Brown SPH in the news

With Intus Care, Robbie Felton, Evan Jackson and Alex Rothberg are building healthcare analytics software to help identify risks and optimize healthcare for low-income seniors. Health insurers use the Intus Care platform to help 1,500 providers treat 15,000 patients representing $1.5 billion in value-based care payments. The company expects more than $2.1 million in revenue in 2023.

Life expectancy in the United States rose in 2022, the first increase since the COVID pandemic began, according to new federal data. But those gains were not enough to compensate for the years of life lost to the virus, which remains one of the nation’s top causes of death.

An ongoing project will help the School of Public Health generate recommendations for how to handle another event like COVID-19.

A study co-led by a Brown University researcher indicates that overdose prevention centers, like the one poised to open in Providence next year, do not lead to increased neighborhood crime rates.

A pair of preliminary studies presented at an American Heart Association conference over the weekend sparked intrigue for Rhode Island health professionals and academics.

The CDC says we should isolate for five days after testing positive. Other public health officials disagree. Who is right?

Mindfulness coupled with information on how food and exercise can impact blood pressure may be a winning combination that could improve heart health, according to a new study published today in JAMA Network Open.

Many Americans have lost confidence in the importance of public health recommendations like vaccines. Here’s why—and why they still matter.

PFAS can be found in just about everything, but there are a few things you can do to reduce your exposure.

Health care policymakers and industry leaders must reckon with the difficulties facing workers if we want to avert strikes.

Data shows harm reduction works. Here's how to read it properly.

Over the coming months, more than 100,000 Americans will likely die, mostly unnecessarily, from respiratory infections. Yes, that is the reality we are now facing this fall and winter—and likely every fall and winter for the foreseeable future. Unless we act.

WBUR reached out to Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health, to understand the coming virus season, and how vaccines could help to reduce the risk of illness.

COVID cases are on the rise and this week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that anyone who is six months or older get the new COVID-19 vaccines. Health reporter Lynn Arditi talked about the new vaccines with Doctor Ashish Jha, former White House COVID advisor and current dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health.

By passing Measure 110, Oregonians sought to begin undoing the harms caused by over 50 years of a failed War on Drugs. Those harms won’t be fixed overnight.

Here are some of the noisiest parts of Providence, based on 5,000 noise complaints called to police.

If you’re 60 or over, “you don’t want to get into November without having an R.S.V. vaccine,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, the former White House Covid adviser and current dean of Brown University’s public health school.

Americans’ use of mental health services pivoted to remote visits and increased considerably, a new study found. Economists think both changes are here to stay.

Noise pollution is a physical and mental stressor with real health impacts, Professor Erica Walker tells NPR. "It's going to the emergency room for a panic attack, it's 'I can't sleep,' 'I can't hear my children.' It's all of those things," she says.

In the Boston Globe, Professors Andy Ryan and David Meyers lay out why Medicare Advantage plans are costing taxpayers billions in excess spending—and how to fix it.

Given the late summer wave of COVID infections, you might have questions about how best to protect yourself and others. In The Boston Globe, Professor Jennifer Nuzzo tackles one of the most pressing issues: When should you get your next shot?

With an updated vaccine, readily available testing, and successful treatments, Dean Ashish Jha writes that COVID-19 isn't the disruptive force that it once was: "The virus no longer needs to reorder our lives and our priorities."

"While there are areas within medicine ripe for the assistance of AI, any assertion that it will replace health care providers or make our roles less important is pure hyperbole," writes Dr. Craig Spencer for STAT.

The theory behind C.B.T. rests on an unlikely idea—that we can be rational after all.

Professor Craig Spencer writes that Americans have been too quick to condemn the field of public health, overlooking its massive achievements in the 1900s and also during the recent pandemic.

Nearly a decade into going mainstream, a grass-roots movement’s message has gotten lost in a marketing frenzy and a rush for drugs to lose weight.

For more than 14 million people in the US, cannabis use disorder is a major life disruption. Professor Jane Metrik says a new drug to help reduce use shows promise.

Professor of epidemiology Erica Walker weighed in for this comprehensive article for the New York Times.

Professor of epidemiology Joe Braun discusses his study about the low birth rate effects of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals.”

Where does COVID-19 fall among the deadliest viruses of all time? Professor Jennifer Nuzzo breaks down the ways we measure the danger of a virus, as well as the factors that made COVID different from previous outbreaks.

Professor Beth Cameron writes that Americans should be worried—and hopeful—that the Biden administration has announced the end of the Covid-19 public health emergency.

Professor Alexandra Collins is studying Rhode Island’s local drug supply and the risks posed by the addition of the animal tranquilizer Xylazine.

Professor of health services, policy and practice David Meyers weighs in on the differences in patient experience between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage.

Rhode Island's mobile methadone vans are the first of their type in the US. Dr. Francesca Beaudoin says they're an effective way to increase access to necessary medication, especially for those without housing or transportation.

On the Rhode Island Report podcast, Professor Claire Wardle says she remains hopeful that younger generations will figure out how to cut through the conspiracy theories, doctored photos, and lies.

A study by Brown researchers and colleagues estimates that the COVID-19 deaths of 1,464 Montanans—about 1 in 3—could have been prevented if every eligible adult had been vaccinated. “Montana is a very good example of a state that has seen consistent under-vaccination, and as a result, every third life could have been saved,” said study co-author Professor Stefanie Friedhoff.

“Every country, whether they have a case or not, is stepping up to do the things that are necessary for containment: vaccinating populations at risk, making testing widely available, investing in therapeutics,” says William Goedel, an epidemiologist and assistant professor at the Brown University School of Public Health

In this opinion piece, Professor of Epidemiology Jennifer Nuzzo weighed in on some of the questions New York Times readers have on how to navigate this phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assistant Professor of Epidemiology William Goedel offered commentary on how state and city governments are trying to spread awareness of monkeypox while avoiding stigmas.

“A lot of people have been asking about vaccine hesitancy, because of COVID, and that’s not what we’re seeing at all,” Amy Nunn told 12 News. “We’re seeing unprecedented demand for this service.”

Assistant Professor of Epidemiology Erica D. Walker, founder of Brown Community Noise Lab, discusses how traffic noise exposure can be harmful to people's health.

The health effects of chemical pollutants called “forever chemicals” are becoming indisputable, says epidemiologist Joseph Braun.

Professor of epidemiology David Savitz offered commentary on veterans' exposure to chemicals in bases where burn pits were used.

A companion is a surrogate family member — news-provider, anxiety-reducer, FaceTime operating system-fixer, an eyes and ears to daily life. Their presence relieves loneliness and depression, as lethal as other chronic health conditions, says the study’s author, Jennifer Nazareno, assistant professor at Brown University School of Public Health.

Assistant Professor of Health Services Policy and Practice Alyssa Bilinski discussed how rapid tests are an effective tool to combat the spread of Covid-19.

Despite astronomical suicide attempt rates among the trans community, a slew of anti-trans legislation has been proposed across the US. Researchers, including Professor Jackie White Hughto, say that banning gender-affirming medical care for kids and teens will have dire consequences.

Jennifer Nuzzo on how lessons from the COVID response could help us contain monkeypox.

Senior Director of Content, Strategy and Public Affairs at the School of Public Health Stefanie Friedhoff offered commentary on Novavax's new protein-based COVID-19 vaccine.

It’s important to ask questions that go beyond basics, says Dr. Vincent Mor, professor of health services policy at the Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research at Brown University School of Public Health.

Professor of Health Services, Policy and Practice Amal Trivedi led a study that investigated outcomes of veterans who received disability benefits compared with veterans who did not qualify for them.