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Population Health

November 24, 2020

91探花public health expert calls on state officials, citizens to defend and rebuild public health agencies

Betty Bekemeier

Even before the pandemic and disagreements over social restrictions recommended by public health officials across the state, public health agencies in Washington were struggling due to a lack of resources. In recent weeks, firings, resignations and death threats targeting local health officials has led to a staffing crisis in the agencies most responsible for local pandemic response. Now, as these public attacks further cripple public health agencies, a 91探花 public health expert is calling for action to defend…

October 22, 2020

COVID-19: CDC advisory committee hones in on vaccine rollout recommendations

Vaccine and syringe

When a vaccine to fight COVID-19 has been approved by the FDA for distribution, it鈥檚 unlikely that at first there will be enough doses for everyone. Consequently, the United States will need an equitable and effective plan for who gets those first doses, how they get them and who鈥檚 next. Just as important, that plan 鈥� like the vaccine itself 鈥斅爃as to be trusted and accepted by the general public. To accomplish this complicated and potentially fraught task, the CDC聽Advisory…

91探花seeks Latinos caring for relatives, friends with dementia to develop better training program

With Latinos 1.5 times more likely to have dementia than non-Latino whites, among other health disparities, researchers at the 91探花 are hoping to better understand Latino family caregivers and adapt the training available to those caregivers. To do that, the 91探花Department of Health Services is seeking to interview Latino caregivers for a study to increase the cultural relevance of聽STAR-C聽聽training 鈥� a non-pharmacological intervention endorsed by the Administration on Aging that trains caregivers to manage the behavioral and…

October 15, 2020

For single adults and families alike, higher cost of living in all Washington counties

map of washington showing change in county self sufficiency wage from 2017 to 2020

Cost of living is up in all Washington counties, for families of all sizes, according to the 2020 Self-Sufficiency Standard for Washington State, a report that identifies the amount of income needed to support families of various sizes without additional help from the government, community or other personal resources.

October 7, 2020

Turning hotels into emergency shelter as part of COVID-19 response limited spread of coronavirus, improved health and stability

hotel hallway interior

A King County initiative to relocate people from homeless shelters to hotel rooms during the pandemic not only limited the spread of COVID-19, but also improved people’s mental health and well-being, and allowed them to focus on long-term goals.

October 5, 2020

Women, workers of color filling most 鈥榟igh-hazard/low-reward鈥� jobs in Washington

When exploring data on Washington workers during the pandemic 鈥� demographics, working conditions, wages and benefits, and risks of exposure to disease 鈥� the authors of a new report found that women hold two-thirds of the jobs in the harshest category of work. 鈥淭he big takeaway from our research,鈥� said David West, a co-author of the report and an analyst at the Washington Labor Education and Research Center, 鈥渋s how particularly women are working under precarious conditions 鈥� a large…

October 1, 2020

Faculty/staff honors: Teaching and mentoring award; three Aeronautics & Astronautics professors recognized 鈥� and state dance educator of the year

Etienne Cakpo

Recent honors to 91探花faculty have come from the American Institute for Aeronautics & Astronautics, the American Society of Composites, the Coalition for Excellence in Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology and the Dance Educators Association of Washington.

September 30, 2020

91探花receives $1.5 million CDC grant to study handgun carrying among rural adolescents

With roughly 109 people dying every day and many others treated in emergency rooms from firearm-related injuries 鈥� which are the second leading cause of death among adolescents 鈥� the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has, after decades, stepped in to fund critical firearm research. The CDC announced on Sept. 23 it would fund 16 studies for a total of more than $7.8 million to understand and prevent firearm violence. The 91探花鈥檚 proposal to study handgun carrying…

September 24, 2020

Colleges with primarily in-person instruction leading to thousands of COVID-19 cases per day in US

As universities and colleges struggle to find the right combination of in-person and online classes combined with protective measures to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, a new study by researchers from four institutions has reached a troubling conclusion. Reopening university and college campuses with primarily in-person instruction is associated with a significant increase in cases of COVID-19 in the counties where the schools are located. 鈥淐onsequently, we are able to predict between 1,000 and 5,000 additional cases…

