public health — Blog — Sage Perspectives Blog

Bridging Arts and Public Health: A New Framework for Collaboration

Imagine a doctor prescribing a music class to manage chronic pain, or a public health campaign using theater to address mental health stigma. These scenarios are increasingly common as the links among arts, culture, and public health expand. At the same time, in conversations with public health professionals over the years, I've encountered a paradox: While there's clear interest in art's potential to enhance public health, many struggle to translate that interest into action. The sheer breadth of “arts and culture” makes it challenging to get concrete and specific about its applications to health goals. The public health and arts sectors have both needed structure and direction to guide more cross-sector action and innovation.

ResearchWehida NiaziSeptember 13, 2024music, Mental health, public health

Public Health Scholars Challenge and Critique the Field on Its Anti-Racist Pedagogy

Last summer, my colleague and I felt a sense of disappointment and desire for more from our public health education. We both started our master’s in public health Fall of 2020, right after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the social uprisings of 2020 catalyzed by the racist murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd by the police. We connected over our commitment to challenging ourselves to more critically understand the intricacies of health inequities. We found ourselves frustrated with our field's approach to addressing racism in public health. For me, I felt I was not being challenged or given tools on how to meaningfully incorporate anti-racism framing into my public health endeavors. Most of the time, I felt frustrated, as were other peers who shared different or similar historically marginalized identities. For us to sit through lectures about how people like us were more prone to health issues because of the racism we endured was like, yeah, duh?

ResearchMoazzma ArshadJune 16, 2023public health, COVID-19, Racism, pedagogy

Kindness and connection: the natural antidote to stress and a public health intervention

It’s well-known that stress causes and/or exacerbates many diseases, particularly common problems like cardiovascular disease, asthma, and depression. In the context of a growing and aging population and high health care costs, prevention of these diseases is a necessity. The central thesis of this blog is that we can enhance public health and happiness and simultaneously reduce health care expenditures by attenuating stress on a population scale through kindness and social connection.

ResearchMaria Pia TissotApril 24, 2023stress, kindness, public health

Bridging the Divide Between Evaluation Training and Practice for Public Health Professionals

With limited resources in public health, program evaluation is an important tool to ensure that a program is not only effective and efficient— but that it is equitable. It is imperative that public health professionals are trained properly on the foundations of evaluation practice as inadequate training could lead to ineffective practice.

ResearchMaria Pia TissotApril 6, 2023public health

Innovations in COVID-19 Case Investigation and Contact Tracing

The November/December 2022 supplement of Public Health Reports, “Innovative Approaches to COVID-19 Case Investigation and Contact Tracing,” provides firsthand examples of how health departments across the United States pivoted and innovated, trained new contact tracers, incorporated new community partners, and developed innovative digital tools.

Editor's Picks, ResearchMaria Pia TissotDecember 5, 2022COVID-19, contact tracing, public health

How does culture affect vaccination acceptance?

Why do some people vaccinate against COVID-19 while others do not? Our recent work, published in the Journal of International Marketing, addresses this question through the lens of culture, empathy, and homophily—i.e., the extent to which we share similarities with others

The Public Health Response to Human Trafficking: A Look Back and a Step Forward

To counter and eventually eliminate human trafficking (HT) requires not only a strong response from the criminal justice system, but also a comprehensive, rigorous public health response. We’ve come a long way in the past 20 years, but there’s still much to be done - here are recommendations for future research.

Why is it hard to reverse the rise in obesity?

Obesity is a recognized public health hazard. This puts a strain on the body, as well as on health care systems. It arises because the intake of energy exceeds that needed for exercise and maintenance of the body’s integrity, and is therefore converted to fat. In an effort to reduce obesity in the population, governments can increase the tax on foods and drinks seen as undesirable, but is it likely to be enough?

Editor's Picks, ResearchMoazzma ArshadJune 14, 2022obesity, public health

Discovering the Key to Healthy Lighting

Electric light enabled us to conquer the night, but it has come at a significant cost to human health. Over the past 20 years, light exposure at night, and too little light during the day, has been linked to dozens of serious health disorders caused by circadian rhythm disruption

Highlights from the 2020 Digital Health Promotion Executive Leadership Summit

The 3rd Annual Digital Health Promotion Executive Leadership Summit came to a close after three days of presentations by some of the leading researchers, thought leaders and innovators who are working in the digital space. There were several important highlights of the virtual Summit.

What does an Online Lecture Look Like? Tips for Virtual Engagement

It’s a Wednesday morning, and I grab a seat, preparing myself for the SOPHE (Society for Public Health Education) Annual Conference’s Opening Plenary session. But something is different. I’m wearing gym shorts and my favorite public health t-shirt, which is not my usual conference attire.

Resources for Researchers During A Global Health Crisis

It has been said many times, but it bears repeating. We are living through an unprecedented time. The impact of COVID-19 has affected all of us differently. However, despite the anxiety and uncertainty, this global crisis has reinforced for me the importance of research and how vital our academic community is. I’ve never been prouder to work for an organization committed to the dissemination of research in all of its forms.

Social Media and Mental Health Among Adolescents, an Important Public Health Concern

Emerging evidence supports the idea that social media use does not necessarily cause poor mental health outcomes; however, adolescence can be a developmental stage in which youth are particularly susceptible to social media’s negative effects.