Public Health Matters Blog Posts

Give & Take Bins Serve as Small-Scale Food Pantries

A person reaches into a plastic bin filled with nonperishable food and other supplies

In observance of National Preparedness Month, the Center for Preparedness and Response (CPR) will publish posts in September that highlight ways people and organizations are helping to “create community” where they live. This student-authored post is published by CPR in partnership with Medill News Service and the Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Read More >

Posted on by Carlyn Kranking, Northwestern University8 CommentsTags , , , , ,

It’s National Radio Day, Over.

Hand turning knob on vintage radio

August 20 is National Radio Day (#NationalRadioDay), an annual observance dedicated to the invention and history of radio. The more things change, the more they stay the same. The same could be said for radio. Radio was in its heyday and remains—more than a century later—an effective medium of mass communication. For a long time, Read More >

Posted on by Blog Administrator1 CommentTags , , , , ,

AFM is Serious: Know the Symptoms. Act Fast.

Little girl in wheelchair

Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) is a serious neurologic condition that causes limb weakness and paralysis. While uncommon, AFM affects mostly children, and can have devastating, long-term effects for patients and their families. There have been three AFM outbreaks in the United States—in 2014, 2016, and 2018. If this biennial pattern continues, another outbreak might occur Read More >

Posted on by Blog Administrator3 CommentsTags , , , , , , , , ,

Probabilities, Not Promises: How Computer Models are Used in Emergency Preparedness & Response

Computer models are not crystal balls. They are the result of a set of variables going through mathematical algorithms. What comes out is a simulation of what might happen if present truths are accurate predictors of future trends. Models show probabilities; they don’t make promises. Models have many applications. Epidemiologists use them to predict disease Read More >

Posted on by Blog Administrator2 CommentsTags , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Summer Like No Other: How to Stay Safe and Healthy This Season

Summer lawn with Child

If you’ve been hearing the phrase “the new normal” lately and wondering what it means, the writers of the Oxford Dictionary define it as “a previously unfamiliar or atypical situation that has become standard, usual or expected.” (1) Summer this year is going to be a little different than it has been in years past, Read More >

Posted on by Blog Administrator4 CommentsTags , , , , , , , ,

The Hero Within: Knowing Hands-Only CPR & How To Use An AED Can Save Lives

Performing CPR

The first week of June was National CPR/AED Awareness Week. In belated observance, Public Health Matters looks at how people can confidently help someone in cardiac arrest. The numbers are staggering. About 350,000 people have a cardiac arrest outside of the hospital each year, and about 9 in 10 of them die. (1) Bystanders and Read More >

Posted on by Blog Administrator9 CommentsTags , , , , , , , , , , , , ,