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Global Health

A New Policy Promotes Public Health and Faith Leaders to Jointly Prepare for Future Health Crises

Posted on , modified on by Kristin Law

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine hesitancy poses significant challenges to public health efforts worldwide, continuing to put people at risk of contracting preventable diseases like polio, HPV, measles, and influenza. At this critical juncture, based on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Public Health Association (APHA) has endorsed a new policy. Acknowledging the vital role faith leaders play in influencing their communities, this policy, developed and coauthored by eight experts including Dr. Inon Schenker, an NYU Tel Aviv lecturer, calls for wider engagement of public health leaders with faith-based organizations to improve public health and vaccine equity. The authors studied instances of collaboration between public health and religious leaders and found positive results, particularly in underserved, marginalized, and hard-to-reach populations.

Dr. Schenker, a public health specialist with over 20 years of experience in research and practice in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, explains, “The policy reflects a fresh perspective on connecting faith and public health. Faith leadership—priests, rabbis, imams—are highly respected in their respective communities. The trust and influencing power over large cadres of people they wield can make a difference in pandemic preparedness and response.” Dr. Schenker’s diverse background in public health, with experience working with the World Health Organization, civil society organizations, and the private sector, underscores the importance of combining practical experience with academic insights—a philosophy deeply embedded in the NYU ethos. This is also the third time he is leading APHA teams to develop endorsed global health policies.

Two women and four men seated, in discussion. Signage in the background includes various religious symbols.

Jewish, Muslim, and Christian participants in a panel on interfaith collaboration with public health experts held in Karlsruhe, Germany, underscore the important roles religious leaders have in promoting vaccination and supporting community health.
Photo Credit: Julia M/JIVI

Turning Recommendations into Results

Dr. Schenker emphasizes the importance of spreading awareness about the new policy and translating its recommendations into action items. He urges prompt implementation to address pressing health challenges, better prepare for future pandemics, and improve overall health equity. Some of the policy’s recommendations include engaging in ongoing dialogue with religious organizations to develop strategies for the local and global levels; identifying areas where public health and religious leaders can collaborate to protect life and prevent disease; investing in faith-based vaccination initiatives and culturally appropriate messaging; launching religious organization–led programs to reach those who are vaccine hesitant; and training faith leaders to work with public health leaders and vice versa.

Drawing on real-life examples, Dr. Schenker shares past success stories, like a recent initiative in Jerusalem where religious leaders came together to endorse collaboration between faith communities and public health agencies. He also participates in ongoing research efforts in Israel, such as using mosques as hubs for community centers for older adults and for health-promotion interventions.

Inspiring Better Outcomes

Overall, the new policy underscores the potential for pragmatic collaboration between faith-based organizations and public health authorities to tackle vaccine hesitancy, bolster emergency preparedness, and respond to urban health issues. Through mutual respect and a shared vision, these partnerships have the power to drive meaningful change and promote better health outcomes for all.

Sixteen men wearing masks and religious garb standing together

The President of Israel convened a meeting of faith leaders in Jerusalem to cosign a declaration calling for faith communities worldwide to collaborate with the medical profession on public health issues. Pictured above: The Latin Patriarch, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa; The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III; The Anglican Archbishop, Dr. Hossam Na’um; The President of the Muslim Shari’a Court of Appeals, Sheikh Abed Elhakim Samara; The Druze Community Leader, Sheikh Mouwafaq Tarrif; The Secretary General of the Baha’i Movement in Israel, Dr. David Rutstein; The Rishon LeZion, Chief (Sephardi) Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef; The Chief (Ashkenazi) Rabbi of Israel, President of the Supreme Rabbinical Court, Rabbi David Lau
Photo Credit: Koby Gideon/GPO

Written by Kelsey Rexroat

Toward Health Equity Across the Globe: NYU Shanghai’s Brian Hall Named Highly Cited Researcher in the Field of Psychiatry and Psychology

Posted on , modified on by Maxine P
Portrait of Professor Brian Hall Professor Brian Hall has always kept a busy schedule. The global health researcher and clinical psychologist began his career providing triage services at a free medical clinic in Ohio, then he took his work to a post-tsunami Japan in 2011. With a dedication to supporting underserved and disadvantaged populations, he’s worked with refugees in Jijiga, Ethiopia, and migrant domestic workers in Macao, China. Today, he’s the director of NYU Shanghai’s Center for Global Health Equity and a professor of global public health. He’s also coauthored more than 320 peer-reviewed publications, commentaries, and chapters on the most pressing global health issues of our time, leading to his distinctions as a 2022 and 2023 Highly Cited Researcher in the field of Psychiatry and Psychology by Clarivate’s Web of Science. “It really highlights that our work is timely, focused on key issues of global priority that demonstrate a real impact on the field,” he says. “It is an honor.”
 
Hall joined NYU Shanghai in 2020 to lead the development of the global public health curriculum and ultimately the Center for Global Health Equity, at a time when public health reentered the spotlight. Since then, he’s also developed and taught a student-driven NYU seminar course on global mental health, which, to the best of his knowledge, is the first of its kind in Asia. Today, he oversees the center in three core areas: education, training, and mentoring; service to the community; and research. “Global health is a convening discipline, bringing diverse scholars and students together to address issues related to population health and well-being. Our goal is to continue to cultivate this interdisciplinary research atmosphere and include learners at all levels,” Hall explains. “This is a field in which we can make a real difference in the lives of diverse populations in China, regionally, and around the world.”
 
A group of individuals stand in front of a decorative poster.

Hall and colleagues celebrate the successful trial of Step-by-Step, a digital mental health intervention, on Chinese university students.

At the center, Hall says, “We focus our efforts on finding opportunities to make the greatest public health impact.” Currently, that includes noncommunicable diseases, like cancer and mental health, urban health, climate change, and migration. Now Hall is focusing on digital mental health interventions. Working with the World Health Organization, he recently published an implementation trial to address the mental health of Chinese university students—a population of more than 9 million. Going forward, the center is coleading a 1.3 million euro grant to study the barriers of accessing mental health care that migrant populations in five countries experience.

Jin Han, Yang Feng, and Brian Hall seated in chairs in discussion

Jin Han, Yang Feng, and Hall in discussion at the inaugural Summit in Global Public Health held by NYU’s New York City and Shanghai campuses

Because the center is based at NYU Shanghai, Hall and his colleagues have access to a wealth of resources. “Shanghai is a living laboratory, and NYU Shanghai is a vibrant interdisciplinary research university,” he affirms. “So we can find world-leading researchers and promising pretenure faculty and fellows with whom we can discuss opportunities for collaboration across fields. I think this makes NYU Shanghai unique, as we think outside of our own narrow fields to find intersections where innovation can take place.”

Written by Dana Guterman