Public Health Out Loud

Many Rhode Islanders living in specific geographies have experienced higher rates of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths throughout the pandemic. For example, in the seven hardest-hit ZIP codes, people of color as young as 25 are experiencing higher hospitalization rates than white people over 60 years old. Such differences are directly connected to the social conditions in which som...

People who are incarcerated have a constitutional right to quality healthcare services. This week’s guest expert, Dr. Justin Berk, is responsible for ensuring every person who is incarcerated at Rhode Island’s correctional facilities has access to, and receives, quality healthcare.   Dr. Berk is medical director at the Rhode Island Department of Corrections and a faculty member at the Warren Alper...

This week’s guest expert is Dr. Tom Bledsoe, a general internist and chair of the Rhode Island Hospital Ethics Committee. Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan ask him about how medical ethical issues are handled in Rhode Island.  Do physicians have a different ethical responsibility from the average person? What were some of the ethical conundrums that arose during the onset of the COVID-...

As the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved, Rhode Island has relied on data and science to help guide its response. At the Rhode Island Department of Health, the COVID-19 Data and Analytics Team is responsible for collecting and organizing statewide data that has informed decisions about reopening businesses and schools, and protecting people from the virus. This week, you’ll hear from some of those tea...

At the Rhode Island Department of Health, the Medical Countermeasures Distribution Program is responsible for giving out things like medicine, vaccine, and personal protective equipment to healthcare professionals and members of the public in response to an outbreak.  The program has detailed plans prepared for responding to various emergency public health scenarios. In recent years, the program h...

According to co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan, this week’s episode is long overdue. We’re talking to a nurse!  This week’s guest expert is Erin Abrahamsen. She is a nurse and team lead on the Rhode Island Department of Health’s COVID-19 Prevention Field Team. She also works in the emergency department at Rhode Island Hospital and serves as a nurse in the Rhode Island Air National Guar...

In this week’s episode, Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan talk about something that impacts the health of every person living on this planet: climate change. Learn more about what climate change actually means and how it’s already impacting Rhode Island from guest expert Dr. Stephen Porder.  Dr. Porder is a Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, a Fellow in the Institute at Brown Univer...

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are stressful or traumatic events that can undermine a child's sense of safety and well-being. They can include emotional abuse, exposure to substance use, sexual abuse, having a member of the household be incarcerated, and having separated or divorced parents. According to research, including studies published by this week’s guest expert, ACEs may have a...

This week’s guest expert, Dr. Mitchell Levy, is a member of the National Institutes of Health’s panel on COVID-19 treatment guidelines. He is also the medical director of the Medical Intensive Care unit at Rhode Island Hospital, and a professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.   Dr. Levy is...

Understanding the American healthcare system can be complicated. This week on Public Health Out Loud, we’re joined by guest experts Dr. Robert Hackey and Dr. Todd Olszewski, two healthcare policy experts from Providence College. Co-hosts Dr. Philip Chan and Dr. Jim McDonald ask them about the good, the bad, and the ugly of national and state-level healthcare policies. What do our guest experts thi...

Caring for infants can be difficult for one, very obvious reason: they can’t talk. Sometimes drawing blood or preventatively prescribing antibiotics are the only courses of action for pediatricians looking to fend off a possible infection among their youngest and most vulnerable patients. Wouldn’t it be easier if pediatricians could diagnose and accurately treat infants based on a drop of their sa...

On this week’s episode of the Public Health Out Loud podcast, co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan are talking about natural immunity. What level of immunity does someone have after getting infected with COVID-19? Are they at risk for getting infected again?  Our co-hosts are joined by Dr. Joseph Hogan and PhD candidate Nick Lewis from the Brown University Biostatistics Department. Our gu...

There are about 1.6 million people in the United States right now living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Cases range from mild to severe, and can impact people of all ages. In this week’s podcast, co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan are talking about all things related to IBD and gut health.   This week’s guest expert is Rhode Island native Dr. Jason Shapiro. He’s a pediatric gast...

Dr. Ewa King, director of Rhode Island’s State Health Laboratories, returns in this week’s episode to talk about COVID-19 variants.  In Rhode Island, the State Health Labs coordinate the SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance program in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and clinical and academic laboratories. This means the State Health Labs are sequencing and analyzin...

In this week’s episode of Public Health Out Loud, Dr. Philip Chan and Dr. Jim McDonald recap public health highpoints from 2021 and share their hopes for the new year. They also talk about what you can do to protect your household from COVID-19 this holiday season, and throughout the upcoming winter months.   To learn more, download this week’s episode of Public Health Out Loud, and visit covid.ri...

Our guest expert this week is Dr. Jonathan Kurtis, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the Brown University School of Public Health. Dr. Kurtis studies various neglected tropical diseases, including malaria, and is working to identify and define possible vaccines for them.  Co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan ask Dr. Kurtis about his research findings, the history of negl...

This week’s guest is Rhode Island State Senator Joshua Miller , who represents State Senate District 28. He is Chair of the State Senate Committee on Health and Human Services and is actively involved in the Governor's Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force.   In this episode, Senator Miller talks about what local representatives are doing to address two major public health concerns:...

This week on Public Health Out Loud, we’re joined by guest expert Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency physician at Rhode Island Hospital and Miriam Hospital. She is also the Associate Dean of Strategy and Innovation for the School of Public Health, founding Director of the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health, and co-founder and Senior Strategic Advisor to the American Foundation for Firearm Injury...

Co-hosts Dr. Philip Chan and Dr. Jim McDonald celebrate the start of the holiday season in this minisode by sharing what they’re grateful for. They also talk about what you can do to keep yourself and your loved ones healthy this holiday season.  This holiday season, make sure to remember the three Vs: Vaccinate, Ventilate, and Visit Safety. To learn more, download this week’s episode and visit co...

 This week on Public Health Out Loud, co-hosts Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan talk about the health effects of PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a group of chemicals that have been used since the 1940s to make products water-, grease-, and stain-resistant.   According to the Environmental Protection Agency, PFAS can be found in the blood of people and animals all over the world. And...

Join Dr. Jim McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan as they celebrate the authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11. They’re joined by guest expert Dr. Sabina Holland, a pediatrician who specializes in infectious diseases. According to Dr. Holland, pediatricians have many reasons to be excited about expanded vaccine eligibility.  “COVID-19 does impact children and they are...

In New England, the flu season typically runs from October to May. Last winter, the number of flu-related hospitalizations and deaths was historically low. Community mitigation measures; like physical distancing, frequent hand washing and sanitizing, indoor mask wearing, and staying home while sick; weren’t just keeping people safe from COVID-19. They were preventing the spread of other viruses li...

While anyone can get lead poisoned, lead is most dangerous to children younger than six years old and pregnant people. Even small amounts of lead in the blood during childhood can have life-long consequences. Until the level of its toxicity was fully recognized, lead was used in products like gasoline, pipes, and household paint. Lead-based paint was common until 1978, when the federal government...

While influenza and respiratory viruses can spread year round, cases occur most frequently between fall and spring. This week, Dr. James McDonald and Dr. Philip Chan are talking about respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and how it compares to flu and COVID-19.  RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild symptoms similar to those of a cold. Most people recover in a week or two. But...

Hear from a Rhode Island congressman about how the federal government is responding to COVID-19. The pandemic moved quickly and impacted every part of people’s lives. How did the State’s congressional delegation balance the importance of thorough public health measures and the need to maintain a healthy economy? How quickly did federal support get to states, municipalities, and individuals?   Our...