{"title":"Henry E. Sigerist, (Nazi) Eugenics, and the \"Ideal of Prophylaxis\".","authors":"Mathias Schütz, Harold Braswell","doi":"10.2105/AJPH.2026.308760","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308760","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A Swiss physician, medical historian, and professor at Johns Hopkins University from 1932 to 1947, Henry E. Sigerist continues to inspire advocates of social medicine, public health, and radical health care reform. He was also an avowed eugenicist who failed to seriously confront Nazism. How did Sigerist's progressive ideology lead him to these positions? We argue that the key link was his concept of \"prophylaxis.\" For Sigerist, prophylaxis was an ideal that empowered the public health profession to take radical measures to prevent sickness and disability. This ideal led to his consistent support of eugenic sterilization and made him reticent to criticize Nazi policy. We argue that Sigerist's prophylactic antidisability bias is not merely a historic phenomenon but continues to exist in public health today. (<i>Am J Public Health</i>. Published online ahead of print October 8, 2026:e1-e7. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308760).</p>","PeriodicalId":7647,"journal":{"name":"American journal of public health","volume":" ","pages":"e1-e7"},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149134673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Saundra Williams, Roseline Yah Trokpao Chesson, Robert Rufsvold, Bryan Cheng
{"title":"Reframing Bereavement as a Public Health Exposure: Field Notes From a Community-Based Mental Health Program in Postconflict Liberia.","authors":"Saundra Williams, Roseline Yah Trokpao Chesson, Robert Rufsvold, Bryan Cheng","doi":"10.2105/AJPH.2026.308752","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308752","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bereavement is often viewed as an individual life event; however, in postconflict Liberia, years of war and disease have transformed grief into a population-level exposure. Drawing on experience implementing group interpersonal therapy in Liberia, we describe how group-based, community-centered care facilitates recovery. Program outcomes from 2022 to 2025 demonstrate significant reductions in depression alongside improvements in social connection. These field notes underscore the need to address bereavement as a public health issue through community-based group interventions rather than localized, individual clinical care. (<i>Am J Public Health</i>. Published online ahead of print October 8, 2026:e1-e5. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308752).</p>","PeriodicalId":7647,"journal":{"name":"American journal of public health","volume":" ","pages":"e1-e5"},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149134739","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Caleigh S Roach, Belen Wertheimer, Matthew Kis, Jaqueline Brenner, Cameron A Rivera
{"title":"Automated Coverage Denials: A Public Health Equity Threat.","authors":"Caleigh S Roach, Belen Wertheimer, Matthew Kis, Jaqueline Brenner, Cameron A Rivera","doi":"10.2105/AJPH.2026.308795","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308795","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7647,"journal":{"name":"American journal of public health","volume":" ","pages":"e1-e3"},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149134735","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Vaccine Injury Compensation, COVID-19 Vaccine Claim Migration, and Public Trust.","authors":"Y Tony Yang","doi":"10.2105/AJPH.2026.308790","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308790","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>I evaluated the public health governance implications of moving COVID-19 vaccine injury claims from the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and identified safeguards for the transition. I interpreted US Health Resources and Services Administration data as of April 1, 2026, with governing statutes, regulations, <i>Federal Register</i> materials, and previous scholarship. Migration could involve prospective coverage, transfer of pending claims, revival of denied claims, or retroactive eligibility, each with different access and fiscal consequences. The receiving program is settlement dominated; its trust fund finances counsel and uncertainty resolution as well as awards; and recurrent off-table settlements can create informal compensation expectations. Undifferentiated counts may be misread as causation findings or program generosity. Migration should be paired with pathway-stratified reporting, a settlement-to-evidence review trigger, clearer trust fund accounting, and a narrow public reasoning and evidence review floor for novel injury clusters. These reforms could improve access without making compensation outputs avoidable sources of vaccine-safety confusion. (<i>Am J Public Health</i>. Published online ahead of print October 8, 2026:e1-e9. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308790).</p>","PeriodicalId":7647,"journal":{"name":"American journal of public health","volume":" ","pages":"e1-e9"},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149134725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Oral Nicotine Pouch Use in Youth: A Stealth Epidemic?","authors":"Ahmad Besaratinia","doi":"10.2105/AJPH.2026.308593","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308593","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7647,"journal":{"name":"American journal of public health","volume":" ","pages":"e1-e3"},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149134662","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Beyond the Numbers: Where Lead Poisoning Persists.","authors":"David Margolius, Rebecca Maurer","doi":"10.2105/AJPH.2026.308806","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308806","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7647,"journal":{"name":"American journal of public health","volume":" ","pages":"e1-e3"},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149134690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From Access to Outcomes: A Practical Approach to Strengthen Rural Health Systems.","authors":"Macarena C García, Diane M Hall","doi":"10.2105/AJPH.2026.308783","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308783","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Durable improvements in rural population health require stronger enabling conditions, including governance, workforce, payment, and data infrastructure, rather than a narrow focus on access to health care. We synthesized empirical evidence and health systems research published through 2025, emphasizing US studies of rural health outcomes, primary care, prevention, workforce, and payment models. Rural health systems are heterogeneous, and single interventions do not produce equal gains across communities. Evidence supports integrated approaches that combine community-wide prevention, team-based primary care, emergency services, and cross-sector coordination. Access to care is necessary but insufficient; upstream drivers and enabling conditions shape sustained improvements in health. Federal and state policy should move beyond access-only frameworks and invest in prevention infrastructure, workforce pipelines, payment models that support coordination, and measures suited to rural communities. Durable gains depend on structural conditions that allow communities to translate resources into improved outcomes. (<i>Am J Public Health</i>. Published online ahead of print October 8, 2026:e1-e7. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308783).</p>","PeriodicalId":7647,"journal":{"name":"American journal of public health","volume":" ","pages":"e1-e7"},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149134666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Community Water Fluoridation at a Crossroads: Balancing Oral Health Benefits, Emerging Risks, and Public Trust.","authors":"Hafsa Shah, Rubelisa Candido Gomes de Oliveira","doi":"10.2105/AJPH.2026.308705","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308705","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7647,"journal":{"name":"American journal of public health","volume":" ","pages":"e1-e3"},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149134664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Preserving Public Health Data Systems: Safeguarding the Foundation of US Health Policy.","authors":"Clara E Tandar, John C Lin, Fatima C Stanford","doi":"10.2105/AJPH.2026.308529","DOIUrl":"10.2105/AJPH.2026.308529","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7647,"journal":{"name":"American journal of public health","volume":" ","pages":"1473-1475"},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148275173","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Wastewater-Based Epidemiology: New Capabilities, New Challenges.","authors":"Maximilian Marshall, Lauren Marie Gardner","doi":"10.2105/AJPH.2026.308724","DOIUrl":"10.2105/AJPH.2026.308724","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7647,"journal":{"name":"American journal of public health","volume":" ","pages":"1470-1472"},"PeriodicalIF":7.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148763099","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}