Population Health News Roundup: April

We curate the top population health news for you each month. This month, better births in Detroit, a birth control app, sugary drink declines in Philly, gentrification without displacement, and much more…

Interdisciplinary Spotlight

Better births in the Motor City: Interdisciplinary initiatives in Detroit are improving the infant mortality rate. Public health agencies, hospitals, universities, and nonprofits are working together to provide classes, free rides to prenatal doctor appointments through Lyft, free bus and parking passes, and more. (U.S. News and World Report, April 5, 2018)

Place

Disparities in diabetic deaths in rural America: Diabetics fare worse in rural hospitals (Southwest Rural Health Research Center, March 2018)

Houston takes a punch, comes up swinging: How Houston is doing after Hurricane Harvey (NPR’s “The Conversation,” March 20, 2018)

Time for help for Tulsa: Tulsa residents experience dramatically worse mental health (Tulsa World, March 28, 2018)

Bad air, bad mental health: How air pollution clouds mental health (University of Washington, November 14, 2017)

Gentrification without displacement? It’s happening in Fruitvale. (CityLab, April 2, 2018)

Disparities

Autism disparities: Black and Hispanic children overlooked, diagnosed at older ages (NPR, March 19, 2018)

Improving but unequally: Infectious disease rates declining, but not for everyone (University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy via JAMA and the University of Washington, March 27, 2018)

Hungry for more than learning: One-third of college students are food- or housing-insecure  (NPR’s “The Two-Way,” April 3, 2018)

Insurance, youth, and HIV:  Youth with HIV and insurance half as likely to be at high risk for transmission  (Policy Lab, April 4, 2018)

Programs & Policy

An app for the gaps: Birth control apps working in contraception deserts  (NPR Morning Edition, March 29, 2018)

Taking a bite out of the opioid crisis: Oral health guidelines, programs aim to help reduce opioid use, abuse (Center for Health Care Strategies, March 28, 2018)

Don’t have a Coke and a smile: Philadelphians less likely to drink sugary soda after tax  (DrexelNOW, April 12, 2108)