Violence, Opioids, Loneliness, Obesity — The Pros and Cons of Treating Social Issues as Epidemics

These days anything that's widespread might be called an "epidemic." Violence, obesity, opioids, even loneliness. But in the public health space, the label "epidemic" means something specific - a disease that's widespread and usually contagious. How does thinking about social issues as epidemics change the way we approach them? We'll explore the pros and cons with first responders on the front line of different epidemics. In this podcast episode, an ER doctor explains the cyclical, contagious nature of violence. A dietician considers the unintended consequences of making weight loss the focus of the obesity epidemic. A paramedic with 30 years of experience traces the evolution of the opioid overdose crisis in America and argues for empathy and harm reduction to save more lives. Finally, we consider America’s newest epidemic – loneliness – with the nation’s leading scientist on the harm caused by social isolation. In what ways does framing these issues as epidemics enable us to cure them? Podcast Guests: Rob Gore, MD, founder of the Kings Against Violence Initiative (KAVI), and author of “Treating Violence: An Emergency Room Doctor Takes on a Deadly American Epidemic” (https://kavibrooklyn.org/) Kirsten Morrisson, registered dietitian and certified Intuitive Eating counselor, host of Intuitive Bites podcast (https://theintuitiverd.com/podcast/) Peter Canning, paramedic, EMS coordinator at UCONN John Dempsey Hospital, and author of “Killing Season: A Paramedic's Dispatches from the Frontlines of the Opioid Epidemic” (https://www.petercanning.org/) Julianne Holt-Lunstad, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University, director of the Social Connection & Health Lab, and lead scientist on the Surgeon General's 2023 report on Loneliness and Social Isolation (https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf)