Using data to guide resources to where they’re needed most: Portraits of Public Health

May 27, 2026.Reading time 7 minutes.

Portrait of a smiling man with glasses, greying brown hair, and wearing a blue shirt.

Public Health – Seattle & King County’s talented data scientists synthesize information to help our staff and public better understand who is most impacted by various health issues. For this month’s Portraits in Public Health, we meet Danny, who does the behind-the-scenes work to make data more accessible and to allow our staff to work efficiently.

Combatting stigma with personal stories: Portraits of Public Health

March 26, 2026.Reading time 8 minutes.

Illustration of Lana - white woman with long blonde hair, wearing a light blue collared shirt.

In our latest Portrait of Public Health, we meet Lana, a nurse and educator at Public Health’s TB Clinic, who uses her own immigration story to build trust with other new arrivals to discuss the stigmatized topic of tuberculosis (TB).

Staying safe while getting outdoors

April 8, 2020.Reading time 5 minutes.

Getting outside for fresh air, exercise, and perhaps even to restore a sense of hope is important. As long as you’re following proper social distancing, getting outside and getting exercise is great for your mental, emotional and physical health.

Norovirus 101

January 3, 2020.Reading time 8 minutes.

If you’ve been following local news in recent weeks, you may have seen stories about outbreaks of norovirus – a highly contagious virus that causes rapid onset of vomiting and diarrhea. Norovirus is the most common cause of acute, or short-term, gastroenteritis (inflammation of the stomach and intestines) in the country and is responsible for […]

Updates on Hepatitis A Outbreak

October 7, 2019.Reading time 9 minutes.

As we’ve reported previously on Public Health Insider, many urban areas in the United States have been grappling with hepatitis A outbreaks, especially among people living homeless and people who use drugs (injection and non-injection). Some states have seen hundreds or even thousands of cases, and a high proportion of these cases have resulted in […]

7 things you should know about bats & rabies

August 22, 2019.Reading time 7 minutes.

70% of Americans who die from rabies in the US were infected by bats – CDC Vital Signs As the weather warms up in King County, adult bats come out of hibernation, baby bats are learning to fly, and humans get outdoors, which means a big increase in human-bat interactions compared to other times of year. Bats can be infected […]