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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Global

Fast Isn’t Always Better: What the D&I Field Still Gets Wrong and Where We Go From Here

Each year, the Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health (D&I) offers a front-row seat to the cutting edge of how evidence is translated into action. The 17th conference, held in Arlington, VA, focused on a deceptively simple theme: “Moving Fast and Slow: Optimizing the Pace of Implementation.” While some studies […]

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News

Public Health News Round Up, July 4, 2025

Not a good day! Let me flag a few things we’ve published recently. Destined to Suffer. How Prosperity Theology Is Shaping U.S. Health Policy. There has long been a history in America of bootstraps, Calvinism, and “deserves.” People with good health have been blessed and thus deserve care. People without should bear their cross. And […]

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Health tips

Jason Pierre-Paul’s Firework injury (NSFW)

I just published a blog on the epidemiology of fireworks injuries. But, let’s take a bit more granular to see what one of these injuries looks like. Ten years ago today, July 4, 2015, New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul was setting off fireworks in his neighborhood. One seemed to be a dud, so […]

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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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Analytics

By the $: Medicaid Cuts

Using data from Kaiser Permanente, I mapped the projected loss of Medicaid funds by state. Note that no data is available for Mississippi and West Virginia, though these states tend to rank at the bottom of most health indicators. And here it is per capita. Here is a list of medications from GoodRx that cost […]

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Uncategorized

What Happens When Public Health Becomes All About Medicine?

Suppose a rise in asthma rates plagues your neighborhood. Instead of tackling the mold in public housing or pollution from nearby highways, the health response centers on distributing inhalers and monitoring symptoms. Sound familiar? That’s the dilemma explored in a sweeping new review of how public health has shifted, quietly but decisively, from tackling societal […]

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Health equity

What Happens When Equity Is Left Out of Healthcare Quality?

Picture this: two patients arrive at the emergency room with similar injuries. One receives attentive, timely, comprehensive care. The other experiences delays, fewer pain management options, and less empathy. The hospital reports both cases as “high quality” based on national standards. But something’s clearly wrong. That “something” is equity—or rather, the lack of it. A […]

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Climate

New Study Finds 51% Higher Risk of Suicide with Rising Heat

What if the deadliest consequence of climate change wasn’t heatstroke or flooding, but a silent surge in suicide and anxiety? A new systematic review and meta-analysis dives deep into a grim reality: rising temperatures, polluted air, and desertification aren’t just hurting our lungs or crops—they’re quietly unraveling our mental health. And the risks aren’t equally […]

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