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Category: society

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Research

How Armed Conflict Reshapes Public Health in Ethiopia

A health worker in northern Ethiopia stands inside what used to be a busy maternity ward. The delivery bed is overturned. Windows are shattered. The medicine cabinet is empty. For months, she hasn’t received supplies—yet families continue arriving, desperate for care. She shakes her head and says quietly, “Before the conflict, this room saved lives. […]

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Mental health

A Quiet Crisis in Grandparent Caregiving and Depression

At 6:30 a.m., before most of her neighbors are awake, Mrs. Lin is packing lunches, checking homework folders, and nudging her 8-year-old grandson to tie his shoes. She is 67, living with arthritis, and often exhausted, but she is the only consistent caregiver he has. By the time he finally boards the school bus, she […]

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Society

Can Sports Drive Racial Justice? What the Evidence Says

Note: This article is cross-posted from our sister site: This Week in Public Health. On a warm summer night in 2020, a local health department staffer scrolls through her phone after a long shift. The headlines aren’t about COVID case counts or vaccination clinics. They’re about athletes—kneeling, striking, refusing to play. In between emergency briefings […]

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Society

Qatar’s Public Health Transformation

Qatar is undergoing a public-health transformation—one shaped by rapid demographic growth, shifting disease patterns, generational investments in research, and a commitment to innovation across its health system. Four new publications provide the clearest picture yet of where Qatar stands today and where its public-health strategy is headed next. Across these studies, a consistent story emerges: […]

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Yes, three hands
Society

Why Drivers Feel Safer Than They Really Are

On a busy morning in Brașov, a young driver speeds through an intersection, confident they can “handle anything.” It’s a common story—one that repeats on highways and city streets around the world. Despite rising awareness campaigns, road crashes remain a global epidemic. Over 1.19 million people die in traffic accidents every year, and countries like […]

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Environment

Zero-Fare Transit: Can Free Buses Improve Public Health?

I’m a Philly guy, and our public transportation system is a mess. There’s a lot of reasons for that, but I doubt you’ll find anyone who is satisfied with SEPTA. And this is a negative for public health throughout the city. But this happens in other cities, too. On a humid July morning in Kansas […]

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AI

Who Controls What AI Knows? The New Gatekeepers of Information

In the age of generative AI, not all information is created equal — or equally visible. A new analysis from Fractl reveals that a handful of publishers now dominate the “knowledge base” behind AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot. These partnerships between AI companies and major media outlets are reshaping who and what gets […]

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Society

A Rising Urgency for Dementia Prevention

Last summer, nearly one in three counties across the U.S. reported heat emergencies that disproportionately impacted older adults. At the same time, local clinics struggled with rising cases of diabetes and hypertension—two well-known risk factors for dementia. With an aging population and constrained health budgets, primary care providers face a pressing question: how can we […]

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Society

Are Our Cities Ready for a Rapidly Aging World?

Picture yourself in 2050. You’re 70, walking to a neighborhood park in Bandung. The sidewalks are smooth, buses have ramps, and a nearby clinic knows your medical history. Aging feels manageable—even empowering. But just a few hundred miles away, in smaller Indonesian cities without safe streets or accessible healthcare, older adults struggle with isolation, limited […]

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Society

America’s Public Health System Isn’t Ready for the Next Disaster

“Are we ready for the next big one?” That question has haunted U.S. public health for two decades. After 9/11, billions of dollars flowed into strengthening emergency response, building laboratories, and stockpiling medicines. And yet, when COVID-19 hit in 2020, the cracks showed: overwhelmed hospitals, broken supply chains, and communities left behind. The irony is […]

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Society

Risks Lurking Behind Every Sparkler

I’m not really a Katy Perry fan, even going back to the Blue Origin debacle. But, I already used Animal Collective over at This Week in Science, so we’re going with this as our soundtrack. It’s the Fourth of July. The barbecue is sizzling, the kids are giggling, and the first crackle of fireworks lights […]

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