Research
MSU Researchers Create a New Health Equity Evaluation Tool for Genesee County and the City of Flint
ExpiredCommunity-based organizations, nonprofits, policymakers and local residents will benefit from the first Health Equity Report Card, or HERC, for Genesee County and the city of Flint. The online tool helps people understand the overall landscape of community health by comparing 50 health-related indicators from 26 public sources.
Counties could save money and keep more people out of jail by improving access to community-based mental health and substance use disorder services, according to a study led by a Michigan State University College of Human Medicine professor.
The study published by Psychiatric Services, a journal of the American Psychiatric Association, identified 59 recommended mental health practices, but found that United States counties, on average, offered only a few of them.
On January 10, 2024, at 10 am, City of Flint pregnant moms and newborns started enrolling in Rx Kids, the first citywide maternal and infant cash prescription program in the nation.
Joined by Mayor Sheldon Neeley, Michigan State University Interim President Teresa Woodruff, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation President Ridgway White, and Rx Kids families and newborns, Governor Gretchen Whitmer kicked off the historic launch at a 10:30 am press conference at Hurley Children’s Hospital.
A new statewide center led by researchers at Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences and Corewell Health will study ways to reduce an alarming number of pregnancy-associated deaths and complications, particularly among Black, Hispanic and rural residents.
New Rx Kids Program Funded by $16.5M in State Budget
Rx Kids, the nation’s first citywide prenatal and infant cash allowance program, receives approval of $16.5M from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant in the FY2024 Michigan budget to propel a healthy start for all Flint babies during the critical first year of life.
Michigan State University receives 1 of 42 grants awarded from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. $500,000 will support Flint Rx Kids, the first citywide cash allowance program in the United States.
The 2023 Flint Lead Free report captures city-wide lead elimination efforts. Building upon previous years (2017 and 2021), this report features broad and proactive efforts to reduce environmental lead exposure, share progress made from new investments and strategic partnerships, demonstrate the positive impact of lead elimination, and highlight the excellent work of partners.
Thanks to an intended $15 million “challenge” grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Flint moms and babies could soon benefit from an innovative program that boldly tackles a root cause of health disparities – poverty. Rx Kids will be the first citywide program in the United States to address maternal and infant poverty with the novel approach of unconditional cash allowances to ALL City of Flint pregnant moms and babies.
$15M NIH Award to Link Health Care and Justice Systems
Maternal mental health is a critical public health component of perinatal care and maternal safety. Postpartum depression can have lasting consequences for the mother, child, and family. After each birth, 1 in 7 women will experience postpartum depression.
We know that structural racism has far-reaching and enduring impacts on the built environment of neighborhoods and on the health of the people who live there. Structural racism both contributes to and is compounded by neighborhood disadvantage, the overconcentration of alcohol outlets, the incidence of firearm violence, the unequal redevelopment of urban areas via gentrification, and rates of childhood obesity.
Each year, the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior (SNEB) recognizes individuals or groups who have contributed significantly to creating and/or implementing policies or policy-based changes that support and positively impact the food and physical activity environment. The 2022 recipient of the Advisory Committee on Public Policy Health Promotion Policy Award is the Flint Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program.