Host Claire Stinson welcomes you to a special year-end episode of Contagious Conversations focused on highlights from the 2023 season! Listen to selections from the year’s episodes on topics as diverse as heath threats facing Black women; training the next generation of public health professionals; and the respiratory triple threat posed by COVID-19, influenza and RSV. Highlights featured include the groundbreaking vaccination approach that led to the eradication of smallpox in 1980; how investigators zeroed in on the cause of an outbreak of a drug-resistant strain of pseudomonas aeruginosa fo ..read more

Doctors have long known that hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a leading risk factor for heart attack and stroke. Yet today, nearly half of all adults in the United States have hypertension, creating a silent public health threat. Host Dr. Judy Monroe is joined by Dr. Jerome Adams and Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel. Dr. Adams is a former U.S. Surgeon General of the United States and now serves as the executive director of Purdue University’s Health Equity Initiatives. Dr. Emanuel is vice provost for global initiatives and the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor at the Universit ..read more

Each year, fall means heading back to school for the nation’s students. But as students, teachers and school staff return again this year, the social, academic and mental health impacts of the pandemic are still being felt. In this episode, host Claire Stinson speaks with Heather Martel-Balfour about the mental health challenges faced by students and teachers in today's educational environment, and the approaches educational professionals used to cope with the strains of the workplace. Heather is a social worker and behavioral interventionist for a small rural school in southern Maine. She is ..read more

We're bringing you a special episode this month, as our president and CEO sits down for a conversation with Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH, the new director of the CDC and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Administrator. Dr. Cohen has extensive experience leading large and complex organizations and a proven track record protecting Americans’ health and safety. An internal medicine physician by training, Dr. Cohen led the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services during the COVID crisis, where she was lauded for her outstanding leadership and her focus on equity, data a ..read more

In 2022, a mysterious outbreak of a deadly drug-resistant bacteria began spreading across several U.S. states. A CDC investigation would eventually reveal an unusual culprit: common eye drops. In this episode, Dr. Danielle Rankin takes us behind the scenes of the investigation, sharing how they made their big break and what we've learned as a result. Dr. Rankin is an epidemiologist for the Antimicrobial Resistance Team in the Division of Healthcare Quality and Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prior to pursuing her PhD, she was an epidemiologist for the Florida Depar ..read more

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the eleventh leading cause of death for Americans overall. And sadly, our nation’s veterans face even higher rates of suicide. In this month's episode, we discuss the crisis of veteran suicide and the community-based preventative approaches being taken today. Joining us in this conversation is Nicola Winkel, project director for the Arizona Coalition for Military Families. ACMF is a nationally recognized public-private partnership focused on building Arizona's statewide capacity to care for, serve and support service membe ..read more

Physicians face many challenges in treating people living with pain, especially in light of the U.S. opioid overdose epidemic. In today's episode, we speak with Dr. Chris Jones on how physicians are handling these challenges, and the steps CDC is taking at a community level to help address the issue. Dr. Chris Jones is Director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Jones's career in public health includes leadership and advisory roles at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the U.S. Food a ..read more

As we emerge from the COVID public health emergency, it is a critical time to think about the future of public health. The next generation of public health workers will be charged with leading through the challenges that lie ahead. In this episode, we speak with Anna Heilers and Dr. Antoine Denis, two public health students who are preparing to meet these public health challenges of tomorrow. Anna is currently an MPH candidate at Indiana University, Purdue University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health. She works with the Indiana State Department of Health while in school, and during ..read more

April is National Minority Health Month, and this episode we're sitting down with Dr. Melody McCloud to discuss the health threats faced by minority women—Black women in particular—as well as the vital role of equity in public health. Dr. McCloud is an obstetrician-gynecologist who became the first black woman to establish an OB-GYN practice in DeKalb County, Georgia. Dr. McCloud is also the founder and medical director of Atlanta Women's Healthcare PC and lectures nationwide on women's health, sex and social issues. Her recent book, entitled Black Women's Wellness: Your "I've Got This!" Guide ..read more

You've probably heard a lot recently about the so-called "tridemic" or "tripledemic." This concurrent impact of COVID-19, influenza and RSV introduced major challenges to our public health system...but taught major lessons, too. David Snyder, director of content for the CDC Foundation, is your guest host for today’s episode. He's joined by Dr. Laura Evans, a professor in the Division of Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at the University of Washington and medical director of critical care at the University of Washington Medical Center. Dr. Evans also serves as the principal investigat ..read more