Featured stories about SPH people, research and impact.
Read new stories on the SPH Blog
School of Public Health Faculty Promotions, effective July 1:
Neil Abernethy, to Associate Professor without tenure, Health Services
Jared Baeten, to Professor, Global Health, and Adjunct Professor, Epidemiology
Caleb Banta-Green, to Affiliate Associate Professor, Health Services
Anirban Basu, to Professor, Health Services
Parents who refused to immunize their children also tended to turn down fluoride treatments for them, according to a study conducted by Dr. Donald Chi, adjunct associate professor of Health Services at the University of Washington School of Public Health.
University of Washington School of Public Health researchers contributed to a recent study that suggests air pollution from jets could be a much greater health risk than was formerly thought. The study, published in Environmental Science and Technology, found that ultrafine particles from the exhaust of jets using Los Angeles International Airport were detected at twice the normal levels as far as 10 miles downwind from the airport. Pollution levels were up to five times normal levels at five-to-six miles downwind.
Many health plans being offered on the new health insurance exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act limit coverage to a narrow network of providers and hospitals. By limiting enrollees' choice of providers, insurers hope to contain costs and keep their premiums competitive.
The health reform law mandates that such networks provide adequate access to needed care, but many people are surprised to learn that they can no longer see their usual physician or go to the hospital where they used to go without "going out of network" and paying substantially more.
Today, almost half of recently deployed veterans get their health care outside the 1,700 facilities managed by the U.S.
You've heard of mystery shopping, where market researchers snoop around to gather information on products or services. Well, two School of Public Health graduate students have been doing some secret shopping in the name of health care reform.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week awarded a five-year, $3.75 million grant to the Health Promotion Research Center (HPRC) in the University of Washington's School of Public Health to continue its research on healthy aging.
Dean Howard Frumkin issued the following statement to students, staff and faculty of the School of Public Health in the wake of the Seattle Pacific University shooting.
Hana Alicic, a Public Health major graduating this June, leads a project to address the health needs of the homeless.
A member of the UW's Health Equity Circle, Hana will spend part of her summer conducting a "listening campaign" to gather research on the residents of the Seattle area's tent cities. The aim is to find out about barriers to health and experiences with health care.
Young people who have been vaccinated against pertussis but still contracted the disease recovered more rapidly and suffered less severe symptoms than other pertussis patients, according to a study led by a University of Washington School of Public Health graduate student.
Air pollution from traffic was associated with changes in the right side of the human heart, a study from the University of Washington Schools of Public Health and Medicine has found. The finding adds to the body of evidence supporting a connection between traffic-related air pollution and cardiovascular disease, researchers said.
Ron Sims, chair of the Dean's Council at the University of Washington School of Public Health, has been appointed the new Board Chair of the Washington State Health Benefit Exchange, which runs the state's online marketplace for health insurance. The exchange was created as part of the Affordable Care Act and signed up more than 1 million people during its first enrollment period.
Dylis Walker, associate professor of global health, is leading an effort to reduce maternal mortality in Guatemala, Mexico and Kenya.
As executive director of the nonprofit PRONTO International, Walker, an obstetrician, and colleagues have been training doctors and nurses how to deal with emergency room deliveries. Using low-tech but realistic simulations, they script scenes where participants can experience the "real panic" of an emergency situation. Mock patients wear a device called PRONTOPants that mimic maternal bleeding.
Diabetes patients suffering major depression were nearly twice as likely to experience end-stage kidney disease, according to a study by the University of Washington School of Public Health and the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. The study was published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Senior author was Dr. Bessie Young, adjunct associate professor of epidemiology and health services at the School of Public Health.
National Safe Drinking Water Week, May 4–10, celebrates a valuable resource. Turn on the kitchen tap in any home in Seattle and out comes water meant to quench our thirst, rinse our fruits and vegetables, and clean our dishes. We don't think twice about these activities; clean water is cheap and easy to access in our city.
Ever dream of being paid to travel the far reaches of the globe, no strings attached? Undergraduate Susan Glenn soon will be, thanks to a Bonderman Travel Fellowship.
Glenn was one of 14 lucky UW students recently awarded this unusual fellowship. Each will receive $20,000 to travel independently to at least six countries and two different regions of the world.
"They told me in person and at first I could not believe it," said Glenn, a UW senior majoring in public health. "It's a little overwhelming to know I'll be doing at least eight months of solo travel."
More than 50 students and staff volunteered for the School's Service Day on April 12 at three different sites across the Seattle area.
At West Seattle's Lincoln Park, volunteers worked with EarthCorps to make the forests and shoreline healthy by removing invasive plants and replacing them with native ones. At Food Lifeline in Shoreline, they repacked 6,450 pounds of grocery store salvage food products that provided 5,375 meals to Western Washington families.
Some men who take high doses of selenium and vitamin E supplements could increase their risk of aggressive prostate cancer, according to a recent study led by Dr. Alan Kristal, professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health and a member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Patrick Ryan is a perennial UW student. A traveler and do-gooder. A microbiologist. A benefactor. A jack-of-all-trades. "I'm good with my hands," says Ryan, holding up large, dirty fingernails.
A new study from the UW Schools of Public Health and Medicine estimates the viral loads below which the herpes simplex virus-2 is unlikely to be transmitted.
