When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Olena Bidovanets was pursuing her Master’s of Public Health (MPH) degree at the University of Washington School of Public Health (UW SPH). An infectious disease and psychotherapy medical doctor, Bidovanets wanted to study public mental health. After receiving a 2021-23 Fulbright award, she moved from her home in Ukraine to Seattle.

As we recover from the pandemic, researchers and practitioners say we need to take a community-based approach to mental health. In other words, to help all of us heal our mental health, we all need to collectively practice well-being.

Deepa Rao, professor of global health and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, is quoted.

The Department of Global Health (DGH) seeks to improve health for all through research, education, training, and service. In honor of National Reading Month, DGH has created a roundup of books authored and edited by DGH faculty in 2022 that cover a wide range of topics, from personal memoirs to public health textbooks.  

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.