Policy
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Tracking a Killer: Disease Behavior and Epidemiology's Detective Tools
Betsy Foxman
You don't have to know an organism to track its effects. This fundamental insight into the relationship between humans and pathogens helps public health professionals act even when they have only imperfect information. Just as importantly, says Betsy Foxman, is the will to act—for the benefit of everyone in the community—when good science tells us the time is now. Read more
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The Drug Overdose Epidemic
Ali Safawi, BA '19
Recently, the “opioid epidemic” or “opioid crisis” has been on the minds of journalists, politicians, public health professionals, and the public. While opioids continue to contribute the lion’s share of overdose deaths nationally, a deeper look into available data suggests that the United States is facing not only an “opioid epidemic” but a “drug overdose epidemic.” Read more
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Making Family Planning a Household Name: The Legacy of Title X
Chloe Bakst
Title X provides for a diverse array of services, including medical care like contraception, training for nurses and other care providers, and systematic data collection. Despite fifty years of shrinking financial support, can it continue to be successful? Read more
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One Family, Three Disciplines: An Intergenerational Conversation on Public Health
Michael Boehnke, Betsy Foxman, and Kevin Foxman Boehnke
We asked a family of public health researchers about big-picture changes in the field, how they decide which questions to pursue, and what they make of specialization in the sciences. Their conversation both lifts up and itself embodies the interdisciplinary nature of public health. Read more
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Health and Taxes: Why People around the World Are Healthier than Americans
Scott L. Greer
The US spends copiously on health care yet is consistently ranked low in health outcomes among developed nations. Which other nations provide their populations with efficient, innovative, equitable health care, and how do they do it? Read more
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Fighting Climate Change Effects with Public Health
Kelly Broen
As the frequency and intensity of natural disasters increases, public health can provide life-saving support in the aftermath. Disaster response research might not fall neatly into a single academic discipline, but we cannot allow disaster relief to fall through the cracks. Read more
