Cost of wastewater-based environmental surveillance for SARS-CoV-2: Evidence from pilot sites in Blantyre, Malawi and Kathmandu, Nepal

Abstract Environmental surveillance of rivers and wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 detection has been explored as an innovative way to surveil the pandemic. This study estimated the economic costs of conducting wastewater-based environmental surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 to inform decision making if countries consider continuing these efforts. We estimated the cost of two SARS-CoV-2 environmental surveillance pilot studies […]

Continue Reading

Mass Shootings Reopen the Debate Over Whether Crime Scene Photos Prompt Change or Trauma

McCLELLANVILLE, S.C. — John Lites was one of the first police officers to respond to a 911 call from Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17, 2015, when a white gunman murdered nine Black people attending a Bible study. Lites arrived at the scene only minutes after the first […]

Continue Reading

What Germany’s Coal Miners Can Teach America About Medical Debt

Noam N. Levey PÜTTLINGEN, Germany — Almost every day, Dr. Eckart Rolshoven sees the long shadow of coal mining in his clinic near the big brownstone church that dominates this small town in Germany’s Saarland. The region’s last-operating coal shaft, just a few miles away, closed a decade ago, ending centuries of mining in the […]

Continue Reading

To Combat Gun Violence, This Artist Turns Ammunition Into Art

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — As a child, Mykael Ash enjoyed picking up seashells near the Mississippi Gulf Coast. His grandfather lives there, so trips to the beach were a regular part of life. “It’s peaceful energy,” Ash said. “Especially when you put that seashell to your ear.” At age 32, he still collects shells. […]

Continue Reading

Squeezed by Temp Nurse Costs, Hospital Systems Create Their Own Staffing Agencies

Like many nurses these days, Alex Scala got a big pay hike when she switched jobs recently. Scala also received a welcome mix of assignments when she joined Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network. She signed on with a newly created team that works shifts in various units within the system’s 14 hospitals. After working as a […]

Continue Reading

“I see salt everywhere”: A qualitative examination of the utility of arts-based participatory workshops to study noncommunicable diseases in Tanzania and Malawi

Abstract The burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) including hypertension, diabetes, and cancer, is rising in Sub-Saharan African countries like Tanzania and Malawi. This increase reflects complex interactions between diverse social, environmental, biological, and political factors. To intervene successfully, new approaches are therefore needed to understand how local knowledges and attitudes towards common NCDs influence health […]

Continue Reading

Readers and Tweeters Chime In on Disability Rights and Drug Discounts

Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. Coming Full Circle on Protections for Those With Disabilities As a retired special education teacher, I’m wondering why our elderly in retirement homes aren’t covered by the American with Disabilities Act […]

Continue Reading

HIV risk perception and sexual behavior among HIV-uninfected men and transgender women who have sex with men in sub-Saharan Africa: Findings from the HPTN 075 qualitative sub-study

Abstract There remains a limited understanding of how men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women (TGW) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) perceive their risk for HIV and how risk influences behavior during sexual interactions. We performed thematic analysis on in-depth interviews from the qualitative sub-study of HPTN 075 in Kenya, Malawi, and South […]

Continue Reading

An Air Force Career Held up Because of Debt Owed for Medical Bills

Aneri Pattani “If you need people to be there for the country and to fight for the country, why would you hold them up for a medical bill?” Samaria Bradford Samaria Bradford, 27, Goldsboro, North Carolina  Approximate Medical Debt: $5,000  Medical Issue: Emergency room care  What Happened: In late August 2022, Samaria Bradford was prepared […]

Continue Reading

Number of antenatal care visits and associated factors among reproductive age women in Sub-Saharan Africa using recent demographic and health survey data from 2008–2019: A multilevel negative binomial regression model

Abstract Background Antenatal care is one of the best strategies for maternal and neonatal mortality reduction. There is a paucity of evidence on the mean number of ANC visits and associated factors in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This study aimed to investigate the mean number of ANC visits and associated factors among reproductive-age women in Sub-Saharan […]

Continue Reading