Katherine Wolfrum

Meet Leana Wen, former Commissioner of the Baltimore City Health Department, professor at The George Washington University, contributor to The Washington Post, and a fearless public health advocate. Tune into this episode of The Doctor's Art to hear Dr. Wen discuss: 🇨🇳How her family’s immigration to the U.S. and her early experiences with illness and navigating a new society shaped her understanding of medicine and public health. 🏥The critical, often invisible work of public health and the multifaceted roles it plays, from crisis management to everyday health maintenance. 🧩The complexities of choosing which public health issues to prioritize and navigating political climates when leading initiatives to combat those issues. 👥The importance of mentorship and invaluable advice for young professionals on finding and benefiting from mentor relationships. Listen to the episode here: Apple: https://lnkd.in/eUG9wRfA  Spotify: https://lnkd.in/ecveBQuT If you liked this episode, please follow us on LinkedIn and share our episodes with your friends and colleagues. To engage in more conversations about meaning, humanism, and progress in medicine, check out thedoctorsart.com #PublicHealth #EmergencyMedicine #OpioidCrisis #Baltimore #MeaningInMedicine #TheDoctorsArt

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Chronic pain, especially severe pain, can affect mental and emotional health. NIH HEAL Initiative® research is exploring solutions to manage pain in individuals who also face depression and anxiety. For example, can a single dose of ketamine prevent chronic pain and depression post-mastectomy? Ketamine has been used for pain relief for decades. More recently, ketamine has been used for treatment-resistant depression. Researchers at New York University Grossman School of Medicine, funded by NICHD through HEAL, are now exploring ketamine’s ability to prevent chronic pain, anxiety, and depression in people who have had a mastectomy. Learn more: go.nih.gov/rQ563TK #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth #MentalHealthMonth #nihHEALinitiative

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In our latest project, Maternal Success Kit, we co-designed a preventative intervention for child and family well-being for Black and Brown mothers in New Jersey. Our findings and critical learnings led to the creation of a pre-birth and post-birth kit for mothers and their babies. The PRE-BIRTH & POST-BIRTH KITS aim to empower mothers by promoting self-care, emotional awareness, confidence, safety, financial stability, community support, access to resources, and education on health, safety, and financial literacy, ultimately fostering holistic well-being for both mothers and their families. To conceptualize the packaging, the illustrations here represent three potential ideas. Though the packaging for the kit will need to be further prototyped. Through our conversations with the sprint participants, the kit should be designed with the following considerations: 1. BASKET. Celebratory and feel like a gift to the mother 2. BOX. Be inviting and uplifting. E.g, use of vibrant colors, inspiring messaging, etc. 3. HAMPER. Function as a reusable container to be used later as a storage To read the final report: https://lnkd.in/gF8d9fu7 To view the case study: https://lnkd.in/gaayMFPm #antiracism #blackmothers #brownmothers #chibydesign #codesign #childwellbeing #maternalcare #socialimpact #traumaresponsivedesign

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May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and we uplift the work of LGBTQ+ researchers affiliated with Syracuse University and their project aiming to understand the experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals living in New York, including their trauma exposure, mental health, and substance use. The researchers will ask LGBTQ+ people how trauma and other stressful experiences impacted their lives. Prospective participants will be asked to first complete a brief (5 min.) online survey containing demographic information (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender identity) and questions about stressful experiences. The survey is live here: https://lnkd.in/gDGUKPb9

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🌟 New Study Reveals Long-Term Mental Health Benefits of School Connectedness for Black Adolescents 🌟 A recent study from Rutgers University has shed light on the critical role of school connectedness in improving mental health outcomes for Black adolescents. The research, leveraging data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, tracked nearly 5,000 children born in major U.S. cities between 1998 and 2000, with a focus on 1,688 Black adolescents. The findings are compelling: Black students who felt a strong sense of belonging at their schools at age 9 were significantly less likely to experience depression and aggressive behaviors by age 15. This association was particularly pronounced in girls. The researchers ensured the robustness of their results by controlling for various factors, including family and neighborhood characteristics. These insights underscore the profound importance of fostering supportive and inclusive school environments. Improving the quality of relationships within schools, potentially through smaller class sizes and increased funding, can lead to substantial, long-lasting benefits for students' mental health and overall well-being. School districts nationwide can leverage these findings to develop strategies that enhance students' sense of belonging and community, ultimately contributing to better mental health outcomes. #MentalHealth #Wellbeing #YouthDevelopment

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Scientists in the Center for Autism Research at Kessler Foundation are developing #accessible and evidence-based research that provides new interventions for children, adolescents, and adults on the #spectrum, with particular focus on the critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/ekT3adwq #AutismAwarenessMonth #AutismResearch #AutismCommunity #KesslerResearch #KesslerChangingLives #AutismSpectrum

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Palliative care focuses on symptom relief & QoL but delays in referrals impact treatment decisions. Watch Dr. Scott Halpern & Dr. Katherine Courtright of Penn Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Health System discuss about the largest-ever study of palliative care and the impact of early palliative care referrals with Jeremy Pivor here: https://lnkd.in/dfinbwig #palliativecare #palliativesupport #palliativecarematters

