Population Health News Round-Up: January 2024

IAPHS Members in the News

Christy Erving was recognized with a Mid-Career Scholar Award from the Program for Research on Black Americans and the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. (December 5, 2023)

Magdalena Cerda in Pain: “Clinicians should monitor symptoms of CUD [Cannabis Use Disorder] among VHA patients and others with chronic pain who use cannabis, and consider noncannabis therapies, particularly because the effectiveness of cannabis for chronic pain management remains inconclusive.” (September 1, 2023)

Sandro Galea’s latest book, Within Reason: A Liberal Public Health for an Illiberal Time, is available now. The book looks at “how US public health has strayed from its liberal roots.” (University of Chicago Press, December 2023)

Marino A. Bruce and Roland J. Thorpe are among four writers in a chapter in the 2023 book Health Disparities, Disasters, and Crises. The chapter is titled “Racialized Healthcare Inequities as Determinant of COVID-19 Disaster Risks and Outcomes: Moving Toward COVID-19 Disaster Recovery.” Roland J. Thorpe is also an editor of the book. (Taylor & Francis Group, December 28, 2023)

Health Equity and Disparities

Seeking transgender care in a cisgender world: Transgender people tend to “fare worse than the general population as a group on classic social determinants of health.” They’re are at risk for shorter life spans, worse mental health outcomes, and higher rates of smoking and substance use. (Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health, November 7, 2023)

Highlighting racial health disparities might spark action:  Emphasizing health-focused disparities may elicit more action and support than emphasizing economic disparities does. “Framing disparities to engage moral injustice feelings may better motivate policy reform to dismantle systemic racism.” (Science, December 21, 2023)

Maternity ward closures are worsening disparities: Communities of color are disproportionately impacted by the trend of hospital obstetrics units closing across the U.S., “further exacerbating the already high health risks Black and Hispanic women face when giving birth.” (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, December 13, 2023)

Environmental Health and Justice

New EPA grant program seeks to improve environmental justice: Six hundred million dollars will go to several grantmakers who will offer subgrants for local community groups who may have experienced historical underinvestment and barriers to accessing federal funds. The funds can go to local cleanup efforts, emergency preparedness, workforce development, and more. (Environmental Protection Agency, December 20, 2023)

Rural communities face mental health harms from wildfire smoke: “The smoke harms farms and recreation-based businesses, can be psychologically triggering for wildfire survivors, frequently drives residents indoors, and recent research showed it’s associated with increases in rural suicides.” (Grist, January 7, 2024)

Built Environments, Spaces, and Places

In Seattle, Amazon’s pollution may be inequitable: Though neighborhoods close to Amazon’s Seattle warehouses order fewer packages, nearby residents–many of whom are people of color and people with lower incomes–are exposed to higher pollution levels. Amazon is not solely responsible for these “last mile” effects; rather, it’s a “reflection of historical processes that have been observed for decades.” (Seattle Times, December 20, 2023, quoting a Research in Transportation Economics study)

Easing loneliness by design:  In the US, loneliness is found in higher rates in older adults, “members of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups,” and people with lower incomes. The built environment can help by adding “opportunities for social interaction,” such as movable chairs and tables and something to focus on, like artwork or a dog. (Bloomberg CityLab, December 14, 2023)

Latinx communities are hardest-hit by long COVID, yet are underserved in healthcare: This story highlights one Latinx community in Washington State’s Yakima Valley. During the pandemic, Yakima County had “the highest per-capita case rate of all West Coast counties.” Now they remain “massively untreated, underdiagnosed, and undercounted” for long COVID. (Palabra, from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, December 20, 2023)

Policy and Programs

Menthol cigarette ban may reduce disparities, but implementation is delayed: Menthol cigarettes can cause more harm and are more likely to be smoked by Black smokers than by White smokers. A proposed ban on menthol cigarettes was delayed until March 2024. (USA Today, December 19, 2023)

Decline in sugary drink purchases and the sugary drink tax: Purchases of sugary beverages decreased after five cities instituted a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. (JAMA Health Forum, January 5, 2024)

A Texas charter school gets a grocery store: The grocery store in Pleasant Grove is part of the Together Harnessing Resources to Give Individuals Voice and Empowerment (THRIVE) program. Kids run the store, which includes healthy food. (D Magazine, December 6, 2023)

Workplace flexibility could lower cardiovascular risks: When workplace flexibility was improved, cardiometabolic risks were reduced for older employees and employees who had a higher baseline cardiometabolic risk score (CRS). (AJPH, November 8, 2023)