I’ve written before (here and here) about some of the research that’s been demonstrating the importance of avoiding long stretches of sedentary time. (The Sedentary Behavior Research Network has proposed that “sedentary” refer to waking time spent sitting or lying down and expending little energy, while “inactive” refer to people with low levels of overall […]
Public Health Practice
Funding cuts to utility assistance putting health of vulnerable residents at risk
by Kim Krisberg It was a lucky winter for Becky Belmont. The weather was on her side. As the director of energy and weatherization at West Central Minnesota Communities Action Inc., Belmont was sure the agency would run out of energy assistance funds to help all those in need. But fortunately, a mild Minnesota winter […]
Today is World Malaria Day, and the World Health Organization has launched a new initiative, dubbed T3: Test, Treat, Track. It urges countries where malaria is endemic to test every suspected malaria case, treat every confirmed case with anti-malarial medicine, and track the disease with “timely and accurate surveillance systems.” The good news is that […]
Yesterday, the FDA announced a new program that has the potential to slash the routine use of antibiotics by livestock producers. The routine administration of antibiotics to livestock with no signs of sickness helps animals grow more quickly, but it’s also a significant contributor to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. An estimated 70% of the […]
This week (April 2-8) is National Public Health Week. As Kim Krisberg described a couple of weeks ago, localities and groups across the country are recognizing it with a wide range of activities, from a health film festival to a safe sex carnival to a 1950s-themed health fair featuring the jitterbug and hula hoops. (Go […]
by Kim Krisberg A couple weeks ago on the southern-most tip of the continental United States in Key West, nearly 70 residents gathered at a town hall meeting to talk about mosquitoes. And not just any mosquito. A special, genetically modified mosquito designed to protect people’s health. While the modified mosquito has yet to make […]
by Kim Krisberg “CQ, CQ Celebrating National Public Health Week!” “CQ, CQ Celebrating National Public Health Week!” If you’re an aficionado of amateur radio — or ham radio as it’s also known — this is the call you might hear coming out of Oklahoma City on April 6. In layman’s terms, it means “Calling all […]
National Sleep Awareness Week might have been last week, but many of us are feeling the importance of shuteye this week, as we struggle to drag ourselves out of bed at what feels like an inappropriate hour. While Daylight Saving Time may get the blame for sleepiness this week, though, there are important year-round factors […]
The World Health Organization has confirmed that India has gone a whole year without having a new case of polio — a major milestone in a country that was once plagued by the crippling disease. BBC’s Fergus Walsh explains that the country won’t formally be regarded as polio-free until it’s gone another two years without […]
by Kim Krisberg Walking around a public health laboratory is seriously cool. Giant humming machines, rows of test tubes and small, round dishes containing specimens with hard-to-pronounce names, biohazard warnings and emergency shower stations, an egg incubator and liquid nitrogen generator, people in protective gear with bulky white hoods and face shields. Oh, and boxes […]