Humans in Public Health

Professor Jennifer Nuzzo, epidemiologist and director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health, joins host Megan Hall for a timely update on the recent outbreaks of H5N1 Bird Flu.

Different countries around the world have very different ways of providing health care. In order to learn from these varied systems—each with its own unique goals and priorities—and to compare their outcomes, researchers must devise new methodologies of working with highly sensitive data to overcome not only language differences, but vast organizational, operational and infrastructure differences between countries. Brown’s new Center for Health System Sustainability (CHeSS), led by Professor Irene Papanicolas, aims to standardize data from across global health systems, then compare them in order to inform policy choices and improve health care value and patient care. Mentioned in this episode: Tell someone you know! And one last thing! If you enjoyed today’s episode, text a friend and let them know about the show.

MPH student Rosemelly Jimenez Medal comes from a family of truckers—her father has worked as a short-haul trucker for over 25 years. The cab of a commercial truck can be a noisy place, and she noticed that her father was having trouble hearing conversations at the family dinner table. Could there be a link between his job and his hearing loss? To find the answer, Jimenez Medal teamed up with her father and noise researcher Erica Walker, RGSS Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at Brown University, to conduct hearing screenings on short-term truckers in her home state of California. Host Megan Hall interviews Jimenez Medal and Walker to discuss their project and their findings. Mentioned in this episode: Check out Trending Globally Join host Dan Richards as he talks with experts about some of the world’s most pressing public policy challenges, and how to fix them .Subscribe to Trending Globally wherever you get your podcasts. Leave us a review And one last thing! If you enjoyed today’s episode, leave Humans in Public Health a review wherever you listen to the show, and let us know what topics we should cover next.

Liz Tobin-Tyler is a public health lawyer. She works on reproductive rights, maternal and child health, domestic violence and poverty—and the health policies around those issues—from a legal point of view. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court is deciding whether or not firearms should be restricted for people convicted of domestic abuse. Professor Tobin-Tyler talks us through the public health implications of this decision, and those leading up to it. She also explains why there should be a lawyer in every hospital, and discusses the important role of storytelling, in the courts and in public health. Mentioned in this episode: Tell someone you know! And one last thing! If you enjoyed today’s episode, text a friend and let them know about the show.

When humanitarian catastrophes erupt around the world, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the scale of suffering. How do aid workers navigate the immense challenges in order to jump into action—juggling safety, equipment and logistics? Emergency doctors Craig Spencer and Adam Levine, veterans of public health disasters across the globe, join host Megan Hall to explain how this kind of aid works, and to demystify the humanitarian response in Gaza today.

We all understand the dangers of smoking—but the debate over vapes, nicotine pouches and other tobacco alternatives rages on: Can vaping really save lives? Or are nicotine alternatives a slippery slope: a dangerous gateway to lifelong substance use? Professors Jasjit Ahluwalia and Jennifer Tidey have spent their careers researching and fighting the global scourge of tobacco-related diseases and fatalities. The two public health professionals discuss their takes on a harm reduction and how it applies to the modern nicotine landscape.

Professor Eric Loucks, director of Brown's Mindfulness Center, joins host Megan Hall to discuss how practicing mindfulness can have measurable, positive health outcomes. His recent paper in JAMA Network Open looks at how an eight-week mindfulness course, focusing on the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, moved the needle on cardiovascular health.

How do we avoid total societal shutdown during a pandemic? Professor Mark Lurie believes the key lies in understanding how social mixing and human mobility impact pathogen spread. Using Brown's School of Public Health building as a sandbox, his newest NSF-funded project, MAPPS (Mobility Analysis for Pandemic Prevention Strategies) uses the bluetooth beacons to better understand mobility and person-to-person proximity to predict disease exposure. In this episode, Lurie joins host Megan Hall to discuss the aims and the parameters of his study—happening November 6 - November 17, 2023. Work or study at Brown's School of Public Health? Consider signing up to participate in the study.

To kick off the School of Public Health’s ten year anniversary celebration, Megan sits down with Dean Ashish Jha to hear more about his time spent serving as White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator. Dr. Jha talks about his eye-opening experience in Washington, his plans for public health education and research now that he’s back in Providence, and even what he tells his own mother when she tests positive for COVID-19.

Behavioral economics is a field that combines psychology and economics. It acknowledges that humans are not rational decision makers and may need “nudges” to incentivize improvements in their health behaviors. Professor Omar Galárraga uses tools from behavioral economics to nudge those at highest risk of HIV infection toward healthier behaviors, like safer sex and the use of antiviral medication PrEP. Hear about his successful work in Mexico and his advocacy for national programs aimed at stopping the spread of HIV.

Parents know how difficult it can be to navigate healthy eating with their kids — in a world of delicious options, how can we encourage our children to build nutritious habits? Professor Alison Tovar investigates children's food environments and the factors that shape our eating behaviors early in life. Hear about her community-based work developing engaging interventions to improve children's eating habits, and get tips for encouraging healthier food habits for your kids, too!

Epidemiologist Will Goedel and clinician Philip Chan were at the forefront of the mpox response in RI in 2022. These Brown professors worked to vaccinate, educate and protect the state's most vulnerable populations. Chan and Goedel join host Megan Hall to discuss the 2022 mpox response, its impact on the LGBTQ+ community and the current landscape surrounding mpox immunization.

Professors Andy Ryan and David Meyers study the cost and value of Medicare plans across the country, including controversial and rapidly expanding Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Learn the upsides, downsides and incentives that guide these MA plans, and how reforming them could save billions of dollars every year.

Francesca Beaudoin, emergency physician and epidemiologist, explains Rhode Island's newest harm reduction tool: the Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) van. By bringing treatment out into the community it serves, CODAC Behavioral Healthcare's mobile unit aims to move the needle on America's overdose crisis.

In honor of National Public Health Week, we're speaking with four of our students about their research and the path that brought them to the field of public health. Meet Youri Benadjaoud, Shaw Hubbard, Sophia Petrillo, and Darlene Tat, all currently enrolled in our Master of Public Health program. Get to know them as they share their stories and their research interests.

Host Megan Hall sits down with emergency physician and epidemiologist Dr. Craig Spencer to discuss his work in Africa treating Ebola in 2014, and how it prepared him to serve on the front lines during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City in 2020. They delve into Spencer’s life-threatening case of Ebola, and how it shifted his perspective on pandemic preparedness and response.

Join host Megan Hall every month as she explores the variety of public health topics making waves in 2023, from pandemics to noise pollution.

New professor of the practice of health services, policy and practice, Claire Wardle, is not a health professional. She is, however, considered one of the leading experts on misinformation. Co-founder of First Draft, a non-profit dedicated to supporting organizations fighting misinformation, Wardle talks to Megan Hall MPH'15, about her plans for collaborative work at Brown that aims not only to understand mis- and disinformation, but to create tools for more effective public health communication.

Erica Walker, new assistant professor of epidemiology, studies noise pollution and its effects on health. The founder of the Community Noise Lab says that sound, which has been shown to impact cardiovascular health, is a proxy for power. Walker’s particular interest is in helping communities with less power address their noise issues to improve population health and well being.

The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t really over, and this won’t be the last pandemic of our lifetimes. Megan Hall speaks to Jennifer Nuzzo, new professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health, about Brown’s new Center for Pandemic Preparedness and Response and what its approach will be to creating whole-of-society solutions that address the current emergency, and preparations that help mitigate future pandemics.