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Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES @rachelhoopsick.bsky.social · 19d

I wrote for @thefulcrum-us.bsky.social about the need for public health.

The dismantling of public health that is unravelling in real time may feel like political theater, but the stakes are measured in lives.

thefulcrum.us/governance-l...

Take the Shot: The Country’s Future Hangs on Public Health Support

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met this week at a meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It linked 25 unverified reports of child deaths to COVID-19 vaccines as they consider further limiting access to this and other immunizations, like those for hepatitis B and...

thefulcrum.us

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Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES @rachelhoopsick.bsky.social · 28d

I bet you’ll get some interesting data from this @drseanmullen.bsky.social! Can’t wait to hear what people are most misinformed on.

100%
20/20 questions correct
Epidemiologist’s Nightmare

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Reposted by Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES

Anne Sosin @annesosin.bsky.social · Sep 3

A kind reminder that a "politics of you deserved this" (cancer, vaccine-preventable disease, natural disaster, etc) has no place in public health. We can hold bad actors to account without punching down on the groups most harmed by their actions and/or resorting to shame, blame, and stigma.

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Reposted by Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES

Atul Gawande @agawande.bsky.social · Sep 1

9 CDC Directors going back to 1977 speak out. What RFK Jr has done to our nation’s public health system "should alarm every American."

It "is unlike anything we have ever seen at the agency, and unlike anything our country has ever experienced." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...

Opinion | We Ran the C.D.C.: Kennedy Is Endangering Every American’s Health

www.nytimes.com

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Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES @rachelhoopsick.bsky.social · Aug 23

I know which title won ☺️ looking forward to your talk!

Reposted by Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES

Dave Larsen @dalarsen.bsky.social · Aug 19

Across New York State local health departments are using wastewater to track infectious disease trends. Wastewater data complements case and hospitalization data.

Our group's write-up on how local health departments use wastewater data here.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

#EpiSky 🧪

How local health departments use wastewater surveillance data for public health planning and intervention in New York State - BMC Public Health

Wastewater surveillance presents a novel data stream for local health departments to understand infectious disease risk in their communities. We conducted a survey of local health departments in New Y...

link.springer.com

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Reposted by Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES

Lorenzo Lorenzo-Luaces, PhD @lluaces.bsky.social · Aug 20

ATTN: Robert Wood Johnson has money to support “canceled” research on racial-indigenous health equity

www.rwjf.org/en/grants/ac...

Rapid Response: Reinvesting in Racial and Indigenous Health Equity Research

The purpose of this call for proposals is to meet the current moment by supporting timely, actionable health equity research that has been interrupted by shifts in federal funding.

www.rwjf.org

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Reposted by Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES

🎃 public HELLth guy 🎃 @publichealthguy1.bsky.social · Aug 15

i don’t write opinion pieces, but i felt compelled to write this one with @colincarlson.bsky.social after my friends and former colleagues at CDC had 500 bullets fired at them.

Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · Aug 15

NEW 🚨 The violence is the point. Elected Dems must call for widespread resignations (RFK, Bhattacharya, Prasad) in response to the CDC shooting. Public health must demand this of them, and the public must demand that of us. With @publichealthguy1.bsky.social in STAT: www.statnews.com/2025/08/15/c...

The CDC shooting was public health’s Jan. 6

“In RFK Jr.’s America, it will never be safe to practice public health or medicine," write an epidemiologist and a former CDC staffer.

www.statnews.com

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Reposted by Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES

Census API Tracker @censusapitracker.bsky.social · Aug 11

Hello, Bluesky! This account automatically posts updates when the Census Bureau APIs add or remove datasets.

See the full tracker at www.hrecht.com/census-api-d...

Tracking Census Dataset Changes

See when the U.S. Census Bureau adds or removes datasets.

www.hrecht.com

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Reposted by Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · Aug 11

Jerome Adams was President Trump's Surgeon General. He is calling out the current administration for its dehumanizing language and tying it to the shootings at CDC last week. This isn't a partisan issue. Violence against public health workers is wrong full-stop. www.statnews.com/2025/08/09/c...

Former surgeon general: The CDC shooting must be a wakeup call

“When influential figures amplify falsehoods, they legitimize the anger that leads to violence,” writes former Surgeon General Jerome Adams.

www.statnews.com

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Reposted by Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES

ACLU @aclu.org · Aug 10

Homelessness is a policy failure, not a personal one.

