Public Health On Call

How can we help the planet by rethinking our diets? In a new book, Can Fixing Dinner Fix the Planet?, Dr. Jessica Fanzo, a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Global Food Policy and Ethics points out how our food options are often unhealthy for human bodies—and for the planet. Dr. Fanzo talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about making changes at both policy and individual levels, from the responsible use of genetically modified organisms to redesigning "choice architecture" in grocery stores and restaurants.

There is a long history of protecting health care workers during conflict, beginning with an 1859 battle in Italy that gave rise to the first Geneva Convention. But there's never been a "golden age of compliance" and health care workers continue to face considerable risk while trying to reduce human suffering in war zones. Len Rubenstein, a public health and human rights lawyer and faculty at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute for Bioethics, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about his new book that examines the history of health care in armed conflict, how the Conventions have evolved, and where things are today with notable conflicts erupting around the world.

For a year and a half, Johns Hopkins infectious disease doctor Kelly Gebo has been working with people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19. Gebo and a team of medical professionals triage COVID outpatients in a "pod" outside of the hospital where people diagnosed with COVID can come for convalescent plasma and care. Gebo talks about seeing patients in sleet and extreme heat, the parallels of her work with HIV patients in the 1990s, and how while many patients are appreciative, some are angry or frustrated and may have been exposed to misinformation that makes care more difficult.

There are over 50 million Americans who are eligible to vote but are not registered. VoteEr is an organization at the intersection of health and voting, providing kits for health care offices and ERs that help patients check their registration status or easily register via a text message code while waiting to be seen. Dr. Alister Martin, VoteER's founder and executive director, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the program and why reaching people in health care settings can make a difference.

In recognition of the 20th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks and the Anthrax events in the weeks that followed, Dr. Josh Sharfstein talks with Dr. Tom Inglesby of the Center for Health Security about the transformational impacts these events had on public health. They discuss what the attacks revealed about the US's vulnerabilities, how an influx of funding helped establish better public health preparedness, and the impacts these may have had on the US's response to COVID-19—for better or worse.

Stephanie Desmon talks to Dr. Stephen Patrick, a pediatrician at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee, about why the focus of COVID-19 right now needs to be kids, who have suffered mightily since the pandemic began and who are now filling up children's hospitals as many are sickened by the Delta variant. They discuss how politicians and religious leaders need to step up to protect children instead of downplaying the risks.

This year, National Suicide Prevention Week coincides with the 20th anniversary of 9-11. Amelia Noor-Oshiro, a Hopkins PhD candidate, is conducting research at the intersection of suicide prevention and Muslim Americans' experiences with trauma, violence, and oppression. Stephanie Desmon talks with Noor-Oshiro about the importance of studying this underrepresented population, unique risk factors for Muslim Americans in terms of suicide, and Noor-Oshiro's own experience as a survivor of a suicide attempt.

Bloomberg Assistant Professor of American Health Tiara Willie studies the HIV epidemic among Black women in the American South, particularly among those in abusive relationships. In conversation with Dr. Josh Sharfstein, Dr. Willie discusses how to make HIV prevention a standard of care to help women by improving and expanding access to trauma-informed services.

What is a microbiome? Are they helpful or are they harmful? Do they cause disease or can they cure disease? And what does diet soda have to do with them? In this episode, Dr. Joshua Sharfstein speaks to Dr. Jotham Suez from the W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology about the trillions of microorganisms that live inside us and all over our skin.

Research shows that conservatives are significantly less likely to get a COVID vaccine than liberals. Timothy Callaghan of Texas A&M's school of public health tells Stephanie Desmon about the impact this has right now, given the Delta variant, and the implications for the future in a country where politics and science are at odds in many circles. What are the best strategies to decouple partisanship from sound science and why is it so crucial to our health?