50. Behind the Plate: Keeping Our Food Safe
Contagious Conversations
It’s easy to take for granted that the food we eat and the water we drink is safe and healthy. Several recent high-profile outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, however, are a reminder of how critical food safety is. CDC estimates that nearly 48 million Americans contract a foodborne illness each year. Of those, 128,000 people are hospitalized annually, and 3,000 people die. So, who is tasked with keeping our food and water safe? And what happens when a foodborne outbreak does occur? In this episode, we hear from a food epidemiologist with Minnesota’s department of public health...
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49. On the Case with a Disease Detective
Contagious Conversations
Your first day at any new job is always a little stressful. But for Julia Petras, the day she started working at CDC was especially high stakes. In this episode of Contagious Conversations, we explore a mysterious outbreak that affected four patients in four months, sickened by a bacteria not seen before in North America. The FBI—and the public—wanted answers. We hear from CDC’s Julia Petras, Dr. Jennifer McQuiston and Dr. Eric Pevzner about how the outbreak was solved by disease detectives in the Epidemic Intelligence Service. Episode Quotes “There is no replacement for...
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48. The Costs of Getting Sick
Contagious Conversations
Have you ever asked yourself what routine auto repairs can teach us about how we think of our investment in public health? Listen in on our latest Contagious Conversations podcast as host Claire Stinson uncovers the answers and details how quick action quashed a recent outbreak of an illness long considered to be eliminated in the United States. In this episode, “The Costs of Getting Sick,” we explore the overlap between public health and the health of our economy with guests Dr. Dan Filardo of CDC, Dr. Michael Osterholm of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy and...
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47. A Look Back at 2023's Most Contagious Conversations
Contagious Conversations
Host Claire Stinson welcomes you to a special year-end episode of Contagious Conversations focused on highlights from the 2023 season! Listen to selections from the year’s episodes on topics as diverse as heath threats facing Black women; training the next generation of public health professionals; and the respiratory triple threat posed by COVID-19, influenza and RSV. Highlights featured include the groundbreaking vaccination approach that led to the eradication of smallpox in 1980; how investigators zeroed in on the cause of an outbreak of a drug-resistant strain of pseudomonas...
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46. Hypertension: Handling the Pressure
Contagious Conversations
Doctors have long known that hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a leading risk factor for heart attack and stroke. Yet today, nearly half of all adults in the United States have hypertension, creating a silent public health threat. Host Dr. Judy Monroe is joined by Dr. Jerome Adams and Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel. Dr. Adams is a former U.S. Surgeon General of the United States and now serves as the executive director of Purdue University’s Health Equity Initiatives. Dr. Emanuel is vice provost for global initiatives and the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor at the...
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45. Reducing Stress in Schools
Contagious Conversations
Each year, fall means heading back to school for the nation’s students. But as students, teachers and school staff return again this year, the social, academic and mental health impacts of the pandemic are still being felt. In this episode, host Claire Stinson speaks with Heather Martel-Balfour about the mental health challenges faced by students and teachers in today's educational environment, and the approaches educational professionals used to cope with the strains of the workplace. Heather is a social worker and behavioral interventionist for a small rural school in southern Maine. She...
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44. A Conversation with CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen
Contagious Conversations
We're bringing you a special episode this month, as our president and CEO sits down for a conversation with Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Administrator. Dr. Cohen has extensive experience leading large and complex organizations and a proven track record protecting Americans’ health and safety. An internal medicine physician by training, Dr. Cohen led the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services during the COVID crisis, where she was lauded for her...
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43. The Eye of the Storm
Contagious Conversations
In 2022, a mysterious outbreak of a deadly drug-resistant bacteria began spreading across several U.S. states. A CDC investigation would eventually reveal an unusual culprit: common eye drops. In this episode, Dr. Danielle Rankin takes us behind the scenes of the investigation, sharing how they made their big break and what we've learned as a result. Dr. Rankin is an epidemiologist for the Antimicrobial Resistance Team in the Division of Healthcare Quality and Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prior to pursuing her PhD, she was an epidemiologist for the Florida...
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42. Serving Those Who Served
Contagious Conversations
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the eleventh leading cause of death for Americans overall. And sadly, our nation’s veterans face even higher rates of suicide. In this month's episode, we discuss the crisis of veteran suicide and the community-based preventative approaches being taken today. Joining us in this conversation is Nicola Winkel, project director for the Arizona Coalition for Military Families. ACMF is a nationally recognized public-private partnership focused on building Arizona's statewide capacity to care for, serve and support service...
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41. Prevention vs. Prescription: The Question About Opioids
Contagious Conversations
Physicians face many challenges in treating people living with pain, especially in light of the U.S. opioid overdose epidemic. In today's episode, we speak with Dr. Chris Jones on how physicians are handling these challenges, and the steps CDC is taking at a community level to help address the issue. Dr. Chris Jones is Director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Jones's career in public health includes leadership and advisory roles at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the U.S. Food...
info_outlineWhat exactly is public health law? Drawing from disciplines like epidemiology, public policy and evaluation, it's a field that we may not often think about in our day-to-day lives. But it has a profound impact on our lifetime trajectory.
Sarah de Guia—chief executive officer of ChangeLab Solutions, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that uses the tools of law and policy to advance health equity—joins Contagious Conversations to discuss how to better engage communities to advance policy development, and how public health law can help facilitate true systemic change.
For more information and a full transcript of this episode, visit Contagious Conversations.
Key Takeaways:
[1:46] Sarah talks about her background, why health equity is important to her and the impact of laws and policies on communities.
[5:57] Sarah talks about her current role at ChangeLab Solutions and what its mission means to her.
[7:30] Sarah explains the five fundamental drivers of health equity.
[8:54] Sarah explains the direct link between public health and law.
[11:56] How can we better engage communities to advance in policy development in public health?
[14:05] Sarah talks about community trust, participatory budgeting and public deliberation for intentional change.
[16:57] Why do we need to strengthen public health law?
[21:32] Sarah talks about some of the public health law tools and resources that can help strengthen public health.
[23:53] Sarah shares her experience participating in the Lights, Camera, Action National Summit Series.
[24:44] How can public health law facilitate more systemic change within governmental public health policy to help address existent inequities?
[25:49] Sarah shares her thoughts on restoring the spirit and value of the common good.
[29:21] How do we balance individual liberties with the approach of public health and its mandate of securing the common good?
[30:52] Sarah talks about the biggest challenge from a legal and funding perspective to strengthen the relationship between public health and health equity.
[31:49] Sarah shares her thoughts on the future of health equity.
Mentioned in This Episode: