386 papers
Public and global health examines how we protect communities from disease, manage outbreaks, and improve well-being across the world. This vital field connects diverse research on everything from infectious disease control and vaccination strategies to the social factors that shape our collective health. Because these studies often impact policy and daily life, understanding them quickly is more important than ever.
At Gist.Science, we track every new preprint published in this category on medRxiv to ensure you never miss a breakthrough. We process each submission to provide both plain-language explanations for general readers and detailed technical summaries for experts, making complex findings accessible to everyone.
Below are the latest papers in public and global health, freshly summarized from the most recent medRxiv releases.
Based on 2024–2025 National Youth Tobacco Survey data, overall nicotine and tobacco use among US middle and high school students slightly declined, yet the landscape shifted significantly toward increased disposable e-cigarette use, frequent consumption, and dominant preferences for specific brands and flavors.
This study analyzes global preterm birth trends from 1990 to 2023 and projects them to 2050, revealing that while mortality and disability-adjusted life years have significantly declined, prevalence is rising and the burden remains disproportionately high in low socio-demographic index regions, necessitating targeted interventions for vulnerable populations.
A quality improvement initiative assessing unsheltered adults in San Francisco revealed a high prevalence of acute cardiovascular risks, particularly severe hypertension, underscoring the urgent need for targeted outreach, primary care referrals, and health education to mitigate future cardiovascular events.
This study validates the HemoCue method against the gold-standard DCM method in children aged 6–24 months in Bangladesh and proposes a revised hemoglobin cut-off of 11.00 g/dL to correct the underestimation of anemia prevalence caused by HemoCue's tendency to overestimate hemoglobin levels.
A mixed-methods study in Zimbabwe demonstrates that a co-developed intervention providing risk-differentiated support and two-week food packs to sex workers testing positive for COVID-19 was feasible, acceptable, and cost-effective, though addressing stigma remains crucial for optimizing future implementation.
This qualitative study in rural Edo, Nigeria, reveals that while older adults possess knowledge of healthy diets and cultural preferences, their dietary choices are predominantly constrained by structural barriers such as economic instability, limited market access, and inadequate government policies, necessitating systemic interventions to support healthy ageing.
This systematic review and meta-analysis of 49 studies evaluates six wastewater concentration principles, revealing that while magnetic bead-based and flocculation methods show superior performance for enveloped and non-enveloped viruses respectively, no single method universally dominates, highlighting the need for context-specific selection in environmental surveillance.
This qualitative study of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) in Thailand reveals that while "hi-fun" (chemsex) offers a vital space for pleasure, intimacy, and community acceptance, it also entails significant risks, highlighting the urgent need to shift from abstinence-focused policies toward flexible harm reduction and structural reforms that prioritize dignity, safety, and equity.
This study conducted in Malawi reveals that while people living with HIV and the broader community generally accept the use of advanced Controlled Human Infection Models for pneumococcal and tuberculosis research, they emphasize the critical need for robust safety measures, informed consent, and culturally sensitive community engagement.
This mixed-methods realist evaluation protocol aims to determine how Healthy Conversation Skills (HCS) training enables diverse service providers to effectively deliver Making Every Contact Count (MECC) interventions by identifying which specific training elements work, for whom, and under what circumstances to inform future adaptations and public health policy.