Research and Policy Media Relations Manager
Gavin draws on more than 25 years of experience in communicating about science, medicine and health policy. She focuses mainly on the health services research done by members of the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, who work to understand and improve the safety, quality, equity and affordability of health care. As part of the Michigan Medicine communication team, she has lead responsibility for primary care and mental health topics. Contact: [email protected]; Twitter: @Karag
Health Lab
Only around half of those who have hypertension or conditions linked to blood pressure regularly monitor, but health care providers’ recommendations increase older adults’ monitoring at home.
Health Lab
Financial difficulties, including having debt in collections, being late with debt payments, and having a low credit score, rise along with the number of chronic diseases and illnesses a person has.
Health Lab
Arthritis – both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis – affects most adults over 50 and limits the activity of many. Pain drugs and supplements to ease pain can interact and cause health risks.
Health Lab
A majority of older adults say they will get an updated COVID-19 vaccine this fall. The coming boosters are designed to work against the new Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 variants of the coronavirus.
Health Lab
Study shows members of public are most likely to want notification if commercial researchers may use identifiable health information – even more than for research on biospecimens.
Health Lab
Providers’ differential decision-making must be addressed to equalize chance of survival for heart failure patients, researchers say.
Health Lab
Amyloid’s role in Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia doesn’t tell the whole story; other molecules and prevention via cardiovascular, social and cognitive.
Health Lab
Phone-based telehealth, and video telemedicine visits, both helped veterans with opioid addiction stay on buprenorphine medication to treat their opioid use disorder during the pandemic.
Health Lab
Alert in doctors’ ordering system about scarce supplies leads to 29% drop in blood clotting tests; could provide model for other efforts to encourage wise use.
Health Lab
Complementary, alternative and integrative medicine options are used by many senior adults but most don’t share this with their traditional doctors and nurses.
Health Lab
Serotonin’s precise role in depression is getting attention but SSRIs work for many, and basic neuroscience research goes far beyond ‘chemical imbalances.’
News Release
On June 30, Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan State Legislature demonstrated a continued commitment to youth mental health by including $50 million for TRAILS (Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students) in the budget for fiscal year 2023.
Health Lab
Most older adults take multiple drugs but 80% haven’t had a medication review to check safety and potential savings, and 83% them don’t realize it may be covered by insurance.
Health Lab
Even at age 9 or 10, as many as 10% of children are curious about using substances, and many parents haven’t made specific rules or say kids’ access at home would be easy.
Health Lab
Tonsillectomy pain is often treated with opioids, but leftovers can be a risk factor for misuse or abuse. Reducing the default prescription size in hospital computer systems could help right-size pain control.
