Kara Gavin
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
Which older adults are getting their flu shots and COVID boosters?
Flu vaccines have stayed out of politics but a new poll shows a new political divide over flu shots as well as COVID-19 vaccines, including boosters.
Health Lab
Overdose deaths involving cocaine or meth tripled in shadow of opioid crisis
Study in veterans shows many fatal overdoses involved multiple substances; 70% of those who died with stimulants in their systems hadn’t received addiction treatment recently.
News Release
Michiganders: Get risky leftover medications out of your house this Saturday, Oct. 23
On Saturday, Oct 23, 2022, Michigan residents in 16 counties have a chance to get opioids and other unused and expired prescription medications out of their medicine cabinets through 36 simultaneous events held around the state.
Health Lab
Patients hospitalized for COVID-19 this year could pay thousands of dollars, study suggests
As insurance companies start charging members for hospital-related costs again, analysis of 2020 data shows what they might owe.
Health Lab
Picking health insurance for 2022? Check this guide to avoid a common mistake
Health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts can help people have money on hand for medical expenses, and get a tax break too.
Health Lab
Telehealth continues to substitute for in-person care among older adults, but rural use lags
People over 65 have swapped telehealth visits for in-person care for a large percentage of their routine doctor visits, but those living in rural parts of the country are less likely to try a virtual visit through telemedicine
Health Lab
Pandemic took a toll on older people serving as caregivers for loved ones
Caregivers who provide support for family or friends with chronic illness and disability were stressed, isolated and depressed during the pandemic’s early months.
Health Lab
Many at-risk older adults aren’t checking blood pressure at home, or being encouraged to do so
Home blood pressure monitoring is important for people with hypertension or a history of stroke, heart failure, diabetes and heart attack, but a new poll shows many people don’t do it.
Health Lab
Medicaid expansion closed health gaps for low-income adults across racial and ethnic groups, study shows
Medicaid expansion improved health and access to care for low-income Black, white, Latino and Arab-American residents of Michigan.
Health Lab
When blood pressure needs more control, what’s better: An additional drug or more of the same?
For adults over 65 who need more blood pressure control, increasing the dose of an existing medication may be a better choice for many than adding a new drug.
Health Lab
When a free cancer check finds something, could cost keep patients from following up?
Lung cancer screening and Pap smear tests for cervical cancer are free but the tests needed for someone with an abnormal result can cost patients money.
Health Lab
ECMO offers sickest COVID patients a chance to survive, but a slimmer one than previously thought
ECMO life support can save the lives of about half of the critically ill COVID-19 patients who are placed on it by their ICU teams.
News Release
New Health Equity Project aims to significantly reduce health disparities for vulnerable residents in five Michigan counties
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has pledged to provide a $9 million Medicaid match to launch a new Health Equity Project in five Michigan counties.
Health Lab
Should you get a booster dose of COVID vaccine?
Do you need a COVID vaccine booster shot? Follow this quick, easy-to-understand guide to the latest recommendations from the FDA and CDC for COVID vaccine booster doses.
Health Lab
Pandemic tripled telehealth use for Gen Z, but even digital natives want in-person care
Polls of teens and young adults taken before and during pandemic show most see the benefit of telemedicine, especially video and for minor ailments.
