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639 - Why Hearing Aids Could Help Slow Cognitive Decline in People at Risk of Dementia Jul 21, 2023

Show notes

Over the last decade, research has established strong connections between hearing loss and cognitive decline in older people. Now, a new study presents compelling evidence that hearing aids could actually help slow that decline, especially for people at risk of dementia. Dr. Frank Lin, director of the Cochlear Center for Hearing & Public Health at Johns Hopkins, talks with Stephanie Desmon about the newest research and why the evidence bolsters the case for making sure older adults can (and should) access hearing aids and the support they need about how best to use them.

637 - Why Are So Many Pedestrians Getting Struck and Killed By Cars, and Why Aren't We Doing More To Stop It? Jul 17, 2023

Show notes

In the last decade, a record number of pedestrians were killed by cars. The problem is complex and lacking a singular cause or solution. Jeff Michael, now a researcher at the Johns Hopkin Center for Injury Research and Policy, spent 30 years with the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminstration. He talks with Stephanie Desmon about the rise in pedestrian deaths and some of the possible causes, looking to Sweden as a model for rethinking our roads, and why despite hundreds of deaths a day, preventing road fatalities still gets short shrift in the overall conversation of transportation safety.

636 - RAP Club: A Mental Health Program that Brings Coping Skills and Mindfulness to Schools Jul 14, 2023

Show notes

Many lifetime mental health issues emerge during adolescence, but equipping youths with strategies and skills to work through trauma, anxiety, and depression can be key to preventing problems from snowballing. Johns Hopkins Center for Adolescent Health director Dr. Tamar Mendelson talks with Stephanie Desmon about working with Baltimore City schools to develop a successful program called RAP Club (Relax, Aware, Personal rating) to teach youths mindfulness and other strategies to combat the impacts of stress and trauma. Read more here: https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2023/rap-club-promoting-adolescent-mental-health-in-schools

635 - Dr. Meena Seshamani is on a Quest to Make Medicare Personal Jul 13, 2023

Show notes

With 64 million people enrolled, billions of dollars in payouts, and millions of clinicians and health systems in the mix, it's hard to see how Medicare policies translate to the doctor's office or the bedside. But Medicare director Dr. Meena Seshamani, an ear, nose, and throat surgeon and a health economist, is working to change that. Dr. Seshamani talked with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about improving Medicare on a large scale while making it more accessible and helping individual patients live better, healthier lives.

634 - Vital Talks: What if Public Health Fueled Social Reform Movements Jul 10, 2023

Show notes

Public health has a long history of activism in social movements and new overlaps took hold in the last few years with COVID-19 and social unrest. In Vital Talks, a podcast from Vital Strategies, Shelley Hearne returns to the podcast along with former Bloomberg School deans Al Sommer and Mike Klag and colleagues to consider the challenges of the current moment and talk about how the field of public health can work differently towards a healthier world. Learn more about Vital Strategies here: https://www.vitalstrategies.org/

633 - The Far-Reaching Impacts of Drug Shortages Affecting Cancer Treatments Jul 07, 2023

Show notes

Shortages of lifesaving drugs—the result of failures at every step of complex supply chains—have far-reaching impacts on patients, providers, and the broader field of medicine. Hopkins oncologist Dr. Amanda Nickles Fader and policy researcher Dr. Mariana Socal talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the broader systems problem resulting in the shortages of a vast range of drugs and how it's changing treatment protocols and the patient experience.

632 - Investigating the Why of Suicide: Maryland's New Suicide Fatality Review Committee Jul 05, 2023

Show notes

A new committee in Maryland is charged with a big undertaking: investigating deaths by suicide to help inform prevention efforts. Mental health expert and committee member Dr. Holly Wilcox talks with Stephanie Desmon about how they'll gather data, which includes psychological autopsies, digital health care records, social service agency data and more, and gives some examples of how similar committees in other states have used data in innovative ways to inform interventions. Learn more: https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2023/investigating-the-why-of-suicide

631 - Vital Talks: How Donor Dynamics are Shaping Public Health Jun 30, 2023

Show notes

Philanthropy is a critical part of global public health but funding cycles, donor preferences, and other systems can fundamentally impact organizations and cause mission creep. Vital Talks, a podcast from Vital Strategies, digs into current funding trends and features conversations with leaders from the Lwala Community Alliance and the Center for Effective Philanthrophy about hopes for a better funding landscape and new financing models to ensure organizations can deliver on their missions. Learn more about Vital Strategies here: https://www.vitalstrategies.org/

630 - Why Are Some Humans' Scents More Preferable to Mosquitoes? Jun 28, 2023

Show notes

Mosquitoes are excellent hunters. Anopheles gambiae—the mosquito in sub-Saharan Africa that spreads malaria—in particular loves to feast on humans and, it turns out, relies heavily on peoples' scent to track them. Hopkins researcher Conor McMeniman talks with Stephanie Desmon about his team's new study looking at the molecular components of human scent that are most attractive to mosquitoes, and how learning more about these alluring scent signatures could help in the fight against malaria.

629 - Alcohol Use as a Risk Factor for Gun Violence Jun 26, 2023

Show notes

Alcohol plays an outsize role in gun deaths and a new study finds that alcohol misuse can be a better predictor of future violence than any other risk factors. Josh Horwitz and Silvia Villarreal of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions talk with Lindsay Smith Rogers about this connection and a set of new recommendations that include limiting access to guns for people with alcohol-related convictions and in places where alcohol is consumed. Read more about the report here: https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2023/new-report-offers-policy-recommendations-to-address-alcohol-use-as-risk-factor-for-gun-violence

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