to reduce domestic violence and mitigate the effects domestic violence has on its victims. UNC-TV reporter Christine Rogers moderates a panel of domestic violence experts, including policy makers, activists, outreach professionals, law enforcement officers, and victims of domestic violence who discuss this behavior and answer viewer questions.

On this edition of Healthwise, a panel of experts try to answer these questions, explain why access to healthcare problems exist and examine North Carolina's safety net of services implemented to handle the current healthcare crisis. These programs include free clinics, rural health centers, volunteer physician care projects (Project Access programs), public health departments and even hospital emergency rooms. The panel also discusses possible solutions to our state's healthcare crisis.

In Healthwise: Childhood Overweight, the expert panelists on Healthwise will discuss not only the policy proposals but also explore the origins of childhood overweight and obesity; look at prevention programs and efforts being made on the state and local levels; and take questions about childhood overweight from our viewing audience.

Experts discuss the Medicaid issues that affect everyone in this state and answer some of the most critical questions about how today's Medicaid policy is being shaped to respond to America's future needs. Plus, viewers have the chance to call in and ask the experts questions about North Carolina's policies. Issues discussed include the definition of Medicaid, who is eligible and the differences between Medicaid ad Medicare; some of the potential changes in Medicaid policy in North Carolina as a result of the state budget process; and how hospitals handle Medicaid patients versus the uninsured and those with private health insurance.

In the last decade, diabetes has nearly doubled in the United States. It has become one of the most prevalent diseases in North Carolina and the nation. According to the NC Department of Health and Human Services, it is the fifth leading cause of death in the state. More than a half million people have diabetes in North Carolina. Though type 2 diabetes was at one time fairly rare among young adults and adolescents, it is now commonplace in pediatric populations and a major concern of public health agencies and child care physicians throughout our state. Diabetes is costly. Nationally, the estimated cost of direct medical care for each person with diabetes is twice that of a person without the disease. In North Carolina diabetes related costs exceed 1.5 billion dollars a year.

Americans are living longer than ever as a result of advances in medicine. A byproduct of our successes in this area is an ever-increasing aging population whose health and well-being has never been as significant a national and state issue as it is today. According to a 2003 report from the North Carolina Division of Public Health and the Division of Aging, the state ranks 10th in the nation in the number of older persons, with about 2.3 million residents age 50 and older – that represents 28 percent of the total North Carolina population. The health issues for people age 50 and older range from osteoporosis and Alzheimer's to prescription drug management and eldercare quality. North Carolina Now correspondent Christine Rogers moderates a panel of leading experts to discuss the health issues affecting North Carolina's older population on Healthwise: Senior Health.