Population Healthy

In Season 6 of the Population Healthy podcast from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, we look at the health benefits of living with purpose, unexpected sources of air pollution, weight stigma, declining childhood vaccination rates, cancer research, how math can be used to solve some of today's most pressing public health issues, and more!

In this episode of the Population Healthy podcast, Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive for the State of Michigan, joins Matthew L. Boulton, senior associate dean for Global Public Health at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, in a thought-provoking conversation about childhood vaccination, the demands of the top doctor job, and more. Together, they analyze the decline in routine childhood immunizations in Michigan following the COVID-19 pandemic. Discover more about the factors keeping some parents from vaccinating their children, and the ongoing efforts to ensure the health and well-being of Michigan's children and communities. Dr. Bagdasarian, who has been in the top doctor role since 2021, sheds light on the importance of public health communication and shares some of the challenges and triumphs from her career in public health.

In this episode, two researchers from the University of Michigan School of Public Health outline some of the health and safety challenges faced by farmworkers in the state of Michigan. Epidemiologists, Alexis Handal and Lisbeth Iglesias-Rios, describe findings from the Michigan Farmworker Project - their ongoing study on the precarious employment and labor exploitation of farmworkers. They share the struggles, exploitation, and health risks these workers endure, and underscore the vital need for data-driven solutions. The researchers discuss how documenting the experiences of this vulnerable population can lead to policy change and improved conditions in the agricultural sector.

In this episode of Population Healthy from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, Professor of Epidemiology Celeste Leigh Pearce digs into her team's extensive work on cancer research, focusing on ovarian, breast, and cervical cancers. Pearce outlines the possibilities of eradicating cervical and potentially other cancers through vaccination, screening and early detection. Her team puts a strong emphasis on disease prevention, aiming to lessen the occurrence of cancer cases. The ultimate goal is to put oncologists out of business — in other words, to leverage screening and other prevention tools that Pearce believes could ultimately eradicate certain cancers altogether. Pearce also discussed MI-CARES, a new project that aims to gather insights on the effects of environmental exposure on cancer risk and other health outcomes for people across Michigan.

In this empowering episode of the 'Ahead of the Curve' Speaker Series by University of Michigan, Dean DuBois Bowman and renowned civil rights activist, author, and lawyer Bakari Sellers deep dive into Sellers’ impactful journey packed with resilience, ambition, and public service. Sellers recalls his childhood memories growing up in South Carolina in an activism-rich family and his trailblazing entrance into politics as the youngest member of the South Carolina State Legislature at just 22. He expresses his unyielding commitment towards progressive policies that aim at addressing entrenched issues such as education, poverty, and domestic violence. Sellers shares the invaluable lessons he learned from his family's traumatic healthcare experiences including his wife's childbirth complications and his daughter's liver transplant, which in turn strengthened his resolve to eradicate healthcare disparity. He emphasizes how leadership can bolster the fight against health inequity, and the need for politicians to leverage personal narratives over macro data to draw attention to important issues. He emphasizes mental health within the Black community, his bold stance on police violence, calling for significant policy and societal changes, and his unwavering dedication towards the battle against miseducation and anti-intellectualism.

Bhramar Mukherjee, professor of Biostatistics at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, explains how biostatistics helps make sense of big data for medical prevention and treatment and how she encourages her students to stay patient, optimistic, and attuned to their own inner voices in their pursuits. You don't need to be a math person to enjoy her journey. Mukherjee shares her professional journey, from her math-centered upbringing in a family of liberal arts scholars to her roles at Purdue University and the University of Florida, eventually leading her to her academic home at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She discusses her involvement in launching an undergraduate summer program on big data and her work in modeling COVID-19's trajectory in India.

In this episode we’re exploring the impact of weight-centric perspectives on public health. Kendrin Sonneville, an associate professor of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, is working against a status quo that focuses on weight as a primary indicator of health. She sheds light on the historical basis of weight bias and walks us through why some of our most relied upon measures, like the Body Mass Index (BMI), are not useful health indicators. Sonneville hopes deemphasizing weight in public health discussions can help combat poor health outcomes relating to weight stigma. Drawing from her research and experience as a registered dietitian, Sonneville emphasizes the negative impact of weight stigma on mental health, especially among college students, and advocates for a shift towards a more inclusive perspective. She explains how a weight-inclusive framework can foster a more compassionate approach to public health.

