The US obesity epidemic is costing Americans more and more each year. It’s not just the decreased quality of life that it causes, but it causes a whole host of downstream problems like diabetes and circulatory problems. Type 2 diabetes had been a disease of folks over 40 that became seriously overweight over time- but [...]
Throughout history, mankind’s future was largely determined by fate. Infectious diseases like Diphtheria and Smallpox could wipe out an entire family in just a few days. People were vulnerable to outside threats ranging from a lack of clean drinking water to poor sanitation to gaps in environmental infrastructure that led to a host of infectious [...]
When’s the last time you heard anything about the pandemic? It’s been awhile, huh? Well, it’s still around. The number of cases is back down to where it was this summer, with cases here and there. Nothing like it was last October- but the flu is still out there. We’re still encouraging the stragglers to [...]
Perhaps nothing in public is more controversial than the question of what is the best way to delay sexual activity in youth. Some say abstinence education is the best way. Some say it’s a more broad approach and boosting self esteem. Some say it’s keeping kids involved in sports and other activities. Some people say [...]
One of our Department priorities over the last couple of years has been to better develop Arizona’s TRAUMA SYSTEM. Here’s a thumbnail sketch of why having a system of trauma care is so important: More than 24,000 people are severely injured (called trauma) every year in Arizona. More than 60% of these severe injuries occur [...]
The Trust for America’s Health released a report about adult immunization rates across the country last week at: healthyamericans.org. The Complete Report (PDF 0.2Mb) provides all of the details… but for a snapshot, the report says that about 69% of Arizona’s seniors have been vaccinated for pneumococcal disease. Vaccinations are an important part of public [...]
The Governor called a special session of the Legislature this week (special session) to address various budget issues including education rollover payment issues, additional sale and leaseback issues, a sales tax referral, and a proration of income tax for out-of-state filers. All of these matters have a link to our budget and the future of [...]
The Governor called a special session of the Legislature this week (special session) to address various budget issues including education rollover payment issues, additional sale and leaseback issues, a sales tax referral, and a proration of income tax for out-of-state filers. All of these matters have a link to our budget and the future of [...]
We started on this journey together a year ago. Thanks for being such good traveling companions. We’ve been through a lot. We’ve had challenges, fears, anxiety, good times, laughs, & fun. We’ve sacrificed some of our programs, but we’ve made a great deal of progress too. Overall- the year was a net plus. I say [...]
An article published in the journal Lancet nearly 12 years ago set the public health world on fire. The article published by Wakefield and 12 other authors suggested that they had found a link between the MMR (measles mumps rubella) vaccine and autism and bowel disease. Since that time, a great deal of research has [...]
