Opinion: Fixing health care system isn't just about filling white space

STAT

"When I envision the U.S. health care system, the first thing that comes to mind is a Jackson Pollock painting: splashes of color chaotically surrounding white space. The splashes of color represent existing health care venues and resources; the white space represents the gaps across our system that prevent patients from gaining the right access and the right support to improve their health," writes Chris Dodd, clinical instructor of global health at the UW.

No big raise? Maybe health insurance is to blame

Policygenius

While the costs of health insurance have increased, this hasn’t resulted in increased value for employees. Deductibles have increased from $545 to more than $3,000, or 3% of household income before insurance starts paying for services.

Dr. Joseph Dieleman, adjunct associate professor of global health, and associate professor of health metrics sciences, is quoted.

Allergy season is getting longer

Fox 13

About a quarter of U.S. adults suffer from seasonal allergies and for kids, the CDC says it’s about one in five. But those numbers could climb in the years ahead. A recent study shows that climate change is making allergy season worse and it’s also lasting longer as well.

Dr. Jeremy Hess, professor of global health, of emergency medicine and of environmental and occupational health sciences at the UW, is quoted.

Community care model improves uptake of TB preventive therapy, KZN study finds

Spotlight

The uptake and continuation of tuberculosis (TB) preventive therapy were much higher when it was provided through a community-based model compared to the standard clinic-based model, a study conducted in KwaZulu-Natal found. The findings were presented at the recent Conference for Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle, USA.

DGH faculty members Adrienne Shapiro, Ruanne Barnabas (now at Massachusetts General Hospital), and Connie Celum were involved in the research, as well as DGH staff members Torin Schaafsma, Meighan Krows, and Susan Morrison.

Ukraine gets new mental health center for soldiers, locals with trauma

USA Today

Officially known as the Lviv Mental Health Center, the 5,000-square-foot renovated space offers free and low-cost services from about a dozen professional psychotherapists and psychiatrists. The goal is to treat wounded Ukrainian soldiers and locals suffering from PTSD and other stress-related conditions brought on by the war. 

Abraham Flaxman, associate professor of global health and health metrics sciences at the UW Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, is quoted.

BIRCH team

Tacoma woman with tuberculosis facing arrest for refusing treatment

KIRO 7

A Tacoma woman with tuberculosis is facing arrest after her counter-arguments in court were unsuccessful. The court order says she can be released when she is no longer a threat to the community.

Dr. Thomas Hawn, adjunct professor of global health and of laboratory medicine and pathology in the UW School of Medicine, is quoted.

Where more people will die — and live — because of hotter temperatures

Washington Post

The scientific paper published in the June 2021 issue of the journal Nature Climate Change was alarming. Between 1991 and 2018, the peer-reviewed study reported, more than one-third of deaths from heat exposure were linked to global warming. Hundreds of news outlets covered the findings. The message was clear: climate change is here, and it’s already killing people.

Kristie Ebi, professor of global health and of environmental and occupational health sciences at the UW, is quoted.

Personal story leads entrepreneur to launch a startup to improve cancer care in Africa and beyond

GeekWire

Seattle entrepreneur Kingsley Ndoh, a clinical assistant professor of global health at the UW, is driven by the memory of his aunt, who died too young of colon cancer. Since then, Nigeria-born Ndoh has been on a mission to improve cancer care. In 2021 he founded health tech startup Hurone AI to support cancer treatment in Africa and beyond with remote patient monitoring and tele-oncology designed for resource-poor settings.

Planting More Trees In Cities Could Slash Summer Heat Deaths, Study Finds

Forbes

Planting more trees in cities could cut the number of people dying from high temperatures in summer, according to a study published in the Lancet medical journal on Tuesday, a strategy that could help mitigate the effects of climate change as it continues to drive temperatures upwards.

Kristie Ebi, professor of global health and of environmental and occupational health sciences at the UW, is quoted.

Do Rapid Tests Still Work?

The New York Times

Experts say that rapid home tests are still a helpful tool for stopping the spread of COVID-19, but they’re not foolproof. Here are a few explanations for why you might get a false negative result — and how to increase your chances of accuracy next time.

Dr. Paul Drain, associate professor of global health and of medicine in the UW School of Medicine, is quoted.

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