News from the School of Public Health

University of Maryland School of Public Health researchers found that federal rental assistance programs may be associated with reduced use of emergency department services for the treatment of asthma in children. 

The rapid emergence of COVID-19 reminds us of the importance of the public health system and the central role of local health departments (LHDs) in preparedness and response. Effective epidemic response rests on the performance of the essential public health activities—assessment, policy development, and assurance—by LHDs.

In the final minutes of a shortened legislative session due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Maryland General Assembly passed a bill to ban pesticide chlorpyrifos-- legislation that Devon Payne-Sturges has been pushing for three years. 

Chlorpyrifos, a toxic, nerve-agent pesticide, has been found to damage children’s brain development and poses threats to aquatic life, pollinators and the Chesapeake Bay. 

Associate Professor Jie Chen, Lecturer Priscilla Novak and doctoral students Ivy Benjenk and Deanna Barath in the Department of Health Policy and Management, discuss the vital role of local health departments in preparedness and response measures needed to respond to disease threats such as COVID-19, and call for increased funding and support in a new article to be published Thursday, March 26 on the 

By Dina L.G. Borzekowski, Ed.D., Research Professor, Department of Behavioral and Community Health. Read: Advice for Parents of Elementary School-Aged Children in a Time of Anxiety

By Dina L.G. Borzekowski, Ed.D., Research Professor, Department of Behavioral and Community Health