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Latest news and updates

Latest news and updates

New foundation funding to help UW faculty members narrow gaps in health equity

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Two University of Washington faculty members, Weichao Yuwen and Maggie Ramirez, have received a $50,000 grant from the Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation’s Emergent Innovation program to narrow gaps in health equity. Yuwen and Ramirez’s project, “AI-Enhanced Nursing Intervention Platform for Latino Family Caregivers,” seeks to tailor an existing artificial intelligence platform – Caring for Caregivers Online, or COCO – to offer culturally-congruent support to caregivers of children with chronic conditions. “Despite overwhelming and disparate needs, the use of supportive…

UW study bolsters evidence of link between air pollution and health outcomes

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New research from University of Washington investigators has added to the evidence that prenatal and postnatal exposure to air pollution can harm kids. Specifically, the study found that mothers in the first and second trimesters who were exposed to nitrogen dioxide (N02) were more likely to experience behavioral problems. Children aged 2-4 exposed to small particle air pollution were also reported to have poorer behavioral functioning and cognitive performance. This study highlights the vulnerability of pregnant women, children and the…

Initiative announces award of five autumn quarter 2022 Tier 2 pilot research grants

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Five new Population Health Initiative Tier 2 pilot grants were awarded today to teams representing researchers from six different UW schools and colleges as well as several community-based partners. The total value of these awards was roughly $530,000, which included $280,000 in funding from the initiative plus additional matching funds from different schools, colleges and departments. “We are thrilled to support these research teams in pursuing potential solutions to key population-level challenges such as mental health and well-being, healthcare access…

Lower-income communities realize economic benefits from sweetened beverage taxes

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Intake of sugar-sweetened beverages is a known contributor to a number of health issues, with several local jurisdictions in the U.S. having implemented sweetened beverage taxes as a means of successfully reducing purchasing. Most studies of the economic impact of these taxes have focused on retail-level data, with a new study from University of Washington researchers being among the first to investigate the impact at the household level. The study – which examined economic equity impacts of sweetened beverage taxes…

Winter quarter population health course to explore careers across disciplines

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The Population Health Initiative is partnering with the School of Public Health to offer a series of career-focused lectures during winter quarter 2023. This seminar course is designed for University of Washington undergraduate students from any degree program who are interested in exploring different career pathways in population health. This is a one-credit seminar graded as Credit/No-Credit course. Classes will occur on Wednesdays from 2:30 – 3:20 p.m. in Thomson Hall 125. Students are expected to attend in person. Students…

Winter 2023 undergraduate course highlights UW population health research

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The Population Health Initiative is continuing its partnership with the University of Washington’s Undergraduate Research Program (URP) to offer a series of faculty-led lectures during winter quarter 2023 focused on the three pillars of population health: human health, environmental resilience and social and economic equity. The Research Exposed! (General Studies 391 D) course will feature faculty from a range of disciplines discussing their population health-related research. Undergraduates may take this course for credit (i.e., one credit/quarter; three quarters max). Each…

Recapping the Global Perspectives: Women in Leadership in Public Health panel

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The Population Health Initiative – in partnership with the Office of Global Affairs, Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, and the School of Public Health – brought together an international, hybrid panel (pictured) on November 2, 2022 of four leading women to discuss their experiences navigating the field of public health, including how they have overcome institutionalized gender norms. The panel was moderated by Sebawit (Seba) Bishu, an assistant professor at the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance,…

Spotlight: Graduate student Evalynn Fae Taganna Romano reflects on her time at UW

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While most people were isolating early during the COVID-19 pandemic, one University of Washington student was delivering deliver weekly breakfasts, cloth masks, thank you notes and grocery gift cards for more than 200 UW custodians. That student was Evalynn Fae Taganna Romano, a UW alum who received her undergraduate degree in Psychology in 2010, before returning for a master’s in both public health and social work in 2021. Romano has a long track record of advocacy work, her most prominent…

Expanding emissions decreases timeline of inevitable increase in global temperatures

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In order to limit greenhouse gas emissions to continue the gradual decline of emissions rates, many countries joined the Paris Agreement, which limits warming to 2 degrees Celsius at most. Researchers from the University of Washington sought to determine the extent to which past emissions guarantee a certain degree of warming by expanding their focus to include specific emissions such as methane and aerosols in addition to carbon dioxide. The researchers created a “best-case scenario” model by studying what would…

UW study assesses disproportionate access to opioid addiction treatment

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As the opioid addition crisis becomes increasingly worse across the U.S. over the past several years, federal policy changes are being implemented to shift patient evaluations toward a virtual format. A focus on buprenorphine, an effective treatment for opioid disorder, was another major aspect of these policy changes, as it is easy to prescribe in a telemedicine setting. Researchers at the University of Washington are exploring whether these changes in policy are affecting the disproportionate access to buprenorphine experienced by…