Health

In the Media

Supreme Court leaked draft abortion ruling animates pro-choice advocates - Hall

May 17, 2022 USA Today

The recent leaked draft Supreme Court opinion which would eliminate the Constitutional right to abortion as settled in Roe v. Wade has energized both sides of the debate. A USA Today article that examines the energy of the advocates—as determined by...

News

Lantz comments on U.S. Supreme Court leaked abortion draft decision

May 4, 2022

The U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged a leaked draft opinion on Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 court decision that granted federal protection of abortion rights. Ford School professor Paula Lantz, who studies the role of public policy in improving...

In the Media

Schwarz criticizes VA medical facility closing decision

May 1, 2022 Detroit News

The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning a phased closing of a VA medical facility which specializes in inpatient and residential mental health treatment in Kalamazoo. In an article in the Detroit News, Joe Schwarz, lecturer in public...

Publication

1 in 5 older Americans experience food insufficiency, according to U-M study

Mar 29, 2022

More than 20% of older adults in the United States will experience food insufficiency at some point in their 60s and 70s, according to a University of Michigan study. The study, led by U-M researcher Helen Levy, examined the probability that...

Photo of a nearly empty fridge, with only an apple inside

News

U-M virtual series to explore racialized health, economic disparities stemming from COVID-19

Mar 29, 2022

The University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy is kicking off a virtual event series this week with a discussion about the local impact of safety nets on communities of color during the COVID-19 pandemic. Panelists at Friday's event,...

Lightly styled graphic with text that says "COVID-19 reflections: A series on race, health, and economic justice"

News

Detroit parents less likely to vaccinate themselves than non-parents, leads to low youth vaccination rates

Mar 9, 2022

Just under half (49%) of Detroit parents and guardians of children under 18 reported at the end of 2021 that they had been vaccinated against COVID-19, compared to 75% of adults who do not live with children. These relatively low vaccination...

A nurse administers the COVID-19 vaccine to a teacher in Iowa (Credit: Phil Roeder / CC BY)

Publication

YPL study calls for mental health training and support of DPSCD staff

Mar 7, 2022

Schools are a promising setting for mental health services – they meet students where they are, surrounded by adults that they trust. Yet more research is needed to determine the most effective way to deliver those services within schools. In a...

Photo of a teacher and three young elementary school students around a classroom table

News

Ford School faculty participate in campus-wide Global Vaccine Equity Ideas Lab

Mar 2, 2022

Researchers from 13 units across the University of Michigan, including the Ford School and entities from all three campuses, gathered for three days of learning and collaboration to develop innovative approaches that address vaccine equity in low-...

Photo of Shobita Parthasarathy facing John Ayanian, both standing in front of posters with writing and post-it notes

News

Poverty Solutions study: Homeless teens face significant health risks, lack access to shelter

Feb 23, 2022

High school-aged youth who are homeless report higher rates of attempted suicide, prescription drug misuse, pregnancy and being forced to have sex. Transgender youth are especially at risk of experiencing homelessness and being estranged from a...

News

International Day of Women and Girls in Science: Impacting society through technology and innovation research

Feb 11, 2022

Ford School professor Shobita Parthasarathy, director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, shares her thoughts on International Day of Women and Girls in Science. In an episode of the Michigan Minds podcast, produced by...

Flat-style illustration of three women scientists in a laboratory

News

Application deadline nears for inaugural racial justice reading circles

Feb 7, 2022

In an effort to expand the ways in which the university community approaches discussion of racial equity, the Center for Racial Justice has established two reading circles for the winter 2022 term. The reading circles are open to graduate students,...

Publication

Pathasarathy calls for systemic change in U.S. innovation policy to promote equity and access

Jan 29, 2022

Ford School professor Shobita Parthasarathy is calling for a change in innovation policy to center “equity as a public value” as the scientific community ponders “the next 75 years of science policy.” In her essay Innovation as a Force for Equity,...

In the Media

El-Sayed hosts Parthasarathy on 'America Dissected'

Jan 12, 2022 America Dissected

How are issues of equity addressed in health care innovation and in particular the patent process? Shobita Parthasarathy, professor of public policy and director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy program, addressed the question on...

Professor Shobita Parthasarathy leads a discussion in the Betty Ford Classroom

Alumni spotlight

Stephanie Sandoval-Pistorius focuses on people-centered medical research

Jan 10, 2022

Stephanie Sandoval-Pistorius is pursuing her PhD in neuroscience at Michigan Medicine, studying the molecular underpinnings of Parkinson’s disease. She will go on to UCSF for her postdoctoral training, where she will investigate pathological brain...

Publication

Axinn and colleagues examine COVID-19 behaviors in Nepal

Jan 5, 2022

Examining the worries and behaviors of families in Nepal, Ford School courtesy professor William Axinn and colleagues from the Institute of Social Research and its Program in Society, Population, and Environment were able to tap in to an ongoing...

