Public Health On Call

More than 2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, and more than 3 billion are living without safe sanitation systems. For World Water Day, Ken Conca, a professor of international relations at the School of International Service at American University, joins the podcast to talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the state of the world's water. They discuss how some of the biggest challenges to water access and quality are political and legal, rather than technical, in nature. They also discuss how water, which knows no jurisdictions, can bring people and nations together. Learn more: https://www.un.org/en/observances/water-day

Menopause: inevitable, stigmatized, mysterious, and bringing a broad range of symptoms and experiences. Dr. Martha Hickey, a menopause researcher at the University of Melbourne, talks with Stephanie Desmon about a new Lancet series on menopause. They discuss how ageism and sexism come into play, the vast array of experiences women may have, and how individual circumstances can impact symptoms. They also talk about why it's time to stop referring to menopause as a medical disorder and think more broadly about the need to provide better support and high-quality information for women during this life transition. Learn more: https://www.thelancet.com/series/menopause-2024

Hospital infection control measures have evolved post-COVID, with changes in testing protocols and use of airborne isolation rooms. Vaccination requirements for healthcare workers and mental health impact are important topics. Stabilizing staffing and communication are keys to protecting against respiratory diseases in hospitals.

A new report models projections of the human costs of conflict in Gaza over the next six months across several scenarios. Paul Spiegel, director of the Center for Humanitarian Health, and Tak Igusa, professor of Civil and Systems Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the project they developed with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. See the full report here: https://gaza-projections.org/

Exploring liberalism and illiberalism in public health, Dean Sandro Galea challenges closed-mindedness. Dr. Galea and Dr. Sharfstein debate the fairness of his critique. Navigating COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children and analyzing decision-making processes during crisis are discussed.

Condoms were once an essential part of the public health toolkit to fight HIV and STIs. But over the last decade, and coinciding with the rise of medication that prevents HIV infection, condom use among men who have sex with men has declined. Steve Goodreau, an expert in mathematical modeling and HIV and STIs at the University of Washington, talks with Stephanie Desmon about his research on declining condom use and why public health should be doing more to tout the advantages of what was once one of the most ubiquitous tools in safer sex. Read his op-ed here: https://journals.lww.com/aidsonline/citation/9900/bringing_back_condoms.458.aspx

Experts discuss a playbook to combat health misinformation, providing tools for public health communicators. Topics include strategies to counter harmful narratives, crisis communication planning, social listening, and audience understanding.

When Sue Baker started her research career in the 1960s, there was no field devoted to injury prevention despite accidents being a leading cause of death in the US. In honor of Women's History Month, Stephanie Desmon talks with injury prevention pioneer Baker about her half century of research looking at everything from aviation safety to hot dog choking deaths, and her hands-on approach to research which included getting her pilot's license, working in a medical examiner's office, and driving a commercial truck.

New CDC isolation guidelines align COVID-19 recommendations with other respiratory diseases. Discussion includes vaccines for people over 65, variants, and protecting vulnerable populations. Exploring immunity impact, testing protocols, and potential updates for future variants.

The podcast discusses hidden food insecurity among adolescents aged 14-18, highlighting the long-term impacts of being hungry on young people. They also address the false claims about nutrition assistance programs contributing to childhood obesity, and explore the challenges faced by adolescents in accessing SNAP benefits.