- How are public health students impacted by a weakened public health emergency preparedness system?
CaptionResizeWrap TextRemoveSupport for, and trust in, public health is at a nadir. Recent accomplishments include the rapid development and approval of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, effective mpox response, declines in opioid overdose deaths through harm reduction, and evidence-based public health initiatives addressing root causes of gun violence. Despite these initiatives, which have significantly reduced the population-level impact of injury and illness, perceived missteps in the management of COVID-19, pervasive mis- and disinformation, increasing public distrust, and a lack of financial support have contributed to the deterioration of public health’s ability to respond to disasters and emergencies. The impact of false narratives and disinvestments interrupt the public health workforce pipeline, denying students opportunities to be trained for and participate in public health emergency preparedness activities. In 2003, I began my career as a disaster epidemiologist conducting household interviews for rapid needs assessments being conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the N.C. Division of Public Health, and the University of North Carolina following Hurricane Isabel.For more than two decades, I deployed with students in partnership with local, state, and federal public health agencies to respond to disasters and collect data that contributed to both the immediate and long-term mitigation of the negative health impacts of disasters.This work, conducted in communities across the United States, is only possible because of a community’s trust in public health agencies and individuals’ willingness to share their postdisaster needs with our interview teams, which typically include a public health student and a local resident.The collection of perishable data in postdisaster contexts is challenging regardless of circumstance, and alterations have been made over time to ensure better representation of pregnant women, migrant workers, and rural populations in these postdisaster assessments. Yet, these assessments would not be possible at all without trusted connections between governmental agencies, academic public health, and disaster-affected communities.Politicization threatens our ability to respondPoliticization of disaster response and disaster assistance, and the mis- and disinformation that has now become prevalent around it, make it more difficult to collect these data. Following Hurricane Helene, one of my public health students at the University of Delaware worked with the western North Carolina nonprofit Sustaining Essential and Rural Community Healthcare to conduct key informant interviews and a Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response community survey. Both officials and residents reported that misinformation took time and attention away from response activities and disinformation led residents to distrust the response and recovery.After the pandemic, we have a dramatically under-resourced public health preparedness and response system, even in the face of more frequent and severe disasters and public health emergencies. These challenges will continue to mount as the Trump administration dismantles not only public health but also science more broadly. If the administration continues with their stated intent to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research, this will further limit our ability to understand the human health impacts of extreme weather and weather-related hazards associated with climate change. This comes after significant damage to other federal agencies, including the CDC, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, all of whom monitor and collect data on disasters caused by natural, biological, and technological or industrial hazards and risks.A weakened workforce pipelineWith the rapidly changing landscape, students are learning about “how things used to be,” with an asterisk next to almost all federal disaster and public health policies and legal frameworks noting that the material could be outdated quickly. However, it is important that students are aware of the mechanisms and functionalities that have existed before this most recent political upheaval. For new public health professionals to help build back programs in more sustainable and resilient ways, it is vital that they have a comprehensive understanding of the policies that were dismantled, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. However, limited job opportunities and ongoing uncertainty will steer this generation of public health students away from governmental public health careers, leaving a long-term deficit of expertise.The difference between an emergency and a disaster is that in an emergency, actions can be taken to avoid a disaster, which exceeds the capacity of an impacted community. