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Category: commentary

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Commentary

Mission or Margin: How Nonprofits Are Becoming Private Equity in Disguise

The Betrayal of the Nonprofit Promise Fifty years ago, the American nonprofit sector was anchored by trust. Community hospitals, faith-based charities, and behavioral health providers existed to fill the gaps left by markets and government alike. But in 2025, a darker transformation is unfolding. Large nonprofit health systems are increasingly behaving like private equity (PE) […]

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Commentary

Resilience or Ruin? The Future of U.S. Public Health — Coming Soon

America’s public health system is standing at a crossroads. Over the past several years, the foundations that protect our communities—disease prevention, outbreak response, and population surveillance—have been weakened by political interference, funding cuts, and leadership instability. Resilience or Ruin? The Future of U.S. Public Health, a forthcoming report from This Week in Public Health, reveals […]

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Commentary

Measuring Equity in an Age of Disinvestment: A Critical Look at IHI’s New Framework

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) 2025 white paper, Advancing Health Equity: An Approach to Systematically Identify and Evaluate Health Disparities, offers a structured, evidence-based pathway for health systems to measure inequities in care. It arrives at a crucial moment. The very concept of “equity” has become politically fraught, and when public health infrastructure itself […]

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Commentary

Taking the Fight to Facebook: A Pilot of Science vs. Spin

Public health doesn’t just happen in hospitals or labs—it happens in the comment section.At This Week in Public Health, we’re running a real-time experiment on Facebook to see whether evidence-based engagement can actually change how people talk about health online. Instead of arguing or correcting from a distance, we’re testing a structured set of conversations […]

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Commentary

Why Public Health Must Oppose Fascism

When we talk about threats to public health, we usually think about diseases, disasters, or lack of medical care. But political systems also shape health. One of the biggest dangers to wellbeing is fascism. Fascist governments do more than limit freedom. They also create conditions that harm the health of individuals, families, and entire communities. […]

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Commentary

When Public Health Is Reframed Against Itself: A Critical Look at CDC’s New Priorities

Public health professionals across the country work daily to build trust, protect communities, and advance equity. So when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), long considered the world’s leading public health agency, updates its priorities, we all pay attention. Unfortunately, the newly released priorities statement raises serious concerns. While it speaks the language […]

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Commentary

After the Kirk Killing: Public Health, Justice, and Politicizing Violence

In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, senior officials like JD Vance framed the tragedy as proof of a coordinated “left-wing domestic terror movement,” vowing sweeping crackdowns on nonprofits and activists. To be clear: Investigators have not established a motive, yet the rhetoric has raced ahead of the facts, turning a criminal investigation into a […]

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Commentary

Science is political

For centuries, science has been romanticized as an impartial pursuit, a process that stands above politics and social conflict. We are told that the scientific method is designed to remove bias and that data simply “speaks for itself.” Yet anyone who has watched science operate in the real world knows this is an incomplete picture. […]

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AI

AI Cannot Stop Misinformation Alone

You’re scrolling through your feed. A friend posts a study showing the safety of vaccines. Right below it, another post claims vaccines cause long-term harm, backed by a slick video and emotional testimonials. (I was actually doing this on an HHS post a few days ago) You click on the study. It’s full of stats, […]

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Commentary

Why the World is Losing the Fight Against Measles

The global fight against measles, once on the verge of being won, is witnessing alarming setbacks. Recent data and reports highlight a disturbing trend: the resurgence of measles outbreaks, driven by vaccine hesitancy and misinformation. This article explores why the world is struggling to keep measles in check and what it means for public health. […]

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Commentary

Requiem for the Memory of a Teacher.

On June 1st, a high school friend forwarded me a letter to the editor that had recently been published in our local paper. The author criticized the paper’s recent treatment of President Trump, contrasting it to how it treated Joe Biden in the 2024 election. It was a fairly typical opinion piece, nothing especially surprising […]

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