Sara Adar, an environmental epidemiologist and associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, unpacks the universal concern of air pollution, offering insights into its daily impact on our lives. From the subtle effects of day-to-day air quality to the long-term consequences on health, Adar shares some of her own research to shed light on sources of air pollution beyond just the usual suspects. Listen to learn more about the air we breathe and its implications on our well-being. Discover the surprising links between air pollution and various health outcomes, including asthma, heart disease, and even dementia. In this episode, Adar's explores the effects of pollution on vulnerable populations like children, and highlights the importance of rethinking pollution in the wake of climate change.

In this episode of Population Healthy from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, Vic Strecher, a professor renowned for his work in behavior change and digital health, discusses the concept of purpose. Drawing from personal loss and professional research, he found that a strong sense of purpose can lead to a longer life, with improved emotional wellbeing, and even changes in gene expression leading to physical improvements. His experiences led him to create the Purposeful App, which helps users explore and define their personal purpose. Aligning with the principles of public health, which aims at benefiting society as a whole, Strecher’s research demonstrates that a strong sense of purpose can reduce the likelihood of developing diseases like Alzheimer's by 1.5-2 times. Strecher encourages people to discover and apply purpose in their everyday lives by assessing what's most important across their life domains, and suggesting practical approaches like family volunteering.

The new season of the Population Healthy podcast from the University of Michigan School of Public Health kicks off on Tuesday, January 16th. This season, we'll look at the health benefits of living with purpose, unexpected sources of air pollution, weight stigma, declining childhood vaccination rates, cancer research, how math can be used to solve some of today's most pressing public health issues, and more! Tune in every Tuesday for a new exploration into public health in its many forms.

Police violence is an area of concern for many communities. Establishing public health-informed, alternative response programs—separate from law enforcement agencies—is one approach to reduce police violence and give communities a more diverse set of tools with which to respond to crises and support community health and wellbeing. Such programs have the potential to improve health outcomes, especially for communities that are disproportionately harmed by the police. This episode of the Population Healthy podcast provides a rationale for developing and implementing alternative response programs to policing informed by public health principles of care, equity and prevention. We talked to two researchers from the University of Michigan School of Public Health Department of Health Behavior and Health Education to understand the research and data on alternative response programs.

(For a transcript and past episodes of the Ahead of the Curve podcast, please visit: https://sph.umich.edu/ahead-of-the-curve/) Dr. Larry Brilliant is a physician and epidemiologist, CEO of Pandefense Advisory, senior counselor at the Skoll Foundation and a CNN Medical Analyst. Previously, he served on the board of the Skoll Foundation, was Chair of the Advisory Board of the NGO Ending Pandemics, the president and CEO of the Skoll Global Threats Fund, vice president of Google, and the founding executive director of Google.org. He co-founded the Seva Foundation, an NGO whose programs have given back sight to more than 5 million blind people in two dozen countries. In addition, he co-founded The Well, a progenitor of today's social media platforms. Earlier in his career, Dr. Brilliant was an associate professor of epidemiology and international health planning at the University of Michigan. Dr. Brilliant lived in India for nearly a decade where he was a key member of the successful WHO Smallpox Eradication Programme for SE Asia as well as the WHO Polio Eradication Programme. He was the founding chairman of the National Biosurveillance Advisory Subcommittee (NBAS), which was created by presidential directive of President George W. Bush, he was a member of the World Economic Forum's Agenda Council on Catastrophic Risk, and a "First Responder" for CDC's bio-terrorism response effort. Recent awards include the TED Prize, Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People, "International Public Health Hero," and four honorary doctorates. He has lectured at Oxford, Harvard, Berkeley and many other colleges, spoken at the Royal Society, the Pentagon, NIH, the United Nations, and some of the largest companies and nonprofits all over the world. He has written for Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, and other magazines and peer reviewed journals and was part of the Global Business Network where he learned scenario planning. Dr. Brilliant is the author of “Sometimes Brilliant,” a memoir about working to eradicate smallpox, and a guide to managing vaccination programs entitled “The Management of Smallpox Eradication.”

