724: Gun Violence Is A PH Issue, Maternal Autopsies

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JANSON SILVERS: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Thursday, August 8, 2024. I'm Janson Silvers. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

Alabama is doing everything it can to save lives, even taking a closer look once a life is lost. ASTHO president-elect and Alabama state health officer, Dr. Scott Harris says his department just recently received more funding for their maternal mortality review committee, and are now adding in maternal autopsies.

SCOTT HARRIS: 

That program does a lot of things. It you know, does chart reviews and looks at labs and interviews. You know, people sometimes connected to a maternal death, but now another component that we've been able to add is autopsies, because there, you know, there are expenses and a lot of logistics involved. It takes a lot of coordination and takes some funding to support that effort.

SILVERS: 

Harris says maternal mortality disparities are so drastic, we need to do everything we can to figure out why women of color are dying at such a high rate compared to their white counterparts.

HARRIS: 

We spend a lot of time strategizing how to do that. Maternal autopsies are just one component. They're one important, but small component of those efforts to try to better understand that. We simply are seeking the most information we can about what led up to the death of somebody, either during pregnancy or in that first year after pregnancy.

SILVERS: 

Harris adds one of the larger challenges to the program is the general aversion to autopsies.

HARRIS: 

Part of this program involves talking to people in the community, people in the healthcare community, people in other areas of the community. Introducing them to the program, why it's important, and just sort of setting the stage, so that if the worst thing happens and that we find ourselves asking for an autopsy, people have some context and some understanding about why we're actually doing that.

SILVERS: 

Find out more about Alabama's new maternal autopsy program by using the link in the show notes.

CALLIANA THOMAS 

The surgeon general's report helped to uplift the need for a multidisciplinary approach that not only addresses the root causes of gun violence, but also leads to the need to improve health outcomes across the social determinants of health.

SILVERS: 

Calliana Thomas, director of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention in the New York State Department of Health discusses the surgeon general's recent decision to declare gun violence a public health issue. Thomas says public health wears many hats in this conversation.

THOMAS 

First, by supporting data driven approaches, community engagement and policy reform, as well as helping to lead collaboration across stakeholders for their patients.

SILVERS:  

Public health also plays a role in directly helping the communities they serve.

THOMAS 

Their collection and analysis of data also informs program and policy decisions for the communities most at risk. A great example of this is the department of health's priority to uplift gun violence in the Prevention Agenda, which local jurisdictions use to inform their priorities and strategies.

SILVERS: 

Thomas hopes the announcement pushes public health to continue their gun violence work.

THOMAS 

Being at the helm of truly understanding how we support the community's most at risk through evidence-based strategies is the core of public health work. And find ways to get active. Use the reports and better understand the different initiatives that are happening, and find ways to get active within your local jurisdictions. Your help is needed.

SILVERS: 

We have a link to the Surgeon General's full announcement and report in the show notes.

As more jurisdictions aim to establish an office of health equity, Rohan Radhakrishna, the chief equity officer and deputy director at the California Department of Public Health Office of Health Equity, says one of their top priorities was ensuring the office sticks around for the long term.

ROHAN RADHAKRISHNA 

Number one is strategically positioning an office of equity for generational success that will last across administrations. What I mean by that, is giving it statutory authority, so it won't come and go. We don't want equity to be a buzz word for this decade. We want it to really be baked in and built in, so it's untouchable. As it goes deeper into policies and procedures.

SILVERS: 

Hear more interviews like this in the latest episode of the Public Health Review podcast available now. There's a link to the episode in the show notes.

Finally, today, how do workplace connections affect burnout? O'Keyla Cooper explains.

O'KEYLA COOPER: 

A new ASTHO blog article explains how fostering workplace connections reduces burnout and improves teamwork, benefiting public health services. Learn how leaders can effectively promote these connections, particularly in remote and hybrid settings. Read the full blog article by clicking the link in the show notes.

SILVERS: 

That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information.

I'm Janson Silvers. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition.

Have a great day.