Association of Health Care Journalists
/OVERVIEW: AHCJ awards fellowships to journalists covering the field of healthcare. It also provides funding to individual journalists and students who wish to attend its annual conference.
IP TAKE: This funder runs fellowship programs for journalists working in specific areas of healthcare and awards small grants to individuals who wish to attend the organization’s annual conference. Many programs involve internships and residencies at specific agencies and institutes. All fellowships are awarded in set amounts, as per program guidelines. The association posts specific guidelines and due dates for each fellowship program it offers.
PROFILE: Founded in 1997, the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) aims to improve the public’s understanding of health care issues by improving “the quality, accuracy and visibility of health care reporting, writing and editing.” AHCJ supports journalism with several national fellowship programs:
National Cancer Reporting Fellowships enable 10-12 journalists to spend four days on the campus of the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, MD. These fellowships seek to increase journalists’ “understanding of and ability to report accurately on complex scientific findings, provide insight into the work of cancer researchers and to better localize cancer-related stories.”
AHJC-CDC Health Journalism Fellowships support journalists with up to ten one-week fellowships at two CDC campuses. During the week, fellows attend a variety of health care information sessions, tour the National Emergency Operations Center and become acquainted with CDC policies, research and resources.
AHCJ Reporting Fellowships on Health Care Performance provides funding for “a yearlong program allowing journalists to pursue a significant reporting project related to the U.S. health care system.” The fellowship includes $4,000 to help defray the cost of field reporting and project related research, and an additional $2,500 upon completing the project.
AHCJ Fellowship on Comparative Effectiveness Research seeks to help journalists “write more accurate, in-depth stories on medical research and how medical decisions are made.” The fellowship includes a week in Washington, DC attending information sessions about comparative effectiveness research.
National Science-Health-Environment Reporting Fellowships support early-career journalists “interested in careers reporting on science, health, and environmental issues.”
AHCJ International Health Study Fellowships is a six-month program for working journalists, based in the United States, to work on a health care story with an international component.
The AHCJ also offers small fellowships to individual journalists who wish to attend the organization’s annual conference. Specific funds are available to journalists from the states of California, Missouri, New York, Colorado and Rhode Island.
Funding is also available to journalism students, journalists working in ethnic media outlets and rural areas.
Important Grant Details:
The AHCJ’s fellowships are generally awarded in specific amounts as stated by specific program guidelines. Each program page features detailed information about eligibility, application guidelines and due dates. Membership in the association is a requirement for most fellowships. General inquiries may be submitted to the association via email or telephone at 573-884-5606.
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