PUBLIC HEALTH

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There are a lot of excellent public health blogs available on the internet. Here are our top picks for the top 25 Public Health Websites.

When compiling this list, we looked for websites that are frequently updated in 2012 and that provide interesting, knowledgeable, and engaging content that covers the global health field and epidemiology, behavioral sciences health communication and environmental health, as well as infectious diseases, and other health-related topics for public health. We’ve included blog posts that cover nearly every major area of public health research, some of which are extremely narrowly focused and others more general.

To avoid putting blogs in a category that might not be a good fit, we’ve listed them in alphabetical order. Each blog has an overview of the blog and a suggested post to get people to get started. Enjoy!

Better Health for All

Official blog for the Faculty of Public Health, the most prestigious professional body of specialists in public health across the United Kingdom, dedicated to public health promotion as well as protection, advocacy, and education. The most trusted source for information and news on public health issues and activities within the UK. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged, so don’t feel scared to mix it up. Where to begin find out what ancients have to teach us about the often-ignored aspect of public health in Authentic Happiness:

Brett Keller

A gorgeously created blog about the global environment and health issues written by an expert in public health and policy master’s student. The posts generally focus on a particular aspect of policy or public health, but they also diverge to more personal reflections and pictures from her frequent trips.

Where to begin: If you love public health and The Lord of the Rings, you’ll want to check out the hilarious #MiddleEarthPublicHealth mashup meme for something a little different.

Economist’s Lens

Kevin Frick brings a trained economist’s perspective to issues of health policy and public health. A distinctive and valuable contribution to the community of public health bloggers.

How do you begin? Do you realize that looking at the statistics in Isolation could lead to incorrect conclusions regarding problems with public health, such as violence?

Enviroblog

In a blog for The Environmental Working Group, the authors can make connections between the health of our environment and our public health. Find the most recent news and information on the effects of pollutants in our food, air, and water, along with recommendations for what can be done about it.

What to do: Learn about the possible dangers of cell phone radiation, and then learn how you can do to mitigate it. Cell Phone Radiation May Alter the DNA of your brain.

EpiAnalysis

Sanjay Basus, an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, designed the blog to provide an online forum for researchers working in public health research, epidemiology as well as economics, policy, and sociology. The blog posts cover a broad range of health issues across the globe however, they focus on the political, social, and economic factors at play.

How to begin: Start by reading Dr. Basus’s informative overview of the main aspects of the groundbreaking Global Burden of Disease study. Global Burden of Disease study.

GlobalHealthPolicy.net

As the title suggests it is a blog about the global policy on health. It is written by Andrew Harmer, a Lecturer in Global Health Policy at Edinburgh University as well as Devi Sridhar, a University Lecturer in Global Health Politics at Oxford University the blog’s posts are typically entertaining, sometimes humorous, and always informed.

How to begin: The Elders are coming! Get busy! is a hilarious look at an international group of progressive leaders who call themselves Yes, The Elders.

Global Health Policy

A collective blog that covers every aspect that affects global policy on health, from HIV/AIDS to vaccination for children, to the health coverage of insurance. The contributors are experts in their fields and provide a variety of perspectives and backgrounds to the debate.

How to begin: Review some of the significant public health-related events and research from the past year in Global Health in 2012.

Haba na haba

Kim Yi Dionne is a political scientist, with particular attention to the political facets of HIV/AIDS policies and the development process in Africa. The name of the blog comes from an African saying that means “little by little fills the measure,” an ode to the blog’s emphasis on the smallest things, but also a hope of seeing a big transformation.

The first step: reports of a natural cure for HIV could be the catalyst for a fascinating debate about differences in perceptions and the political/racial aspects of treating HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Health Communication Research

A thoughtful, well-written, and informative analysis of the most recent studies in the field of health communications. Authored by an Associate Professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations and the School of Public Health at the University of Texas at Austin.

How to begin Start by reading Dr. Mackert’s plea for public health professionals and advertisers to find out how they can collaborate and be in harmony In The Real Bears: The Perspective of Advertising Perspective

Humanosphere

A top news site on the internet focused on covering news that affects global health and fighting poverty aid, and growth. The reporter Tom Paulson runs the site and has decades of experience reporting about science, medicine, and public health all over the world.

What to do: Begin by reading about the implications of a global health agenda that announces the release of a study that “could do for global health something like what Galileo did for the solar system.”

