Looks like HHS has released a list of grants/programs that they’ve cancelled. Probably most upsetting is that it looks like almost all grants for Childhood Vaccination, Mental Health, and Substance Use were cancelled.

https://taggs.hhs.gov/Content/Data/HHS_Grants_Terminated.pdf

To all researchers, scientists, and communicators in the public health arenas, I am grateful for your work to keep this country informed and healthy. You all are the people that I look up to and inspire to pursue a career in public health. Thank you.

Please do NOT ever think that your contribution to science is "wasteful". Just because someone says so does NOT make it true. If someone says that investing in medical science at all is "just wasteful", the individual is actually saying "all human lives are not worth of saving and investing". Any country, including the United States, need public health to survive, live, and thrive in this world without any disruptions. So, please, keep your chin up and do not let bastards crush your spirit!

If you're able to, please feel free to participate in protesting. Please vote in all elections local, state, and federal.

Hello! My name is Lizzie Walsh I am a student journalist writing a story about the effects of COVID and the loss of COVID-era funding on rural healthcare services across the U.S., specifically the impact on mental health and substance abuse services.

I would love to speak with someone in the rural healthcare system about this topic to get a better understanding of the challenges you, your community, and your patient population are facing. This would be an informal chat and your name and info can be anonymous! I would really appreciate any information you could share with me :) Please let me know if you are interested in chatting by responding to this post or DM'ing me!

Hi! I’m researching the efficacy/safety of water fluoridation, and am currently working on rebuttals. I’ve found a website claiming that fluoride isn’t worth it because other countries, such as Japan, Italy, Iceland, and Belgium have also had significant decreases in the rates of tooth decay in 12 year olds since the 1970s, just like the USA, despite not fluoridating their drinking water or their salt. My question is, what other variables might explain the trends in these countries? If you know of any literature on this, I’d appreciate it! Thanks!

Hi Everyone - A few years ago, I found myself joining the public health sector but without having a MPH or other scientific background (my master's is in international security/governance). Assuming I survive the RIFs, terminations, and downsizing, it seems like this will be my career for at least another few years and so I want to really improve my technical and scientific comprehension.

Are there any good books or other reading/learning materials that you've come across in your programs that would help get me more fluent in the more technical and scientific side of public health? To be more precise, I work in the global, outbreak, and response spaces. I recognize that I'll probably have to get into topic-specific books and materials to gain some actual applicable knowledge, but I'm curious if there are any foundational books you've come across.

So far, I've bought and read one Global Health textbook and almost cover to cover. However, it was pretty basic and surface level "Health 101" type material (think like defining a cell) and didn't seem particularly useful, so I'm looking for something a little more advanced than that. Apologies if this is too vague...

I recently completed my MPH and while I’m proud of that achievement, I’ve been finding it difficult to land a job. It's been a frustrating and disheartening experience, and I'm starting to explore other directions where I might be a better fit or where there's more demand.

One area that’s been catching my attention is healthcare data analytics. I’ve always been interested in using data to improve health outcomes, and this seems like a promising niche. But I’m wondering — would it be wise to pursue a second master’s specifically in healthcare data analysis? Or would that be redundant with my MPH?

I’m also curious: * How competitive is the job market for healthcare data analysts right now? * Would a second master’s actually improve my chances of landing a job? * If I do go down this path, how can I make the most of the program while I’m in it (networking, internships, certs, etc.) to boost my job prospects right after? Any insights, personal experiences, or even hard truths would be incredibly helpful. I'm eager to learn and open to advice from people who’ve navigated similar crossroads.

Thanks so much in advance!

Hi everyone! Just a college sophomore coming on here to ask for some help :)

I’m currently majoring in health services with a certificate in global health and I’m about to finish my sophomore year. This semester I found out that my school has an accelerated mph program I can apply to next January so I’d be starting my mph in fall 2026 and ending in spring 2028. I know we all can’t tell the future but I know mine is in public health. I have plenty of experience under my belt already with work in health equity, housing/homelessness, and women’s issues.