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Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES @rachelhoopsick.bsky.social · Aug 10

“People in public health care too much about our country to stop. Because we care about our kids’ futures. Because we believe in a better life. Better community. Better health. We will serve our neighbors even if they don’t understand what we’re doing or why it matters.“ - @kkjetelina.bsky.social

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Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES @rachelhoopsick.bsky.social · Aug 1

The MS thesis of PhD student Sylvia Okon is now a peer-reviewed journal article! We found that compassion fatigue was associated with suicidal thoughts and behaviors among healthcare workers, underscoring the need for systems-level support and targeted interventions to protect worker well‑being.

Associations between compassion fatigue and suicidality among healthcare workers in the United States (abstract)
Background: The psychological well-being of healthcare workers affects not only their own health but also patient
care quality, making it critical to examine the mental health needs of the healthcare workforce. While
compassion fatigue (i.e., depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, and career dissatisfaction) and suicidality
have been studied separately among healthcare workers, their relationship with each other remains understudied. This study investigates the associations between compassion fatigue and past-year suicidal thoughts,
suicide planning, and suicide attempts among a diverse sample of healthcare workers.
Methods: We collected cross-sectional data from a sample of U.S. healthcare workers (N = 200). Logistic
regression models examined relationships between compassion fatigue and past-year suicidal thoughts, planning,
and attempts, separately. Final models controlled for gender and occupational setting (hospital vs. other).
Results: Suicidality was prevalent: 14 % of participants reported past-year suicidal thoughts, 6.0 % reported
suicide planning, and 3.5 % reported a suicide attempt. Greater compassion fatigue was significantly associated
with increased odds of past-year suicidal thoughts (OR = 1.10, 95 % CI: 1.04, 1.16), suicide planning (OR = 1.10,
95 % CI: 1.02, 1.19), and suicide attempts (OR = 1.10, 95 % CI: 1.01, 1.21). After controlling for gender and
occupational setting, these associations remained significant for suicidal thoughts (aOR = 1.09, 95 % CI: 1.04,
1.16), suicide planning (aOR = 1.10, 95 % CI: 1.02, 1.19), and suicide attempts (aOR = 1.10, 95 % CI: 1.01,
1.21).
Conclusions: Findings suggest that higher compassion fatigue is linked to increased suicidality among healthcare
workers, highlighting the need to address compassion fatigue as a potential risk factor

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Reposted by Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES

Whitney Zahnd @whitneyzahnd.bsky.social · Jul 31

We at the University of Iowa College of Public Health are hiring for a tenure-track, open rank faculty position with a focus on cancer prevention and control. jobs.uiowa.edu/faculty/view...

Faculty Requisition Details - Jobs@UIOWA: Search and Apply for Jobs at The University of Iowa

Jobs@UIOWA: The official place to search and apply for jobs at The University of Iowa.

jobs.uiowa.edu

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Reposted by Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES

JAMA Network Open @jamanetworkopen.com · Jul 30

From 2010 to 2023, nitrous oxide (“whippets”) poisoning deaths in the US rose from 23 to 156 annually, with significant increases until 2018 and a plateau from 2019 to 2023. ja.ma/40KDYql

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Reposted by Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES

College of AHS at Illinois @ahsillinois.bsky.social · Jul 31

New research co-authored by a Health and Kinesiology professor reveals an alarming rise in U.S. fatalities from misuse of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas.

Read about this emerging public health issue: go.illinois.edu/nitrousoxidestudy

@rachelhoopsick.bsky.social @yockeyandrew.bsky.social

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Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES @rachelhoopsick.bsky.social · Jul 30

Our latest paper, led by @yockeyandrew.bsky.social, examines CDC mortality data and shows that nitrous oxide poisoning deaths, though relatively few, have risen dramatically in the US in recent years. We are at the bottom of a hill with a steep ascent, and now is the time to act.

US Nitrous Oxide Mortality

This cohort study describes national trends in nitrous oxide poisoning mortality in the US from 2010 to 2023.

jamanetwork.com

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Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES @rachelhoopsick.bsky.social · Jul 28

Our latest paper presents the findings from a pilot study to understand why PWID access contactless harm reduction services. People who used a vending machine did not differ in their ability to engage in harm-reducing behaviors compared to those who used in-person services. doi.org/10.1186/s129...

