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724 - Social Media and Adolescent Health Feb 23, 2024

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What's the state of the evidence on the impact of social media on the mental health of adolescents? Dr. Ceren Budak, a computational social scientist at the University of Michigan, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about a new report from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. The report finds a gaping need for more evidence – and for participation by social media companies in supporting research. They discuss recommendations for caregivers, Congress, and social media companies to help maximize the benefits of social media while minimizing potential harms.

723 - The White House's Initiative to Eliminate Hepatitis C Feb 21, 2024

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Deadly hepatitis C is curable, but 2.5 million Americans remain infected without treatment. Dr. Francis Collins, longtime director of the National Institutes of Health, is now serving as a special advisor to Present Biden for an effort to eliminate hepatitis C in the US. He speaks with Stephanie Desmon about why hepatitis C has been so tricky to diagnose and treat and what it will take to launch a coordinated effort to cure every American living with the disease.

722 - Healing City Baltimore: How A City Is Responding to A Mental Health Crisis Feb 19, 2024

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From a 2019 school shooting in West Baltimore, Healing City Baltimore was born. The program aims to help city agencies train their employees, reform stigmatizing policies, and build new response programs—all with a goal of helping to improve mental health and well-being. Councilman Zeke Cohen and executive director Reverend Kim Lagree talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about this initiative, which recently won the Culture of Health prize from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and is now a model for other cities. Learn more: https://www.rwjf.org/en/grants/grantee-stories/2023/2023-winner-baltimore-md.html

721 - Preventing Alcohol Misuse, Use Disorders, and Deaths Feb 16, 2024

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Alcohol use is the fourth leading cause of death in the US, but there are evidence-based approaches to preventing alcohol misuse and deaths and treating use disorders. Dr. Cara Poland, an addiction medicine specialist at Michigan State University, talks with Stephanie Desmon about excise taxes, evidence of the harms of alcohol, and her personal connection to the topic. They also discuss the differences between misuse and disorders and challenging false notions around alcohol's health protective effects.

720 - Medical Diagnostic Errors Are a Public Health Emergency Feb 14, 2024

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Missed diagnoses account for 800,000 deaths or permanent disabilities among Americans every year. Johns Hopkins neurologist Dr. David Newman-Toker talks with Stephanie Desmon about the consequences of missed opportunities and diagnoses, especially for vascular events, infections, and cancers. They also discuss why solutions are complex and will require major efforts in terms of research and resources.

719 - The Two Major Abortion Cases Coming to the Supreme Court Feb 12, 2024

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In the Dobbs decision, the SCOTUS majority hoped to return legal issues around abortion back to the states. But since overturning Roe v. Wade, a flurry of litigation has now put two consequential cases before the Supreme Court. Public health law expert Joanne Rosen talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about these two cases and the wide-ranging impacts they could have. They also discuss why abortion health care, largely an issue governed by individual states, keeps finding its way back into conversations about federal oversight.

718 - Why So Many Babies Didn't Get RSV Vaccines This Winter Feb 09, 2024

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When the FDA approved an RSV vaccine for infants in July of 2023, parents and pediatricians rejoiced. But product shortages and a patchwork of insurance coverage throttled the rollout, leaving many babies still unprotected this winter. Pediatrician and Internist Dr. Wendie Grader-Beck talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about her frustrations around implementation, and what needs to be done before the next RSV season for this lifesaving technology to fulfill its promise.

717 - An Update on Efforts to Prevent Tobacco-Caused Death and Disease Feb 07, 2024

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Thanks to policies like tobacco taxes, clean indoor air acts, and legislation to ban flavor additives, tobacco use is declining around the globe. But there's still an enormous burden of death and disease from smoking, and rates of use are still particularly concerning among key groups like youths and Black Americans. Joanna Cohen, director of the Institute for Global Tobacco Control, talks with Stephanie Desmon about where the US stands on major policies like banning menthol, how New Zealand's efforts to launch some of the most stringent policies in the world have fared under a new administration, and ongoing battles against tobacco industry lobbying tactics.

716 - The International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting Feb 05, 2024

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Tuesday, February 6 is the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. Dr. Michele Decker, founding director of Johns Hopkins Center for Global Women's Health and Gender Equity, and Dr. Nicole Warren, a nurse and an expert on the harmful practice of female genital cutting talk with Stephanie Desmon about the practice and its cultural roots, challenging long-standing cultural norms, and why this year's Day of Zero Tolerance puts an emphasis on how collective action is needed to end the practice.. They also discuss the launch of the Center for Global Women's Health and Gender Equity and the work the center hopes to accomplish in priority areas like eliminating gender-based violence and harmful practices like child marriage through research, training, and translation. Learn more: https://publichealth.jhu.edu/center-for-global-womens-health-and-gender-equity

715 - An Update on COVID Research with Katelyn Jetelina, Your Local Epidemiologist Feb 02, 2024

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How are updated COVID vaccines performing against severe and long COVID? What have we learned about COVID transmission that could help people calculate their risk in certain situations? Do we know more about when people might be most infectious? What's the latest evidence on seasonality? And do we have any new answers about long COVID? Katelyn Jetalina, aka Your Local Epidemiologist, returns to the podcast to talk about what's new in COVID research. Learn more here: https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/

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