Gearhardt and Janke provide their expertise to the US House and Oregon State Senate

This month, U-M professor of Psychology Ashley Gearhardt, Ph.D., M.Phil., M.S., testified before the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means Health Subcommittee and highlighted the addictive nature of highly processed foods, noting that food manufacturers have utilized the same tools as nicotine companies to increase addiction to their products.

Clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine Alexander Janke, M.D., M.H.S., M.Sc., testified virtually at a hearing of the Interim Committee on Health Care of the State Senate of Oregon about emergency department boarding. Janke, whose research during his time as a National Clinician Scholar at IHPI included studies of emergency department wait times and boarding (waiting for admission), used data from that work and from Oregon's own public reporting sources to inform legislators about the issue. 

2024 Policy Sprint Awardees

Three teams led by members of IHPI will receive 2024 Policy Sprint awards to support timely, policy-relevant projects with the potential to inform decision-making at the state and national level. The selected projects, chosen from many excellent proposals, will address gaps in knowledge related to Medicaid expansion and buprenorphine use, cost-sharing for patient portal messaging, and private equity acquisitions of healthcare entities. 

James Dupree, M.D., M.P.H.

Evaluating State Policy Landscapes and Private Equity Acquisitions of Fertility Clinics

Terrence Liu, M.D., M.S. &

Tammy Chang, M.D., M.P.H., M.S.

Utilization of Patient Portal Messaging in Managing Type 2 Diabetes: A Mixed Methods Study

Jeffrey McCullough, Ph.D.

Can North Carolina's Medicaid Expansion Reverse the Adverse Effects of Medicaid Unwinding and Buprenorphine Use?

2024 Sandy-Hassmiller Early Career Health Services Research Awardees

This competitive research award is designed to provide seed funding for IHPI early career faculty members to help catalyze new research or support new innovations in ongoing research.

Tyler G. James, Ph.D., M.S.

Misclassification Bias in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Patient Cohort Development

Terrence Liu, M.D., M.S.

Utilization of Patient Portal Messaging in Managing Type 2 Diabetes: A Mixed Methods Study

Muzik and Weaver awarded OVPR

anti-racism grants

Maria Muzik, M.D., M.S., professor of psychiatry, and Addie Weaver, Ph.D., M.P.A., M.S.W., associate professor of social work, are part of research teams named to receive grant funding from the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) to advance knowledge in areas related to anti-racism. Their funded research topics will include peripartum health care equality, uneven disciplinary actions in early childhood education, and the disproportionate negative effect of artificial intelligence on Black artists.

Muzik

Weaver

NATIONAL POLL ON HEALTHY AGING

Cannabis and older adults: Poll shows current use patterns, beliefs and risks

Among people age 50 and up, 21% said they used a form of cannabis that contains the psychoactive compound THC at least once in the past year, according to new findings from the National Poll on Healthy Aging. 



Erin E. Bonar, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, who worked with the poll team on the report, says the findings suggest a need for action at the policy, clinical, and community levels to identify those who may need treatment for cannabis addiction and to discourage driving or other risky behaviors after consumption.

New law regulating out-of-pocket drug spending saves cancer patients more than $7,000 a year

A U-M study finds that efforts to cap prescription drug spending are yielding significant out-of-pocket savings for patients. Researchers led by Kristian Stensland, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., assistant professor of urology, used the online Medicare Part D Plan Finder tool to assess how much patients were paying for the most commonly prescribed oral chemotherapies. The study is published in JAMA Network Open and was funded by a Policy Sprint award from IHPI.

Stensland

Covid-19 hits older adults hardest.

Will they want the updated vaccine?

A newly updated COVID-19 vaccine is in pharmacies and clinics nationwide, and a new National Poll on Healthy Aging suggests nearly half of people age 50 and older plan to get it. But some older adults with high risk of severe illness appear unlikely to seek the vaccine, and interest varies widely by age group, education level, race and ethnicity, and other factors, the poll shows.