Health Policy and Management Research
Intervention aims to increase timely referrals to hospice care
July 22, 2019 Hospice care provides many benefits to terminally ill patients, including improving quality of life and reducing the burden of symptoms, yet fewer than half of those who die while on Medicare are actually using hospice services.
New studies from UNC Gillings researcher support community dental practices
July 15, 2019 Two new papers co-authored by Dr. Alex White at the Gillings School promote the improvement of oral health by providing better training and support for the practitioners who serve in local communities.
Rural patients who receive medical care far from home less likely to go to nursing facilities near where they live
April 26, 2019 Many patients who live in rural areas travel to urban hospitals for acute care. A recent study found that many of these patients subsequently obtain post-acute care from skilled nursing facilities that are not near their homes – and the further away the hospital, the less likely patients are to return to their home community for care.
‘Financial toxicity’ is a harmful side effect of advanced and metastatic cancer
April 25, 2019 Financial toxicity — the state when financial burden is a source of harm to individual patients — is burdensome for advanced- and metastatic-cancer patients in ways that may differ from earlier-stage patients, according to new research from the Gillings School.
Minimum wage increases are associated with reduced numbers of suicide deaths
March 21, 2019
Researchers at the Gillings School may have discovered a strategy to slow the increase of deaths by suicide – addressing the financial anxiety caused by low wages. Their new study shows that increases in state minimum wages have been associated with decreases in suicide rates in recent years. Photo by Ethan Sykes.
UNC researchers solve racial disparities in treatment for early-stage lung cancer patients
February 4, 2019
Drs. Sam Cykert and Geni Eng are co-authors of a study showing that a pragmatic system-based intervention within cancer treatment centers can eliminate existing disparities in treatment and outcomes for black patients with early-stage lung cancer.
Study examines relationship between length of hospital stay and time of discharge for pediatric patients
January 8, 2019
Health policy and management researchers examined the discharge records of pediatric patients at N.C. Children's Hospital. Photo by Carlos Ebert.
Reflecting on 70 years of human rights in public health
December 10, 2018
Today, an annual global celebration recognizes Human Rights Day, commemorating the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. UNC Gillings adjunct faculty member Dr. Benjamin Mason Meier discusses this anniversary in the context of human rights in public health.
Prostate cancer care for older men estimated to cost Medicare $1.2 billion
September 14, 2018 Dr. Justin Trogdon led a study estimating that screening for and treatment of prostate cancer in men ages 70 years or older, which is not recommended by national guidelines, cost Medicare more than $1.2 billion over a three-year period.
Law intended to increase access to behavioral health care had little impact, study finds
September 8, 2018 A 2008 law that required insurance plans to offer mental health and addiction benefits at the same level as physical health benefits did not significantly reduce out-of-pocket spending on outpatient behavioral health services or increase their use, according to new research.
