Community and Opportunity: Pursuing equity in healthcare through evidence

Although some 85,000 Detroit residents gained health insurance through Michigan’s Medicaid expansion five years ago, many enrollees still face barriers in accessing care and navigating health and social services, while continuing to live with disproportionately poor health and unmet social and economic needs. To address this, IHPI, community organizations, Medicaid health plans, and the Detroit Health Department came together to develop a program for trained front-line health workers to provide outreach, advocacy, counseling, and health education to members of their community – in this case, Medicaid enrollees in Detroit’s Cody Rouge neighborhood. The partnership is now evaluating the program’s effectiveness in increasing access to preventive care and reducing avoidable use of emergency services, as well as its sustainability and potential for replication in other communities.

What would be the health implications for Michigan communities of raising the legal age for the sale of tobacco products to 21? A team of researchers modeled this scenario through the IHPI Policy Sprint initiative before this new minimum age limit was signed into law nationwide in December 2019. The team determined such a policy change would prevent thousands of premature deaths in the long run in Michigan, so long as potential enforcement challenges were carefully considered in implementation. The research garnered widespread media attention, and health officials in other states requested consultations with the research team around the implementation and evaluation of similar regulations. Learn more through the policy brief. 

A new center will accelerate global health equity research and initiatives across U-M’s schools, colleges, institutes, and all three campuses by bringing faculty, staff, students, and global partners together to tackle some of the world’s greatest health challenges. Launching through a $10 million gift from Tadataka Yamada, M.D., and Leslie D. Yamada, the center will support new and existing efforts to address health inequity in low-income countries and among disadvantaged populations in middle-income countries. IHPI Director John Ayanian is co-leading efforts to launch the center, which was announced in October 2019.