In some neighborhoods, the simple act of grocery shopping can feel like a monumental task. These are food deserts — areas where access to affordable, nutritious food is limited or entirely unavailable. For people living in these communities, food deserts are more than an inconvenience; they are a daily reminder of systemic inequities that deeply affect health and well-being.

10 key takeaways from a conversation with a professor:

Mental health care is a necessity, not a luxury, yet for many in low-income communities, it can feel out of reach. The disparities in access to care/resources are undeniable and can arise from issues in resource allocation and accessibility. People in low-income areas often face high stress and uncertainty, but when it comes to support, they are too often left out. This blog addresses why this happens and how we can take steps to change it.

Food safety is a crucial aspect of public health that affects everyone. Despite the improvement in food production and food safety regulations, foodborne illnesses continue to be a public health issue. Even today, harmful bacteria, parasites, and viruses contaminate our foods, causing thousands of people to be sickened each year. For these reasons, food safety education is highly significant and offers several benefits. Not only does it prevent illnesses, but food safety education also ensures that the food we eat is safe and healthy.

Legal status is a dimension of immigrant health that is frequently overlooked but has important intersections with almost every aspect of immigrant life. To understand why legal support is an important health intervention, it’s essential to think more deeply about how these two things are connected.

Throughout human history, our interconnectedness with the environment has become increasingly evident. Environmental challenges such as pollution, climate change, and habitat destruction pose significant threats to public health worldwide. Public health has had a major role in addressing environmental issues by safeguarding both the planet and human well-being.

In the realm of global health, infectious diseases present a major challenge, impacting populations worldwide and posing significant threats to public health. From emerging pathogens to re-emerging infections and diseases, the battle against infectious diseases requires collaborative efforts and new strategies.

Emerging infectious diseases pose a constant threat to global health security, challenging our ability to detect, respond to, and control novel pathogens. From Ebola and Zika to COVID-19, the rapid spread of infectious diseases across borders highlights the importance of proactive surveillance, robust healthcare systems, and international collaboration. Today I’ll cover the dynamics of emerging infectious diseases, exploring their origins, transmission patterns, and the strategies employed for global preparedness and response.

Climate change, while first and foremost an environmental issue, also has severe affects on public health. It disproportionately affects vulnerable populations around the world with factors such as rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and shifting disease patterns. Climate change exacerbates a range of health issues, from respiratory problems due to poor air quality to increased incidence of vector-borne diseases (Disease that results from an infection transmitted to humans and other animals by blood-feeding anthropods, such as mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas (LA County Department of Public Health)) like malaria and dengue fever. Vulnerable populations, including the elderly, children, low-income communities, and those in developing countries, are particularly at risk.

Emerging infectious diseases pose a constant threat to global health security, challenging our ability to detect, respond to, and control novel pathogens. From Ebola and Zika to COVID-19, the rapid spread of infectious diseases across borders highlights the importance of proactive surveillance, robust healthcare systems, and international collaboration.

The application of generative AI in healthcare will play a major role in mitigating health disparities that affect historically disadvantaged populations who are most likely to have limited access to healthcare. Health disparities are defined as differences in health risk factors, including diseases, access to care, life expectancy, and other health indicators, among distinct populations and communities. Research indicates that health disparities are amplified among persons living in poverty and in rural communities. Individuals living in low-income, rural communities are often the ones with the least access to adequate healthcare resources and are the ones with the worst health outcomes and who live the longest with the highest burden of disease compared with their urban and higher-income counterparts.

As I’ve mentioned in a blog post before, social determinants of health (SDOH) are powerful forces that have an effect on our health outcomes. These SDOH are especially influential on our earlier years as we are more susceptible to change. From economic stability to access to healthcare and beyond, the conditions in which children are born, grow, live, learn, and play have a profound impact on their physical, cognitive, and emotional development.

Within the wide web of public health, one glaring issue that I believe demands our attention is the persistent disparities in access to healthcare services, and more specifically, access to primary care. Unequal access continues to contribute to health inequities among different demographic groups. There are many factors to this topic, but this blog goes into financial constraints, access to transportation, linguistic and cultural differences, shortages of primary care providers, and the consequences a of lack of access.

I recently interviewed Britany Fragoso, a university student who attends college in Santa Clara County, California who was born in the United States, but left for Mexico soon after being born, and then came back at a young age. Her experience provides a valuable perspective on the challenges faced by individuals who have immigrated to the United States.

Social determinants of health (SDOH) refer to the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age. These social determinants have a significant impact on a health outcomes and health disparities

Food insecurity, a condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food, is associated with a wide range of poor health outcomes, extending beyond hunger and malnutrition. The relationship between food insecurity and the development and progression of chronic disease is important and complex, and understanding it may help to address gaps in health equity.

No matter your immigration status, as a person living in the United States, you have certain basic rights under the Constitution.

Antibiotics are essential lifesavers of modern medicine, used to combat all sorts of bacterial infections. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the effectiveness of antibiotics is threatened by rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In some areas of the world, antibiotics are available without a prescription, which can result in severe suboptimal use of antibiotics and have a huge impact on public health, as it can lead to higher resistance rates and complicate treatment. Here’s how over-the-counter

Once considered a slow-moving threat to Earth’s future, climate change has insinuated itself as an immediate and pervasive reality, including its impact on our health. Changes in foodborne illnesses is just one of the ways in which climate change is transforming our lives. Rising global temperatures and shifting weather patterns are causing foodborne pathogens to become more common and spreading in new directions. These shifts have changed the rules of the game when it comes to protecting public health from foodborne illness. Let’s take a closer look at how climate change is transforming foodborne illnesses and what it means for our health.

Speed of vaccine development has always been a crucial factor in tackling infectious diseases. In recent years, the addition of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been a game-changer, further speeding up the process and improving our response to public health crises. The power of new AI algorithms and machine learning methods is transforming how we develop vaccines, making the process faster and more efficient, and perhaps even more effective too. Here’s how generative AI is transforming vaccine development and the impact this could have to public health.