Interdisciplinary Research Leaders Messenger
April 2019
Bonnie Cluxton, IRL Partner, Vice President, Strategic Planning and Business Development, AcademyHealth
A warm hello to the IRL teams. I’m Bonnie Cluxton, a Vice President at AcademyHealth, one of the IRL partner organizations. By way of a little background, after 11 years of practicing law (white-collar criminal defense), I decided to try my hand at health policy. It’s now been 18 years since I joined AcademyHealth and the work continues to be energizing and fulfilling. AcademyHealth is the professional home and leading national organization for health services researchers, policymakers, and health care practitioners and stakeholders. We work at the junction of research, policy and practice. I have the good fortune of supporting a variety of grant programs and other projects for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, including the leadership programs. It’s been particularly gratifying to have a role in supporting IRL. The work you do is vitally needed; you are on the ground making a difference.
In a few weeks, we will host Cohorts 1 and 3 at AcademyHealth’s Communication and Policy Workshop in Washington, DC. For Cohort one, in addition to meeting with individuals with expertise in your topic areas, we will focus on knowledge translation and dissemination and enhancing the impact of your projects. Cohort 3, you will deepen your understanding of local, state and national policy, participate in hands-on communication workshops and network with policymakers and other stakeholders.
See you all soon.
Bonnie Cluxton is Vice President, Strategic Planning and Business Development at AcademyHealth, where she also serves as Deputy Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Changes in Health Care Financing and Organization (HCFO) program. Ms. Cluxton’s HCFO work includes evaluating and administering grants, developing and managing conferences on health care financing issues and authoring monographs, newsletter articles and briefing papers. Her responsibilities also include developing, implementing and refining strategic approaches to business development at AcademyHealth. Ms. Cluxton serves as Assistant Secretary to AcademyHealth’s Board of Directors.
Cohort Webinars + Deadlines
Cohort specific calendars, updated regularly to keep track of IRL webinars, milestones, meeting dates and curriculum deadlines. Email IRL staff at researchleaders@umn.edu with questions.
Cohort 1- Webinars and Deadlines
Cohort 2- Webinars and Deadlines
Cohort 3- Webinars and Deadlines
Cool News! Seven IRL teams worked together with the peer-reviewed journal Housing Policy Debate to create a special issue that features their research.
This special issue—Unlocking Opportunities to Create a Culture of Health in Housing: Lessons from Interdisciplinary, Community-Engaged Research Teams—explores connections between housing and health, highlighting the research of C1 Teams: San Francisco, Memphis, DC/NJ, Fresno, Baton Rouge, Alabama and North Carolina. Also see the special issue introduction written by C1 fellow Irene Yen and members of the IRL NPC team.
A different article will be available open access every two weeks between now and July 21. For brief summaries of the articles, links to each, and the dates they will be open access, please read this post.
- Check out the IRL social space regularly to see announcements, questions and discussions posted by IRL fellows and special opportunities posted by the IRL NPC.
- To log in visit irl.novoed.com. Your account is linked to your primary email address and you can reset the password yourself at any time.
Health Affairs Blog of interest to IRL Fellows.
Written by Katy Kozhimannil (IRL Cohort 1 Fellow) and Carrie Henning-Smith
Missing Voices In America’s Rural Health Narrative
Recently, there has been an abundance of media, research, and policy attention on the nation’s rural health challenges, including “deaths of despair.” Much of this attention has focused on White rural residents, especially White men. Yet, they are not the only people affected by epidemics of drugs, alcohol, and suicide. Both historical and contemporary forces shape the health of diverse demographics of people in rural communities, but the rural health narrative is frequently presented as a monolith. As a result, many of those who suffer the most are seen the least in rural health discussions across America.
One in five rural Americans is a person of color or an Indigenous person. People of color include African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Pacific Islanders, Latinx people, immigrants from countries across the globe, and multi-racial people. Some of the racial and ethnic diversity in rural America is new, as immigration patterns change the face of rural communities from Maine to Montana. Meanwhile, some rural communities have long been home to Indigenous people and to people of color, including African-Americans and Mexican-Americans. These rural communities, not those dominated by White men, are often the ones facing the biggest health risks.
One health outcome where this is evident is premature death. In our recently-published research on rural counties, those with a majority of non-Hispanic Black residents have the highest rates of premature death (11,581 years of life lost per 100,000 people, compared with 8,263 years of life lost for rural counties with a majority of non-Hispanic White residents.)
