Jeff Millman, Author at Sampan

Jeff Millman

Health January 3, 2025 0

How Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Nomination Reflects Nation’s Public Health Skepticism

Two decades ago, a president’s choices for leaders of public health agencies like the Food and Drug Administration would not likely have generated much controversy. But in the years after the Covid-19 pandemic that spurred lasting skepticism from some segments of the American public, that is no longer the case. Especially for president-elect Donald Trump. Over the past month Trump has made nominations for the FDA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes of Health, and the Office of […]

Immigration December 20, 2024 0

Holistic Approach Needed to Heal: Refugee Trauma Doctor

Dr. Lin Piwowarczyk, co-founder of the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights, has been working with torture victims and refugees for over 30 years. Specializing in the mental health evaluation and treatment of refugees and survivors of torture, she is currently the principal investigator for an Office of Refugee Resettlement grant addressing the holistic treatment of torture survivors. She spoke to Sampan at length about her life, her work, and what we can all do to protect human […]

Health September 13, 2024 0

Weight-Loss Drugs Changing the Shape of America, But Not ‘Silver Bullet,’ Says Doc

If you have watched any daytime television or YouTube videos over the past few years, you have no doubt seen advertisements for medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro. The ads are ubiquitous, and so are the medications – 5 million Americans were prescribed semaglutide (the major ingredient in many of these medications) in 2023, a 40-fold increase from the past five years. Researchers for JPMorgan estimate that by 2030, nearly 10% of the U.S. population may be taking weight-loss drugs. […]

Health August 23, 2024 0

Doc Explores How Gender Affects Usefulness of Psychiatric Drugs

Dr. Briana K. Chen is a neuroscientist whose work may one day change the way doctors prescribe antidepressants. As a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Chen studies sex differences, stress, and psychiatric disorders with an interest in developing sex-specific treatments for mental health conditions.Since the development of the first antidepressants in the 1950s, the subjects in clinical trials for medications to treat stress-related disorders have been primarily male. Chen says this is a problem for a number […]

Boston April 26, 2024 0

Opinion: Beware TikTok Medicine

Americans are increasingly turning to the internet for health advice. A 2022 study by CharityRx found that 65% of Americans use Google to get answers to health questions before they consult doctors. Around 20% try TikTok first, with the numbers higher for millennials and Gen-Z. As the demand for information grows, so does the supply of online “health influencers” ready to peddle products, supplements, and questionable treatments. According to the CharityRx study, 37% of Americans seek advice from online health […]

Immigration April 13, 2024 0

Update on The Migrant Crisis in Massachusetts

Immigration in Boston is changing. A report from the Boston Foundation and the Immigration Research Initiative published in February found that the most common places of origin and settlement for immigrants in Boston have shifted significantly in recent years. In 1990, the most common country of origin for Greater Boston’s foreign-born population was Canada. Six of the top ten countries were in Europe. By 2021, Canada and European countries weren’t even in the top ten – China, the Dominican Republic, […]

Front Page March 16, 2024 0

Wild Coyotes Are in Cities and Suburbia: How To Protect Yourself

The cries came from over the hill, past the trees, but it was pointless to determine the exact location. It was nighttime, and the only light was the small campfire we’d made. The sounds were ominous but oddly rhythmic: one long howl, followed by shorter, higher-pitched screams, over and over, for several minutes. Then silence. The coyotes were out, and it was time to bring the dogs in. This scene replayed itself many times throughout my childhood in rural and […]

Immigration January 13, 2024 0

Immigration Update 1/12/24

According to government estimates, it takes three to four months for federal immigration authorities to process temporary employment authorization for most legal applicants. Many immigrants in Massachusetts have been waiting much longer. In an article published just before the end of the year, The Boston Globe spoke to a number of immigrants in Massachusetts who applied for work authorization. Some have been waiting six months, others nine. This is despite Massachusetts lawmakers’ attempts to improve waiting times by expanding legal […]

Immigration December 24, 2023 0

Biweekly Immigration News, 12/22/23: Federal and State Updates

It has been a difficult few months for immigrants in Massachusetts, but there is finally some good news. Lawmakers have approved millions of dollars in funding under a supplemental budget that allows immigrants in the state to access SNAP benefits. The legislation covers residents who are not citizens but are in the immigration process or have legal status. Massachusetts used to provide SNAP benefits to immigrants in the late 90s, but the state halted funding for this aspect of the […]

Food December 23, 2023 0

Are Food Additives Bad for You?

Potassium bromate, propylparaben, brominated vegetable oil, and red dye number 3: no, this is not a list of materials for an organic chemistry experiment. Instead it’s a group of food additives that will be banned as part of the California Food Safety Act, which California Governor Gavin Newsom signed in October. The legislation won’t go into effect until January of 2027, but it’s made nationwide news – after all, these are common food additives present in everything from fruit cups […]

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