School safety is top of mind for many, particularly after recent mass shootings have impacted schools, colleges, and universities across the United States. In this episode of the Population Healthy podcast, we'll speak with two University of Michigan School of Public Health researchers who are leading efforts to provide evidence-based solutions to promote school safety. We'll learn what encompasses school safety, who it involves, and how the National Center for School Safety—housed within Michigan Public Health—provides resources and information to school communities. We'll also share a conversation with a Michigan prosecuting attorney who is leading an interdisciplinary task force aimed at mitigating firearm violence. The idea to convene the task force came in the aftermath of the school shooting in Oxford, Michigan and Uvalde, Texas.

2022 saw historic shake-ups in the policies around abortion access across the US. Although abortion has been a huge topic of discussion over the last year, debates about reproductive rights are not novel. Public health experts have long understood that abortion is ultimately a health topic and the health outcomes related to its access have significant consequences. We’ve brought together public health experts to discuss the ways in which abortion impacts public health, who suffers most when abortion access becomes limited, and why it’s important for public health professionals to be loud in their advocacy around reproductive rights and justice. In part one of this two-part episode, we discuss the impact of the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the public health consequences—as well as where things stand when policies around health vary across the country.

2022 saw historic shake-ups in the policies around abortion access across the US. Although abortion has been a huge topic of discussion over the last year, debates about reproductive rights are not novel. Public health experts have long understood that abortion is ultimately a health topic and the health outcomes related to its access have significant consequences. We’ve brought together public health experts to discuss the ways in which abortion impacts public health, who suffers most when abortion access becomes limited, and why it’s important for public health professionals to be loud in their advocacy around reproductive rights and justice. In part one of this two-part episode, we discuss the impact of the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the public health consequences—as well as where things stand when policies around health vary across the country.

The Ukrainian people continue to suffer atrocities at the hands of Russian armed forces, who invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. In this episode, we spoke to two members of the University of Michigan community who have ties to Ukraine and have dedicated their talents and lent their expertise to help safeguard its people.

You may have heard the term “gender affirming care” in the news or on social media. Often this term is used to refer to surgical procedures to help an individual’s body match their gender identity. However, gender affirming care is actually more than that. It involves a combination of medical, psychological, social, and legal factors. In this episode, we’ll talk with healthcare and public health experts, as well as members of the trans community, to explore what gender affirming care actually is and how it can impact health outcomes for transgender and non-binary individuals.

There’s no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we collectively view infectious disease. In this new era, where global media attention has turned to epidemiology and infectious disease, how do we understand our situation and feel protected when it seems like we’re hearing about so many diseases all the time? We spoke with several infectious disease experts to learn more about the re-emergence of old diseases, the emergence of new diseases, and how public health is keeping us prepared to combat them.

Welcome to the Ahead of the Curve podcast from the University of Michigan school of Public Health. We also produce a podcast called "Population Healthy", and if you're on that channel right now, we've got some bonus content for you. CNN's Chief Medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta recently joined our Ahead of the Curve speaker series, where we focus on leadership through a public health lens. He discussed health communications and trust with the Dean of our School, F. DuBois Bowman in this exclusive 1-on-1 conversation. We wanted to let you know that a new season of Population Healthy begins on February 14, with weekly episodes going through March. We'll be discussing some the biggest topics in health right now with our University of Michigan School of Public Health experts and beyond...topics like emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, gender affirming care, the public health crisis in Ukraine, and much more. Enjoy the conversation with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, look for that new season of Population Healthy real soon...and thanks for listening.

For thousands of health care workers around the world, dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic has been non-stop for two years and counting. We want to understand what that is doing to our health care workforce. From dealing with illness themselves, to experiencing burnout, or even leaving the field altogether … we'll explore the ripple effects of COVID's impact for these workers, and what potential solutions exist.