Harm reduction self-efficacy and motivations for contactless supply access among a sample of syringe services program participants

Background Contactless harm reduction supply methods (e.g., vending machines, mail order, mobile delivery) have
become prevalent in the United States. However, this approach has faced some criticisms, including the notion that,
unlike staffed syringe services programs, contactless methods do not provide face-to-face support, education, or
referrals to treatment, potentially limiting their overall impact.
Methods We collected self-reported data from a sample of people who inject drugs who accessed a syringe services
program (N=50), including their demographics, harm reduction self-efficacy (i.e., confidence to employ specific
health-preserving coping skills in high-risk drug using situations), and motivations for contactless harm reduction
supply access via vending machine. We explored differences in the participants' demographics and harm reduction
self-efficacy by usual method of harm reduction supply access (in-person vs. vending machine).
Results Participants accessed the harm reduction supply vending machine primarily out of convenience (66%) and
limited syringe services program hours (56%). Fear of being seen by someone they knew (28%), law enforcement
(34%), and social services (22%) were also motivators. Overall, harm reduction self-efficacy was highest for safer injection practices but lowest for reducing drug use. We did not find any significant differences in participants'
demographics or harm reduction self-efficacy by access method.
Conclusions People who access harm reduction supplies in person and through contactless methods may not meaningfully differ in terms of their demographics and harm reduction self-efficacy, and contactless harm reduction supply methods are more convenient than in-person services. Findings support continued reductions to barriers of harm reduction services.

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Reposted by Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES

Jessie Seiler @jessieish.bsky.social · Jul 18

Hello @societyforepi.bsky.social SER members! Is epidemiology inherently political? We are looking for epidemiologists in the US to take a brief survey about how we use the concept of solidarity in our work. Please take a few minutes to help us with this research. Thanks!

bit.ly/4nkxFmU

Solidarity Sentiment among Epidemiologists

A survey exploring the concept of solidarity among epidemiologists.

bit.ly

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Reposted by Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES

Plague Poems @plaguepoems.bsky.social · Jun 17

I confessed to my friend,
who works as a psychiatrist,
that at the moment
I’m feeling rather
depressed and anxious,
and in response my friend,
who works as a psychiatrist, replied:
that depression and anxiety
are perfectly healthy ways
to react to this moment.

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Reposted by Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES

Kerry Keyes @epikerrykeyes.bsky.social · May 26

"It should go without saying that scientific inquiry cannot flourish in a society dominated by fear, censorship and hate."

@danielmalinsky.bsky.social says all the things that should go without saying this week in the Guardian

Dan Malinsky @danielmalinsky.bsky.social · May 25

I wrote something to say that scientists cannot afford to be 'apolitical'

Scientists actually have the skills and the duty to join in the fight against authoritarianism

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Now is the time for scientists to stand up against Trump’s repressive agenda | Daniel Malinsky

The administration is attacking research, health and the environment. We might seem unlikely activists – but we have a duty to dissent

www.theguardian.com

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Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES @rachelhoopsick.bsky.social · May 18

Update for OG epitwitter: Remember when you helped crowdfund to help Sylvia get to the US? She just finished her MS and will be continuing on with her PhD. Many thanks again for supporting this promising young scholar! Her future is so bright 💙

Sylvia wearing her graduation regalia for the University of Illinois

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Reposted by Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES

The Conversation U.S. @us.theconversation.com · May 10

Nitrous oxide, often sold as "whippets," can cause serious health issues. Over 13 million Americans have misused it at least once, including 4% of eighth graders. More from a #publichealth professor: buff.ly/9HqB5Nf
By @yockeyandrew.bsky.social @olemiss.bsky.social

Nitrous oxide recreational use is linked to brain damage and sudden death − but ‘laughing gas’ is still sold all over the US

The low cost and easy availability of recreational nitrous oxide makes it an easy drug of choice, particularly for young people.

buff.ly

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Reposted by Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES

Cassie Boness, PhD @cassie-boness.bsky.social · Apr 11

🚨 I have been working with several addiction scientists and clinicians through the Addiction Science Defense Network (www.npscoalition.org/projects/add...) to craft a statement of concern about recent executive orders and actions that can be shared with members of congress.

Addiction Science Defense Network | npsc

The ASDN is an information exchange and action network for individuals and organizations devoted to studying, treating and preventing problems caused by psychoactive substance use, including alcohol, ...

www.npscoalition.org

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Rachel Hoopsick, PhD, MS, MPH, MCHES @rachelhoopsick.bsky.social · Apr 30

Join or start a weekly writing accountability group!

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