The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "pain" ...
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Testing the System: Justice for Rape Victims
Thousands of rape victims in Colorado were victimized twice – once by their attacker and again by a system failing to utilize a crucial piece of evidence, a rape kit. Our investigation revealed the vast majority of rape kits police collected were never tested and the painful process a victim endures to provide the evidence is often in vain. Our story immediately prompted change. One department changed its policy and is testing old rape kits that should have been tested years ago. State lawmakers are filing bills to require rape kit testing. These changes have led to more thorough rape investigations in police departments and could ultimately prevent a rapist from striking again.
Tags: rape; rape victims; rape kits; police; criminal justice system; broadcast
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C-HIT: Pharma Perks
The Affordable Care Act requires pharmaceutical companies to publicly report all payments to physicians by September 2013. Some drug companies have already compiled, but few consumers know that the information is available or how to access it. What this story did is disclose for the first time for CT consumers: 1) how many doctors in Connecticut are high-prescribers of certain psychotropic and pain medications, (108) 2) the cost of written prescriptions (hundreds of thousands of dollars in some cases) 3) how many of these doctors received payments from drug companies (at least 43) 4) and the amounts that the doctors received from the drug companies ($30,000 - $99,000) It also reported that only 3 doctors on the high-prescribing drug list have been disciplined by the state Medical Examining Board.
Tags: Affordable Care Act; pharmacy; physicians; prescriptions; drugs; Medical Examining Board
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Methadone and the Politics of Pain
Since 2003, at least 2,173 people have fatally overdosed on methadone, a narcotic painkiller that is both cheap and unpredictable. Washington steers people with state-subsidized healthcare -- most notably, Medicaid patients -- toward the drug in order to save money.
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Cracks in the Empire: Inside Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson, the gold standard of corporate America for its single-minded devotion to its customers, is fending off federal, state and consumer allegations that the company harmed and cheated the ill. The Press found that the New Brunswick, NJ-based copmany set its sights in the last decade on making record profits but at a high cosst. Its main OTC pain reliever company was shut down in part for being too dirty. Thousands of hip replacement patients say the device failed inside their bodies, causing them great pain.
Tags: Johnson & Johnson; pain relievers; drugs; pharmaceuticals
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ESPN, Outside the Lines: Painkiller Misuse Numbs NFL Pain
The story examines the degree to which current and former NFL players used and misused prescription pain medications.
Tags: painkillers; drugs; NFL; football
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R.C.'s Boys
The story investigates the case of former NC state Senator R.C. Soles, showing that Soles sexually assulted numerous young men, and then paid them to keep their silence. The reporters found that the abuse had a profound effect on the lives of the teens, who grew into troubled adults and often turned to drugs and alcohol to ease the pain.
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Methadone and the Politics of Pain
The Seattle Times has found that since 2003, at least 2,173 people in Washington have fatally overdosed on methadone, a narcotic that is both cheap and unpredictable. More so, Medicaid recipients account for about 8% of Washington's adult population but 48% of the methadone deaths.
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"No Means No"
This investigation, part of a nationwide collaboration that was led by the Center for Public Integrity, revealed that University of Massachusetts-Amherst officials often failed to take disciplinary action against students accused or found guilty of sexual assault. Reporters found that in a four-year period, "240 sexual assaults" were reported "to campus security," and only "four students were expelled." This report also found that many women who reported the assault often dropped the accusation.
Tags: sexual assault; harassment; New England; Amherst; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; U.S. Department of Justice; database; public records request; Office of Violence against Women
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Medicating the Military
The stories looked at the nature and scope of the use of prescription drugs in the military community, with a focus on psychiatric medications and painkillers. The reporting found that use of psychiatric medications has risen dramatically in the past several years and some doctors suggest it may be a factor in the military's suicide epidemic of recent years. Reporters found that many psychiatric drugs - including powerful anti-convulsants and anti-psychotic medications - were being used "off label", or in ways not formally approved by the FDA. Reporters found that many troops were taking up to 10 medications at a time in so-called drug cocktails that experts say are untested and unproven in these combinations. Reporters also found that deaths caused by accidental drug overdoses had tripled during the past several years and that the Army's specialty care units were quietly conducting internal investigations and making significant changes to hospital protocols to reduce risk of accidental deaths. Finally, they found that psychiatric drug usage was also up significantly among military children.
Tags: Military; Army; Veteran; Health; Wellness; Medicine; Drugs; Pain killers; Psychiatric Medication; Mental Health; Suicide; Depression; Military Children; Hospital; Prescription
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"Cruel and Unusual: The Culture of Punishment in America"
In this book, author Anne-Marie Cusac reveals how America has become a nation of victims searching for revenge, rather that a "community that cares for its own." The cultural shift has impacted the criminal justice system, causing even "law-abiding" citizens at risk of "suffering retribution in American jails." The book illustrates how cultural trends have "transformed" America into a "society of punishment."
Tags: prison; jail; punishment; inmates; capital punishment; punitive physical pain; corporal punishment; Abu Ghraib; Guantanamo