Health Behavior and Health Equity

Michigan Minds Podcast: A New Approach to Improving Firearms Safety

Rebecca Cunningham and Marc Zimmerman Interviewed by Michigan Minds

Auto accidents and firearms are the leading causes of death for children and adolescents in the United States. But while the auto accidents number has largely trended down, the same cannot be said for firearms deaths. Researchers Rebecca Cunningham and Marc Zimmerman talk about a new effort that takes an injury prevention approach to decreasing firearms deaths among youth.

IN THE NEWS: Repetition Helps Preschoolers Learn to Eat Healthy Foods

Alison Miller Quoted in Reuters

By using the right words and repeating the phrases, adults can help young kids get over picky eating behaviors and eat healthier foods, according to a new study.

Points of Impact

Q&A with Angela Beck

Demand for behavioral healthcare in the United States is greater than ever, taxing the already strained capacity of the broad range of professionals who provide prevention, treatment, and recovery services for mental health and substance use disorders.

IN THE NEWS: Doctors, Is It O.K. If We Talk About Why Finger-Wagging Isn't Working?

Ken Resnicow Quoted in the New York Times

Nobody likes to be lectured. An alternative approach, motivational interviewing, emphasizes respect for the patient’s autonomy, and works better with overweight kids.

Fighting the Opioid Epidemic with New Knowledge: U-M Teams Up with Harvard, National Academy of Medicine

With 130 Americans dying every day from opioid overdoses, and 2 million suffering from disorders related to prescription and non-prescription opioids, the University of Michigan is ramping up efforts to make an impact on the opioid epidemic through the research and expertise of its faculty and their teams.

IN THE NEWS: Purpose Allows People to Do What Matters Most

New Contribution from Vic Strecher

Research has shown that when a person has a clear purpose or deep intrinsic motivation, there’s an increased likelihood that they have good resilience, DNA repair, antibody production, longevity, sleep improvement, diet improvement, smoking cessation, job satisfaction, and are less resistant to change.