Health Sciences In The Media

Students at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health are on the frontlines of COVID-19 contact tracing in Arizona. Part of the Student Aid for Field Epidemiology Response (SAFER) program, the students investigates positive COVID-19 cases to mitigate its spread and learn more about the risk factors. "I don't think we can do this without the students who are making those calls day in and day out," said Erika Austhof, an epidemiologist at the college of public health who helps run the student call center. "They have been here hundreds and thousands of hours making calls since last March."

Dr. Shad Marvasti, director of public health, prevention and health promotion at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, said disparities in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout are a concern, since racial and ethnic minority groups have been disproportionately hard-hit by the virus.

Experts say low-income seniors of color face many obstacles that are preventing them from getting a COVID-19 vaccination. A mobile vaccine program, run between the University of Arizona College of Public Health's Phoenix campus and Maricopa County, is aimed at reducing some of the glaring inequities in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine among seniors that have become increasingly evident in Arizona.

The University of Arizona Health Sciences is asking for volunteers that haven't had their COVID-19 vaccine yet to participate in the CDC-funded "Arizona Heroes" research study to determine vaccine effectiveness and immunity.

Victoria Maizes, MD, professor of medicine and executive director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, talks about the connection between ultra-processed foods and addiction.

The ongoing pandemic has given rise to a significant and alarming trend of increased alcohol use and abuse – especially among younger adults, males and those who have lost their jobs – according to a new study by University of Arizona Health Sciences researchers.

University of Arizona Health Sciences researchers are growing batches of the new coronavirus variants in laboratories and plan to test COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against the variants for people with compromised immune systems. UArizona immunologist Deepta Bhattacharya at the College of Medicine – Tucson and Jeff Burgess, associate dean of research at the UArizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, are interviewed.

Collaboration among health care providers in the primary care setting leads to markedly better patient outcomes in patients with hypertension and diabetes, according to a new systematic review and meta-analysis. Corresponding author Jeannie K. Lee of the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy noted that while interprofessional collaborative practice aligns philosophically with many of the goals of the modern health care system, there remains little thorough evidence to show its effect, if any, on patient outcomes.

Saskia Popescu, an infectious disease epidemiologist and adjunct professor at the University of Arizona College of Public Health, praised the administration’s “holistic approach” to curtailing the virus. But as the rubber meets the road, Popescu said the administration faces challenges overcoming vaccine hesitancy and improving genetic sequencing to better identify mutations that could make the virus more infectious – or more deadly.

Experts say the number of people taking COVID-19 tests is down across Arizona. "We need testing to stay up whether or not we have a widespread or a few cases, that is when you can actually get to contact tracing," says Dr. Shad Marvasti, director of public health, prevention and health promotion at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix.