Boston University School of Public Health's latest news, upcoming events, and announcements.
 
 
 
 

Politics and Health

SPH This Week | Special Edition

 

Ahead of the 2020 election, a look at how politics shape public health—and how public health is political.

 

November 1, 2020

 
 
Dean's Note
 
 
The Election and After
No matter who wins this week’s election, the work of public health continues. And there is much work to do.
 
 
 
 
Messages from the Dean
 
Annual School Survey Is Now Open
 
Community Health Sciences. Now is the time.
 
 
 
 
Q&A
 
 
‘Rights Will Hang in a New Balance’
 
Nicole Huberfeld and Wendy Mariner on how the installation of Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court will affect public health.
 
School News
 
 
Professor Named Associate Director at Center for Antiracist Research
 
As the associate director of narrative, Monica Wang will help the center produce and promote antiracist research, trainings, and first-of-their-kind degree programs.
 
 
Research
 
 
Can the ACA Cover Everyone?
 
If he wins the presidency, there are concrete steps Joe Biden could take to make healthcare coverage more accessible and affordable.
 
 
Research
 
 
What Are States Doing about COVID-19?
 
With policymakers and reporters weighing what works and what doesn’t in the battle against COVID-19, they’re increasingly turning to a database of state policies overseen by Julia Raifman.
 
Viewpoint
 
 
A Potential Turning Point for the Environment
 
Four more years of President Trump almost certainly means further destabilization of environmental health policy. But a Biden/Harris administration must be prepared with the same swift and targeted action to rebuild environmental safeguards.
 
 
Public Health Post
 
 
Vote Like Your Health Depends on It
 
PHP's four writing fellows and three editors each look at a different public health issue at stake in the 2020 election.
 
 
Public Health Post
 
 
Recovery in the Republic
 
Raagini Jawa, an expert in infectious disease and addiction medicine, considers her recovery from symptoms of COVID-19 during the 2020 election.
 
 
 
 
Politics and Health News, Research, and Viewpoints
 
 
Published on 7/10/2020
 
Gun Culture 3.0
 
For most gun owners in the US, owning firearms is about recreation or self-defense. But there is a third gun culture, and it sees any firearm violence prevention effort as the first step in a scheme to take away all rights.
 
Published on 5/29/2020
 
Lifesaving Protections
 
Suicidality dropped by as much as half among gender minority patients in states that enacted nondiscrimination rules for private health insurance.
 
Published on 4/3/2020
 
‘Public Health Needs Help on Capitol Hill’
 
At the third event of the Coronavirus Seminar Series, legal and policy experts discussed the role of politics in the nation’s understanding of, and response to, the pandemic.
 
 
Published on 7/18/2019
 
Child Detention at the Border Is Torture
 
The World War II Japanese-American internment camps have been used as an analogy, but a more recent American horror may fit better: America’s post-9/11 “black sites.”
 
Published on 7/11/2019
 
What Trump Got Wrong, and Right, in His Speech about the Environment
 
In this case, the gaslighting was actually about gas (and coal, and oil).
 
Published on 6/5/2019
 
‘We Check Our Party Registration at the Door’
 
Hannah Kane, Massachusetts State Representative for 11th Worcester District, on the political environment at the State House and achieving bipartisan policies.
 
 
 
 
SPH in the Media
 
 
Psychology Today
 
American Health and COVID-19 — opinion by Dean Sandro Galea and Nason Maani, visiting researcher of epidemiology.
 
 
Newsweek
 
Amy Coney Barrett’s Ambivalence towards Medicare Raises Concerns about a Constitutional Challenge — quotes Alan Sager, professor of health law, policy & management.
 
 
Boston Globe
 
As Virus Cases Spike, Calls for a Nationwide Mask Mandate Accelerate — quotes Davidson Hamer, professor of global health; and Helen Jenkins, assistant professor of biostatistics.
 
 
Fortune
 
What Canada’s COVID Response Can Teach the US about Social Safety Nets — quotes Paul Shafer, assistant professor of health law, policy & management/a>.
 
 
Washington Post
 
US Hits Highest Daily Number of Coronavirus Cases Since Pandemic Began — quotes Eleanor Murray, assistant professor of epidemiology.
 
 
PolitiFact
 
No, Fight against Coronavirus Isn’t Rounding the Corner, as Donald Trump Said — quotes Brooke Nichols, assistant professor of global health.
 
 
View all media posts
 
 
 
Looking Ahead
 
 
Women in Science: What Is Still in the Way?
 
 
NOV 2
4:30 to 6 p.m.
 
 
Online
 
 
Virtual Open Office Hours with Dean Andrade
 
Tuesday, November 3, 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm, Online.
 
 
Community Conversation: Election Reflections
 
Wednesday, November 4, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm, Online.
 
 
View full SPH calendar
 
 
 
 
 
Boston University School of Public Health