Articles on the public-health toll from hurricanes, plus pieces on DACA, hookworm, and “President Trump’s War on Science.”
Typically, we like to end the annual “The Year in U.S. Occupational Health & Safety” on an uplifting note. But this time around — to be honest — that was a hard sell.
Department of Labor
A Labor Day tradition: Sixth annual yearbook on worker health and safety released today
For the sixth year in a row, we present “The Year in U.S. Occupational Health & Safety,” our attempt to document the year’s highs and lows as well as the challenges ahead.
Government
Surveys of safety net providers find worsening rates of burnout, professional satisfaction
Across the country, federally qualified health centers provide a critical safety net, delivering needed medical care regardless of a person’s ability to pay. And so it’s worrisome when researchers document a sharp increase in dissatisfaction among the clinicians and staff who make those centers run.
The idea that the Affordable Care Act is a job killer is one of those regularly debunked talking points that won’t disappear. So, here’s yet more evidence that the ACA has had very little impact on the labor market.
Reporters investigate the deaths of five workers at Tampa Electric; OSHA removes worker fatality information from its home page; more workers sue Fraser Shipyards for hazardous lead exposures; and the Secret Service runs out of money to pay its agents.
As the Trump Administration proposes slashing federal agency budgets and calls for “deconstruction of the administrative state,” it’s worth reminding ourselves of the many valuable contributions federal employees make to public health. One good way to do that is to read about the honorees of the Partnership for Public Service’s Samuel J. Heyman Service to […]
Government
Public health officials call on HHS to restore grant funding for preventing teen pregnancies
In July, public health departments across the country got a letter from the Trump administration abruptly cutting off funding for teen pregnancy prevention efforts in the middle of the program’s grant cycle. The move means that many teens will miss out on receiving an education that could — quite literally — change the trajectory of their lives.
Public Health Practice
Worth reading: Methadone, police violence, and taking children from their parents
Recent pieces address taking children from their parents, limited treatment options for opioid use disorder, and how police violence is a reproductive justice issue. (Updated 8/16 with links to Charlottesville-related pieces)
Affordable Care Act
New NACCHO president on Zika, equity & the ACA: ‘We can’t do this alone. We have to do it together’
Umair Shah’s story isn’t an uncommon one in public health. Starting out in medicine, with a career as an emergency department doctor, he said it quickly became clear that most of what impacts our health happens outside the hospital and in the community.