UGA College of Public Health news and media mentions for the month of July 2020:
Related to COVID-19 –
Environmental health science professor Travis Glenn, in stories by AARP, offered an expert perspective on how to reduce COVID transmission in classrooms and helped debunk the latest public health myth relating to masks and carbon dioxide poisoning.
A discussion with Toni Miles, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics, expert insight to UGA Today on the possible public health impact of how handling grief has shifted during COVID-19. Additional coverage at Athens CEO.
José Cordero, head of the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, participated in a Telemundo Atlanta PSA encouraging mask usage, social distancing, and other hygiene practices to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Epidemiologist Andreas Handel was quoted in a story by Daily Beast on Governor Kemp’s refusal to mandate masks or allow local leaders to issue mandates.
Handel also shared expert insights about exploding COVID-19 rates in North Carolina with The Charlotte Observer, and tips for socially-distant, outdoor entertaining in the Wine Enthusiast.
Toni Miles, professor of epidemiology & biostatistics, joined a panel of experts on the air at KQED to discuss new approaches to managing grief and loss amid the coronavirus pandemic.
A study by Institute of Gerontology researcher Kerstin Emerson, which found that older adults are stressed yet using a wider range of communication tools to stay in touch during the pandemic, was referenced in articles by Forbes and Experience Life.
Grace Bagwell Adams, assistant dean for outreach, engagement, and equity, spoke to Georgia Health News about a New York Times report ranking UGA as third among colleges in COVID-19 cases. The story was also covered by WABE.
Bagwell Adams also spoke on WUGA’s Athens News Matters about the state of the pandemic in Northeast Georgia, and the risks of sending K-12 students back to school too soon.
A local case study by Bagwell Adams and epidemiology professor Mark Ebell which that mandatory social distancing policies can rapidly slow the spread of COVID-19 was covered by WSB and WGAU.
Other mentions –
Research by Janani Thapa and Stacy Zhang and other members of the College’s Economic Evaluation Research Group – Justin Ingels, Adam Chen, and grad student – found that users of public insurance are paying more for bariatric weight loss surgery. The study was covered by Home Health Choices, EurekAlert!, News Medical, InsuranceNewsNet, Endocrinology Network, Drugs.com, Physician’s Briefing, and Medical Xpress.
Grace Bagwell Adams, associate professor of health policy and management, discussed how the Athens Wellbeing Project supports local hospitals in a video for Athens CEO.
Andrea Swartzendruber, assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics, provided context to a PolitiFact article fact-checking Texas Board of Education claims that comprehensive sex ed pressures students into having sex. (It doesn’t.)
Swartzendruber’s work with the Crisis Pregnancy Center Map was referenced in a recent op-ed for Patheos on why tax dollars shouldn’t fund CPCs.
A study by doctoral student Ruiyuan Zhang on the possible benefits of moderate drinking on longterm brain health continues to be widely covered by the media, including the New York Times, MSN, and Wine Spectator.
Posted July 31, 2020.
