Publications

This joint report by UNICEF and Pure Earth notes that lead is a potent neurotoxin that causes irreparable harm to children’s brains.

The results of this study, focused on Allegheny County, Pennsylvania in 2015-2016, suggest that creating a geographically explicit synthetic population from real and synthetic data is feasible and that synthetic populations are useful for modeling disease in large populations and for estimating the outcome of interventions.

Examining excess mortality data from all causes of death is helping determine the toll of COVID-19 in Brazil.

This first-of-its-kind study evaluated the impact of a mass media campaign on knowledge and attitudes related to sugary drinks and on public support for a proposed tax on sugary drinks in South Africa. The study demonstrated that in addition to improving knowledge and shifting attitudes about the harms of sugary drinks, media campaigns can effectively build public support for strong government action and therefore must be a component of a comprehensive obesity prevention approach.

The impact of the pandemic on clinical trials can be especially profound given their complexities and operational requirements.

This editorial emphasizes that, during an epidemic, rapid mortality surveillance provides essential information to formulate an evidence-based response. Establishing, scaling and improving upon rapid mortality surveillance would give countries real-time awareness of all direct and indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as help them to prepare for future outbreaks.

Exposure to tobacco, alcohol and fast-food use in films is associated with initiation of these behaviors. This study investigated and described the extent of tobacco, alcohol and fast-food imagery in Bollywood films from 1994 to 2013, and discussed the trends in use of such imagery after that time period. It concludes by suggesting regulations and policies that could limit exposure of audiences to these images and their negative health impacts.