Advertise on podcast: JAMA Health Forum Conversations

More than 66 million people live in rural areas in the US. Rural populations have been falling behind urban populations in life expectancy and a range of health indicators for the past 2 decades. Katy Backes Kozhimannil, PhD, MPA, of the University of Minnesota joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss health policy and improving health for rural populations. Related Content: Health Policy Research Priorities Toward Improved Rural Population Health

Commercial determinants of health drive chronic disease through corporate influence on science, regulation, and public narratives. JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, speaks with Laura Schmidt, PhD, MSW, MPH, of University of California, San Francisco, about health equity, industry approaches, and policy solutions. Related Content: Centering Corporate Activity in the Population Health Research Agenda

There can be no health care system without an adequate supply of well-educated nurses. Linda H. Aiken, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the distinction between a supply problem and a deployment and retention problem and their direct policy implications. Related Content: Policy Approaches to Ensuring an Adequate Nursing Workforce in Coming Decades

The US's aging population is reshaping health policy, care models, and workforce demands. This episode examines the structural challenges and urgent innovations required for long-term care as JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, talks with Harvard's David Grabowski, PhD, a leading expert in aging policy. Related Content: The Implications of Population Aging for Health Policy and Health Services Research

The 2022 Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization decision had consequences for access to abortion in the US, resulting in near-total abortion bans in effect in more than a dozen states. Diana Foster, PhD, of the University of California, San Francisco, joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the impact of the Dobbs decision and role of science in documenting reproductive health in the coming years. Related Content: Science Bearing Witness in the Post-Dobbs Era

Heidi Allen, MSW, PhD, from Columbia University discusses policy shifts that may reshape healthcare for millions in the US with JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief and "The Year We Lost Medicaid" author Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH. Related Content: The Year We Lost Medicaid

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools in health care and public health can bring efficiency and new approaches that might improve health. These tools may also have implications for health equity. Kevin Johnson, MD, MS, of the University of Pennsylvania joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the opportunities and challenges of AI in health care and public health. Related Content: Keeping Health Equity at the Forefront of the Artificial Intelligence Revolution in Medicine and Health

How do we better deploy market-based solutions to improve health care in the US? Lanhee Chen, PhD, of Stanford University joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss how market-based approaches can complement public strategies to create a health care system that is more adaptive, responsive, and fiscally sustainable. Related Content: A Role for Market Forces in US Health Care—Principles and Guardrails

Pharmaceuticals are a central—and costly—element of the US health care system. Aaron S. Kesselheim, MD, JD, MPH, of Brigham and Women's Hospital joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the challenge and opportunity of delivering affordable drugs to as many people as possible. Related Content: In Search of Pharmaceutical Policy Innovation in the US

Historically, there has been less focus on primary care than on specialist care in US health care. What are the challenges and opportunities in primary care today? What might it look like in the coming decades? Robert Phillips, MD, MSPH, of The American Board of Family Medicine joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the future of primary care in the US. Related Content: Back to the Future of Primary Care

There is abundant evidence that sexual minority groups have worse health indicators than sexual majority groups. Gilbert Gonzales, PhD, MHA, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the current policy landscape and its potential impact on the health of LGBTQ+ populations. Related Content: Health Implications of Recent Policy Changes Affecting LGBTQ+ Populations

Both sex- and gender-based factors influence the health of women. A fully realized population health agenda needs to center women's health as an area of conceptual and pragmatic focus. Rosa M Gonzalez-Guarda, PhD, MPH, RN, joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss women's health, inequities, and how women's many and different identities shape their health. Related Content: The Consequences of Selective Defunding of Health-Relevant Research Areas

About 1 in 5 adults in the US live with a mental health condition. In 2023, approximately 32% of US adults reported symptoms of depression and anxiety. Ruth Shim, MD, MPH, of the University of California, Davis, joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss how national policy can better support mental health in the US. Related Content: Toward a Strategy to Improve National Mental Health

The second Trump administration launched several actions in 2025 that directly affect the health of populations. Sara Bleich, PhD, of Harvard Chan School of Public Health joins JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, to discuss the nonhealth policies that may matter most to health and warrant ever-more attention, particularly in a moment of policy turbulence. Related Content: The Health Consequences of Nonhealth Policies in a Time of Policy Disruption

The evolution of artificial intelligence technology has outstripped most health policy oversight in the US. Michelle M. Mello, JD, PhD, Professor of Law and Professor of Health Policy at Stanford University, discusses this and more with JAMA Health Forum Editor in Chief Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH. Related Content: Inaction on Artificial Intelligence Regulation in a Time of Upheaval