The Forum at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

By 2050, a projected 9.7 billion people will inhabit the planet. How will we produce enough nutritious food to support this burgeoning population and ensure access to food resources, particularly as climate change stresses the environment? This Forum explored innovative methods and systems for producing food, as well as new types of products and underutilized sources. The panelists talked about emerging technologies, including advances in genomics and aeroponics, to grow food. They also discussed ways to sustain at-risk food resources made vulnerable from climate change, and the impacts for populations in developing countries.

Part of The Andelot Series on Current Science Controversies, this event was presented jointly with PRI's The World and WGBH on December 13, 2016.

Watch the entire series from The Forum at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at www.ForumHSPH.org.

More than 100 million Americans struggle with chronic pain, according to one Institute of Medicine estimate, at an annual cost of as much as $635 billion in treatment and lost productivity. Further, the misuse of potent opioid painkillers, while increasing risk of addiction and abuse, can confuse the conversation around appropriate chronic pain management. This Forum brought together a panel of experts to discuss the causes, treatment and impact of chronic pain, exploring the neuroscience behind the pain experience. The panelists examined how clinicians can best serve their patients, highlighting the recommendations of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ recent National Pain Strategy. The Forum also looked at myriad pain management options, including marijuana and mindfulness meditation. And panelists examined relevant pain care policies, including prescription monitoring program regulations, drug development and funding for research.

Part of The Dr. Lawrence H. and Roberta Cohn Forums, this event was presented jointly with The Huffington Post and in association with Harvard Health Publications on November 10, 2016.

Watch the entire series from The Forum at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at www.ForumHSPH.org.

Health care has emerged as a hotly debated issue of the 2016 presidential election, with the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees expressing starkly different views on the Affordable Care Act (ACA). While approximately 20 million people have gained healthcare coverage since the law’s passage, implementation has been marred by setbacks, including the withdrawal of some major insurers from the ACA marketplace. A new poll by POLITICO and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health shows deep ideological divides between the parties about the healthcare law, with a majority of voters saying they believe the law is failing. In addition, a recent announcement that healthcare premiums for some ACA plans will increase 25 percent on average next year has fed political debate. In this Forum event, expert panelists discussed the implications of the possible outcomes of the 2016 election.

This event was presented in Collaboration with Reuters November 3, 2016.

Watch the entire series from The Forum at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at www.ForumHSPH.org.

According to the CDC, nearly 29 million U.S. women and 16 million U.S. men have experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime. Most of those experiences occur before the age of twenty-five. The evidence is clear that domestic violence takes a physical and emotional toll on individuals, families and communities. Those exposed both directly and indirectly are at a greater risk of mental health disorders, infectious and chronic diseases and death. And the global annual cost in lost productivity, health care, and law enforcement is estimated to be in the trillions. This Forum event, held during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, explored the many dimensions of domestic violence, the need for evidence-based prevention strategies and the role that the public and private sectors need to play to shift the conversation from intervention to preventive action. The panel included thought leaders and experts in public health and research coming together to advance the prevention of domestic violence.

This event was Presented jointly with The Huffington Post on October 24, 2016.

Watch the entire series from The Forum at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at www.ForumHSPH.org.

Quality child care can help children develop lasting social, emotional, and learning skills and can promote healthy eating and play. But high-quality care, whether it comes from a nanny, a sitter, a daycare, or a preschool, can be difficult to find—and to afford. Drawing on the findings of a newly released poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, this Forum event brought together a panel of experts to discuss parents’ priorities and perceptions about their children’s care and how they square up against expert assessments of child care quality. How do parents find and select child care, and how does that care impact the health and well-being of children and families? How can child care be made accessible, high-quality and affordable? How do we even measure quality in a meaningful and accountable way? Forum panelists discussed ways to equip parents with better information about child care, and policy changes that can help children thrive.

This event was presented October 18, 2016 in Collaboration with The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and NPR.

Watch the entire series from The Forum at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at www.ForumHSPH.org.

With more than 23,100 cases of Zika in the continental U.S. and U.S. territories — including four newly reported non-travel cases in Miami-Dade County, Fla — this Forum continued a conversation begun in March 2016 to discuss the risks and response to the spreading Zika virus. The focus was on the U.S. and Caribbean, as well as other regions experiencing increases in cases. Public health experts examined our deepening understanding of how the virus works and how its spread may be controlled; where Congressional funding might be best spent; how vaccines might potentially help; and how public health messaging around the virus may impact at-risk groups, particularly pregnant women.

This event was presented September 29, 2016 in Collaboration with Reuters.

Watch the entire series from The Forum at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at www.ForumHSPH.org.

More than 30 million Americans — women and men, children and adults — grapple with eating disorders. These complex illnesses, which include anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder, severely undermine health and cost lives. This event explored the many dimensions to eating disorders, including their biological bases, risk factors and treatment options. What role does body image play, and how do industries, such as fashion and advertising, often promulgate unrealistic societal standards of beauty? How might women and girls, in particular, be affected by such pressure? And what’s to be done? For example, would enacting legislation that requires minimum BMIs for models, or requiring disclosures of digitally altered ads, help? This panel included expertise in psychiatry, children’s health, policy and eating disorders prevention.

Part of The Dr. Lawrence H. and Roberta Cohn Forums, this event was presented September 20, 2016 in Collaboration with PRI’s The World and WGBH.

Watch the entire series from The Forum at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at www.ForumHSPH.org.

Experts take on the concerns most expressed by American employees in a poll done by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

People die each day waiting on lists for lifesaving organs, and the rise of chronic diseases such as diabetes only increases the demand. With the need for scientific innovation and donor support becoming ever more critical, this Forum explored biomedical advances that promise to address the scarcity, as well as the efforts of medical leaders, advocates and policymakers to reduce the numbers waiting for transplants. Through 3-D printing, scaffolding, chips and other innovations, scientists made extraordinary strides in tissue engineering and developing artificial organs. This program looked at the potential of advances like these, along with the ongoing role of current donation programs; ethics of matching and allocation policies; controversies around buying and selling organs; and approaches such as “presumed consent”, used in some countries to increase supply, where patients are presumed to have given permission to donate their organs, unless they have explicitly opted out.

Part of The Dr. Lawrence H. and Roberta Cohn Forums, this event was presented May 20, 2016 in Collaboration with The Huffington Post and in Association with Harvard Health Publications.

Watch the entire series from The Forum at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at www.ForumHSPH.org.

Driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol has long been established as a public safety hazard. But what about hitting the road while fatigued? An estimated average of 83,000 accidents involving drowsy driving occurred annually between 2005 and 2009, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and some estimates are even higher. These accidents cost lives, cause injuries, and damage property. This Forum event explored the risks, impacts and prevention of drowsy driving. Speakers included Arianna Huffington, author of the new book The Sleep Revolution; Mark Rosekind, Head of NHTSA; Charles Czeisler, renowned sleep medicine expert; and Jay Winsten, leader of a large-scale media initiative to draw attention to the perils of distracted driving.

Presented May 10, 2016, in Collaboration with The Huffington Post.

Watch the entire series from The Forum at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health at www.ForumHSPH.org.