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) workforce is 20% smaller under the Trump administration, and mitigation grants through the Flood Mitigation Assistance and Building Resiliency Infrastructure and Communities programs have been eliminated. Reducing community capacity to manage social, systemic, and infrastructural risks through disaster risk reduction, mitigation, and anticipatory action will result in emergencies more frequently progressing into disasters. Furthermore, without federal capacity to respond in agencies like FEMA or CDC, the risks that a given emergency will become a disaster also drastically increase simply because of the ways resources are allocated. Students will no longer have the opportunity to participate in fieldwork when there are no federally supported disaster responses or to learn about disaster epidemiology when there is no longer funding for academic programs that teach students public health in complex emergencies and disaster epidemiology concepts. A safety net that is frayed in nondisaster times will simply unravel during a public health emergency.Overall, it is critical for both the current and future public health workforce to continue to work to identify and understand the social drivers of health and the ways in which the current regulatory, technological, and political moment is affecting public health in both the short and long term. Discussing the ongoing stress impacts of the “triple disaster” in Japan in 2011 (i.e., earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident at the Fukushima power plant), Adam highlighted the importance of identifying and understanding the impacts of new and unexpected stressors on population health.A call to action Borrowing from this framing, the next generation of public health professionals must now begin to engage in quantifying the public health impacts of these policies to generate the essential evidence base for the future reinvestment in, and reinvigoration of, public health emergency preparedness.Current public health students can begin to actively capture the baseline state of public health, commit to ongoing active surveillance and measurement, and engage with both objective measures of health and self-reported perceptions to track how the human-made and unexpected stressors like artificial intelligence, climate change, and political polarization may affect us.While being “political” has often been seen as a negative for public health officials, now is not the time for public health students to be insular or isolated. Although engaging with the political, legislative, legal, and business sectors as a public health student or professional may feel daunting, public health must now more than ever engage with a variety of new partners and tools for public health practice. We cannot respond to the current attacks on public health in isolation. Businesses must speak up regarding how important a healthy and safe workforce is to their success. Local officials must advocate for the health of their residents and communities.The long-held sovereignty of local public health governance must give way to regional collaborations like the recently announced Northeast Public Health Collaborative, which brings together 10 states and New York City to work together on issues like vaccine policy, public health financing, and public health data collection, management, and analysis.Public health has always had the impetus to protect previous achievements—vaccination, robust surveillance systems, workplace and environmental safety, maternal and child health, reducing health disparities—through monitoring and evaluation, education, regulatory enforcement, and other essential public health services. For public health students, now is the time to find your passion, engage with partners that can support you, and prepare to lead.
- What is the best way to photograph the March blood moon?
Unlike during a solar eclipse, no special safety precautions are necessary – it's perfectly safe to look at the moon (in or out of a lunar eclipse) with the naked eye. A pair of even low-power binoculars will certainly help show the moon in more detail. For photographing the moon, I would recommend a camera with some optical zoom – the moon is only about 0.5 degrees across. Because of the low lighting conditions, a tripod or other support would be helpful since a longer exposure time will be needed.
- How can job candidates successfully navigate AI-driven interviews?
AI interviews have become common practice in today’s hiring process. Even though a job candidate is talking to a computer and not a person, it’s important for them to treat this process the same as any other interview. Most AI platforms don’t just record answers, they also provide an analysis of interviews including keywords, clarity, depth of examples, confidence, tone, eye contact and facial expressions. While AI does not make the final hiring decision, it will provide a score or summary that recruiters could use to determine if a candidate moves on to the next round. These quick tips can help candidates prepare for these types of interviews.Before you record:• Check equipment to make sure everything is working and the software is updated. • Dress professionally including a jacket if appropriate.• Set up your space with good lighting, a neutral background, and turn off all notifications to avoid distractions.• Prepare as you would for any other interview - review the job description, research the organization, use the STAR method when providing examples.During the recording:• Be sure to look at the camera and not the screen. It might feel awkward but that’s technically where the "eye contact" will be.• Smile and be energetic as some AI software will assess your tone and engagement.• If you stumble, keep going. Your answers don’t have to be perfect but should be authentic.After the recording:• Some platforms will allow you to review your recording before submitting. Use this opportunity to take notes about your body language, pacing and clarity.• Keep track of the questions you were asked as they can help you prepare for similar questions in future interviews.
- Who will feel the impact of Venezuela's leadership change the most?
