News
What’s Luck Got To Do With Health Care? NPR talks with Vanderbilt MPH student about her practicum in Guatemala
Oct. 5, 2015—Vanderbilt MPH student, Grace Fletcher, spent her summer practicum in rural Guatemala working with an NGO called Wuqu' Kawoq.
Babies with NAS treatable, best way to stay with their mothers says MPH Program alumna
Oct. 2, 2015—In 2014, Tennessee passed a bill allowing women to be charged with assault if they use narcotics while pregnant, health advocates warned that the law would deter women from seeking vital medical care out of fear of being prosecuted. Now, Dr. Jessica Young, an obstetrician at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville who has a...
MPH Program’s Dr. Barocas: Reduced prostate screening could miss advanced tumors
Sep. 30, 2015—Relaxed guidelines on prostate cancer screening may delay diagnosis and treatment of aggressive tumors, a new study suggests. In 2011, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended against routine prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing, to curb over-diagnosis and overtreatment of prostate cancer. Since then, PSA screening has dropped by 28 percent, the researchers report. MPH...
MPH Program alumna study: Patients prefer online post-surgical care to in-person visit
Sep. 28, 2015—A small study at Vanderbilt University Medical Center shows that patients who have routine, uncomplicated surgeries prefer to have their postoperative visits done online, rather than go to a doctor's office in person. MPH Program alumna, Dr. Kummerow Broman, a resident physician in general surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center said "Some operations simply require an...
MPH student reflects on practicum experience in Guatemala
Sep. 25, 2015—Grace Fletcher is a candidate in Vanderbilt's M.P.H. in Global Health and M.A. in Latin American Studies programs. She completed her public health practicum working with Wuqu’ Kawoq, a non-governmental organization dedicated to improving the health of Maya communities and Mayan languages in Guatemala. Grace focused specifically on monitoring and evaluation efforts for nutrition and education programs in Santiago Sacatepéquez, Guatemala. Click here...
Vanderbilt MPH Program’s new track fosters next generation Health Policy leaders
Sep. 25, 2015—Vanderbilt’s Master of Public Health (MPH) Program welcomed a new health policy track to its curriculum starting this fall semester. For almost 20 years, Vanderbilt’s MPH program has provided outstanding epidemiologic training, primarily to physicians. In 2013, the program added a global health track, and began recruiting a greater variety of students, including those without...
ABC News: Infections spreading in hospitals critical issue says Creech, MPH Program alum
Sep. 21, 2015—An ABC News report about a British study documenting the spread of infections in hospitals quotes Buddy Creech, M.D., MPH, associate professor of Pediatrics.
Vaccination remains the best defense against flu says MPH Program’s Schaffner
Sep. 18, 2015—It doesn't matter if you get the traditional shot, the needle-free injection, or the nasal spray, the flu vaccine remains the best defense says Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
MPH Program’s Heimburger on a 21st Century Health Policy Vision
Sep. 11, 2015—MPH faculty and Global Health track director, Douglas Heimburger, M.D., M.S., co-authored The Atlanta Declaration: A 21st Century Vision For US-Based Global Noncommunicable Disease Research, on Health Affairs Blog. Focusing on the innovation in the United States, Heimburger says that US institutions must better align opportunities, pathways, and resources for 21st century scientists and future leaders...
“Mystery” outbreak actually common says MPH Program’s Schaffner
Sep. 8, 2015—More than 100 students and teachers in a North Carolina school district were sent home this week after exhibiting signs of a mystery illness. While the idea of an unknown illness causing an outbreak is slightly terrifying, William Schaffner, MD, chairman of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine’s Department of Preventative Medicine, tells Yahoo Health...
Grants bolster MPH Program HIV-focused research capacity
Aug. 21, 2015—The Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH) has received two new grants from the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to build HIV-focused research capacity with key partners in Zambia, Mozambique and Brazil. Douglas Heimburger, M.D., MPH Program track director and associate VIGH director for education and training, is co-principal investigator...
Older population at higher risk for Legionnaires says MPH Program’s Schaffner
Aug. 11, 2015—In the midst of the NY Legionnaires' outbreak, health experts are studying why reported cases have risen in recent years. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, said epidemiologists and other disease detectives are trying to determine whether there are other factors that are making people more...
Schaffner: Interns and residents ‘fibbing and shimmying’ to give care before Medicare, Medicaid
Aug. 3, 2015—Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical School, clearly remembers the struggle for his patients to pay medical bills before President Johnson signed the amendment to the Social Security Act to establish Medicare and Medicaid in 1965.
Schaffner talks with ABC News about the safety of Louisiana Parish water supply
Jul. 30, 2015—For the second time in two years, officials have found potentially deadly amoeba in the water supply of a parish outside New Orleans. William Schaffner, M.D., an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said people in the area should take steps to stay safe, including keeping their pool chlorinated, and stopping children from...
On NPR’s Marketplace, Buntin provides insight into the recent report on increasing health care expenditures
Jul. 30, 2015—On NPR's Marketplace, Melinda Buntin, Ph.D., chair of the department of health policy, provides insight into the recent report on increasing health care expenditures.