My REAL question is, do we think things will calm down by that spring ‘28 time? I know lots of people in my life who are worried what they’re going to do with their mphs or finding jobs that aren’t impacted rn but I can’t tell whether or not I’m in a good spot just being a student because I can’t force myself to pivot since public health is my passion but it’s under so much attack right now. Any thoughts?

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5230504-staff-working-on-childhood-lead-exposure-and-cancer-clusters-fired-from-cdc/

Will be graduating with my MPH in May. A CDC fellowship I applied for has since been defunded. It’s proving to be incredibly difficult to find a job in this climate.

I had been planning on a doctoral degree in the future, but had planned to work for a few years after my MPH first. Now that it’s incredibly difficult to find a job, is it a crazy idea to pursue this now if I can find funding? (After undergrad and two masters degrees, taking on more debt is not an option.)

If PhD funding in the US is not available right now, I would be open to Canada or Europe.

Just looking for any advice, arguments for or against, advice to enhance my job search in this time.

TIA

I'm already a Program Director for a Ryan White program, but a little worried about job security I've been in HIV for 10 years but I've got a family, three kids newborn-5. My husband was health issues. I just don't know if it's possible but knowing I've maxed out at my current job and the current world climate makes me want to get my mph but I don't know if I'll survive. I'm an awful test taker, undergrad was very much "c's get degrees" I'm a much better doer of the work, I've learned grant writing on the job, I've successfully written and gotten two grants but going back and even applying to school TERRIFIES ME.

I know I could get recommendations from great ppl but then they'll know if I didn't get in or didn't finish lol Anyone else in or thinking about it with similar life situations??

Hi there, I'm an undergrad student looking to interview medical professionals, online, as part of a class assignment for medical anthropology. I need to interview participants on their experiences with gender and or racial biases in either their training or education. In what shape or form does bias appear and how do you as a healthcare professional mitigate the effects. If you're interested please DM me.

I’m starting to feel really concerned about my MPH program. It’s been over two weeks since I emailed my field advisor— no response. Then I reached out to the office of field education, and still nothing. At this point, I’m seriously questioning the purpose of this whole setup. It’s supposed to be there to support students, but honestly, I haven’t experienced anything particularly helpful.

I’ve already secured my practicum on my own. All I want to know is what I need to do next. Is that really such a difficult question to answer? The lack of communication is frustrating, even kind of scary. How are students supposed to feel supported in a program like this????

Considering recent concerns about potential changes to federally maintained websites, I wanted to share a proactive way we can help preserve valuable public health data and other resources.

The Wayback Machine (https://web.archive.org) allows users to archive webpages, ensuring continued access even if original sites are altered or removed. You can contribute by saving key federal health and research pages (or other at-risk resources) using their simple tool:

Step-by-step guide: https://help.archive.org/help/save-pages-in-the-wayback-machine/ 

Why this matters:

-Safeguards against loss of critical public health information.
-Empowers us to maintain access to references, guidelines, and data.

I’ve already archived a few pages, and I encourage you to add any you find pertinent. Let’s work together to protect these resources for our field.

Feel free to reach out if you’d like help navigating the process!

Hello I’m an MPH epidemiology student starting my first semester this fall. I have a BS in Public Health as well. Recently after completing my epidemiology internship at my local health department, I realized that I probably should’ve majored in a “hard science” like biology or microbiology during undergrad bc whenever we had deep conversations with the managers about diseases or policies, they would always bring up science concepts (bc the chief epi had a BS Micro and other managers had an MD) and I would end up being confused bc I only ever took introductory courses as a prerequisite requirement for my degree. I’ve also recently developed an interest in research and would like to pursue a research related career but with only epidemiology experience I feel that it limits me to data-based research bc I don’t have the wet lab experience to be able to conduct that kind of research. So long story short, would it be realistically possible for me to complete a PhD in a “hard science” having only an epidemiology background or should I just complete another bachelor’s or master’s degree in another science field?

I work for a program funded by HRSA and we were told we are getting an increase in allocation and that no cuts are on the horizon. With all these other cuts I have survivors guilt and a little bit of skepticism. Maybe HRSA programs are seen as pro-life so we are like the golden child?

I have the PDF if anyone is paywalled; PM if you’d like it.