Population Health News Roundup: April 2022

IAPHS Members in the News

Atheendar Venkataramani presented a webinar, “Economic Opportunity, Public Policy, and Population Health” on April 14, 2022 at the UCSF Center for Health Equity.

Darrell Hudson is featured in an article in Washington Magazine. Hudson discusses his work on racism and mental health and other health disparities. (April 15, 2022)

Sandro Galea in JAMA Psychiatry: The authors reported that “higher warm-season temperatures were associated with an increased risk of ED visits for any mental health condition…” (February 23, 2022)

Columbia Mailman School of Public Health in a recent study reported that children with disabilities experience “considerably higher rates” of physical, sexual, and emotional violence and neglect. (Columbia University Public Health Now News from a study in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health)

Health Equity

“A Poor People’s Pandemic”: The COVID-19 pandemic fell unequally hard on certain groups. The Poor People’s Campaign created an interactive report to “narrate the intersections between poverty, race and the pandemic.” (April 2022)

Disparities are significant for rural transgender populations: In rural West Virginia, over a third of transgender participants in this WVU study avoided seeking healthcare altogether, and up to 61% traveled out of state for gender-related care. (WVU Today, April 18, 2022)

Mental health treatment disparities: Young adults, Black adults, and uninsured people were among the groups with the lowest numbers of people receiving mental health care for moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety and depression, according to this National Health Interview Survey. (Kaiser Family Foundation, March 24, 2022) 

What compounds health risks for autistic kids?: Autistic children who are from lower-income households or who are BIPOC experience even greater health risks and challenges, say authors of the National Autism Indicators Report. (April 18, 2022) 

Built Environments

Mental health and the physical space: Architecture can help or harm our mental well-being. Building designers are taking note, designing buildings based on cultural traditions, needs for privacy and nature, and more. (Architect Magazine, April 14, 2022)

Historic redlining linked to worse cardiovascular health in Black communities: Disinvestment, fewer sidewalks, increased stress, and fewer safe places to walk may play a role in these CVD disparities. (American Journal of Managed Care, March 22, 2022) 

Environmental Health & Justice

Environmental racism in Louisiana: Several companies may have been allowed to release “dangerous levels of air pollution” in predominantly Black neighborhoods in Louisiana. The EPA is investigating. (Grist, April 12, 2022)

An environmental victory for a Southeast Chicago community: Mostly Black and Latino residents helped stop a scrap metal plant from moving into their neighborhood. (NRDC, April 20, 2022)

Health Policy & Programs

The long history of harm reduction for drug use in San Francisco: It started underground decades ago with bleach in Haight Ashbury Free Clinics, and now harm reduction is a policy that includes naloxone. (KQED, April 20, 2022)

Handguns in the house increase the risk of homicide: “Living with a handgun owner is associated with substantially elevated risk for dying by homicide. Women are disproportionately affected,” say the study’s authors. (Annals of Internal Medicine, April 5, 2022)

Some Medicare Advantage plans send a friend: “Papa pals” bring companionship, errands, and light housework duties to some seniors’ homes. (Kaiser Health News, March 15, 2022)