Public Health On Call

Daily health care operations in the US account for 8.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Shanda Demorest is a cardiac nurse and Associate Director of Climate Engagement and Education at Health Care Without Harm. She takes Dr. Josh Sharfstein on a virtual tour of a hypothetical hospital, pointing out opportunities for sustainability. They discuss how, despite a lack of regulation, health care systems are making pledges to reduce emissions—and how individual clinicians and patients can help the cause.

There's a bit of detective work that has to go into investigating outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, and your local health department plays a key role. Cari Sledzik, an epidemiologist in the Office of Acute Communicable Diseases at the Baltimore City Health Department, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about what goes into piecing together a potential outbreak and what happens once the source is found. To round out this Food Safety Education Month episode, she also shares some tips for how people can avoid foodborne illnesses. Learn more about how to lower your chances of getting sick with the FDA's Food Safety Education Month resources.

Methadone is a gold star treatment for opioid use disorder but it's heavily regulated at the federal level, making it hard for patients to get and even harder for doctors to prescribe. Dr. Brian Hurley, president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about the process of getting methadone, how its regulatory roots in legislation from the 1970s contribute to its stigma, and what's being done and what more could be done to streamline prescribing so that the patients who need the life-saving medication can actually get it.

Hundreds of thousands of people were exposed to dust, debris, carcinogens, and trauma at the three sites of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the immediate aftermath and then the years following. In 2011, Congress created The World Trade Center Health Program to provide health care monitoring and treatment for certified health conditions at no cost to people directly affected. Dr. John Howard, director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health at the CDC which oversees the program, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the history, the extensive list of covered conditions, and the process through which people can apply to be part of the program—even if they don't have any diagnosed medical condition at this time. Learn more here: https://www.cdc.gov/wtc/apply.html

Many of us only hear about the juvenile justice system from the news in 30-second snippets. But Sam Abed, acting director of the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services in Washington DC, has more to say. Abed talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about his work with juvenile justice and what he most wants people to know about the system and the young people who come through it.

Throughout the pandemic, a few medical professionals spread false and misleading information about COVID-19 and even touted potentially harmful "treatments" to their patients. But did they face consequences? Journalist Lena Sun talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about her Washington Post report looking at how medical professional boards handled—or dismissed—complaints about these doctors.

Part two of this series features Dr. Daniel Grossman, an obstretrician and gynecologist, and Dr. Katrina Kimport, a sociologist in Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California at San Francisco. They talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about their research documenting cases where patients were denied proper medical care because of abortion restrictions—even when the care was unrelated to a pregnancy. They discuss how being forced to deny proper medical care can cause catastrophic health problems and trauma for pregnant people and their loved ones, as well as distress for the medical professionals involved. For part one of the series, check out episode 656. Read the report here: https://www.ansirh.org/sites/default/files/2023-05/Care%20Post-Roe%20Preliminary%20Findings.pdf

In part one of a two part series, Johns Hopkins demographic researcher Suzanne Bell talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about a new report quantifying the impacts of Texas's SB8, an extremely restrictive abortion bill that passed in 2021. They discuss how empirical evidence can help to illuminate the consequences of major legislation. Read more: https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2023/analysis-suggests-2021-texas-abortion-ban-resulted-in-nearly-9800-extra-live-births-in-state-in-year-after-law-went-into-effect

Massive deadly fires, bleached coral reefs, extreme heat, ocean temps topping 100 degrees….have we reached a tipping point in climate change? Johns Hopkins planetary scientist Dr. Ben Zaitchik returns to the podcast to talk with Stephanie Desmon about recent headline-grabbing climate events and whether or not they signal a critical threshold for the health of the planet. They discuss how we can collectively approach mitigation and planning for climate change and why it can be short-sighted to see climate change as an existential crisis for humans.

Legalizing medical cannabis may have paved the way for recreational use in many states, but what is actually known about cannabis as a medical treatment? Dr. Johannes Thrul, a Johns Hopkins substance use researcher, talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about why there are huge gaps in research of the risks and benefits of cannabis, and how legalization might create new opportunities to finally get some answers.