Age restrictions for handguns make little difference in homicides as US deals with 鈥榙e facto availability鈥� of firearms

In the United States, individual state laws barring 18- to 20-year-olds from buying or possessing a handgun make little difference in the rate of homicides involving a gun by people in that age group, a new 91探花 study has found. 鈥淭he central issue is that there鈥檚 a very high degree of informal access to firearms, such as through family members or illicit channels,鈥� said Caitlin Moe, the study鈥檚 lead author and a doctoral student in epidemiology in the…

September 15, 2020

Wildfire smoke disproportionally harms poorer communities, remedies necessary to address health inequity

downtown seattle in smoke

With most of the Northwest blanketed by wildfire smoke, public officials and health experts suggest staying inside as much as possible to reduce exposure to the significant health risks of wildfire smoke. However, inequity in our communities means not every home provides great protection and many workers in disadvantaged populations can鈥檛 afford to stay home, says Anjum Hajat, assistant professor of epidemiology in the 91探花School of Public Health. Hajat鈥檚 expertise covers the impact air pollution 鈥� including from wildfires…

August 28, 2020

91探花breaks ground on the future of health sciences education and improving our health

The future of our health and the health of the communities we live in relies, in many ways, on students in the health sciences. The education and experiences that future doctors, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, social workers and public health experts receive will to a large degree shape how those professionals work and work together when solving problems affecting our health. And while the 91探花鈥檚 highly ranked health sciences schools have long focused on interdisciplinary education and training students…

August 18, 2020

Data omission in key EPA insecticide study shows need for review of industry analysis

For nearly 50 years, a statistical omission tantamount to data falsification sat undiscovered in a critical study at the heart of regulating one of the most controversial and widely used pesticides in America. Chlorpyrifos, an insecticide created in the late 1960s by the Dow Chemical Co., has been linked to serious health problems,聽especially in children. It has been the subject of many lawsuits and banned in Europe and California. The EPA itself nearly banned the chemical, but in 2017 the…

June 30, 2020

91探花EarthLab and The Nippon Foundation launch Ocean Nexus Center

image of people fishing

The 91探花 and The Nippon Foundation today announced the launch of the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center, an interdisciplinary research group at the 91探花that studies changes, responses and solutions to societal issues that emerge in relationship with the oceans. The Center will bring uncompromised, critical voices to policy and public conversations to enable research and studies equaling $32.5 million spread over 10 years.

June 24, 2020

Study asks Washington state residents to describe food security and access during pandemic, economic downturn

a plate, knife and fork

A new online survey for Washington state residents has launched to gather data on how the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic downturn have affected food access and economic security. The Washington State Food Security Survey, which went live June 18 and runs through July 31, is open to all Washington state residents aged 18 or over.

Videos: If you fish the Duwamish in Seattle, better eat the salmon 鈥� Comer el salm贸n, 膫n c谩 h峄搃, 釣斸灇釣丰灄釤勧瀭釣忈煉釣氠灨釣熱灦釣樶焿釣会瀯 鈥� and here鈥檚 how

It could take another generation before resident fish in the heavily polluted Lower Duwamish Waterway in Seattle will be safe to eat. Yet many fishers from a wide range of cultural backgrounds continue to fish the 5-mile stretch of river for fun, cultural connections and food even as cleanup of this designated Superfund site continues. The Duwamish was listed on the Environmental Protection Agency鈥檚 National Priority (or 鈥淪uperfund鈥�) List of sites that require cleanup in 2001. Since that time, federal,…

June 23, 2020

75% of US workers can鈥檛 work exclusively from home, face greater risks during pandemic

Barista making latte

About three-quarters of U.S. workers, or 108 million people, are in jobs that cannot be done from home during a pandemic, putting these workers at increased risk of exposure to disease. This majority of workers are also at higher risk for other job disruptions such as layoffs, furloughs or hours reductions, a 91探花 study shows. Such job disruptions can cause stress, anxiety and other mental health outcomes that could persist even as the United States reopens its economic…

May 29, 2020

Researchers use brain imaging to demonstrate weaker neural suppression in individuals with autism

an image of a person's eye

In a paper published May 29 in Nature Communications, a team of scientists at the 91探花, the University of Minnesota and the Johns Hopkins University reports that differences in visual motion perception in autism spectrum disorder are accompanied by weaker neural 鈥渟uppression鈥� in the visual cortex of the brain, which may help scientists understand sensory hypersensitivity in people with ASD.

