The number of individuals released from state and federal prison has increased substantially in recent years. And these returning citizens face numerous barriers—inadequate housing, poverty, unemployment, and lack of access to nutritious food and physical activity. Asisstant Professor Rodlescia Sneed, PhD, MPH, is partnering with the MADE Institute, a community-based reentry program based in Flint to address these issues.
“I was discouraged with the downstream focus of medicine,” she said. “At that point, I realized I wanted to focus more on the upstream factors that influence my patients’ health—and their lives. Things like food insecurity, diet, and nutrition greatly impact our health outcomes,” shares Spartan in Public Health alumna Tamara Jordan, DO, MLS (ASCP), MPH '21.
What do students need to maintain a healthy lifestyle while in college? That’s what Spartan in Public Health alumnus John Matkovic’s research focuses on. As a PhD candidate at the University of Toledo, he recently helped spearhead a project to inform students how to maintain healthier lifestyles—especially during exam week.
The rates of major depressive disorder among women who have recently experienced perinatal loss—miscarriage, stillbirth, early neonatal death—are three times that of the general population of women. Jennifer Johnson, C.S. Mott Endowed Professor of Public Health, has been awarded a grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health to study treatment for this important public health concern.
Michigan State University-Hurley Children's Hospital Pediatric Public Health Initiative (PPHI) provides cooking and nutrition programs to Flint families. Dietitian and public health professional Sarah Egan, MPH, RD, speaks about her job as the Project Coordinator of PPHI's nutrition team.
The Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program aims to expand access to fresh fruits and vegetables for children living in Genesee County. By increasing the affordability of fresh produce and improving access to high-quality fruits and vegetables, children in the program are better able to meet the nutritional needs of their growing bodies and establish healthy eating patterns that will continue through adolescence and into adulthood.
