About this Recording

The COVID-19 pandemic was coupled with an increase in poor mental health and substance use worldwide. How will we address mental health moving forward given what we learned during the pandemic? This program is a part of “The Next Normal” series, designed to take a moment to pause and ask, as we emerge from the pandemic, what we have learned and why, in order to promote the health of all, we cannot return to pre-pandemic normal.

What you'll learn

At the end of the recording, participants will be able to:

• Discuss mental health as a public health problem in the US, even prior to COVID-19 pandemic.
• Describe sources of psychologic distress during the pandemic and resulting effects on mental health problems in particularly affected populations
• Discuss the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of Black Americans and persons with disabilities and strategies to address it going forward
• Discuss systems-level barriers to accessing mental health services that must be addressed
• Identify 4 specific actions that can be taken to improve the “next normal” in public mental health"

Moderator

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  Lynn Jolicoeur
  @LMJOLICOEUR
  

  Producer and Reporter, WBUR

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Lynn Jolicoeur is a senior field producer, reporter and editor at WBUR. As field producer, she researches and writes host interview segments and feature stories on a vast array of topics for the signature early-evening news program, All Things Considered. Lynn also reports for the station’s local broadcasts (with some stories airing nationally on NPR, as well). She has developed beats covering mental health and homelessness, and most recently she’s reported on the pandemic’s impact on both. Lynn is particularly passionate about reporting on the issue of suicide. In 2015 she produced and reported a 15-part, yearlong series on the suicide crisis. She has reported in depth on efforts to end chronic homelessness and weaknesses in the system for sheltering and housing adults experiencing homelessness. Prior to working at WBUR, Lynn was a television reporter for 18 years – most recently at Boston’s WCVB-TV Channel 5. She covered areas from crime and the justice system to politics, medicine, and social issues.


Subject Matter Experts


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  M. Daniele Fallin
  @FALLINDANI
  

  Chair, Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
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M. Daniele Fallin, PhD, studies how environments, behaviors, genetic variation, and epigenetic variation contribute to risk for psychiatric disease, with a focus on autism.

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  Briana Mezuk
  @UMICHSPH
  

  Director, Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health, University of Michigan

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Dr. Mezuk is the Director of the Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health and is an Associate Chair in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She is a psychiatric epidemiologist whose research focuses on understanding the intersections of mental and physical health. Much of her work has examined the consequences of depression for medical morbidity and functioning in mid- and late-life, with particular attention to metabolic diseases such as diabetes and frailty. She is also the Director of the Michigan Integrative Well-Being and Inequalities (MIWI) Training Program, a NIH-funded methods training program that supports innovative, interdisciplinary research on the interrelationships between mental and physical health as they relate to health disparities. She is committed to translating research into practice, and since 2013 has collaborated with partners at the YMCA on evaluating and augmenting their diabetes self-management programming to incorporate psychosocial aspects of health. Finally, she writes a blog for Psychology Today called “Ask an Epidemiologist."

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  Courtney Thomas Tobin
  @DRTHOMASTOBIN
  

  Assistant Professor, University of California Los Angeles Fielding School of Public Health

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Dr. Thomas Tobin is trained as a medical sociologist and use mixed-method and transdisciplinary approaches to examine psychosocial sources of risk and resilience and their impact on the psychophysiological health of Black Americans across the life course. Summary of Research: A central focus of Dr. Thomas Tobin’s research is the conceptualization and assessment of race-based stress and coping experiences among the U.S. Black population. In one study, Dr. Thomas Tobin found that experiencing subtle or ambiguous discrimination increases Blacks’ risk of poor psychological and physiological functioning and may be more detrimental than more blatant discriminatory treatment. This work motivated the development of Dr. Thomas Tobin’s “Racial Self-Awareness Framework of Race-Based Stress, Coping, and Health,” which clarifies environmental, sociocultural, and behavioral health processes by spotlighting “racial self-awareness” (RSA), the heightened sense of awareness of one’s racial minority status within a majority context. Results from a recent qualitative study suggest that (1) RSA represents additional cognitive effort that is physically and emotionally taxing, (2) RSA shapes Blacks’ perceptions of and responses to general and race-based stressors, and (3) Blacks employ a range of behavioral coping strategies to reduce the strain of RSA.

