Kara Gavin
Research and Policy Media Relations Manager

Gavin draws on more than 25 years of experience in communicating about science, medicine and health policy. She focuses mainly on the health services research done by members of the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, who work to understand and improve the safety, quality, equity and affordability of health care. As part of the Michigan Medicine communication team, she has lead responsibility for primary care and mental health topics. Contact: [email protected]; Twitter: @Karag
Kara Gavin photo
orange umbrella over small people figures on ground with rain clouds above
Health Lab
Medicaid expansion closed health gaps for low-income adults across racial and ethnic groups, study shows
Medicaid expansion improved health and access to care for low-income Black, white, Latino and Arab-American residents of Michigan.
 blood pressure machine and pills
Health Lab
When blood pressure needs more control, what’s better: An additional drug or more of the same?
For adults over 65 who need more blood pressure control, increasing the dose of an existing medication may be a better choice for many than adding a new drug.
 lab notes general image of stethoscope drawn in blue ink on lined paper
Health Lab
When a free cancer check finds something, could cost keep patients from following up?
Lung cancer screening and Pap smear tests for cervical cancer are free but the tests needed for someone with an abnormal result can cost patients money.
 ecmo machine
Health Lab
ECMO offers sickest COVID patients a chance to survive, but a slimmer one than previously thought
ECMO life support can save the lives of about half of the critically ill COVID-19 patients who are placed on it by their ICU teams.
News Release
New Health Equity Project aims to significantly reduce health disparities for vulnerable residents in five Michigan counties
The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has pledged to provide a $9 million Medicaid match to launch a new Health Equity Project in five Michigan counties.
 Three syringes with vaccine on orange background
Health Lab
Should you get a booster dose of COVID vaccine?
Do you need a COVID vaccine booster shot? Follow this quick, easy-to-understand guide to the latest recommendations from the FDA and CDC for COVID vaccine booster doses.
 teen sitting on laptop with pills in hand in kitchen
Health Lab
Pandemic tripled telehealth use for Gen Z, but even digital natives want in-person care
Polls of teens and young adults taken before and during pandemic show most see the benefit of telemedicine, especially video and for minor ailments.
 drawing in blue ink on notepad paper of pill with dollar sign in it with lab note wording in yellow and navy on bottom right
Health Lab
Turning 65 means a lot for Americans’ wallets, health spending study finds
Out-of-pocket costs drop sharply after Medicare eligibility at age 65, especially for those with the highest bills.
 health care worker with face shield giving shot to woman with both wearing masks
Health Lab
Majority of older adults say health care workers should have to get COVID-19 vaccine
Many unvaccinated health care workers will soon be subject to a federal vaccine requirement announced by President Biden. A new poll shows most older adults support a COVID vaccination mandate for doctors, nurses and others.
 woman doing bills in living room with pink shirt and red glasses on
Health Lab
Poll finds tax-free accounts are used less by those who may need them most
Health savings accounts (HSA), flexible spending accounts (FSA) and other programs that give a tax break for saving for future health costs aren’t used by many older adults and are most used by those who need them least
 senior couple kiss forehead window
Health Lab
Wide variation seen in family caregiver availability for people with dementia
A new study looks at how dementia and Alzheimer’s disease patients get caregiving from family caregivers including wives, husbands, daughters and sons, as well as paid help, and disparities in care.
News Release
Brain food: Michigan Medicine hosts month-long food drive to help kids learn and serve neighbors in need
As children return to school, and the Delta variant of coronavirus threatens to disrupt many lives across Michigan, the need for a stable source of food has once again grown urgent for tens of thousands of people in the communities surrounding the University of Michigan.
 drawing of pills in blue ink with lab note written on bottom right in yellow and navy blue
Health Lab
A risky combination of medicines gets riskier when a patient’s prescriptions come from two doctors
Multiple prescribers means higher overdose risk in patients taking a benzodiazepine (such as Xanax, Valium or Restoril) and an opioid (such as Vicodin, Norco or Percocet) at the same time
 white pills medicine bar graph
Health Lab
First-time opioid prescriptions got shorter, less potent after CDC guidelines
Doctors prescribed smaller and shorter courses of opioid pain medications like Oxycontin, Oxycodone, Vicodin after the 2016 CDC opioid prescribing guidelines.
Health Lab
How can nursing homes protect residents from infection? Follow the research
Nursing home residents were hit hard by COVID-19, but other infections threaten their health too including superbugs known as MDROs, and urinary tract infections.
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