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New York State’s 2024-2025 budget includes three notable amendments to New York labor law: paid prenatal leave, paid nursing breaks, and the end of COVID-19 leave. #NewYorkState

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💙 #G2PRunning4Research (Meet Our Runners): Erin Drake, Director of Research Operations. Read the purpose behind Erin's fundraising initiative for Genomes2People's #Running4Research! 👇 🏃🏻‍♀️"I am running because I love our Genomes2People Research Program team and I love the work that we do. I am inspired by the brilliance, motivation, productivity, dedication, and genuine camaraderie we experience together at work each day. We are striving toward a day when onset of disease can be predicted and prevented through the power of genomics and precision medicine at the population level. Your support of our team's efforts in running a 10K to earn $10K will help us tremendously as we work toward our research and clinical goals." In the picture: Bethany Zettler, MS, CGC (L) and Erin Drake (R). One stride closer to the finish line: https://lnkd.in/gFZ3grwr #Genomes2People #10kMarathon #Boston #BostonMarathon #Research #HealthResearch #TranslationalResearch #Science #ScientificResearch #TranslationalScience #Genetics #DNA #Genes #PreventiveGenetics #GeneticResearch #Genome #Genomes #Genomics #PreventiveGenomics #TranslationalGenomics #GeneticTesting #GeneticCounseling #GeneticCounselors #Geneticists #MedicalGeneticists #Screening #Sequencing #NewbornSequencing #DNASequencing #WholeGenomeSequencing #Health #PrecisionHealth #PublicHealth #PopulationHealth #NewbornHealth #ChildrenHealth #PreventiveHealth #PreventativeHealth #PersonalizedHealth #HealthForAll #HealthEquity #EvidenceBasedMedicine #HealthOutcomes #Healthcare #PreventiveHealthcare #PersonalizedHealthcare #HealthcareInnovation #Medicine #EquitableMedicine #PrecisionMedicine #PreventiveMedicine #Engineering #Technology #MedTech #PreventativeMedicine #PersonalizedMedicine #GenomicMedicine #BioMedicine #Biology #Biotechnology #Biomedical #HealthSciences #HealthCommunication #ScienceCommunication #SciComm #Philanthropy #GoodCause

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Exciting new research from the Center for Healthy Aging and investigators Waylon Hastings and Idan Shalev on the effects of diet (specifically, caloric restriction) on telomere loss. This work also involved Biobehavioral Health graduate student Qiaofeng Ye. Although more research will be needed to determine whether caloric restriction can improve longevity or enhance healthy aging, this novel research sets the stage for much greater understanding in the domain. #aging #healthyaging #agingresearch

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On World Maternal Mental Health Day, we bring attention to research conducted by PHP grantee partner Pennsylvania Health Access Network (PHAN) in collaboration with Thriving PA, Maternity Care Coalition, and March of Dimes on postpartum mental health in Pennsylvania. In Spring 2023, PHAN conducted a statewide survey of 403 parents who had given birth in the past six years to assess their access to necessary mental health services during the year following the birth of a child. The survey results: Mental health conditions during the postpartum period are common, and many postpartum parents who need mental health care are unable to access needed services. • 3 out of 4 respondents felt they needed access to mental health services during the postpartum period. • Only 1 in 5 of them received all the mental health services needed. Importantly, this differed significantly from experience of seeking other types of postpartum care: • 80% were able to access “all” or “most” of the pediatric care they needed for their newborn. • 60% were able to access “all” or “most” of the medical care they needed from an OB/ GYN or midwife. • Less than 40% could access “all” or “most” of the mental health care they needed. The top barriers to receiving appropriate mental health care included: long wait times, being unable to find a mental health care provider, not knowing how to find mental health care, not having adequate childcare, and cost. These findings have led PHAN and Thriving Pa partners to focus on advocacy for the policy and system changes needed to improve access to postpartum mental health care. Read the full report to learn more: https://lnkd.in/gDpwbrxg #maternalhealth #mentalhealth #healthequity #nonprofitsupport #communityhealth #philadelphia

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This #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth, explore 40 powerful mental health reads for young adults. https://lnkd.in/epn8ue_N

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Share this list of mental health books to help young patrons navigate a variety of mental health topics. #mentalhealthawareness

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Please meet Rahul Vanjani, assistant professor of Medicine at Brown University and a primary care physician who founded Docs for Health. The initiative looks to address social risk factors to improve overall patient health because "healthcare involves more than medicine." Docs for Health partners with hospitals, clinics and payors to treat the social determinants of health. Our impact on a patient’s life is nearly 17x that of one of the most common drugs we use in medicine today. Intervention is the key ingredient in our unique approach. https://lnkd.in/e37dWfa4

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Check out this lecture from The Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) Region 5 on Storytelling as a Public Health Strategy to Address Inequities in Maternal Health Outcomes. https://lnkd.in/ehu_DHEC

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