Kara Gavin

Plymouth

Medical Writer at Michigan Health Lab

Science/medical writer & media relations pro @umichmedicine & @UM_IHPI with focus on #healthpolicy #mentalhealth #aging & #primarycare . Fellow of @aaas.

Articles

To keep high risk patients out of hospitals, at-home monitoring shows promise

1 week ago | michiganmedicine.org | Kara Gavin

For someone with heart failure, very high blood pressure, or severe COVID-19, going home from the hospital can feel like falling off a cliff. Suddenly, they lose the round-the-clock monitoring of their vital signs that can give early warning of a potential health crisis. And those missed signs can lead to another trip back to the hospital within days or weeks. It’s an expensive and life-disrupting cycle. It also contributes to crowded emergency rooms and hospitals for everyone.
Medicaid telehealth study shows positive impacts

1 week ago | michiganmedicine.org | Kara Gavin

The ability to have an appointment with a doctor or other health care provider by video visit or telephone call has improved access to care for people with low incomes in Michigan’s Medicaid expansion program, a University of Michigan study finds.
COVID-19 analysis shows that US investment in vaccine more than paid off

2 weeks ago | medicalxpress.com | Kara Gavin

Five years ago, volunteers rolled up their sleeves in the first clinical trial of a vaccine against COVID-19, as the new pandemic surged around them. By a year later, 66 million American adults had gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, at no cost to them. Now, a new study shows how wise that national investment in testing, buying, and delivering the first vaccines was.
Quitting menthol cigarettes is extra hard, but a new U-M study will test the best way to do it

2 weeks ago | michiganmedicine.org | Kara Gavin

Nearly half of Americans who smoke use menthol cigarettes that are harder to quit, driving up their health risks with every puff. Now, a new University of Michigan study will test the best way to help people who smoke menthol break that habit. The five-year, multimillion dollar study, funded by the nonprofit Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), will work with 1,200 adults who smoke menthol cigarettes.
Life Sciences Orchestra blends science and music for 25 years

1 month ago | record.umich.edu | Kara Gavin

On a recent Sunday night, musicians began tuning up for rehearsal in a hall at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance building on North Campus. One was in scrubs. A few were just days away from finding out where they had matched for residency after medical school. And one came straight from the lab, because the cells he’s growing for his doctoral work had not cooperated with the rehearsal schedule.
Weather emergencies affect older adults' health views

1 month ago | michiganmedicine.org | Kara Gavin

Nearly 3 out of every 4 older Americans have experienced at least one extreme weather event in the last two years, a new University of Michigan poll finds. And living through such an event appears to make a big difference in how they view the potential impact of climate change on their health. The new findings from the National Poll on Healthy Aging show that 59% of people aged 50 and over are concerned about how climate change could affect their health.
Does getting ADHD drugs via telehealth increase addiction risk?

1 month ago | michiganmedicine.org | Kara Gavin

For nearly five years, people with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder have had the option of getting their stimulant medications prescribed and renewed by doctors they see only over a computer screen, despite the risks that these stimulant drugs can pose if misused. But with expiration dates coming up for the telehealth rules that made this possible, a study offers key evidence about the safety of virtual ADHD care that could inform policymakers.
Eight U-M teams picked for virtual tournament of science

1 month ago | michiganmedicine.org | Kara Gavin

It’s March in Ann Arbor, and tournament fever is in the air. Basketball? No – science! Eight teams of U-M scientists have made it into a different kind of March bracket: the STAT Madness tournament of science. Now, the researchers need the public’s votes to advance to the next round in their matchups against other scientific teams from around the country.
Working later in life linked to positive health impacts

2 months ago | michiganmedicine.org | Kara Gavin

Having a job – whether it’s working for someone else or being their own boss – gives older Americans more than just a way to earn money or get health insurance, a poll finds. More than two-thirds of those who work after age 50 say that working boosts their physical health, mental health, and/or their overall wellbeing, according to a report from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging.
How can we cut wasteful pre-surgery testing?

2 months ago | michiganmedicine.org | Kara Gavin

For many patients, getting ready to have surgery means getting their blood drawn, their heart rhythm checked, or having other tests in the weeks leading up to their operation. But not all patients need all those tests – especially if the results won’t change how their surgical team treats them or how well they do afterward. Now, a study shows how hospitals can focus the use of such tests on the patients who truly need them, while safely reducing unnecessary testing in others.