Blogs - This Week In Public Health

Commentary

Destined to Suffer. How Prosperity Theology Is Shaping U.S. Health Policy

What if your health wasn’t just a matter of biology or economics, but of divine judgment? For centuries, American culture has been shaped by an unspoken theology: that the healthy are favored, and the sick are suspect. Today, as proposed cuts to Medicaid target the most vulnerable, it is worth asking. Are we still living […]

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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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Wellbeing

The End of Childhood Vacccines?

This week, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is set to debate whether to weaken or even remove recommendations for several routine childhood vaccines. Public health leaders warn the move could drastically lower vaccination rates and fuel new outbreaks of preventable diseases. The meeting comes amid turmoil at the Department of Health and […]

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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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Health tips

Hey Doctors: Wash your hands!

It’s the sound you hear a thousand times in a hospital—the squirt of sanitizer from a dispenser, the rush of water at a sink. These small acts seem routine, even forgettable. But in reality, hand hygiene is one of the most powerful weapons we have against hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). And yet, compliance has long been […]

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News

Next Week in Public Health, September 12, 2025

It’s been a little too quiet this week on the policy front, but I suppose we should be grateful for that. Here’s what’s in the research. We are working on a project involving Lil Sis to help understand the special interests driving these policy changes, so we can hopefully have that done soonish. And we we can […]

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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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Global

Prevention Pays Off – In Dollars and Lives

The bottom line: Investing in public health prevention pays for itself. This is a message we NEED to hit over and over as the current public health infrastructure is systematically dismantled. A large body of U.S. research shows that every dollar spent on effective prevention programs yields many times more in savings on healthcare costs […]

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Global

Exploring the Rise of Obesity as a Global Public Health Challenge

Obesity is no longer just a personal health issue; it has transformed into a formidable global public health challenge. Recent reports from the United Nations and public health research highlight that for the first time, obesity has overtaken underweight issues among school-age children worldwide [UN Report]. This shift underscores a looming epidemic with substantial implications […]

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Health equity

Florida’s Anti-Vaccine Push

Introduction In a recent article by the New Scientist, Florida’s decision to potentially abolish all vaccine mandates, including those for schoolchildren, has generated significant concern among public health officials and the general population. This drastic change in policy threatens not only the health of Florida’s residents but may also have repercussions for public health across […]

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