Population Health

As director of government relations for the Catholic Health Association, Paulo G. Pontemayor (BA, 2005) is dedicated to increasing equity and access to health care in the United States.

It can help us cope with painful events and find peace in the present moment. Marsha Linehan, professor emeritus of psychology at the UW, is quoted.

Throughout her journey from preschool teacher to speech and language pathologist to a special education administrator, Sara Jerger (BS, MS, Speech & Hearing Sciences) has helped students thrive. 

Combining classroom time and outdoors experiences, a Disability Studies course explores what it means to provide access and disability justice for community members in recreation spaces.

Assessing the size of the homeless population is full of challenges and has often led to undercounts, but a team of researchers at the University of Washington has developed a system that they say fills in those gaps. Zack Almquist, a UW associate professor of sociology, and Amy Hagopian, professor emeritus of health systems and population health, are interviewed.

Emergency department visits for self-harm have spiked since the pandemic. Experts explain the psychology behind the behavior and how to overcome it. Vibh Forsythe Cox, clinical associate professor of psychology and director of the Marsha M. Linehan DBT Clinic at the UW, is quoted.

Much of what can make linking friends scary — insecurity, envy, an instinct to hold tight to the people you love — isn’t new; it’s fundamentally human. But keeping your friends to yourself, what I call “friend hoarding,” is a modern practice. Katherine Stovel, professor and chair of sociology at the UW, is quoted.

Across the animal kingdom, models have vastly underestimated the energy costs of reproduction. Lauren Buckley, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

New research is shedding light on how war inflicts mortality, displaces families and erodes mental health. Nathalie Williams, professor of sociology and of international studies at the UW, is quoted.

New research from the University of Washington investigated responses to sweetened beverage taxes using the purchasing behavior of approximately 400 households in Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland and Philadelphia. Researchers found that after the tax was introduced, lower-income households decreased their purchases of sweetened beverages by nearly 50%, while higher-income households reduced purchases by 18%.

In “Primary Trust,” which opens at Seattle Rep on Oct. 24 and runs through Nov. 24, playwright Eboni Booth brings audiences on a deep dive into the epidemic of adult loneliness. Nicole McNichols, associate teaching professor of psychology at the UW, is quoted.

Success in Gig Harbor comes as more schools are looking to reign in cell phones. Four of the five school districts in Kitsap County now have bans, a pair of which are new this fall. Central Kitsap, the lone holdout, plans to have a ban by early next year. Lucía Magis-Weinberg, assistant professor of psychology at the UW, is quoted.

"This time of year, aspiring elected officials insist that we must get tough on crime to keep us safe. 'Getting tough' almost always includes imposing more and longer prison sentences. Unfortunately, most of those claims are based on myths, fear, and half-truths. Therefore, voters should insist that calls for increased punishment be replaced by programs that can actually reduce crime, help victims, and increase public safety," writes David Trierweiler. Heather Evans, assistant professor of rehabilitation medicine at the UW School of Medicine, and Katherine Beckett, professor of sociology and of law, societies and justice at the UW, are mentioned.

A new study comparing the brains of children before and after COVID-19 found that adolescent girls’ brains had aged faster than expected during the social isolation and lockdowns brought on by the pandemic. Patricia Kuhl, professor of speech and hearing sciences at the UW and co-director of the UW Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, is quoted.

New research found that teens’ brains “aged” during the COVID-19 lockdowns due to the loss of social interaction. Girls were the most impacted. Patricia Kuhl, professor of speech and hearing sciences at the UW and co-director of the UW Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, is quoted.