Public Health Law Blog Archive

In the days following the horrible shooting which killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, many people expressed ideas about how to prevent tragedies like this from reoccurring. How could we have prevented this incident, and how can we protect the public in the future? These were questions that the public immediately wanted answered. 

As a follow-up to the recent Student Network Career Panel Webinar, presenter Brooke Courtney, Regulatory Counsel in the Office of Counterterrorism and Emerging Threats at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, answers a few more questions submitted by students and describes the educational experiences and career path that led to her current position.

If you’ve glanced at a TV or newspaper recently, you’ve probably heard about the “fiscal cliff.” But if the news reports you’ve been hearing are like the ones I’ve been hearing, you probably have a few cliff-related questions:  What exactly is it? Where did it come from? And what does it mean for public health?

Milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans: These eight foods account for over 90 percent of all food allergy reactions in the United States. Most students can freely enjoy their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but a growing number of children, nearly six million, have food allergies that can lead to serious reactions.

The Population Health approach looks at whole societies in determining the causes behind a community’s health. It helps us to see that the USA has worse health outcomes than some poor countries, despite spending close to half of the world’s health care bill.