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Category: commentary

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Commentary

The Public Health System Nobody Thinks About Until Someone Dies

In the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, trucks carrying bodies moved through Port-au-Prince while rumors of impending disease outbreaks spread almost as quickly as the disaster itself. Officials faced pressure to remove the remains immediately. Families searched desperately for missing loved ones. Public health experts confronted a challenge that had little to do with […]

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Commentary

Can Public Health Become Precise?

In 2003, scientists completed one of the most ambitious research projects in human history: the Human Genome Project. After more than a decade of work and billions of dollars in investment, researchers had produced the first complete map of the human genetic code. The achievement promised nothing less than a revolution in medicine. The vision […]

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Commentary

We Keep Studying Barriers. Why Doesn’t Implementation Get Easier?

Implementation science has become remarkably good at describing why change is difficult. Over the past four decades, researchers have interviewed clinicians, observed organizations, synthesized evidence, developed implementation frameworks, and published hundreds of thousands of papers documenting the obstacles to putting evidence into practice. Leadership matters. Resources matter. Organizational culture matters. Training, workflow, stakeholder engagement, incentives, […]

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Commentary

Does Regenerative Agriculture Improve Public Health?

Can changing how we grow food improve people’s health—not just plants’? That question has moved from the margins of agriculture into the center of public debate. Advocates of regenerative agriculture argue that healthier soils produce healthier crops, reduce pollution, strengthen rural economies, and may even lower the burden of chronic disease. Skeptics counter that many […]

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Commentary

Microplastics, Public Health, and the Problem of Proof

Microplastics are no longer just an environmental story. They are becoming a public health story. Tiny plastic particles have been found in water, food, air, human tissue, and even parts of the body where we once assumed they would not appear. At the same time, many chemicals associated with plastics — including PFAS, phthalates, bisphenols, […]

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Commentary

“Gold-Standard Science” Sounds Good. But Public Health Needs Better Than a Slogan.

Would you like me to talk about my favorite shibboleth right now? Sure, why not!? The federal government is proposing major changes to how grants and cooperative agreements are awarded, reviewed, monitored, and potentially terminated. On the surface, the language sounds familiar and hard to oppose: transparency, accountability, oversight, merit, efficiency, and better stewardship of […]

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Commentary

Fluoridation in U.S. Public Water Supplies: History, Science, and Debunking Myths

Community water fluoridation in the United States is a public health policy with a remarkable legacy – praised as a milestone in preventive medicine and credited with dramatically reducing dental decay, yet persistently targeted by conspiracy theories and misinformation. For over 75 years, public health and dental professionals have advocated adjusting fluoride levels in drinking […]

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Commentary

When the World Cup Becomes a Public Health Test

In June 2026, the world’s largest sporting event will arrive in North America, with matches spread across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. For the United States, the FIFA World Cup is not just a sports spectacle. It is a stress test for immigration systems, public health preparedness, disease surveillance, risk communication, and the country’s […]

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Commentary

The Mind-Body Connection and Mental Health: A Public Health Response

Mental health is often treated as something that lives only in the brain. But that framing is too small. In a recent episode of The Secretary Kennedy Podcast, Dr. Ellen Vora discussed the “mind-body connection,” arguing that anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges are shaped by sleep, nutrition, inflammation, blood sugar, social connection, technology, […]

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Commentary

Why “Barriers and Facilitators” Is Not Enough in Public Health

In public health, we love to ask a very, very familiar question: What are the barriers and facilitators? It is a useful question. It helps us listen. It helps us organize what people are experiencing. It gives researchers, evaluators, and program leaders a way to summarize messy real-world conditions. When a new program struggles, we […]

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Commentary

What Mike Tyson Gets Right (and Wrong) About Food and Health Equity

In April 2026, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched The Secretary Kennedy Podcast, a government-backed platform designed to bring public health conversations directly to the public. On its surface, the pitch is compelling: cut through bureaucracy, speak plainly, and confront the chronic disease crisis head-on. The show blends legitimate public health concerns with sweeping claims about government […]

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