April 2020
CHAS eNews
POLICY BRIEFS
Paying for Medicaid – State Budgets and the Case for Expansion in the Time of Coronavirus
Federal and state policymakers are looking to Medicaid as a central tool in their response to the coronavirus epidemic, making it increasingly important to understand how Medicaid is paid for. Upcoming Michael Davis speaker and Professor of Health Policy and Economics at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Benjamin Sommers, MD, PhD recently published an article detailing how the system of Medicaid has worked since the creation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion and what the Covid-19 pandemic means in terms of the best way to structure the program. Find the full article below.
Disablement in Context: Neighborhood Characteristics and their Association with Frailty Onset Among Older Adults

Little is known about how the context in which older adults live may contribute to differences in frailty, defined as an aggregate expression of risk resulting from age- or disease-associated physiologic accumulation, is responsible for large economic and societal costs. A recent study by CHAS Fellow and UChicago Sociologist Kathleen Cagney, PhD , Julia Caldwell, PhD and Haena Lee, PhD clarifies the role of neighborhood structural characteristics and social processes for understanding declines in health status. They found that adults in neighborhoods with increasing levels of physical disorder had higher odds of frailty while those exposed to more social cohesion had lower odds.Older adults specifically living in a neighborhood characterized with a higher density of African Americans and with more residential instability was associated with higher odds of frailty. The authors recommend urban planning advancements that facilitate the opportunity to spend more time outdoors and which encourage social interaction, which helps older adults stay in their communities for the longest possible time.
UPCOMING EVENTS
All Michael Davis Lectures will be held via Zoom.
April 21, 2020:
"Pandemic as Politics: Indian Vaccination and American Empire"

Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
The University of Chicago

April 28, 2020:
"Suicidal Behaviors in Prisons: Examining Racial Differences in Suicidal Behaviors and Health Care Disparities in Prison Responses"

Assistant Professor
Sc hool of Social Service Administration
The University of Chicago

May 6, 2020:
"Quarantine and Economic Uncertainty: Historic Lessons from a Mid-Pacific Seaport"

Postdoctoral Social Sciences Teaching Fellow
Department of History and the College
The University of Chicago

May 13, 2020
"Your Money and Your Life – The Case for Expansion in the Time of Coronavirus"

Professor of Health Politics and Economics
Department of Health Policy and Management
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

May 19, 2020:
"What is it About Sleep? Population Research on Sleep Quality and Social Determinants"

Louis Block Professor of Public Health Sciences and the College
Department Chair, Department of Public Health Sciences
The University of Chicago
Announcements
PhD Stipends Application: Now Open Through May 31st

CHAS Doctoral research stipends are intended to support original health policy and services research that is supervised by a CHAS faculty member or CHAS-funded faculty member; stipends are not intended to support dissertation research.

For eligibility and expectations, visit our website .
CHAS Seed Grants Applications: Due before April 30, 2020

The CHAS Seed Grants program is still open for all UChicago faculty members with an academic appointment. The Seed Grants program aims to support promising health services and policy research projects at the University of Chicago by providing modest research funding for a limited time (usually two years) to enable eligible investigators to explore the feasibility of a concept related to the mission of the Center and to generate sufficient data to pursue it through other funding mechanisms.

Proposals are currently being accepted online through  April 30, 2020 . New awards will be funded for the performance cycle of July 2020-June 2022. See PI criteria at our website .
Upcoming Webinar: Care Management in the time of COVID-19
Tuesday, April 14, 1:00 - 2:00pm CT

Across the country and world, the healthcare system has shifted focus on containing the novel coronavirus and mitigating its health impacts on those infected. While preventive physical distancing and “shelter in place” practices are slowing the surge of cases, these shifts have also created challenges for providing health and social care to diverse populations who are vulnerable to changes in their care plans. As central contacts for patients and families, care managers play an important role in supporting them as they face postponed procedures, adjusted routines, anxieties about getting basic needs met, and social isolation. While daunting, core social work competencies and clinical skills can be leveraged to address such challenges. This CHaSCI Community webinar will feature Sarah Mitchell Chen, LCSW, ambulatory social work care manager at Rush University Medical Center, who will discuss these topics and share strategies from her work supporting patients and families on the west side of Chicago.
chas.uchicago.edu/
(773) 834-3058
969 E. 60th St.
Chicago, IL. 60637
Connect with us