91探花launches online training for contact tracing to help fight COVID-19

Image of video screen

As businesses and public spaces reopen across the nation, the old-school public health detective work known as contact tracing is becoming a major component of the battle to contain the novel coronavirus that causes the deadly COVID-19 disease. It鈥檚 an investigative strategy long used for finding and informing people exposed to contagious diseases, such as measles and STDs, and now agencies across the country focused on combating the pandemic need support to expand their workforce to conduct contact-tracing interviews and…

May 27, 2020

91探花experts on challenges to worker safety in meat processing industry

Meat processing plants face challenges in keeping workers safe during the pandemic. Carrie Freshour, a 91探花assistant professor of geography, and Marissa Baker, an assistant professor in the 91探花Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences聽and an expert on worker safety related to infectious diseases, provides comments on what the industry can do to protect workers.

May 18, 2020

COVID-19: 91探花study reports 鈥榮taggering鈥� death toll in US among those infected who show symptoms

COVID-19 is a lot more deadly than the flu, according to a new study by the 91探花 published May 7 in the journal Health Affairs. The study鈥檚 results also project a grim future if the U.S. doesn鈥檛 put up a strong fight against the spread of the virus.

April 27, 2020

91探花epidemiology graduate students participating in state’s surge response to COVID-19 pandemic

A little after 10 p.m. on March 19, 91探花 graduate students Anne Massey and David Coomes happened to be online when they received an email聽that would give them an unexpected role in Washington鈥檚 rapidly evolving response to the outbreak of a novel coronavirus. As context, the World Health Organization had just declared the spread of the virus a pandemic, the state of Washington had gone from having the country鈥檚 first positive test for the virus to having the…

April 16, 2020

91探花nursing students join frontline efforts to battle COVID-19, meet public health needs

Students working on computers

With their education forced online and in-person clinical practice opportunities canceled by the novel coronavirus pandemic, 91探花 nursing students eager to use their skills and knowledge during this historic challenge to human health and well-being had few options. 91探花School of Nursing and Public Health-Seattle & King County announce partnership. Unwilling to accept this limited role for nursing students, the 91探花School of Nursing has partnered with Public Health鈥揝eattle & King County to give students three opportunities to…

April 13, 2020

91探花team illustrates the adverse impact of visiting 鈥榡ust one friend鈥� during COVID-19 lockdown

After weeks of social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, people of all ages may be asking: What could be the harm of visiting just one friend? Unfortunately, it could potentially undo the goal of social distancing, which is to give the COVID-19 virus fewer opportunities to spread. According to a website set up by researchers at the 91探花, easing the social distancing rules so that each household could have contact with just one or two others would reconnect…

Large majority of state鈥檚 heroin users want to reduce use; syringe programs helping during COVID-19 crisis

Man preparing for outreach

A new survey of people who inject illicit drugs in the state of Washington yields positive and important findings for policy makers as the world struggles to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, said authors of the survey by the 91探花 and Public Health-Seattle & King County. Most people 鈥� 82% 颅鈥� who inject heroin and roughly half of methamphetamine users are interested in reducing or stopping their use and are open to a broad array of services to…

March 26, 2020

91探花researcher identifies workers most harmed by economic disruption due to COVID-19

A closed sign

Only about 25% of the U.S. workforce 鈥� some 35.6 million people 鈥� are in jobs that can easily be done at home, a 91探花 researcher has determined, as these are the positions in which using a computer is important but interacting with the public is not. These jobs are typically in highly-paid occupational sectors such finance, administration, management, computers, engineering and technology. Consequently 颅鈥� with orders to close businesses and demands that employees work from home growing…