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  Katie Wang
  @YALESPH
  

  Assistant Professor,
  Yale School of
  Public Health

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Dr. Wang’s research broadly focuses on the role of stigma as a psychosocial determinant of mental and behavioral health disparities among diverse marginalized populations. She received a K01 mentored scientist career development award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to investigate the associations among mental illness stigma, emotion dysfunction (i.e., intense, prolonged negative affect and/or difficulties in regulating one’s emotions), and substance use among adults with depression. Some methodological approaches utilized to accomplish this research include psychophysiological assessments (e.g., heart rate variability, salivary cortisol) and ecological momentary assessment (e.g., daily diaries). Dr. Wang is also involved in a number of projects that examines the health inequities facing people with disabilities, including a mixed-method study on the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the disability community.

Registration

Select the Enroll Me button below to register for this recording. If you have any trouble accessing the recording, contact support@nephtc.org.

_{Acknowledgement: This project is/was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31685 “Regional Public Health Training Center Program.” This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.}

About this Recording

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of politics and policies in mobilizing and protecting the public. What can we learn from the political failures and successes of the Covid-19 era to create a healthier world? This program is a part of “The Next Normal” series, designed to take a moment to pause and ask, as we emerge from the pandemic, what we have learned and why, in order to promote the health of all, we cannot return to pre-pandemic normal.

What you'll learn

At the end of the recording, participants will be able to:

• Describe evidence that “all policy is health policy”
• Discuss considerations in developing improved health-promoting practices to improve health for all
• Identify challenges and opportunities for political scientists and policy makers highlighted by the pandemic
• Describe current social and political factors that influence the ability to implement effective, evidence-based policies

Subject Matter Experts

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  Kellie Carter Jackson
  @KCARTERJACKSON
  

  Knafel Assistant Professor of Humanities, Wellesley College
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Kellie Carter Jackson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Africana Studies at Wellesley College. Her book, Force & Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence, provides the first historical analysis exclusively focused on the use of violence among antebellum black activists. Force and Freedom won the James H. Broussard Best First Book Prize, was a finalist for the Frederick Douglass Book Prize, a finalist for the Museum of African American History Stone Book Prize and listed among 13 books to read on African American History by the Washington Post. Her essays have been featured in The New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, NPR, Time, The Conversation, Boston’s NPR, among other outlets. She has also been interviewed for her expertise for MSNBC, SkyNews (UK) The New York Times, The Guardian, PBS, Vox, The Huff Post, C-SPAN, the BBC, Boston Public Radio, Al Jazeera International, and Slate. She has been featured in a host of documentaries and podcasts on history and race in the United States. Carter Jackson is also a commissioner for the Massachusetts Historical Commission, where she represents the Museum of African American History in Boston. Lastly, she is the co-host of the podcast, “This Day in Esoteric Political History.” You can follow her on Twitter @kcarterjackson.

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  Sandra Barnes
  @SANDRALBARNES1
  
  

