IN ANY PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY, conveying clear, accurate, and timely information to the affected population is important. But that information, along with the trustworthiness and credibility of the officials delivering it, is crucial during an emerging infectious disease outbreak, say two Fielding School experts in public health communication.
AS CALIFORNIA PREPARED TO EASE RESTRICTIONS and emerge as safely as possible from shelter-in-place orders imposed early in the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the major unmet needs was for more personnel trained to perform the tasks fundamental to infectious disease control, including contact tracing, case investigation, and administration.
SO FAR, THE YEAR 2020 has seen two major historic events — the public health crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the massive nationwide protests against structural racism following the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd and inaction in response to the shooting death, captured on video, of Ahmaud Arbery by two white residents.
This is the year everything changed. A novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, made its way to every corner of the planet, bringing an ever-mounting toll of illness and death as it transformed everyday life in ways previously unthinkable. And beginning in May, people in every part of the U.S. — and many parts outside it — donned masks and took to the streets in protest of the systemic racism that allowed the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others before them.
IN LATE DECEMBER of last year, Fielding School epidemiology professor Anne Rimoin was planning one of her regular trips to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
BEFORE THE CURRENT NATIONAL RECKONING with structural racism, Chandra Ford had been making the case that public health professionals and academics must do more to confront an issue that fuels health disparities and acts as a formidable barrier to optimal health.
Whether it’s families sharing a meal at home, friends dining out, or groups marking a joyous occasion, food’s communal role transcends cultures, geography, and generations. Beyond the pleasure it brings, food keeps us alive — but it can also, over time, make us sick. And, while some communities have the wherewithal to reap the social and health rewards of nutritious meals, the reality for others looks much different. More than 38 million people in the U.S. are food insecure. For many more, healthy food is hard to find, or to afford.
SO MANY OF THE BIGGEST PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES of our time involve food — from chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers to the effects of climate change on food production, and the alarming rates of food insecurity. Food is a central part of our daily lives, carrying cultural and social significance — but it’s also what keeps us healthy or, in some cases, makes us sick.