Population Health News Roundup: December 2022

IAPHS Members in the News

Sandro Galea in Preventive Medicine: Firearms manufacturers dispute the evidence and minimize the harm caused by their products, and they emphasize individual responsibility instead. “Understanding such strategies could aid in improving policy discourse on firearms.” (January 2023)

Philip M. Alberti in U.S. News & World Report: “Health equity is not created in a doctor’s office one patient at a time. It can happen for entire populations all at once, though, with the stroke of a policy pen. Indeed, to achieve health equity, medical care must advocate for health, not just health care.” (December 1, 2022)

Christy Erving in Social Problems: “…Black women, despite shared gendered and racialized oppression, are not a monolithic group, varying along other dimensions of stratification. The results suggest that other stress exposures and psychological resources should be explored in future work examining status differences in mental health among Black women.” (November 2022)

Christina Roberto won the 2022 Thomas A. Wadden award for Distinguished Mentorship from The Obesity Society. (November 2, 2022)

Wiley Jenkins in JAMA Network Open: In rural communities, “…harm reduction and substance use disorder treatment interventions must address both methamphetamine and opioids to decrease overdose.” (August 1, 2022)

Health Equity and Disparities

Huge health disparities found between Black and white mothers: “The disparities identified in the study of California births are so large, in fact, that Black women and their infants of the highest-income households fare worse on average than the lowest-income white mothers and their infants.” (Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, November 28, 2022)

Most COVID-19 deaths have been in seniors: Nine in ten COVID-related deaths were people aged 65 and older. (ABC News online, November 30, 2022.)

Healthy, affordable food is not equally available everywhere in Seattle: “Neighborhoods with lower income and a larger proportion of Black residents had lower healthy food availability scores compared with neighborhoods with higher income. . .and fewer Black residents. . . .” (Preventing Chronic Disease, 2022)

Racism, heart disease, and diabetes in women: Including women excluded from SWAN (Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation) revealed that some women experience heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes at much younger ages. “Black and Hispanic women who had been excluded because of menopause were also the most likely to already have diabetes or hypertension at the start of the study.” (Science.org, November 11, 2022)

Environmental Health & Justice

The environmental justice fight in one Albuquerque neighborhood: A new proposal calls for health, environmental, and equity indicators to be considered before new permits are approved. Residents in the Mountain View area–many are Hispanic–are fighting plans for a new asphalt plant. (AP News, November 22, 2022) 

Environmental justice screening tool aims to help disadvantaged communities: The Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool offers interactive maps to “make sure disadvantaged communities get at least 40 percent of the benefits of climate-related spending….” (E&E News Greenwire, November 11, 2022). 

Built Environments

The U.S. Department of Transportation looks beyond cars and infrastructure: The Every Day Counts program will also include traffic safety and emissions reduction—and equity and inclusion. (Bloomberg CityLab, December 2, 2022)

New York City designs streetscapes for wellness and equity: A broad team of agencies, community groups, and nonprofits have a plan to design city streets with wellness in mind. Factors the team considered include vehicle traffic congestion, heat islands, pavement games for young people, shade, trees, planted medians, open spaces, limiting through traffic, painting asphalt, and much more. (NYC Public Design Commission, November 2022)

Policy & Programs

Homeless camp sweeps harm health: Medicine, medical devices such as canes, prescriptions, and personal items are often lost when city agencies clear out homeless camps. The sweeps can thus lead to an inability to get to medical appointments or complete a course of antibiotics, for example, as well as contribute to mental trauma. (Journal of General Internal Medicine, March 16, 2022, and highlighted on December 5, 2022 in Invisible People.)

Health equity needs community power and funding: A “democratic” approach to health improvement is needed, which requires “enhancing the quality of democracy” and for communities to have power. (HealthAffairs, December 2022)

Paid leave can boost health and equity: “Policy strategies to promote access to—and use of—paternity leave (and leave for non-birth parents more broadly) can therefore promote a healthier and more equitable society.” (Milbank Quarterly, December 1, 2022)