Improving Health Outcomes

Committed to being part of the solution, researchers across Tufts are actively engaged in the targeted and ongoing work required to tackle the variance in health vulnerability and the negative impacts associated with social determinants of health and to end preventable health disparities.

As selected examples of these efforts, drawn from around the university:

• One of the first studies to explore the impact of Medicare Shared Savings Programs’ Accountable Care Organizations on mental health and addiction services
• A School of Medicine study of U.S. metropolitan areas over 40 years revealing strong links between residential segregation and disparities in early death rates from common causes, ranging from breast cancer to respiratory disease and firearm homicide
• The role of the Food is Medicine Institute in connecting the advocacy for a more nourishing, equitable, and sustainable food system with food’s powerful impact on health—including its potential to improve the lives of all
• The Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice, founded at the School of Medicine by Okoro Professor of Black Maternal Health Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, with a vision of protecting the Black birthing experience through advocacy for quality, equitable, and respectful care in childbirth
• Research from the Friedman School about the impact of cross-sector coalitions in mitigating the early-childhood obesity epidemic

Numerous curricular offerings at schools across Tufts also help prepare future professionals to contribute as leaders in this work. As one example, Perspectives in Medicine—Patients, Populations, and Systems, is a course that spans the first three years of medical school for future physicians, with the aim of inspiring students to help reverse health disparities and contribute to systematic reform of health care. At the School of Dental Medicine, training at a local day program dedicated to improving quality of life for people living with HIV is a new addition to a unit focusing on care for vulnerable populations.

A range of related programs exist across Tufts as well, including, among others:

• The Community Service Learning program through the School of Medicine and Tisch College, which offers medical students opportunities for hands-on practice in treating the whole patient, taking into account the social and structural factors relevant to an individual’s health
• The Sam W. Ho Health Justice Scholars Program, which develops physician-leaders and scholars with the mission, vision, and ability to transform health care in partnership with communities, particularly those that are medically underserved
• The internships offered by the Civic Biology Fellowship, designed to position students well for future collaborations with the communities they serve
• A new School of Dental Medicine program teaches predoctoral students essential skills for treating people with complex medical conditions, social issues, or behavioral health needs while also identifying best practices for future use at Tufts Dental Facilities, a network of clinics for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities