Population Health Institute

Translating Research for Policy and Practice

News & Announcements

Institute’s County Health Rankings & Roadmaps Wins National Award for Public Service

Dr. Marjory Givens' “Harnessing Data for Research on Structural Racism” Presentation and Larger NASEM Workshop Proceedings Now Online

UW Population Health Institute’s 2021 Annual Report: Imagining and building a better and more equitable future for everyone

29 Wisconsin Communities Named “Healthy Community Designee” Portrait of Greenfield Wisconsin’s Work

PHI announces updated tools to support local community health improvement efforts at www.improvingwihealth.org

New Publication by PHI Marcia Morales & Sweta Shrestha: Public Health Training Centers' Support for Community Health Workers

Translating Research for Policy and Practice: UWPHI Informs WI State Health Improvement Plan, Governor's Health Equity Council & Governor Tony Ever's 2023 State of the State Address

PHI Director Dr. Sheri Johnson at "Exploring the Power of Youth Leadership in Creating Conditions for Health and Equity" NASEM Workshop

How is Rural Defined and Why it Matters in Health & Equity Research: An Interview with Greg Nycz, PHI Advisory Board Member

Our Work

The County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program is a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. We’re working to improve health outcomes for all and to close the health gaps between those with the most and least opportunities for good health. This work is rooted in a deep belief in health equity, the idea that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, income, location, or any other factor.

Principal Investigator: Sheri Johnson and Co-Directors: Marjory Givens and Bethany Rogerson

Learn more about the County Health Rankings here

The Evaluation Research group works with community and governmental organizations to develop, implement and evaluate their programs. These projects focus on substance abuse prevention and treatment, maternal and child health, school-based health, correctional health and related areas. We use a broad range of methods, from qualitative and descriptive techniques to complex experimental and quasi-experimental trials. We also engage in rigorous intervention research design and evaluation.

Program Director: Sara Lindberg

Learn more about the Evaluation Research Group here

Campus Farmer's Market Stand

MATCH assesses population health and works with communities to identify opportunities for improving community health and to find and implement evidence-based programs and policies to address these issues. MATCH engages faculty, staff, and graduate students to conduct applied population health research, monitor health and health disparities in communities, and produce seminars, workshops, and applied training and continuing education programs to community and public health practitioners.

Learn more about the MATCH Group here

Our Vision: We work toward a world in which we value each other, honor our connectedness, and build communities where everyone can thrive.
Our Values: Collaboration – Build and sustain diverse partnerships that prioritize respect, mutual benefit and meaningful engagement. Integrity – Ensure that we are honest, accountable and responsible with the power we have. Excellence – Aim high, seek feedback, and continually improve. Innovation – Create, test, refine, and promote new ideas and approaches at the leading edge. Inclusion – Ensure work has a wide reach, is meaningful, accessible and impactful. Courage – Seek diverse perspectives and experiences that challenge our assumptions and worldviews, recognize systemic harms and commit to making positive change, even when it’s uncomfortable.
Advance the population health and equity field with science, evidence, and conceptual frameworks that bring community priorities to the forefront, address the complexity of historical context, power dynamics, and identities in shaping health and equity.
Motivate a broad range of investors to advance the equitable stewardship of their resources.
Build, strengthen, and align partnerships to increase collective accountability and action.
Cultivate strong narratives and strategic communications to name what it takes to achieve health equity.
Commit to becoming a racially equitable, inclusive organization, joining and supporting other organizations on their journey.

Land Acknowledgement

The UW Population Health Institute occupies Ho-Chunk Land, a place their nation has called Teejop (Day-JOPE) since time immemorial. In 1832, the Ho-Chunk were forced to surrender this territory. Decades of ethnic cleansing followed when both the federal and state government repeatedly, but unsuccessfully, sought to forcibly remove the Ho-Chunk people from Wisconsin.

This history of colonization shapes our commitment to building partnerships that prioritize respect and meaningful engagement. The staff of the institute respects the inherent sovereignty of the Ho-Chunk Nation, along with the 11 other First Nations of Wisconsin. We carry this land acknowledgement into our actions by considering the many legacies of violence, erasure, displacement, migration, and settlement as a lens in our work.

More Links