Public Health On Call

About this episode: Gain-of-function research involves altering a virus to make it more transmissible or deadly in order to develop vaccines, therapies, and perform other research. But the practice has long raised concerns about safety. In May, the White House released new policies around gain-of-function research hoping to shore up both safety measures and trust in this field of research. In this episode: a breakdown of the new policies and their general reception among scientists and the public. Guests: Gigi Gronvall is a senior scholar at the Center for Health Security and an associate professor in Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Host: Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Show links and related content: United States Government Policy for Oversight of Dual Use Research of Concern and Pathogens with Enhanced Pandemic Potential—The White House White House overhauls rules for risky pathogen studies—Science Lab practices go under the microscope—Politico Gain-of-Function Research: Balancing Science and Security—Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on X @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed

About this episode: Meteorologists look at data and history to help make sense of weather patterns and make predictions. This work, in turn, helps inform individuals and policymakers to prepare for and respond to weather events. But with climate records being shattered at every turn, and extreme weather like flooding, violent storms, and heat domes becoming more common, patterns and precedent start to fall away. So how are meteorologists making sense of all these changes and what could we expect to see in the future? Guests: Brian McNoldy is a senior research associate at the Rosenstiel School of Marine Atmosphere and Earth Science at the University of Miami. Host: Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Show links and related content: Brian McNoldy's Blog @‌BMcNoldy on X 2023 was the world's warmest year on record, by far—http://NOAA.gov Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on X @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed

About this episode: Pulse oximeters—devices used to read blood oxygen levels in hospitals and at home—are far less reliable for people with darker skin tones. Falsely normal readings have the potential for clinical staff to miss life-threatening conditions. In this three-episode special series, we explore a longstanding issue that only caught the nation's attention in recent years. In episode 2: What went wrong, including inaction from manufacturers and regulators, market forces, and racism in medicine that goes beyond this one device. Listen to Part 1: A Problem Hiding in Plain Sight. Listen to Part 3: Fixing Pulse Oximeters. View the transcript for this episode. Host: Nicole Jurmo is co-producer of the Public Health in the Field series on pulse oximeters, the associate director for public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, and a current MPH student. She recently completed a practicum with the Public Health On Call podcast. Show links and related content: The Problem with Pulse Oximeters: A Long History of Racial Bias Racial Bias in Pulse Oximetry Measurement—The New England Journal of Medicine Pulse Oximeters Are Not Racist—Orange County Business Journal Inventing conflicts of interest: a history of tobacco industry tactics—American Journal of Public Health Performance Evaluation of Pulse Oximeters Taking Into Consideration Skin Pigmentation, Race and Ethnicity—FDA Executive Summary (pdf) Pulse Oximeter Accuracy and Limitations—FDA Safety Communication Dynamic in vivo response characteristics of three oximeters: Hewlett Packard 47201A, Biox III, and Nellcor N-100—Sleep (1987) Racial bias is built into the design of pulse oximeters—The Washington Post November 2023 Attorneys General Letter to the FDA On The Inaccuracies of Pulse Oximetry When Used On People With Darker Toned Skin (pdf) Defining race/ethnicity and explaining difference in research studies on lung function—European Respiratory Journal (abstract) Is Facial Recognition Software Racist?—The Daily Show Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on X @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed

About this episode: Pulse oximeters—devices used to read blood oxygen levels in hospitals and at home—are far less reliable for people with darker skin tones... Falsely normal readings create the potential for clinical staff to miss life-threatening conditions. In this three-episode special series, we explore a longstanding issue that only caught the nation's attention in recent years. In episode 1: How COVID-19 shined a light on an issue that was known, but largely ignored. Listen to Part 2: What Went Wrong? Listen to Part 3: Fixing Pulse Oximeters. View the transcript for this episode. Host: Annalies Winny is a co-producer of the Pulse Ox series for the Public Health On Call podcast, an associate editor for Global Health NOW, and a contributor for the Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health magazine. Show links and related content: The Problem with Pulse Oximeters: A Long History of Racial Bias Estimating COVID-19 Hospitalizations in the U.S.—JMIR Public Health Surveillance How a Popular Medical Device Encodes Racial Bias–Amy Moran-Thomas People with darker skin are 32% more likely to have pulse oximeters overestimate oxygen levels, report says–CNN Racial Bias in Pulse Oximetry Measurement—The New England Journal of Medicine Dynamic in vivo response characteristics of three oximeters: Hewlett Packard 47201A, Biox III, and Nellcor N-100—Sleep (1987) Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on X @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed

