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
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.
Health Lab
Turning 65 means a lot for Americans’ wallets, health spending study finds
Out-of-pocket costs drop sharply after Medicare eligibility at age 65, especially for those with the highest bills.
Health Lab
Majority of older adults say health care workers should have to get COVID-19 vaccine
Many unvaccinated health care workers will soon be subject to a federal vaccine requirement announced by President Biden. A new poll shows most older adults support a COVID vaccination mandate for doctors, nurses and others.
Health Lab
Poll finds tax-free accounts are used less by those who may need them most
Health savings accounts (HSA), flexible spending accounts (FSA) and other programs that give a tax break for saving for future health costs aren’t used by many older adults and are most used by those who need them least
Health Lab
Wide variation seen in family caregiver availability for people with dementia
A new study looks at how dementia and Alzheimer’s disease patients get caregiving from family caregivers including wives, husbands, daughters and sons, as well as paid help, and disparities in care.
News Release
Brain food: Michigan Medicine hosts month-long food drive to help kids learn and serve neighbors in need
As children return to school, and the Delta variant of coronavirus threatens to disrupt many lives across Michigan, the need for a stable source of food has once again grown urgent for tens of thousands of people in the communities surrounding the University of Michigan.
Health Lab
A risky combination of medicines gets riskier when a patient’s prescriptions come from two doctors
Multiple prescribers means higher overdose risk in patients taking a benzodiazepine (such as Xanax, Valium or Restoril) and an opioid (such as Vicodin, Norco or Percocet) at the same time