Across much of the Caribbean, the collapse of the Maduro regime has been met with a restrained but unmistakable sense of relief. Yet beneath the diplomatic restraint lies a shared understanding: for small island states that have absorbed the spillover effects of Venezuelan collapse for more than two decades, this moment represents the possible end of a long and destabilizing chapter. Migration pressures were immediate. By 2025, nearly seven million Venezuelan refugees and migrants were living in Latin America and the Caribbean. While mainland countries absorbed the largest absolute numbers, Caribbean islands faced some of the most intense per-capita impacts. Trinidad and Tobago hosted an estimated 45,000 to more than 70,000 Venezuelans in a population of roughly 1.5 million, placing sustained strain on schools, healthcare access, housing markets, and immigration systems. Against this backdrop, it is unsurprising that the end of the Maduro regime has been quietly welcomed. This moment also invites a reassessment of China’s expanding footprint in the Caribbean. Over the past decade, Beijing has deepened its presence through port infrastructure, telecommunications, energy projects, concessional lending, and diplomatic engagement, often filling financing gaps when Western attention appeared episodic. The emerging environment is one of recalibration rather than rupture. Caribbean governments are navigating a landscape in which external engagement is becoming more consequential, not less. Geography has not changed, but expectations have.What to watch nextAs this transition unfolds, several policy developments will determine whether cautious optimism proves warranted.First, whether Venezuelan outward migration to the Caribbean measurably slows. Sustained declines or credible pathways for voluntary return would be the clearest indicator that conditions inside Venezuela are stabilizing.Second, whether Caribbean public systems receive durable support rather than short-term humanitarian fixes. Education, healthcare, housing, and immigration systems absorbed migration pressures for years; meaningful relief will require budget support and institutional strengthening, not emergency framing alone .Third, whether organized crime and drug trafficking pressures in the Caribbean basin begin to ease.Finally, whether the region avoids a return to dependency-driven energy and infrastructure politics.For the Caribbean, hope today is not naïve. It is conditional. The Chávez–Maduro years imposed real costs on the region. Maduro’s end creates an opening for an intriguing turn in the historic relations with the US, the region’s most important economic partner.
- What are ways to experience genuine happiness this holiday season?
Gratitude and giving thanks has benefits for both the giver and the receiver. It makes both parties feel good, and provides a real-life human connection at a time when those are hard to come by. "Investing in doing is a better route to social connection than spending on having," says Amit Kumar of the University of Delaware. He has a number of ways to achieve happiness during the holidays. To contact Kumar directly and arrange an interview, visit his profile and click on the contact button. Interested reporters can also send an email to mediarelations@udel.edu.
- How can I use AI responsibly in the workplace?
AI note taking tools have become the new meeting assistant. They can summarize discussions as well as pull out key action items or decisions from the meeting. These tools can allow everyone to participate in the discussion as well as increase accuracy and accountability. Notes and next steps can be shared instantly for review and help ensure everyone is on the same page. It can eliminate confusion that often happens when people walk away with different interpretations of what was decided. Regular users of AI note taking tools tend to stand out to leaders because they show up better prepared, organized and detail oriented. Managers value people who take initiative and work smarter to drive projects and initiatives forward.AI note taking can be a huge time saver but it works best when used intentionally. Like any AI generated content, notes should be reviewed and edited for accuracy before sharing with others. Context and tone can get lost in automation so the AI notes should be used in conjunction with your own insight and knowledge of the meeting/discussion.
- What are the signs of intimate partner violence?
Intimate partner violence is a serious and widespread issue that affects millions of individuals every year. Angela Hattery, professor of women and gender studies at the University of Delaware and co-director of its Center for the Study & Prevention of Gender-Based Violence, can discuss the early signs of intimate partner violence. "When we think about the warning signs, especially for progressing to lethal violence, the absolute top early warning sign is strangulation,” Hattery recently noted to The 19th, a nonprofit newsroom focused on women and LGBTQ+ people.
- How does stigma impact individuals struggling with opioid addiction?
People in recovery from opioid use disorder often struggle with decisions to tell others about their past substance use, treatment, and/or recovery. Although disclosures that go well can lead to social support that is helpful for recovery, disclosures that go poorly can lead to stigma that can harm recovery.
- What does it mean if you are bored at work?
Jill Gugino Panté, director of the Lerner Career Services Center at the University of Delaware, says boredom at work could definitely be a sign that you are not interested in what you’re doing and/or the direction of the department/ company. She added the following:There is nothing more UN-motivating than not believing in what you’re doing and who you’re doing it for. This lack of motivation or shared sense of purpose could easily turn into boredom because employees will revert to doing the basic tasks expected of them. They will go through the motions of completing their work and avoiding contributing creative or innovative ideas. For employees who find themselves in this position, some self-reflection is in order. Do a likes and dislikes inventory of your job responsibilities, company, supervisor and co-workers. Turn that “likes” column into the blueprint of creating a new path for yourself.
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