  Professor, Vanderbilt University

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Dr. Sandra L. Barnes has been a joint appointed Professor in the Dept. of Human and Organizational Development and the School of Divinity since 2008. She also served as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion from 2016-2018. Her research and teaching areas include: Sociology of Religion, inequality, urban sociology, statistics, and African American studies. Dr. Barnes received a B.S. degree (1986) in mathematics and economics from Fisk University in Nashville, TN. She also earned Masters degrees from Georgia Institute of Technology (1989) and the Interdenominational Theological Center (1995) and the Ph.D. degree (1999) in Sociology from Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA. Phi Beta Kappa, her record includes: 9 books; 3 edited volumes; over 60 peer-reviewed articles; 10 book chapters; and, PI or Co-PI on grants totaling over $2.5 million dollars. Her articles have been published in SOCIAL FORCES, Social Problems, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, and Journal of African American Studies. She also created and developed the Emmy-nominated documentary, “Gary, Indiana: A Tale of Two Cities” (with Cinematicfocus). She recently completed another documentary on the public education system in the same city (“About the Kids: Volumes 1 and 2”). Barnes has presented her research in Beijing, China, Curitiba, Brazil, Dublin, Ireland, and at the Congressional Black Caucus of the Congress of the United States, Washington, D.C. Her recent book publication, Kings of Mississippi: Race, Religious Education, and the Making of a Middle-Class Black Family in the Segregated South (Cambridge University Press 2019), is a multi-disciplinary, mixed-methodological historiography about the trek into the middle class of a Black farming family in Mississippi.

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  David Bateman
  @DAVIDALEXBATEMA
  
  

  Associate Professor, Cornell University

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David A. Bateman is an associate professor in the Government Department at Cornell University, where he is one of the co-directors of the Politics of Race, Immigration, Class, and Ethnicity (PRICE) Initiative. His research focuses on the structures and ideologies of racism as well as on democratic institutions, including voting rights, Congress, state constitutions, and US labor law. His current projects include studies of post-Reconstruction Black politics, of the ideas and institutional organization of industrial democracy in the early 20th century US, and of the changing intellectual understandings of how democracy related to diversity from the 19th century to today. He is the author of Disenfranchising Democracy: Constructing the Electorate in the United States, United Kingdom, and France, and co-author (with Ira Katznelson and John Lapinski) of Southern Nation: Congress and White Supremacy After Reconstruction. He has published widely in journals such as the American Journal of Political Science, Studies in American Political Development, Public Choice, The Forum, and Perspectives on Politics.

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  Kavita Patel
  @KAVITAPMD
  

  Primary Care Physician and Nonresident Fellow, Brookings Institution

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Kavita Patel is a Nonresident Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Previously, she was the managing director of clinical transformation at the Center for Health Policy at Brookings. Dr. Patel is an advisor to the Bipartisan Policy Center and a member of Health and Human Services Physician Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee. Dr. Patel is a primary care physician in Washington, DC. She also served in the Obama Administration as director of policy for the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Engagement in the White House. As a senior aide to Valerie Jarrett, President Obama’s senior advisor, Dr. Patel played a critical role in policy development and evaluation of policy initiatives connected to health reform, financial regulatory reform, and economic recovery issues. Dr. Patel also has a deep understanding of Capitol Hill from her time spent on the late Senator Edward Kennedy’s staff. As deputy staff director on health, she served as a policy analyst and trusted aide to the Senator and was part of the senior staff of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee under Sen. Kennedy’s leadership. She also has an extensive research and clinical background, having worked as a researcher at the RAND Corporation and as a practicing physician in both California and Oregon. She currently advises health care technology and services organizations through New Enterprise Associates. Dr. Patel a previous Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar, and while at Brookings, returned to providing clinical care as an internal medicine practitioner. She earned her medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center and her masters in public health from the University of California Los Angeles.

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  Kay Lazar
  @GLOBEKAYLAZAR
  

  MODERATOR Health Reporter, The Boston Globe

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Kay Lazar is a health reporter who specializes in holding public institutions accountable..She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in national reporting in 2013 as part of a Globe team that covered a deadly fungal meningitis outbreak. She received a 2013 National Press Club award for excellence in writing on issues facing the elderly. Kay joined the Globe in 2004.

Registration

Select the Enroll Me button below to register for this recording. If you have any trouble accessing the recording, contact support@nephtc.org.