A Blueprint to Help Communities Promote Equity
April 4, 2019 RWJF Culture of Health Blog Posted by Monica Hobbs Vinluan and Shauneequa Owusu
For far too long laws and policies have been used to promote the health of some, but not all. A new guide from ChangeLab Solutions puts the blueprint for change in everyone’s hands.
Change is not easy and it takes time. It can be especially challenging when we’re working to change policies and systems that have been in place for decades. But we know change is necessary because many people in America still face discrimination, live in poverty, and do not have the basics they need to be healthy.
We also know that some places are making progress to replace policies that are driving inequities with new policies that can help close health gaps. Places like Newark, N.J., where a unique collaboration led by the state’s largest health care system is accelerating a movement to transform the community’s food system.
Case Study: Partnering to Tackle Food Insecurity in Newark
RWJBarnabas Health (no affiliation with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) is New Jersey’s largest health care system, providing treatment and services to more than 5 million residents each year. In 2017, RWJBarnabas launched a new effort to tackle underlying factors that can make it more difficult for some to be healthy. These include poor housing, unsafe streets and lack of affordable, nutritious foods.
The Social Impact and Community Investment (SICI) practice works closely with local organizations and residents to understand their needs and vision for a healthier future. Led by Michellene Davis, executive vice president and chief corporate affairs officer at RWJBarnabas, the SICI practice truly puts health equity at the forefront.
“Health equity ensures that everyone, no matter who they are, receives access to the services and supports they need,” says Davis. “It takes all of us to provide the services and sustainable system changes we need to move the needle and ensure improved outcomes.”
Research Leaders Publications, Media and News
Kudos: Congratulations to Safiya George on receiving the 2019 President's Faculty Research Award at the University of Alabama and on her new position as Dean of the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing at Florida Atlantic University
Kudos: Congratulations to Hari Eswaran who has been selected as the Innovation Hero Finalist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Kudos: Georgetown University's Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching & Service nominated and selected ONE DC as a recipient of the 2019 BRIDGE BUILDER COMMUNITY PARTNER Award. Congratulations to Dominic Moulden and the entire ONE DC team!
Announcement: IRL is an institutional member of IAPHS, the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science, a forum that connects population health scientists across disciplines and sectors to improve population health and reduce health inequity. In addition to hosting an annual conference in Settle, Washington, October 1-4, 2019 (that many IRL fellows attend) they have a blog, a mentoring program, resources, and awards programs. Each of you can get a 20% discount on membership by using the code 19RWJF20. It's a great way to continue our connections during and beyond the IRL program and we encourage you to join. The theme for the 2019 Conference is “Local, national, global impacts on population health” and conference Registration opens on April 1, 2019. [Shared by Sarah Gollust]
Announcement: The Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science announces its first pre-conference workshop: Traversing Divides: Interdisciplinary Research in Population Health and Health Disparities. This one-day workshop will provide an orientation to the value of interdisciplinary collaboration, challenges inherent in interdisciplinary work, and skills and resources that facilitate interdisciplinary success in population health science. Workshop participants will engage with leading population health and interdisciplinary scholars in interactive group exercises and case studies with a focus on the combining the knowledge, theory, and methods of diverse fields to understand and address health disparities. All applications are due May 5th, 2019.[Shared by Michael Oakes]
Open Position: Assistant Professor of Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Health at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa [Shared by Jane Chung-Do]
- Open Position: Associate Dean of Research at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health [Shared by Brianna Woods-Jaeger]
- Open Position: Associate Dean for Public Health and Community Engagement at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (Tenure Track or CHS Track) [Shared by Sarah Gollust]
- Request for proposals: To support innovative community-generated multi-sector solutions to improve health outcomes, housing affordability and quality, The Kresge Foundation's Health Program has launched a $2 million funding opportunity to advance health equity through housing. Applications are due May 7th, 2019. [Shared by Andriana Abariotes]
- Call for Papers: The Society for Community Research and Action requests abstracts for a special issue on Community-based Approaches to Understanding and Addressing Health Disparities and Promoting Health Equity. Deadline to submit abstracts is April 30th.
