Python, Politics, and Public Health - Bridging the Gap Between Data Science and Health Policy

Explore how Python can transform public health decision-making and policy through this 26-minute conference talk from EuroPython 2025. Discover real-world applications of Python in global health practice across multiple continents, including network analysis of social media debates on vaping that intersected with regional politics, visualizations of heart disease and stroke mortality data that reframed health improvement strategies, data pipelines for women's health that formed the backbone of European reports, and gamification approaches to chronic disease progress tracking that informed the European Programme of Work on United Action for Health 2026–2030. Learn why Python remains underutilized in public health despite its versatility and potential impact on population health outcomes. Examine case studies from the Pacific Islands, China, Philippines, and Europe that demonstrate Python's ecosystem capabilities beyond traditional data science applications. Participate in discussions about bridging the gap between Python as a developer tool and its potential as an engine for "hacking health," concluding with a collaborative call to action for making Python a more prominent force in public health policy and practice.