Paula Lantz

Paula Lantz is the James B. Hudak Professor of Health Policy at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. She is also director of the Ford School's BA program and holds an appointment as professor of health management and policy in the School of Public Health. Lantz, a social demographer/social epidemiologist, studies the role of public policy in improving population health and reducing social disparities in health. Lantz is currently engaged in research regarding abortion policy, housing policy, and on how COVID-19 continues to exacerbate existing social, economic, and health inequities in the United States. An elected member of the National Academy of Social Insurance and the National Academy of Medicine, Lantz received an MA in sociology from Washington University, St. Louis, and an MS in epidemiology and PhD in sociology with a focus on social demography from the University of Wisconsin.

Educational background

• PhD in sociology, University of Wisconsin, 1991
• MS in epidemiology, University of Wisconsin, 1991
• MA in sociology, Washington University, 1983
• BA in sociology/English, St. Olaf College, 1981

Professional affiliations

• National Academy of Social Insurance, elected member
• National Academy of Medicine, elected member

Recent publications

• Lantz PM. "The social determinants of declining birth rates: Implications for public policy and population health."  Milbank Quarterly. November 10, 2021. E-pub ahead of print.  
• Lantz PM.  The tenets of Critical Race Theory have a long-standing and important role in population health science. Milbank Quarterly. July, 2021: https://www.milbank.org/quarterly/opinions/the-tenets-of-critical-race-…
• Karmakar M, Lantz PM, Tipirneni R. Association of social and demographic factors with COVID-19 incidence and death rates in the U.S. JAMA Network Open. 2021; 4(1): https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2775732
• Alberti PM, Lantz PM, Wilkins CH. Equitable pandemic preparedness and rapid response: Lessons from COVID-19 for pandemic health equity. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law. 2020; e-pub ahead of print: https://read.dukeupress.edu/jhppl/article/doi/10.1215/03616878-8641469/…
• Lantz PM, Rosenbaum S. The potential and realized impact of the Affordable Care Act on health equity. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law. 2020; e-pub ahead of print: https://read.dukeupress.edu/jhppl/article/doi/10.1215/03616878-8543298/…
• Udow-Phillips M and Lantz PM. Trust in public health is essential amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Hospital Medicine. 2020; 15(7):431-433. Lantz PM. “Revisiting Compression of Morbidity and Health Disparities in the 21st Century.” Milbank Quarterly. 2020; Volume 98: https://www.milbank.org/quarterly/articles/revisiting-compression-of-mo…
• Lantz PM. “Super-utilizer” interventions: What they reveal about evaluation research, wishful thinking, and health equity. Milbank Quarterly. February 7, 2020. E-pub: https://www.milbank.org/quarterly/articles/super%e2%80%90utilizer-inter…

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Fundamentals of Data Analytics in the Public Sector with R

Gain a foundational understanding of key terms and concepts in public administration and public policy while learning foundational programming techniques using the R programming language.

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