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Autumn 2023 undergraduate course to highlight UW population health research

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Registration is now open for autumn quarter 2023’s Research Exposed course, which will feature a series of faculty-led lectures focused on the three pillars of population health: human health, environmental resilience and social and economic equity. This class is offered via a partnership between the Population Health Initiative and the University of Washington’s Undergraduate Research Program (URP). The Research Exposed (General Studies 198 A) course will feature faculty from a range of disciplines discussing their population health-related research. Undergraduates may…

Initiative announces summer 2023 cohort of Applied Research Fellows

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The Population Health Initiative announced the selection of three graduate students and two undergraduate students as the 2023 cohort of the Applied Research Fellowship program. Launched in 2019, the Applied Research Fellowship was created – and continues to be run – in partnership with the University of Washington’s Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology. The program’s goal is to offer students data analysis, critical thinking and team science skills that will help them solve complex population health challenges on…

Disparities in air pollution exposure could be eliminated with a community-based approach

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Significant improvements in air quality in the United States have been realized in recent years, partly due to the Clean Air Act, yet people of color still face higher than normal rates of air pollution. A project led by University of Washington researchers compared three approaches to tackling air pollution, two of which mirrored the Clean Air Act and the third a community-based approach that is not commonly used. For each strategy, the researchers analyzed national emissions data and then…

Improving accessibility of newborn screening with low-cost earbuds

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Screening newborns for hearing loss is a vital step in assessing their health. Despite the importance of this test, it is often not available to children in low-income countries due to its high cost. To address this accessibility issue, University of Washington researchers have created a new hearing screening system that instead uses a smartphone and low-cost earbuds. They tested this device on 114 patients, including babies, as well as on pediatric patients with known hearing loss. The results of…

Initiative, EarthLab event fosters climate change connections across UW disciplines

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The Population Health Initiative and EarthLab co-hosted an Open Space-style event in the University of Washington wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House on April 11, 2023, to help facilitate the development of new interdisciplinary collaborations that will take on pressing climate-related challenges. The event, which drew 35 UW faculty, staff and students, was intended as a follow-on opportunity for UW researchers who participated in the December 2022 Sparking Climate Connections Lightning Talks hosted by the EarthLab Advisory Board of Deans. Attendees at…

Hans Rosling Center for Population Health achieves LEED Platinum status

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The University of Washington’s Hans Rosling Center for Population Health, home to the Population Health Initiative, has achieved LEED Platinum Certification. LEED Platinum is the highest possible rating from the U.S. Green Building Council and reflects the UW’s commitment to sustainable building practices. Under the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system, the Hans Rosling Center is the first building in Washington State to achieve LEED platinum using the most current criteria. Sustainable features of the Hans Rosling…

UW Bothell students help fight real world inequities through digital skills

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An increase in illegal evictions in the Snohomish County, WA led two UW Bothell students to partner with Snohomish County Legal Services, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing legal services to underrepresented communities, to offer support. The students, Drake Monfregola and Jordy Solorio Valdovinos, were part of the UW Bothell Digital Scholars Program, which helps students develop skills in digital marketing data analytics, social media and data visualization. With these skills, Monfregola and Valdovinos developed an electronic flier to help…

Pilot project seeks to destigmatize HIV, mental health in China through a mHealth intervention

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Death caused by HIV/AIDS has increased in China since 1990, with more than one million new infections occurring in 2020. People newly diagnosed with HIV often face mental health challenges such as depression, suicidal ideation and anxiety. Yet, because of discriminatory laws and attitudes towards the LGBTQIA+ community in China, newly diagnosed HIV-positive Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM) are especially vulnerable to mental health complications. As a result, the state of their mental health can inhibit engagement with…

Initiative announces award of four winter quarter 2023 Tier 2 pilot research grants

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Four Tier 2 pilot grants were awarded today by the University of Washington Population Health Initiative to teams representing researchers from four different UW schools and colleges and multiple community-based partners. The total dollar value of these awards was approximately $295,000, which included $234,000 in funding from the initiative plus additional matching funds from different schools, colleges, departments and the Office of Global Affairs. “We continue to receive range of innovative, interdisciplinary project ideas to address pressing population health challenges…

Artificial intelligence can detect signs of mental illness via text message

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A recent study published in the journal of Psychiatric Services by UW Medicine researchers found that algorithms can detect red-flag language in text messages from people with serious mental illnesses as well as trained human evaluators. The team leveraged natural language processing to identify text messages with “cognitive distortions” that might otherwise slip past or go unnoticed by an overworked or undertrained clinician. These findings may lead to additional tools for clinicians and expanded avenues by which patients will be…