Population Healthy

According to a 2019 study published by the National Academy of Sciences,* African-Americans are exposed to 56% more pollution than they actually produce. Meanwhile, white Americans are exposed to 17% less pollution than they produce. African-Americans are also 75% more likely to live near industrial facilities than white Americans, compounding the risk for harmful environmental exposures that are...

When you hear the term “weathering,” you may think of soil or rock erosion next to a busy stream, or the paint of a house fading under the glare of the sun. But what if it could also happen to our bodies? In this episode of Population Healthy Season 3: Race, Inequity, and Closing the Health Gap, experts from the University of Michigan School of Public Health discuss weathering, which encapsulates...

Data is a powerful, important thing. It can help researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and even frontline health workers discover new strategies that improve health, dictate things like resource and services allocation, and even save lives. But what happens when data is flawed, manipulated, or even weaponized? Can it worsen health inequities or harm populations? In this episode of Population H...

In this episode of Population Healthy Season 3: Race, Inequity, and Closing the Health Gap, we take a deeper look at how Black families and individuals deal with the factors that impact their mental health. Mental health is a complicated and nuanced subject, and racial trauma and stigmas add additional layers of complexity for communities of color. This creates a landscape that is difficult for Bl...

Join University of Michigan undergraduate public health students Anjali Vaishnav, Maddie Malvitz, Sophie Blasberg, Stephanie Lai, and Catherine Marudo as they dive into the topic of the 2003 SARS epidemic and its connections to the current COVID-19 pandemic in the final episode of this special three-part podcast series, SARS: The Pandemic that Never Was. In these unprecedented times, what lessons...

Join University of Michigan undergraduate public health students Anjali Vaishnav, Maddie Malvitz, Sophie Blasberg, Stephanie Lai, and Catherine Marudo as they dive into the topic of the 2003 SARS epidemic and its connections to the current COVID-19 pandemic in the second episode of this special three-part podcast series, SARS: The Pandemic that Never Was. Social factors heavily influence the outco...

Join University of Michigan undergraduate public health students Anjali Vaishnav, Maddie Malvitz, Sophie Blasberg, Stephanie Lai, and Catherine Marudo as they dive into the topic of the 2003 SARS epidemic and its connections to the current COVID-19 pandemic in the first of this special three-part podcast series, SARS: The Pandemic that Never Was. SARS and COVID-19 are two infectious diseases in th...

In this episode of Population Healthy Season 3: Race, Inequity, and Closing the Health Gap, we talk with experts about how inequities occur in health care settings and how who you are can impact your quality of care. Research has found that people of color may not only have less access to health care, but that the quality of care they do receive may also be lesser, and they may even face discrimin...

In the newest season of the Population Healthy podcast—Race, Equity, and Closing the Health Gap—we speak with researchers from around the University of Michigan School of Public Health and beyond to examine health inequities through the lens of race in America. We begin our journey with an episode called Race and Health Equity in America, where we ask how we know these disparities exist, where res...

As we continue through these winter months, we find ourselves inside for longer periods of time. How can we avoid aerosolized droplets becoming a problem for disease transmission in our public buildings? We have many layers to consider for minimizing risk, but in many ways it starts with the ventilation systems in these buildings. To learn more about the connection between air ventilation and the...

In this episode infectious disease expert Dr. Arnold Monto discusses the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines. Monto is a Professor of Epidemiology and Global Public Health at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Throughout his seven decade career, Monto has been involved in pandemic planning and emergency response to influenza and other respiratory virus outbreaks, includin...

As global coronavirus cases spiked, University of Michigan School of Public Health Biostatistics chair and professor Bhramar Mukherjee traveled to India to continue her critical work on the pandemic and reunite with family. In this episode, Mukherjee joins us from her home in India to discuss the pandemic on the ground there, the differences between pandemic response in India and the United States...

In this episode infectious disease expert Arnold Monto discusses the COVID-19 vaccine development and approval process. Monto is a Professor of Epidemiology and Global Public Health at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Throughout his seven decade career, Monto has been involved in pandemic planning and emergency response to influenza and other respiratory virus outbreaks, includi...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, only 1 in 4 children in the US has been physically active at recommended levels. With researchers anticipating a 2-3% increase in youth obesity as a result of the pandemic, we wanted to learn more about keeping kids active during a pandemic, especially during the winter months. In this episode, Rebecca Hasson, assistant professor of Nutritional Sciences at the Univers...

We live in a connected time. The information age has brought with it unparalleled access to other people through telecommunications, email, social media, and so on. Someone half a world away can post something on their social platforms, and you could see it almost instantly seen where you are. This access can be an amazing resource. But on the flipside, instant access to people's thoughts and opin...

The federal government moved fairly quickly to grant waivers to schools when the COVID-19 pandemic began, allowing them to continue to serve food to students in need even as in-person classes were curtailed. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the government’s response in helping daycare providers in the same boat. Millions of younger children and their families across the country depend on...

We all have some sense that the pandemic has had a particularly large toll on the elderly. But, in fact, the story of the pandemic among vulnerable older adults is a story of resilience. Many older adults have come through difficult times before, and in many cases, they are showing the rest of us how to make the best of these most difficult and unusual of circumstances. Still, older adults do have...

It’s been six months since the state of Michigan first enacted the stay-at-home order on March 23. We spoke to Sharon Kardia, professor of Epidemiology and associate dean for Education at the University of Michigan School of Public Health to help us look back at what has happened across the state over the last six months and learn more about two projects from the University of Michigan that helped...

With over 500 members representing nearly 70 countries, the grassroots organization “Students Against COVID-19” is addressing the coronavirus pandemic with global collaborations that cross borders, disciplines, and perspectives. Organization founder Marina Haque, an alumna of the University of Michigan School of Public Health and School of Medicine, joins us to talk about the explosive growth of S...

With September just a few days away, schools around the country face the daunting task of reopening in the midst of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. We take a look at the risks and benefits of in-person and online learning for students of different ages, as well as how a potential vaccine might affect the upcoming school year. We also get a small taste of the work that went on behind the scene...

Local health departments all over the world are a frontline defense against the novel coronavirus during the current pandemic. Unlike hospitals, they don’t treat patients. Instead, they track the virus, help sick people find treatment, safe places to quarantine, and even food when needed, and do all they can to keep COVID-19 from spreading. The Washtenaw County Health Department (Ann Arbor and the...

Questions around coronavirus testing and immunity are top-of-mind as the pandemic continues to spread and potential vaccines undergo trials. Emily Martin, associate professor of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, breaks down the basics of coronavirus testing and what the current data show are the potential next steps for the United States as we head toward fall and...

In Latin America, the battle against COVID-19 is raging. At the time this podcast was recorded, the region has reported over 3.2 million cases of the disease and over 140,000 deaths, making it one of the biggest hotspots in the world. To find out more about the coronavirus pandemic in Latin America, we spoke to Joe Eisenberg, a professor and the chair of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan...

In the United States alone, there’s an average of 4 million births each year. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, that amounts to a lot of women who are understandably concerned about their health and the health of their child. In this episode we talked with Phoebe Kulik, a program manager at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and a first-time expectant mother, about what it’s...

Though it’s landmass is only one-third the size of the United States, India is home to nearly 17% of the world’s population — approximately 1.34 billion people. But as it grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, it’s population size is just one of the unique challenges facing the country. Michigan Public Health Professor Bhramar Mukherjee explains the factors behind India’s still-rising infection n...