This episode introduces the new 2018-2023 Healthy Brain Initiative Road Map, which offers strategies for public health agencies to promote cognitive health and support people living with dementia and their caregivers. Co-authors from CDC and the Alzheimer’s Association provide details about this initiative and a forthcoming companion guide for Indian Country. Jewel Mullen, former president of ASTHO, explains how state and territorial health departments can advance healthy aging efforts through partnerships and policy, programs, and systems change.Read More »
This episode highlights the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic and discusses ways to reduce climbing obesity rates by increasing access to healthy foods and promoting physical activity through community planning and changes to the built environment. Tennessee shares how policies and programs at the local level are working to combat obesity, and CDC examines the landscape of childhood obesity research in America and describes the Active People, Healthy Nation initiative designed to help 27 million Americans become more physically active by 2027.Read More »
This episode highlights ASTHO’s President’s Challenge, “Building Health and Resilient Communities,” which is a multi-year campaign that calls on state, territorial, local, and tribal health officials to align strategic investments and promote community-driven, place-based solutions to empower communities to be as healthy as possible, reduce health disparities, and stimulate economic development. The challenge is aligned with the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and the U.S. Surgeon General’s focus on community health and economic prosperity.Read More »
This episode explores the rise of suicide rates across the United States and the need for a comprehensive public health approach to suicide prevention. Propelled by the recent CDC Vital Signs report on state suicide rates, the episode features a federal overview of the current landscape, Colorado’s comprehensive suicide prevention strategy, and Utah’s use of technology to improve crisis responses.Read More »
Medicaid is a publicly-funded health insurance program that currently covers 74 million people in the United States. Medicaid covers low-income people who are children, expectant mothers, people with disabilities, senior citizens, and some adults.Read More »
Antimicrobial resistance is a growing threat in the United States and containing its spread through action when even a single case of an antimicrobial resistant bacteria is identified is a priority public health strategy. In this episode, we will hear national and state perspectives on the prevention and containment of unusually resistant bacteria. The co-author of the April 2018 CDC Vital Signs report on containing unusual resistance provides an overview of the CDC strategy and Nebraska state health leadership discusses policy approaches to preventing and containing antimicrobial resistance.Read More »
Healthy brain development in early childhood is the foundation for lifelong learning and optimal physical and behavioral health. This podcast traces early brain development science and practice, from cutting-edge research to implications for population health and implementation at the state level. In this episode, Ami Klin discusses early detection of developmental disabilities as a strategy to improve access to early care and treatment. John Wiesman shares Washington state’s success story in supporting healthy early brain development through collective impact and cross-sector collaboration.Read More »
Telehealth plays a unique role in addressing access to care issues in rural and remote areas. This podcast explores successful programs developed by the Eastern Aleutian Tribes and Alaska Department of Health and Human Services that serve both residents and migrant workers out of eight remote access clinics. In this episode, Marcus Plescia discusses how to apply telehealth strategies to existing health department activities to improve health outcomes, and Susan Highley Bailey, Janice Gray, and Tara Ferguson-Gould share success stories and models for implementing telehealth programs.Read More »
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are at a record high in the United States, and while they can impact anyone, vulnerable groups—including young people, pregnant women, and men who have sex with men—are hit hardest. In this episode, we hear state and national perspectives from leaders in the fight against STDs, discussing the resurgence and health impacts of STDs, proven prevention strategies, and the critical role of disease intervention specialists.Read More »
The opioid epidemic has been called the worst public health crisis in America, affecting people from all walks of life, even our youngest. The second half of our story on the opioid epidemic explores how coalitions in Kentucky are driving prevention efforts, what public health practitioners in West Virginia are doing to identify and care for newborns who have been exposed prenatally to addictive drugs, and how one federal agency is working to ensure that rural communities get access substance abuse and mental health services.Read More »
As the opioid epidemic continues to plague communities across the nation, health officials face growing concern over a number of related threats to our health, such as increasing rates of HIV, hepatitis C, and neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). In this episode, public health leaders from Alaska, Kentucky, and West Virginia discuss the evolution of the opioid epidemic and explain why health departments are so integral to the response.Read More »