Public Health On Call

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318 - Gun Violence Prevention: What a Study of Mass Shootings Tells Us About How to Prevent Them May 17, 2021

Show notes

Mass shootings are very rare, but they receive a lot of media attention and have enormous social costs. Guest host Dr. Daniel Webster, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Prevention and Policy, talks with Dr. Jillian Peterson from Hamline University and Dr. James Densley from Metropolitan State University about The Violence Project, research that collects data about the life history of mass shooters and their psychological profiles. They discuss what they've learned, how this research can inform interventions, and why evidence suggests that many of the ways we're currently trying to prevent violence are all wrong.

317 - Book Club—Jonathan Cohn and The Ten Year War: Obamacare and the Unfinished Crusade for Universal Coverage May 14, 2021

Show notes

The Affordable Care Act was meant to bring the US into alignment with every other developed country in offering universal health coverage. Author Jonathan Cohn joins Dr. Josh Sharfstein to talk about how a health care law that has been debated since the 1930s finally gained traction under Obama and insured millions of people with serious health conditions, and yet leaves so much undone. The Affordable Care Act is a story of just how hard policy change in the US can be. Note: You do not have to have read Cohn's book to enjoy this conversation.

316 - Nepal's Growing COVID-19 Crisis May 13, 2021

Show notes

Nepal is suffering from a growing humanitarian crisis. Less than 4% of the country is vaccinated, test positivity rates are up to 60-90% in some areas, and outside of capital Kathmandu, ICU care is extremely hard to find. Binita Adhikari, executive director of Health Foundation Nepal, and Anup Subedee, an infectious disease physician in Kathmandu, talk with Josh Sharfstein about what contributed to Nepal's COVID-19 crisis and what the world needs to do to help. Please consider donating to one of these nonprofits: Health Foundation Nepal, America Nepal Medical Foundation, and the Nepal Development Society.

315 - Climate Change and Mental Health May 12, 2021

Show notes

Mental health impacts from climate change are largely thought of as acute exposures to extreme events like hurricanes and wildfires. But there are other concerns like chronic "ecological grief" and anticipated "eco-anxiety." Dr. Jura Augustinavicius from the Center for Humanitarian Health talks with Stephanie Desmon about research at the intersection of mental and environmental health, and why something that is felt at an individual level needs to be addressed at the macro level of companies and governments.

314 - COVID-19 and Weight Gain May 11, 2021

Show notes

For some, the pandemic has been a "perfect storm" in terms of unhealthy eating resulting in the "quaran-ten" or the COVID "19 pounds." Dr. Elena Jansen and Dr. Susan Carnell, two Johns Hopkins obesity researchers, talk with Stephanie Desmon about how COVID-related stress—combined with being at home more—has impacted our bodies and health behaviors during the pandemic. They also talk about how the pandemic has a silver lining for some families' eating habits and give their take on where pandemic eating is heading in the long term, for better or worse.

313 - Stopping Gun Violence Before It Starts: How Community-Based Violence Prevention Programs Keep People Safe May 10, 2021

Show notes

Stopping gun violence requires more than thinking about policies and programs that focus on guns alone. Dr. Shani Buggs, a professor with the Violence Prevention Research Program at UC Davis, talks with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about how community-based violence prevention programs identify those most at risk of being involved in violence and connect them to services that can help them solve problems and stay safe. They also talk about the evidence for these programs and their growing popularity across the country.

312 - What Do We Need To Do to End the COVID-19 Pandemic, What Does An Ending Look Like, and How Close Are We? May 07, 2021

Show notes

Vaccinations are seen as the primary tool to prevent COVID-19 infections, but are there other things we should be doing to bring down transmission rates? Dr. Caitlin Rivers and Dr. Crystal Watson from the Center for Health Security return to the podcast to talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about where we are, what still needs to be done, and when they'll know that the pandemic is truly in the rearview mirror.

311 - A Baltimore Public School Reopens May 06, 2021

Show notes

We last heard from Matt Hornbeck—longtime principal of Hampstead Hill Academy, a K-8 school in Baltimore city—in the fall for an update on how the school community was faring with online learning. Hornbeck returns to the podcast to talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about the school's recent reopening to more than 500 students for in-person instruction. Does it feel the same?

BONUS - The COVID-19 Crisis In India May 05, 2021

Show notes

India is in the throes of the world's worst COVID-19 infection with overwhelmed health systems and a shortage of oxygen, hospital beds, testing, and medications. Dr. Amita Gupta, chair of the Johns Hopkins India Institute, Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director of All India Institute of Medical Service in New Delhi, and Dr. Gagandeep Kang, professor of microbiology at Christian Medical College in India, talk with Dr. Josh Sharfstein about this "unprecedented public health disaster" and what needs to be done to address the crisis.

310 - The Impact of COVID-19 on Family Planning May 05, 2021

Show notes

At the onset of the pandemic, the world's family planning community worried about the impact COVID-19 would have on access to contraception and unintended pregnancies in lower- and middle-income countries. Dr. Phil Anglewicz and Dr. Caroline Moreau of Performance Monitoring for Action talk with Stephanie Desmon about what some initial research says about impacts on contraceptive use and access, what is still unknown, and what the concerns are—especially for young girls facing economic hardship and food instability during the pandemic.

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