Gun violence is uniquely an American problem compared to other industrialized countries. Firearm-related fatality rates in the U.S. are four times the rates in other industrially advanced countries. We continue to relegate this social ill it to our criminal justice system when it needs a public health solution.
Affordable Care Act
Public health reacts to Supreme Court’s ACA ruling: ‘Surprised and then ecstatic’
There were few better places to hear about today’s 5-4 Supreme Court ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act and its individual insurance mandate than at a meeting of the American Public Health Association.
House Republicans’ plan to raid the Prevention and Public Health Fund for money to prevent an increase in the student-loan interest rate is only the latest move to siphon off funds intended for public-health investments.
Environmental Health
Rick Brown, champion of occupational health, children’s health, will be missed terribly
UCLA Professor Rick Brown was a champion of public health who passed away suddenly last month. His colleagues, former students and friends are remembering and celebrating his tremendous contributions to improve occupational health, children’s health, and families’ access to health care services.
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 […]
Agricultural exceptionalism is a term used to describe the special status awarded to employers and firms involved in agriculture. Proponents argue that the special status is necessary because (1) agricultural products contribute to broad national goals (e.g., providing safe and affordable food, preventing hunger); and (2) farming is inherently risky because of the uncertainty of […]
J. Freedom du Lac reports in the Washington Post that Army Spec. David Emanuel Hickman, killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad on November 14th, was the 4,474th US servicemember to be killed in Iraq. With all the US troops now gone from Iraq, Hickman’s death may well be the last servicemember fatality directly attributed […]
Something that’s come up in a couple of the different sessions I’ve attended at the American Public Health Association annual meeting is the problem of inadequate definitions of success. It’s important to set targets and measure progress against them – and missing targets can be a signal that it’s time to revise the strategy. But […]
One of my favorite parts of the American Public Health Association annual meeting is the Occupational Health & Safety Section’s awards lunch. It’s always inspiring to hear about and from the award recipients, who bring dedication, creativity, and much-needed stubbornness to the cause of ensuring safe and healthy workplaces. The 2011 honorees are: Alice Hamilton […]
APHA Annual Meeting
Occupational health and safety leaders recognized by American Public Health Association
The winners of this year’s American Public Health Association’s (APHA) recognition awards for achievement in occupational health and safety illustrate the diversity of talent among those committed to ensuring workers’ rights to a safe workplace. Martin Cherniak, MD is a clinician and researcher at the University of Connecticut; Amy Liebman is with the Migrant Clinicians […]