News

2021: A year of public policy

Dec 16, 2021

The Ford School of Public Policy is a top-ranked public policy school dedicated to preparing diverse leaders to take on society’s most pressing challenges and make transformational discoveries through cutting-edge research. Experts from the Ford...

News

Parthasarathy calls for people-centric health innovation

Dec 13, 2021

Government investment and encouragement of innovation needs to expand its scope to consider the social and economic effects on marginalized groups. In a paper published by The Next System Project, Ford School public policy professor Shobita...

News

Sawyerr's internship work on immigrant health highlighted

Dec 10, 2021

Celia Sawyerr (MPP '22) spent the summer of 2021 working at Direct Relief, which "works in the U.S. and internationally to equip doctors and nurses with life-saving medical resources to care for the world’s most vulnerable people." The organization...

In the Media

El-Sayed on Pfizer's announcement on the efficacy of its booster to fight omicron variant

Dec 8, 2021 NPR Here and Now

In an announcement this week, Pfizer announced its booster provides increased protection against the omicron COVID-19 variant. Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence and epidemiologist Abdul El-Sayed weighed in on NPR's Here and Now about the...

News

Gov. Whitmer signs bill at U-M repealing taxes on feminine hygiene products

Nov 5, 2021

At the Michigan Union on Friday, November 5, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill repealing the 6 percent use tax on feminine hygiene products. Whitmer was joined by Senator Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids), faculty from Michigan Medicine and the...

Gov. Whitmer with Betsey Stevenson at Tampon Tax Bill Signing

Publication

Michigan local economies still struggling with the pandemic effects

Sep 29, 2021

Michigan's local economies are still struggling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic but at a much lower rate than at the start of the crisis in spring 2020, according to a University of Michigan statewide survey of local government...

Two post-it notes on a business' front door, reading "Sorry we're closed" and "COVID-19"

News

Ivacko: Challenges abound as leaders assemble for Mackinac Policy Conference

Sep 20, 2021

Many of Michigan's business, political and academic movers and shakers are gathering this week for the annual Mackinac Policy Conference after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of last year's event. While the number of people...

News

Dark matter, Obamacare up for discussion at Real-World Perspectives on Poverty Solutions series

Sep 8, 2021

How did racism and sexism become embedded in our understanding of physics and the cosmos? What does the fight over the Affordable Care Act—better known as Obamacare—reveal about our country's politics? What would it take for the U.S. to adopt a...

Placeholder image for Pov Solutions series title

News

Racial justice, national security, global health in focus at Ford School autumn events

Aug 29, 2021

Fall term 2021 will see another packed events calendar, as the Ford School continues to attract some of the most compelling experts and voices from around the world. In conjunction with the launch of the new Center for Racial Justice, the Racial...

fall 2021 events lineup with headshots and Policy Talks bracket

News

COVID leadership lessons highlighted at annual Ford School Spirit Day

Aug 13, 2021 Watch the video

Effective leadership always requires the ability to adjust to changing circumstances. The massive disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic affected both how people were able to do their jobs as well as how they could accomplish their professional...

Screencap of Spirit Day panel, displayed on a Macbook in front of a maize gradient background

News

Most Michigan local leaders express confidence in safety, efficacy of COVID vaccines, MPPS shows

Aug 11, 2021

Most Michigan local government officials have been confident in the safety and efficacy of available COVID-19 vaccines, yet leaders' views on vaccine safety are highly correlated with partisanship, according to the spring 2021 wave of the Michigan...

News

Dean Barr joins fellow Ann Arbor deans in support of vaccination policy

Jul 30, 2021

We support the University’s vaccination policy wholeheartedly, and urge everyone for whom it is medically safe to get vaccinated as soon as possible. UM-Ann Arbor deans, joint statement As the deans of the University’s schools, colleges, and...

News

Concern about safety is main reason many Detroiters are not getting vaccinated, U-M survey finds

Jul 22, 2021

About half of adults living in Detroit are not yet fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data just released from a University of Michigan survey. Among Detroiters who have not received any doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, nearly 8 out of...

News

The tenets of Critical Race Theory are essential for addressing population health disparities - Lantz

Jul 22, 2021

Six states have banned the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and other frameworks about structural racism in K-12 settings, and many more are considering similar policy action. Ford School professor and social epidemiologist Paula Lantz is...

News

Learning and serving - P3E students report on research projects across Michigan

Jul 16, 2021

While still operating in a mostly-virtual, hybrid academic world, Ford School students were able to learn and serve during the Spring Term through the Program in Practical Policy Engagement (P3E) and its Practical Community Learning Projects (PCLP)....