_{Acknowledgement: This project is/was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31685 “Regional Public Health Training Center Program.” This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.}

About this Recording

Join us for a conversation about vaccine confidence and hesitancy with Dr. Heidi Larson. Dr. Larson’s new book, Stuck: How Vaccine Rumors Start — and Why They Don’t Go Away examines the origin of vaccine hesitancy and the efforts to address the anxiety and reluctance surrounding them..

What you'll learn

At the end of the recording, participants will be able to:

• List determinants of vaccine hesitancy identified from a historical perspective, related to contextual influences, individual/social group influences, and vaccine and vaccination-specific issues.
• Describe the findings of a December 2020 international survey about intent to take vaccine when available, including variability across countries and factors associated with intent
• Describe the effect of exposure to misinformation on willingness to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in the US and UK
• List the 4 factors included in the Vaccine Confidence Index
• Describe effective health communication strategies and specific words in promoting vaccine use.

Subject Matter Experts

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  Heidi Larson
  @PROFHEIDILARSON
  
  Professor, Founding Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
  

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  Sandro Galea
  @SANDROGALEA
  
  MODERATOR
  Dean and Robert A Knox Professor, Boston University School of Public Health
  

Registration

Select the Enroll Me button below to register for this recording. If you have any trouble accessing the recording, contact support@nephtc.org.

_{Acknowledgement: This project is/was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31685 “Regional Public Health Training Center Program.” This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.}

About this Recording

SPH Reads is a school-wide reading program hosted by the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice. The 2021 book selection is Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret, by Catherine Coleman Flowers.

What you'll learn

At the end of the recording, participants will be able to:

• Discuss waste water infrastructure as an example of environmental injustice
• Identify examples of systemic racism and classism that have negatively affected health in the United States
• Identify possible specific activities individuals can participate in to address large issues of climate change and structural racism

Subject Matter Experts

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  Catherine Coleman Flowers
  @CATHFLOWERS

  Environmental and Climate Justice Activist, Author

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Catherine Coleman Flowers is an internationally recognized environmental activist, MacArthur “genius” grant recipient, and author. She has dedicated her life’s work to advocating for environmental justice, primarily equal access to clean water and functional sanitation for communities across the United States. Founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice (CREEJ), Flowers has spent her career promoting equal access to clean water, air, sanitation, and soil to reduce health and economic disparities in marginalized, rural communities. In addition, Flowers serves as Rural Development Manager for Bryan Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), is a Board Member for the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary, and sits on the Board of Directors for the Climate Reality Project and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Flowers is also Co-Chair of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Commission on Accelerating Climate Action and Practitioner in Residence at Duke University. In 2021, her leadership and fervor in fighting for solutions to these issues led her to one of her most notable appointments yet — Vice Chair of the Biden Administration’s inaugural White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. Flowers was also named Levenick Resident Scholar in Sustainable Leadership at the University of Illinois for the spring 2021 and was awarded an honorary PhD in science from Wesleyan University. As the author of Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret, Flowers shares her inspiring story of advocacy, from childhood to environmental justice champion. She discusses sanitation and its correlation with systemic class, racial, and geographic prejudice that affects people across the United States. She has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and on PBS.

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  Barbara Moran
  @MORANWRITER
  

  Moderator
  Senior Producing Editor
  WBUR

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Barbara Moran, environmental editor, WBUR For more than 20 years, Moran has worked as a science journalist committed to covering issues of public health, environmental justice and the intersection of science and society. She has written for many publications, including The New York Times, New Scientist, Technology Review and the Boston Globe Magazine, and produced television documentaries for PBS and others. A few years ago she added radio reporting to her repertoire, and now runs WBUR’s three-person environmental team, which covers stories about energy, ecology and environmental justice for Boston and beyond. She was a Knight Fellow at MIT, and was twice awarded the National Association of Science Writers’ highest honor, the Science in Society Award.

Registration

Select the Enroll Me button below to register for this recording. If you have any trouble accessing the recording, contact support@nephtc.org.

_{Acknowledgement: This project is/was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31685 “Regional Public Health Training Center Program.” This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.}