Ideas on the Future of Public Health
Harvard Public Health magazine
Original public health reporting, commentary and more from around the globe #HarvardPublicHealth
Welcome to this week’s edition of Harvard Public Health Weekly. Our Winter issue is here! We’re covering robot companions, precision public health, and more. Head straight to our website to dive in—or read on to hear the highlights. Also, don’t forget you can now get this newsletter directly from us to your inbox. Sign up here!
Can robot dogs and chat companions ease our loneliness?
Hot off the presses (no really, it’s also available in print!) is Harvard Public Health’s Winter 2023 issue—stories covering everything from therapy chatbots to precision medicine to the future of global aid and development work. Check out what technology holds real promise and what might just be a fad. As Michael Fitzgerald, our editor-in-chief, writes, “Ideas need time to mature into something useful…all of these ideas are part of broad cultural swells and seem sure to warrant long-term attention.”
We start with a personal quest by writer Maura Kelly to fend off her loneliness. Public health departments are giving companion bots to patient populations especially prone to isolation or loneliness. We asked her to try a therapy app, and a robot dog. The experience was even worse than you might expect.
Read the stories
We’re also covering the United Kingdom’s new enthusiasm for prescribing social activities as part of medical care, how big data is bringing precision to public health, and how the global balance of power in development and humanitarian work may be shifting from large aid groups and donors toward local communities.
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More from Harvard Public Health
We’ve been thinking a lot about mental health and well-being here at HPH, and it turns out most Americans have, too. A Forbes survey found this year’s top resolution was “improving mental and health and well-being.” We pulled together ideas on making and keeping resolutions, improving mental health, and deepening our relationships. Read the article.
In case you missed it, I talked with doctor, researcher, and writer Aaron Carroll on alcohol consumption and how we all might benefit from being a little more moderate in our pursuit of moderation. Read the Q&A.
And we delved into into the latest research on gun deaths in America to find that gun control policies aimed at stopping mass shootings could also stop a less visible tragedy: suicide. Read it here.
What I’m following this week
Childbirth is deadlier for Black families, even when they’re rich. | New York Times
The forgotten history of head injuries in sports. | New Yorker
Russia is draining a massive reservoir, imperiling drinking water and a nuclear plant. | NPR
Are there heavy metals in my Valentine’s Day chocolate? | New York Times.
Thanks for joining us. See you next week!
Until next week,
Christine