Initiative announces awardees of winter quarter 2022 Tier 1 pilot research grants

Posted on February 25, 2022March 26, 2022

The University of Washington Population Health Initiative announced the award of 11 Tier 1 pilot grants to teams representing researchers from nine different UW schools and colleges as well as UW Tacoma and numerous community-based partners. The collective value of these 11 awards was nearly $480,000, which included approximately $270,000 in funding from the initiative plus additional school, college and departmental matching funds. “We were extremely pleased with the range of innovative, interdisciplinary, and hopefully quite impactful project ideas that…

Researchers develop chatbot that asks emergency room visitors about social needs

Posted on February 23, 2022February 24, 2022

Doctors across the United States have identified the need to access data on the social background of incoming emergency room patients in order to ensure more specialized care for patients. This prompted a research team led by the University of Washington to innovate a solution by developing a chatbot named HarborBot, which they presented at the Conference for Conversational User Interfaces this past July. HarborBot is displayed on a tablet given to the patients when they arrive at the emergency…

New UW Bothell program seeks to bolster behavioral and mental health workforce

Posted on February 17, 2022

The University of Washington Bothell’s School of Nursing & Health Studies (NHS) developed a behavioral and mental health proficiency program last year with the goal of addressing the knowledge gap in mental and behavioral health issues among entry level healthcare employees. The program seeks to democratize behavioral health knowledge by appealing to healthcare workers across many disciplines in order to benefit the overall experience of patients. The NHS faculty team assessed healthcare workers across multiple disciplines on their confidence and…

Spotlight: Jennifer Atkinson supports the processing of anxiety from climate change

Posted on February 9, 2022March 31, 2022

Channeling environmental anxiety into action to address pressing climate and environmental crises influences Dr. Jennifer Atkinson’s numerous pursuits and achievements. Her career centers on the intersections between mental health and climate science, as she seeks to help others process their anxiety surrounding the constantly evolving environmental crisis the world faces. Atkinson is an associate teaching professor of environmental humanities at the University of Washington Bothell, where she has taught for the past 12 years. She employs a variety of interdisciplinary…

Workers in tropical regions facing increasing dangers due to deforestation

Posted on February 4, 2022

Findings from a new University of Washington study suggest that rising temperatures due to climate change are responsible for increased fatalities and heat-related illnesses in outdoor workers in lower-latitude tropical forests. The study focuses on Berau Regency, Indonesia, as this region has experienced significant deforestation and subsequent warmer temperatures over the past several years. They found that the increased heat exposure combined with the intensity of outdoor labor led to a significant number of workers experiencing heat exhaustion, kidney and…

Minorities hit harder by COVID-caused mammography delays

Posted on February 1, 2022

New research from the University of Washington School of Medicine found that women of color were disproportionately affected by the mass postponement of mammograms in the U.S. due to COVID-19. When the pandemic emerged, routine screenings were pushed back to allow health care facilities and workers to prioritize COVID-19 patients. After a few weeks, guidelines for resuming mammograms were released based on the local impact of COVID-19, availability of specific equipment, and breast surgeon and oncologist availability. Overall, these guidelines…

Spring course uses social entrepreneurship to tackle population health challenges

Posted on January 27, 2022September 4, 2025

The Population Health Initiative is partnering with the Honors Program and Evans School of Public Policy & Governance once again this spring to offer an undergraduate course, “Improving Population Health through Social Entrepreneurship.” This five-credit course will provide students with a fundamental understanding of social innovation and the role that social enterprises can play in addressing population health challenges. The course will combine lectures, guest speakers, case studies and a team project, allowing students to learn how organizations can strike…

Spotlight: Ali Mokdad’s dedication to improving population health locally and globally

Posted on January 25, 2022

Ali H. Mokdad, the University of Washington’s Chief Strategy Officer for Population Health and Professor of Health Metrics Sciences at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), has dedicated his career to improving the health of populations both locally and globally. His expertise and zeal posit him as an inspiring leader for the Population Health Initiative and the broader UW community. Mokdad began his career in epidemiology after receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Biostatistics from the American University…

Survey shows disproportionate food insecurities in Washington tribal communities

Posted on January 20, 2022January 20, 2022

Food insecurity and barriers are prevalent issues tribal communities have long faced due to the history of colonization and removal of tribal people from their native lands. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated these challenges due to disproportionate economic effects and resource distribution for these communities. The recently concluded Washington State Tribal Food Project (WATRIBAL) seeks to minimize these barriers by highlighting the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food disparities and food sovereignty among American…