About this episode: Pulse oximeters—devices used to read blood oxygen levels in hospitals and at home—are far less reliable for people with darker skin tones. Falsely normal readings create the potential for clinical staff to miss life-threatening conditions. In this three-episode special series, we explore a longstanding issue that only caught the nation's attention in recent years. In episode 3: How engineers are working to improve the design of pulse oximeters, and how advocates from across the medical industry including patients and students are leading efforts to keep the pressure on to improve equity in pulse oximetry…and beyond. Listen to Part 1: A Problem Hiding in Plain Sight. Listen to Part 2: What Went Wrong? View the transcript for this episode. Host: Annalies Winny is a co-producer of the Pulse Ox series for the Public Health On Call podcast, an associate editor for Global Health NOW, and a contributor for the Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health magazine. Show links and related content: The Problem with Pulse Oximeters: A Long History of Racial Bias Right2Breathe.org US race-neutral lung assessments to have profound effects, study finds—Reuters Why more than 14,000 Black kidney transplant patients are moving up on the waitlist–NPR COVID-19 made pulse oximeters ubiquitous. Engineers are fixing their racial bias.—NPR Innovative technology to eliminate the racial bias in non-invasive, point-of-core (POC) haemoglobin and pulse oximetry measurements—BMJ Roots Community Health Center Sues to Halt Sales of Flawed Pulse Oximeters—Roots Community Health Center press release (PDF) Racial Bias in Medicine Episode 1: Disparities with Pulse Oximeters.—Joel Bervell (YouTube) Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on X @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed

About this episode: The Supreme Court has issued decisions in the two major abortion cases on its docket this year. For the time being, the drug mifepristone remains on the market and a federal law requiring that emergency rooms provide life-saving abortions even in states banning the procedure is upheld. But the court's decisions—both upholding the status quo—all but guarantee both cases will be back, putting mifepristone and EMTALA once again under fire. Guests: Joanne Rosen is an expert in public health law and a co-director of the Center for Law and the Public's Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Host: Dr. Josh Sharfstein is vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a faculty member in health policy, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department. Show links and related content: The Two Major Abortion Cases Coming to The Supreme Court—Public Health On Call Despite Supreme Court ruling, the future of emergency abortions is still unclear for US women—ABC News OB-GYN Training and Practice in Dobbs' Shadow–Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine The Threat to Abortion Rights You Haven't Heard Of—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on X @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed

About this episode: Public health saved your life today and you didn't even know it. But while public health makes modern life possible, efforts are frequently underfunded, undervalued, and misunderstood. Today we bring you a special episode from Follow the Data, a podcast by the Bloomberg Philanthropies, that discusses "The Invisible Shield," a four-part documentary series on PBS. The series delves into the often unseen public health infrastructure that supports our daily lives and highlights the field's significant achievements. Guests: Dr. Josh Sharfstein is vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, a faculty member in health policy, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department. Dr. Sandro Galea is dean of the Boston University School of Public Health. Host: Katherine Oliver is a Principal at Bloomberg Associates and the host of Follow the Data, a podcast by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Show links and related content: Follow the Data—Podcast The Invisible Shield—Documentary Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on X @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed

About this episode: Our mental health and well-being are shaped by our environment: access to green space can be beneficial, while cities with high population density can affect the risk for mood, anxiety, or even substance use disorders. A recent study explores how cities can be more mental health-friendly for adolescents and emphasizes the importance of life skills, open-minded interpersonal relationships, safe public spaces, secure employment, and youth-inclusive policy-making. Guest: Dr. Pamela Collins is a Bloomberg Centennial Professor and chair of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Host: Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, the largest center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Show links and related content: Making cities mental health friendly for adolescents and young adults—Nature Research Identifies Characteristics of Cities That Would Support Young People's Mental Health—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health World Mental Health Day: Mental Health is a Universal Human Right—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on X @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed

About this episode: In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, world health officials agreed that many more lives could have been saved had there been better global coordination. In 2021, countries came together to draft a pandemic treaty committing to better future responses and pledging to sign it within two years. But deadlines have come and gone, the draft revised many times over. In a race to secure an agreement before the next pandemic, countries must reckon with historic inequities, vaccine access, data sharing, and more. Guests: Alexandra Phelan is an expert in global health law and an associate professor and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Host: Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Show links and related content: Ignore the disinformation—the US is safer with a global pandemic treaty—The Hill (Opinion) The world needs the new pandemic treaty—STAT (Opinion) A pandemic agreement is within reach—Science Global pandemic treaty to be concluded by 2025, WHO says—Reuters Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on X @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed

About this episode: In 2021, Texas passed the extremely restrictive Senate Bill 8 which bans most abortions with very few exceptions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected—as early as five or six weeks of pregnancy. 2022 data suggested a noticeable uptick in infant mortality in Texas. A new study looked into the connection between the two and is among the first to show evidence evaluating the impacts of abortion bans and how other places with severely restrictive laws could also see more infant deaths as a result. Guests: Dr. Suzanne Bell is an assistant professor and demographic researcher in the department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Allison Gemmill is an assistant professor, demographer, and perinatal epidemiologist in the department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Host: Lindsay Smith Rogers, MA, is the producer of the Public Health On Call podcast, an editor for Expert Insights, and the director of content strategy for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Show links and related content: Analysis Suggests 2021 Texas Abortion Ban Resulted in Increase in Infant Deaths in State in Year After Law Went Into Effect—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Infant Deaths After Texas' 2021 Ban on Abortion in Early Pregnancy—JAMA Pediatrics Episode 656 - The Consequences of Abortion Restrictions Part 1: Spotlight on Texas—Public Health On Call Episode 657 - The Consequences of Abortion Restrictions Part 1: Denials of Medical Care—Public Health On Call Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @‌PublicHealthPod on X @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Instagram @‌JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @‌PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed