News from the School of Public Health

In a letter directed to the medical community, to the WHO and the CDC released on July 6, Dr. Don Milton, professor of applied environmental health in the University of Maryland School of Public Health, was joined by 239 scientific colleagues from 32 countries in urging these bodies to recognize the potential for airborne spread of COVID-19 and to do more to communicate this risk and advocate for the widespread use of preventive measures.

Staying active can help older people prevent depression while following the COVID-19 social distancing guidelines, according to a new University of Maryland School of Public Health study published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. The study is the first to examine the association between physical activity levels and mental health symptoms in older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We, the undersigned members of LGBTQ+ Students and Allies in Public Health (LGBTQ-SAPH), strongly denounce police brutality and impunity against Black communities and, more broadly, racism and white supremacy in all their societal manifestations. We unequivocally express our support of the Black community, and all other communities of color demanding justice.

A new University of Maryland study assessed the impact of a program focused on increasing access to birth control among women in Delaware. Called Delaware Contraceptive Access Now (DelCAN), this initiative between the reproductive-health nonprofit Upstream USA and the state of Delaware launched in 2015. The program aims to give all women of reproductive age, regardless of insurance or ability to pay, same-day access to the full range of contraceptive methods at low or no cost. 

Doctoral students John P. Salerno (behavioral and community health) and Natasha D. Williams (family science) highlight the structural, social and individual-level challenges faced by LGBTQ persons in the context of COVID-19 and propose strategies to mitigate their psychological trauma in a commentary published in the Journal of the American Psychological Association. Both Salerno and Williams are research staff in the UMD Prevention Research Center. 

Marie Thoma, an assistant professor of family science in the School of Public Health received an honorable mention in the 2019 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Global Health NOW Annual Untold Stories of Global Health Contest for her submission putting forth the untold st