Increasing Access To Contraception Episodes

New CDC surveillance data show encouraging declines in several sexually transmitted infections—but a troubling increase in syphilis among newborns. In this episode, the Director of the Division of STD Prevention at CDC's National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, Dr. Bradley Stoner, breaks down the key takeaways from the 2024 Provisional STI Surveillance report, including declines in chlamydia, gonorrhea, and primary and secondary syphilis, alongside the continued rise in congenital syphilis.

Francesca Provenzano, public health section chief of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response with the Connecticut Department of Public Health, discusses themes and insights from her term as chair of ASTHO’s Director of Public Health Preparedness Peer Network; Dr. Sara Collins, senior scholar for expanding coverage and access and tracking health system performance at The Commonwealth Fund, walks through some of the trends...

Elle Talsma, project supervisor for the INSPIRE Program at the Minnesota Department of Health, tells us how the program encourages students to take an interest in public health; Chris Baumgartner, deputy chief informatics officer at the Washington...

Kristin Peterson, chief of policy at the Washington State Department of Health, tells us why the data-sharing agreement with the Tulalip Tribe is historic; Dr. Kim Baker, assistant professor and assistant dean of practice at UT Health Houston School...

Dr. Heidi B. Miller, chief medical officer of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, explains how her state was able to see the first significant decline in drug overdose deaths in nearly a decade; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO senior director...

Lori Freeman, chief executive officer for the National Association of County and City Health Officials, discusses a new report from the CDC outlining the decline in required vaccine coverage among kindergartners; and Brittany Lee, ASTHO director of...

Liz Gipson, senior program officer at the Center for Health Care Strategies, discusses a case study about New Jersey contraception legislation that ASTHO partnered on; Catherine Jones, ASTHO senior analyst for Government Affairs, says the federal...

Amber Gibbar, health promotion coordinator for the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, says they have been working for years to dismantle communication barriers in retail food safety; Julia Rivera, program director for the Public Health AmeriCorps...

Kayley Humm, ASTHO Senior Analyst, discusses a new ASTHO report that outlines a series of overdose prevention policies for consideration by public health agencies; Sarah Bonk, Mental Health Disaster and Emergency Response Coordinator for Erie County,...

Congressman Raul Ruiz, from California’s 25th District who is also a doctor, worries there aren’t enough doctors trained to deal with infectious diseases; Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO Senior Vice President for Government Affairs and Public Relations,...

Dr. Jerome Adams, the 20th U.S. surgeon general and current executive director of Health Equity Initiatives at Purdue University, who was the Surgeon General during the pandemic discusses his new book; Maggie Davis, ASTHO director of State Health...

Dr. Lindsay Weaver, state health commissioner for the Indiana Department of Health, discusses the state’s campaign to increase investment in public health; Dr. Ralph Alvarado, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Public Health, explains how...

Dr. Jim McDonald, commissioner of Health, New York State Department of Health, gives an order that allows New York pharmacists to administer RSV vaccines to older adults and pregnant people without a prescription; de Beaumont President and CEO Dr....

Jessica Fepelstein, analyst, State and Community Engagement, ASTHO, explains the health equity core concepts work that is happening as part of the STRETCH Initiative; Dr. Esther Muna, chief executive officer and territorial health official for the...

Patricia Tilley, director, Division of Public Health Services with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, discusses ASTHO’s sexual and reproductive health policy statement; Meghan Fadel, associate director, Healthy Brain...

Dr. Robert Goldstein, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, says local agency partnerships are key to the success of new public health performance standards; Allison Nickrent, director of governmental affairs at the Illinois...

Diane Hall, Director of the CDC Office of Rural Health, outlines the office's priorities; Claire Rudolph, ASTHO Consultant and Assistant Director of the New York State Department of Health’s Child Health Bureau, discusses how childhood experiences...

Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, Professor of Clinical Population and Public Health Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine at USC, describes how drug shortages are making it tough to treat syphilis; Jazmyn Covington, ASTHO Director of Maternal and Infant...

Hear from the experts who participated in an ASTHO online briefing on the coming RSV season; Sophia Durant, ASTHO’s Analyst of Family and Child Health, says access to emergency contraception is a health equity issue; and an ASTHO virtual session...

Geetika Nadkarni, ASTHO’s Director of Chronic Infectious Disease, shares the award-winning Partnering for Vaccine Equity project which aims to increase vaccinations among diverse communities; Meredith Sussman, Vaccine Equity Project Manager for...

J.T. Lane, ASTHO’s Senior Vice President for Population Health and Innovation, explains recommendations to improve public health data systems; Brittany Lee, ASTHO’s Director of Family and Child Health, says public health education will play a role...

On Day Three of Public Health Week, Kelly Cleland, Executive Director of the American Society for Emergency Contraception, says college students need access to emergency contraception and related services; a new ASTHO blog article outlines how...

Dr. Jim McDonald, Medical Director for the New York State Department of Health, discusses the discovery of polio in wastewater in at least two NY counties; Carolyn McCoy, ASTHO’s Senior Director of Federal Government Affairs, explains legislation...

Sanaa Akbarali, ASTHO’s Senior Director for Maternal and Infant Health, discusses strategies to improve care for pregnant and postpartum people with opioid use disorder; ASTHO produces a special supplement for the American Journal of Public Health...