To improve health equity, research can’t be confined to the pages of an academic journal. It also has to be put into practice. To do this, UW School of Public Health researchers partner with communities from the beginning of a research project. Together, they develop an idea, figure out the best method to conduct the research (and rethink that method if it’s not working) and then put those findings into action so that their collaborative work has meaningful impact. This process is known as the methods to research to practice continuum.
The stories show how faculty have been navigating this process alongside communities, from Yup’ik families in rural Alaska who wanted to improve their children’s oral health to app-based rideshare drivers in Seattle who needed personal protective equipment during the pandemic. While the research projects are all different, they have one thing in common: the journey to health equity starts in communities.
Kenneth Mugwanya's research has led him from studying which drugs can prevent HIV, to determining their safety, to understanding how to deliver them to the people who need them the most.
Fretts grew up watching family members like her grandmother and father work hard to control their blood sugar by eating healthy and exercising. But their efforts were met with economic constraints and physical ailments. When Fretts accompanied her father on doctor visits, she witnessed physicians blame him for not eating healthy and exercising enough.
Sugary drinks have negative impacts on children's health. Here’s how one faculty’s partnership with Native Alaska communities has been working to change that.
Biostatistics faculty Peter Gilbert was tasked with a puzzle during the pandemic: finding an antibody marker that could determine whether a COVID vaccine was working.
