IHPI Informs - September 2023

September 2023

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Groundbreaking research, innovation, and intellectual energy

IHPI Brief: Use of Medications for Opioid Use Disorder After Overdoses Among Medicaid Enrollees

A record number of Americans died from opioid overdose in 2021. New research finds that medications for opioid use disorder were rarely prescribed following emergency department visits for opioid overdose among patients with Medicaid coverage. In this IHPI brief, a team led by Thuy Nguyen, Ph.D., M.P.A., research assistant professor of public health, outlines key findings and policy considerations for policymakers and health systems to improve treatment initiation rates.

Buchmueller appointed deputy assistant secretary, ASPE Office of Health Policy

Thomas Buchmueller, Ph.D., professor of business, has been appointed as Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Health Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. The office is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Buchmueller

Open Online Course: Addressing Racial Health Inequity in Healthcare

This free, online course explores the sociological contributions and historical backdrop of why racial inequities exist in health care. Led by Minal Patel, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate professor of public health, the course critically analyzes the various causes of racial inequities in health care and examines approaches to achieving equity.

In the news

IHPI members making headlines

COVID-19: U-M report explores link between state’s geographic regions and impact of the pandemic

A new report from U-M public health researchers studying how COVID-19 affected Michiganders found that the severity of illness or negative impact of the pandemic is strongly linked to where one lives. The findings show that Detroit had the highest proportion of adults with severe disease, while the southwest region of the state had the highest proportion of adults with long COVID.

The report is the latest in a series from the Michigan COVID-19 Recovery Surveillance Study, which breaks down the effects of the pandemic on Michigan residents’ health, work, finances, personal life, and more.

Two new studies look at firearm storage and firearm safety discussions

Two new, separate studies reveal how firearms are being stored within households with teens, and how comfortable patients are discussing firearm safety with their primary care providers.

The first study finds that more than a third of U.S. households with teens own firearms and more than two-thirds of these gun owners store at least one firearm unlocked and/or loaded. The findings also show that prior exposure to violence is not associated with gun owners’ current storage practices.

In the second study, more than half of adult patients (56%) skipped a question about firearms on a questionnaire used in many clinic waiting rooms and online portals at the health system where the study was conducted. But nearly all of them answered the rest of the questions about other health and social topics.