Commentary Archives - Page 7 of 7 - IAPHS - Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science

February 20, 2017

How the U.S. is taking the lead on preventing lead poisoning

Rachel Shaffer

The crisis in Flint, Michigan, returned our attention to a problem that we would have preferred to believe was behind us: lead poisoning. This incident highlighted the dangers of lead-lined water pipes, but, unfortunately, there are numerous other sources of lead exposure throughout the United States. I’ve written previously about risks from contact with contaminated soil or through the workplace. Lead-based paint, outdoor air, and manufactured products also pose risks. Because of these diverse sources, eliminating lead poisoning is challenging and requires coordination across multiple programs and policies. Understanding this complex need—and perhaps sensing the increased public concern regarding lead in the United States—the President’s Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children released a report entitled “Key Federal Programs to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures and Eliminate Associated Health Impacts” in November 2016. This report describes the numerous federal agencies, regulations, and programs that have been established to address lead exposures in children. It also marks progress towards the development of an enhanced lead strategy that will address existing policy gaps. The report is worth a read; you may be surprised by the number of existing policies and efforts aimed at mitigating lead exposure. There are almost […]

February 3, 2017

Improving Population Health: Continuing the Journey

David Kindig

David Kindig

I am honored to have been asked to kick off the new IAPHS Forum with some reflections on population health and blogging. Some of you will recall my own weekly blog, ImprovingPopulationHealth, which I ran with Kirstin Siemering for 3 years. The initial post on my 70th birthday in 2010 began this way: “Why am I starting a blog on issues and perspectives in the field of population health? It is because I believe we are at a tipping point in which a convergence of scholarship policy and practice initiatives seem poised to bring an overdue population health perspective to thinking about and acting on health and health improvement. The challenge of the next decade will be to find practical ways in which new approaches to financial and nonfinancial incentives and multi-sectoral partnerships can be applied to improve population health outcomes here and elsewhere.” Today, as IAPHS and this Forum take up the responsibility and opportunity to help lead scholarship and advocacy for our field, I’m not sure I would say it any differently. I almost said “our emerging field” but paused to ask myself: Is “emerging” still an appropriate adjective? No and yes. No, in that the field certainly […]

February 3, 2017

IAPHS – Three Steps Towards our Vision

Sandro Galea

Sandro Galea

I am deeply honored to serve as the inaugural president for the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science (IAPHS). The purpose of IAPHS is to foster scientific innovation and discovery to improve the health of populations and reduce health disparities. It does this by advancing population health science, working to improve population health by promoting the communication and application of such science, and supporting population health scientists in their careers. This, to my mind is a worthwhile mission and set of efforts indeed, and it is with that in mind that I am excited to be a part of this next stage in IAPHS’s evolution. How will we go about achieving our vision? We build on an extraordinarily solid base, a legacy of the founders of IAPHS to whom we are indebted. The previous Board has left us with an excellent set of objectives, a dynamic website, and a sound organizational framework. Two Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded conferences have begun to give vital form to what our mission can mean. Moreover, the over 150 individuals and organizations who have joined IAPHS have created a diverse pool of expertise and support on which we can build. Over the next year, we will […]

February 3, 2017

Why Write?

Fred Zimmerman

Fred Zimmerman

The IAPHS Forum aspires to be more than a website or a blog; it aspires to be a place where we all can write, and by writing, create a community. To be specific, it aspires to create a community that helps population health science grow stronger, and its translation more effective. IAPHS: A place for us to explore the upstream determinants of health together. Photo: Brian Fitzgerald. The purpose of the Forum is to create a space in which ideas can be shared—necessarily in written form, given our geographic dispersal—and in which commonalities can be recognized and differences productively worked through. Communities are networks of social trust, and this social trust can be forged only through frequent and candid airing of views. What’s essential about this process is the interaction it implies. This Forum will succeed only to the extent to which broad participation is achieved. We’re hoping that participation will be extensive among IAPHS members, as well as non-member colleagues with information and perspectives to share. The idea of population health is espoused by many individuals in public health departments, universities, and local governments. But numbers alone do not make a community. We propose this Forum as the place […]

Search:

Login

Commentary