Epilogue
Although the scope of this volume concludes with 2021, the following year brought ongoing major sociopolitical and health challenges. In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, causing the displacement of millions of people, destruction of health care facilities, and long-term public health consequences for the region. The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies) rallied to provide support, including public statements (e.g., NAM, 2022a; NASEM, 2022a), programs to relocate Ukrainian scientists and rebuild the Ukrainian research system (NASEM, 2022c,d), and efforts to protect and support health care workers (NAM, 2022d; NASEM, 2022b).
Meanwhile, in the United States, two particularly grievous mass shooting incidents in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, in spring 2022 reinvigorated public health attention to preventing gun violence. NAM President Victor Dzau called for urgent action by the public health and science communities and assembled a Task Force of NAM members to recommend actions for the NAM and the National Academies to undertake (NAM, 2022b).
In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, threatening access to safe abortion care for millions of women across the United States, particularly women of color, poor women, and women living in rural areas. Dzau and National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt spoke out against the decision, highlighting its detrimental impact on women’s health (NAM, 2022c). The NAM and the National Academies began scoping a research agenda to comprehensively map the health impacts of the reversal as well as other activities to advise health workers, patients, and policy makers in the wake of the decision.