- Reckoning with Structural Racism in Research: LBJ’s Legacy and Urban’s Next 50 [Recommended by Kathleen Call]
- Unlocking Opportunities to Create a Culture of Health in Housing: Lessons From Interdisciplinary, Community-Engaged Research Teams [Sarah Gollust, Nora Marino, Kathleen Call, Irene Yen]
- Health Effects After Renovation (HEAR) Study: Community-Engaged Inquiry Into the Health and Social Impacts of the Rental Assistance Demonstration Program Implementation in San Francisco [Leslie Dubbin, Irene Yen, Susan Neufeld]
- Bridging the Housing and Health Policy Divide: Lessons in Community Development From Memphis and Baltimore [Tina Stacy, Joe Schilling, Steve Barlow]
- A Method for Making the Just City: Housing, Gentrification, and Health [Derek Hyra, Dominic Moulden, Mindy Fullilove]
- “I Would Say It’s Almost Like a Crime Against, You Know, the Soul”: Building a Culture of Health in Low-Income Housing Communities Through Addressing Childhood Trauma [Irán Barrera, Sabrina Kelley, Yumiko Aratani]
- Making Baton Rouge Better: A Detailed Narrative of Synergy, Partnership, and Evolution of a Community-Based Research Project [Reva Hines, Leslie Taylor-Grover]
- Interdisciplinary, Community, and Peer Leadership Approach to Addressing Housing Among People Living With HIV in the Rural South [Safiya George, George Mugoya, Billy Kirkpatrick]
- Joining Forces: The Benefits and Challenges of Conducting Regulatory Research With a Policy Advocate [Mina Silberberg, Donna Biederman, Emily Carmody]
Integrating Native Hawaiian tradition with the modern technology of aquaponics [Ilima Ho-Lastimosa, Jane Chung-Do, Theodore Radovich]
UMKC chancellor’s new initiatives include research institutes, continuing ed program [Jannette Berkley-Patton]
UH+community=beneficial health outcomes [Jane Chung-Do]
Adults with mental health, substance disorders more likely subject to Medicaid work rules [Janet Cummings]
Chronically Ill Patients Less Likely to Meet Medicaid Work Requirements [Janet Cummings]
Citizen Advocates, St. Joseph's team up for research [Deceil Moore]
For our youth, time is now to address mental health [Kelli Caseman]
These Native Women Are Healing Themselves and Their Communities by Running [Melissa Walls]
Answering Venezuela's SOS: Students and faculty reach out [Christina Palacios]
Simon Haeder and Philip Rocco: Medicaid work requirements bad for everyone (Gazette Opinion) [Simon Haeder]
Millions of dollars in WV drug treatment at stake in ACA repeal fight [Simon Haeder]
The East Oakland Youth Development Center visits Good Morning America [Regina Jackson]
Immigrants pave the way for the gentrification of black neighborhoods [Derek Hyra]
From ‘Liz’ to ‘The Jason’: The bizarre trend of fancy apartments with human names [Derek Hyra]
What D.C.’s Go-Go Showdown Reveals About Gentrification [Derek Hyra]
A Luxury Home Firewall Could Save This Neighborhood From Amazon’s HQ2 [Derek Hyra]
Research project targets challenges to rural behavioral health care [Deceil Moore, Matthew Spitzmueller, Lynn Warner]
Study: Opioid effect on state’s children also affects state’s teachers [Sara Anderson]
Influences of health care access on resilience building among transgender and gender non-binary individuals [Phillip Schnarrs]
Video: Interdisciplinary Research Leaders: Team San Francisco: Health after Public Housing Renovation [Irene Yen, Leslie Dubbin, Susan Neufield]
The American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting: Building an International Geospatial Health Research Network (IGRHN) [Michael Topmiller]
Kozhimannil, Attanasio Earn Best Research Article from Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health [Katy Kohzhimannil]
Send updates for the next Messenger
If you have work being published or posted, send word to Stacy Kiven (kiven014@umn.edu), IRL Research and Communications Intern. Doing so will allow us to post the news to IRL social media and the next Messenger to raise the visibility your great work!
@IRLeaders on Social Media
A few moments captured on @IRLeaders social media this month.
Connect with the rest of your @RWJF change leadership network on social media: Clinical Scholars = teams of clinicians addressing complex health problems in their communities; Health Policy Research Scholars = investing in scholars from all disciplines as future leaders in shaping policy to support health and equity; and Culture of Health Leaders = supporting individuals from all sectors with good ideas to move communities toward a Culture of Health.
Interdisciplinary Research Leaders is a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation administered by the University of Minnesota
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Minneapolis, Minnesota