Public Health On Call

Latest Episodes:

678 - The Urgent Need to Conserve Groundwater Oct 23, 2023

Show notes

Humans are using up groundwater—or water stored in naturally occurring aquifers underground—at a dangerous pace. Kellogg Schwab, the Abel Wolman professor in water and public health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about why groundwater is being depleted so quickly, what needs to happen to ensure the world doesn't run out of this precious resource, and how water conservation could bring people together across state and country borders.

677 - Fighting For The Right to Contraception Access Oct 20, 2023

Show notes

Opill, the over-the-counter birth control pill recently approved by the FDA, marked a major win for access to contraceptives. But, in the wake of SCOTUS's Dobbs decision, some have called for codifying the right to contraceptive access in federal law. Dana Singiser, cofounder of the nonprofit Contraceptive Access Initiative and senior advisor to Americans For Contraception, talks with Stephanie Desmon about Opill, the overwhelming bipartisan voter support for contraception, and her work advocating for access as a federal right.

676 - Could We Genetically Modify Mosquitos to Die From the Diseases They Carry? Oct 18, 2023

Show notes

The Aedes aegypti mosquito transmits deadly viruses like Zika, chikungunya, and dengue, but doesn't actually get sick from the diseases it carries. George Dimopoulos of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute talks with Stephanie Desmon about a new discovery of a protein, Argonaute 2, that plays a key role in the mosquito's immune system, and how genetically modifying mosquitos could make them vulnerable to the viruses they carry. They also discuss how much of an impact killing off large numbers of mosquitos would have, both on the burden of disease and larger ecological balance.

675 - How Phone Calls Can Help Combat Loneliness Oct 16, 2023

Show notes

The Surgeon General issued an advisory about the epidemic of loneliness and isolation in the U.S., saying there are serious physical and mental health impacts of loneliness. Dr. Maulik Joshi, president and CEO of Meritus Health, talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about Care Callers, an innovative volunteer program aimed to combat loneliness among Meritus patients. They discuss the incredible impacts these phone calls can make, and Dr. Joshi's own experience as a Care Caller himself.

674 - An Update on Ukraine Oct 13, 2023

Show notes

Just back from a trip to Kyiv, Human rights expert Len Rubenstein talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about what things are like on the day to day right now. He recounts meetings with officials and health care workers, and their stories ranging from some degree of normalcy and routine health care delivery to brutal attacks on facilities and workers. They also discuss the status of war crime prosecution, the critical need for sustained international support, and the presence of an unwavering sense of hope and optimism among Ukrainians. Content warning: this episode contains depictions of violence and torture.

673 - Dietitian Influencers On Social Media Are Being Paid By the Food Industry to Promote Products and Messages Oct 11, 2023

Show notes

Registered dietitians with huge social media followings are getting paid to promote sugar, supplements, and other products and messages that clash with evidence-based recommendations—at times without proper disclosure. Sasha Chavkin, a reporter with The Examination, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the food industry's stealthy tactic to exploit the power that influencers can have on social media, and how this raises questions for the ethics of professional dietitians. Read The Examination's report here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/09/13/dietitian-instagram-tiktok-paid-food-industry/

672 - What Studying The Nipah Virus Can Tell Us About Investigating Spillover Events Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

Nipah virus is a lethal zoonotic disease that passes from bats to humans in what are called "spillover events." But it's still not known for sure how outbreaks happen, which makes prevention difficult. Epidemiologist Emily Gurley, who has studied Nipah outbreaks in Bangladesh for nearly 20 years, talks with Lindsay Smith Rogers about her work tracking the virus's transmission and the enormous amount of multi-disciplinary resources and complexity required to investigate spillover events.

671 - Treating Substance Use Disorders in Pregnancy—How Improper Policies Are Resulting in Child Removal Oct 06, 2023

Show notes

Treatment for substance use disorders during pregnancy is effective, and recommended by experts in many cases. But outdated, and often misinformed, policies have led to babies being taken by child welfare agencies because their parents was on anti-addiction medication. Two Johns Hopkins experts in opioid policy, Sachini Bandara and Alex McCourt, talk with Lindsay Smith Rogers about these laws impacting pregnant people and their families, the role of child removal in the opioid epidemic, and what needs to be done to bring a public health lens to the issue. Check out our previous episode on treating substance use disorders during pregnancy here.

670 - When Health Care Providers Don't Listen to Their Patients Oct 04, 2023

Show notes

When patients don't feel heard by their doctors, there's an erosion of trust that can lead to serious health consequences—even if clinicians have their patients' best interests in mind. Dr. Mary Catherine Beach, who studies patient-provider communications, talks with Stephanie Desmon about what can happen when patients don't feel heard, interventions to teach providers better listening skills, and how bias comes into play.

669 - How We Talk About Disability Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

How we talk about disability frames the way we view the importance of access. The Accessible Stall podcast co-hosts Emily Ladau and Kyle Kachadurian talk about disability a lot in episodes covering everything from pre-peeled fruit and lingerie to health care and ableism. Today, they join the podcast to talk with Lindsay Smith Rogers about why authentic representation of disability is so critical to designing policies and spaces that serve everyone.

To explore the resources recommended in this episode, visit the links below:

Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally by Emily Ladau

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century by Alice Wong

Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann, with Kristen Joiner

Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking by Julia Bascom

Squirmy and Grubs (YouTube channel)