Episode #427 Battling Disinformation & Building Trust With Tista Ghosh, MD, MPH
- Laura Hollabaugh
- 9 hours ago
- 3 min read
On This Episode Of The Public Health Epidemiology Conversations (PHEC) Podcast
This episode features Dr. Tista Ghosh, a public health physician, epidemiologist, author, and senior VP for Employee Health at a global medical device company. Dr. Ghosh shares her journey from discovering public health late in medical school to her impactful roles at the CDC, state government, and private industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. The conversation highlights her book Before the Next Crisis, which captures frontline workers' stories, and addresses critical challenges like disinformation and distrust in public health. She offers valuable insights on the evolving field, storytelling, public-private partnerships, and advice for listening deeply to communities.
Meet Tista Gosh
Dr. Tista Ghosh is a physician, epidemiologist, and award-winning health journalist. She has served as Chief Medical Officer for the state of Colorado, an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer, and a member of the U.S. Community Preventive Services Task Force. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she advised multiple Fortune 500 companies on workforce safety. Her writing has appeared in outlets including Fast Company, Business Insider, Inc., HuffPost, and KevinMD, and she has been featured as a guest expert on the Today Show, CNN, The New York Times, Forbes, NPR, USA Today, Healthline, and MarketWatch. In 2021, she received the Media Excellence Award for written health journalism from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Her latest book, Before the Next Crisis (Columbia University Press, August 5), weaves together the voices of everyday Americans, in both red and blue states, who lived through the pandemic. Their stories offer essential lessons to strengthen preparedness for future public health threats.
Listen To This Episode Of The Public Health Epidemiology Conversations (PHEC) Podcast
Conversation Highlights
Late Discovery, Lifelong Passion: Dr. Ghosh did not learn about public health until her fourth year of medical school, sparked by repetitive chronic disease cases and realizing the need to address root societal causesÂ
Pandemic Frontlines to Private Sector: After serving as Colorado's chief medical officer, she transitioned to helping a global heart valve manufacturer keep operations safe and running during the COVID-19 crisisÂ
Collecting Voices: Her book Before the Next Crisis amplifies stories from diverse communities across the pandemic, emphasizing that local context and evolving science matter greatly in response effortsÂ
Disinformation Threat: Distrust and misinformation are today’s top public health threats, undermining efforts and requiring renewed communication and education strategiesÂ
Public Health Behind the Scenes: She explains public health using relatable analogies—like preventing injuries from unmarked potholes—to convey the often invisible but vital nature of preventionÂ
Career Flexibility and Listening: Advises an open mind for evolving career pathways and the importance of truly listening to communities to understand their lived realitiesÂ
Global and Cultural Complexity: Managing employee health across continents exposed her to cultural nuances and collaborative problem-solving unique to international public health challengesÂ
Public-Private Partnerships: Experienced firsthand how private sector resources enabled effective interventions like improving ventilation, illustrating powerful collaboration to keep critical services operational
"If someone put cones around that pothole and you never fell in, you wouldn't write anyone five-star reviews. You just keep walking. And to me, those cones are public health."– Dr. Tista Ghosh
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