November 19, 2019
New UW research evaluates tropical forests as a natural climate solution
A new research project from the University of Washington and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is investigating tropical forests as a natural climate solution that could help protect human health, create climate-resilient communities and slow the pace of planetary warming. Specifically, the research team aims to estimate the potential benefits of the cooling services that forests…
November 13, 2019
Bill Neukom to chair Population Health Initiative advisory board
Known for his decades-long leadership of Microsoft’s law and corporate affairs team and then at the American Bar Association, his success as CEO of the San Francisco Giants and founder/CEO of the World Justice Project, Bill Neukom (pictured) will now chair the external advisory board for the University of Washington Population Health Initiative. “This is…
November 5, 2019
UW student team develops universal eyedrop bottle adaptor to reduce medication waste
Nearly all eye droppers create droplets that are too big for an eye to absorb. Bigger drops means people go through medication faster, which means they buy more medication more often. To address this challenge, a team of University of Washington students created the Nanodropper, which is a small device that screws on to bottles…
October 29, 2019
Swinomish Tribe collaborates with the UW to prepare for climate change
A new research project led by the Swinomish Tribe and the University of Washington Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences is identifying strategies informed by indigenous values to adapt to climate change. Some of the adaptation strategies adopted to date include adding climate-change education to the Tribe’s educational curriculum on traditional harvest practices and…
October 22, 2019
Visualizing the lives of people experiencing homelessness and their animals
Sparked by a grant from the University of Washington Population Health Initiative, the UW’s Center for One Health Research has created a series of pop-up galleries featuring autobiographical photographs made by people experiencing homelessness with their animal companions. The center’s photo galleries provide windows into the lives of people experiencing homelessness as they navigate the…
October 17, 2019
Assessing community well-being post disaster via physical activity data
New research from an interdisciplinary team of University of Washington researchers funded by the Population Health Initiative found that biking and walking data may be useful to understand the impact of a disaster on a community and its recovery progress. The research team used counts of the daily number of bicyclists and pedestrians on four…
October 15, 2019
Initiative-supported UW Data Collaborative seeks to foster data sharing
Fostering collaboration and data sharing is the impetus behind the new UW Data Collaborative (UWDC), initiated and hosted by the Center for Studies in Demography & Ecology and in partnership with the Population Health Initiative, Urban@UW and the Student Technology Fee program. The collaborative seeks to broaden the potential impact of high-security confidential and proprietary…
October 10, 2019
UW names Population Health building after Hans Rosling
Hans Rosling is known internationally for his captivating analysis of global health data, for discovering a paralyzing disease in Africa and explaining its socio-economic causes, and for his intense curiosity and life-long passion for educating students, world leaders and the public. Now, Hans Rosling — a Swedish doctor, statistician, author and professor — will be…
October 8, 2019
Initiative-funded project seeks to apply AI to behavioral health
Caregivers for children with chronic health conditions may experience symptoms of depression and sleep problems due to stress. To address this challenge, a tri-campus team of University of Washington researchers has developed CocoBot, a chatbot that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to detect how caregivers are feeling and suggest self-help options. A grant from the Population…
October 3, 2019
Findings of Applied Research Fellows to help inform King County program changes
The Population Health Initiative’s 2019 Applied Research Fellows spent 10 weeks this summer analyzing the impact of a program called First Steps, which provides wraparound maternity and infant services for low-income pregnant women in King County. Their findings, which were presented to staff and leadership of the Community Health Services Division (CHSD) of Public Health…