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Latest news and updates

Latest news and updates

UW initiatives seek to help families deal with psychosis

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UW Medicine is pursuing multiple mechanisms of care for individuals, and their caregivers, who are going through a psychotic episode. All of this is viewed as welcome news for families in the trenches of psychosis. Among the new resources are: The nation’s first program to teach evidence-based skills to help people whose relatives or friends have psychotic disorders was launched May 14. A promising smartphone-based intervention for people with schizophrenia is being deployed at 20 health clinics across the state….

Court-imposed fees and fines may create a cycle of poverty and incarceration

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New research from the University of Washington’s School of Public Health supports the argument that court-imposed fees and fines may keep the most vulnerable people ensnared in a vicious cycle of poverty and incarceration. The researchers found that, among a group of adults experiencing homelessness in the Seattle area, people with outstanding legal debt spent two more years without stable housing than those without legal debt. Learn More >

Food security of Cambodians threatened by hydropower demands

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The lower Mekong River Basin produces more than two million tons of fish annually, making it the largest freshwater fishery — and one of the most productive ecosystems — in the world. The basin also support a number of rice production powerhouses. With a handful of new hydropower dams completed, and more than 135 either under construction or forthcoming, the Mekong’s waterways will soon be altered dramatically. Cambodia in particular is especially vulnerable to changes in waterflow due to its…

New Population Health Building topped out and artists selected

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The University of Washington announced today the topping out of its new $230 million Population Health Building. The UW also has selected two artists whose work will help tell the story of the education and research that will take place within the new facility. Construction of the eight-story building began in April 2018. Workers today will “top out” the building — a term builders use to mark the completion of the structural parts of the building — by installing a…

How the private sector shapes ‘offender-funded justice’

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Fines and fees are standard procedure in the criminal justice system — and the greater an accused person’s involvement, from challenging a traffic ticket to a felony conviction, the higher the costs. In addition, the entities levying those fines and fees are not always the public agencies in charge. Private companies often contract to provide the very services that citizens are required to pay for: a bail bondsman after an arrest, a drug and alcohol assessment for a DUI, phone…

Initiative announces new Graduate Certificate in International Humanitarian Response

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The Population Health Initiative announced today the launch of a new Graduate Certificate in International Humanitarian Response. The certificate is intended to provide University of Washington graduate and professional students from a variety of disciplines with an integrated body of study to better support prevention, mitigation, response, and recovery from crises to assist those affected by disasters to recover their “normal” way of life. The certificate, which will begin this fall, is being offered as an interdisciplinary program through the…

New smartphone app can hear ear infections in children

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The most common reason that parents take their children to a pediatrician is ear infections, according to the National Institutes of Health. Ear infections occur when fluid builds up in the middle ear behind the eardrum and is infected. This buildup is also common in another condition called otitis media with effusion. Any kind of fluid buildup can be painful and make it hard for children to hear. Both conditions are also hard to diagnose because they have vague symptoms….

Eight new members named to 2019-20 initiative executive council

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Seven new faculty and one undergraduate student have been named to the 30-member Population Health Initiative executive council by President Ana Mari Cauce. They are: Jared Baeten, professor of Global Health, Epidemiology, and Medicine, Schools of Medicine and Public Health Bianca Frogner, associate professor of Family Medicine, School of Medicine Heather Hill, associate professor, Evans School of Public Policy & Governance Selina Mohammed, professor and associate dean, School of Nursing & Health Studies, UW Bothell Holly Schindler, associate professor, College…

Awardees announced for 2018-19 undergraduate research travel funds

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The Population Health Initiative today announced six winners of the Undergraduate Research Travel Awards for the 2018-19 academic year. These awards were again granted through a partnership with the Office of Undergraduate Research as part of its annual conference travel award program. The award application process was open to undergraduate students on all three UW campuses who had a population health-related paper, poster or scholarly creative work accepted for presentation at a professional conference. The following table details the six…

Initiative and CoMotion co-fund grant to treat pediatric hydrocephalus

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The Population Health Initiative and CoMotion have announced the joint award of a Population Health Innovation Fund grant of $50,000 to Jason Hauptman, UW assistant professor of Neurological Surgery, and Pierre Mourad, UW professor of Neurological Surgery and UW Bothell professor of Engineering and Mathematics, for their project, “Non-invasive ultrasonic clearing of implanted catheters.” This award is intended to fund a research project that simultaneously supports the University of Washington’s vision for population health while also fulfilling the CoMotion Innovation…