Improving Population Health

Regular contributors to this blog provide the most current information on research, policy, and practice related to improving the health of people in their communities. The blog is funded through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and hosted by the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Population Health Sciences An excellent online forum for anyone interested in improving the health of their community.

Read Dr. Rimer’s passionate plea to be honest about “one of the biggest and most preventable public health problems in our midst” in Binge Drinking: Time to Stop!

Pop Health

This unique blog focuses on the interplay between popular culture with public health. Written by a seasoned public health professional with an MPH degree, a keen interest in health communications, and the impact of media coverage of public health issues. Along with amazing wit, there isn’t any other blog similar to it out there. Where to begin: Start by reading the writer’s perspective of celebrities who cause damage rather than benefit by promoting health issues.

Public Health Perspectives

A brand-new update of PLOS. In the PLOS network of health and science blogs Two scientists, two epidemiologists along with an ethnologist, from both the US as well as the UK discuss topics in public health in depth and with knowledge. The blog posts are updated every week. Race-and-Place-Matters for Health is an excellent example of informative, well-thought-out, and op-ed pieces you will discover on the blog.

Public Health Is

A student fellowship project at the University of California Berkeley’s Center for Health Leadership, each week’s post tries to solve the issue of “What is public health?” from a different perspective. Overall, this is a wonderful introduction to the scope and variety of the field of public health. Overall, the writing appears strong as well as engaging, and opinionated. Where to begin: Public Health is…Buying Local is an intriguing argument in favor of the importance of localism in addressing public health concerns.

Public Health Matters

Official blog for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response. Updates and stories from public health-related events throughout the United States by a variety of public health experts. And zombies! An essential read for current or future public health workers.Where to begin Start by reading the book Teaching Preparedness Through a Zombie Outbreak to find out the applications of zombies within public health.

Talking About Health

A blog that is a companion to the book with the same title, written by the author and doctor. Roxanne Parrott focuses on the importance of honest and transparent communication regarding health issues. The topics range from the potential dangers of backpacks for children, personal fitness to breast cancer as well as a general communications angle. Start by reading Dr. Parrott’s most recent blog about Health Communication, Health Literacy and health literacy, and the Affordable Care Act.

The Febrile Muse

Perhaps the only blog that focuses on the depiction of infectious diseases in the arts and literature. Recently, a piece was published as part of the Best of Science Writing Online 2012 anthology, the writer is a pharmacist. She’s a gifted writer, who wears her enthusiasm for science and the arts on her sleeves.

What to do: Start by reading the author’s advice for how you can incorporate more science into your life, and also how to understand its relationship to the arts within Short on Science.

The Public’s Health

A doctoral student and professor for public health from Drexel University School of Public Health. Drexel University School of Public Health blog on the importance of public health and the obstacles to making a healthy community and a healthy world. While some of the articles are focused on the Philadelphia area in which the authors are based, they tend to span the entire spectrum of public health as well as throughout the world covering everything from bioterrorism to the effects of poverty as well as mental illness. Where to begin: We all think Kanye West is a threat in the field of Public Health. Let us know!

The Pump Handle

Named in honor of the London cholera outbreak in 1854, which was brought on by a pump, it is a place of gathering for health professionals from all over the world. Many experts in public health discuss the most recent news and offer analysis and opinions on the latest public health news in every subject from drug safety and environmental health to the latest developments in the field of public health research. Where to begin: Take a look at where the pardoned Thanksgiving Turkey originated. : Inspector Records Tell the False Story to find out more

fascinating public health reports that reveal the hidden side of a holiday tradition that is loved by many.

The Rest of the Story

A professor from the Department of Community Health Sciences at Boston University brings you the full story behind the headlines about tobacco policy and industry. For sharp and insightful commentary on matters relating to smoking as well as public health nothing similar to it.Where to begin Take a look at Dr. Siegel’s criticism of the anti-smoking community’s opposition to electronic cigarettes.

Topman Malaria Blog

A blog that focuses on information and discussions on malaria. The name is a reference to all-time favorite microwavable noodles. The writer, who is studying to become an MD/Epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina and working at the National Institute of Malaria Research in India provides insightful and insightful analysis of the most recent research and news related to malaria. Where to begin: Malaria hotspots and targeting is a wonderful example of the kind of critical and thoughtful involvement in the most recent research that the author can do so effectively.