Public Health Institute

10/09/2026

Four in five Californians with sickle cell disease (SCD) relied on Medi-Cal at some point between 2021 and 2023, but fewer than half stayed enrolled continuously, according to California’s first statewide SCD surveillance report.

The report, produced by the California Sickle Cell Data Collection program, arrives months before new federal Medi-Cal work requirements take effect, rules that could widen those gaps unless people with SCD can readily verify their exemptions. SCD is an inherited blood disorder affecting multiple body systems throughout life. People with SCD have a life expectancy about 20 years shorter than the general population, a gap shaped by barriers to health care and other resources.

The report identifies opportunities to improve outcomes through better chronic case management, access to specialty care and stronger care coordination. Read more: https://www.phi.org/press/four-in-five-californians-with-sickle-cell-disease-have-relied-on-medi-cal-first-statewide-report-finds/

California Sickle Cell Data Collection is a program of Tracking California, a program of the Public Health Institute.

A new report from Tracking California on the 7,000 Californians with sickle cell disease identifies opportunities to improve their health.

10/08/2026

Join PHI's Pacific ADA Center for their next webinar in their 2026 Lunch and Learn series on staying safe in an emergency:

⛑️Lunch and Learn Session 3: Personal Emergency Preparedness
📅 Thursday, October 15 | Noon PT
⏩ Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5ZO6vB-kRwucmfq76NsU_w #/registration

This webinar will show simple steps for making a personal emergency plan, including helpful tools and resources you can use. You’ll learn how to be ready for different situations.

Join the Pacific ADA Center for our next 2026 Lunch and Learn Webinar of the year! Find out how to stay safe in an emergency. This webinar will show simple steps for making a personal emergency plan, including helpful tools and resources you can use. You’ll learn how to be ready for different situ...

10/08/2026

Over the past 17 years, the field of multipurpose prevention technologies (MPTs)—products that protect against more than one health risk at once, namely HIV, other sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy—has transformed from an ambitious concept into a robust pipeline of more than 20 product candidates.

The Initiative for MPTs (IMPT), a project of PHI's CAMI Health, brings together researchers, funders, developers, policymakers and advocates worldwide to accelerate innovation and advance the field. Their 2022–25 Impact Report details this work over the past several years, a period marked by continued scientific advances, stronger collaboration, and growing momentum across the MPT ecosystem.

Read the full report:https://theimpt.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Sept-2026-IMPT-2022-25-IMPACT-REPORT.pdf

10/08/2026

📣 Call for Speakers: Apply by November 6!

PHI’s Pacific ADA Center invites proposals for presentations at their 2027 Virtual Conference to be held March 9–10, 2027, to broaden perspectives and highlight innovative work related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

"Beyond Compliance: Access, Equity and the ADA" will focus on topic areas such as accessible sports and recreation, inclusive design, digital accessibility, emergency preparedness and more.

Learn more, including how to submit your proposal:

PHI's Pacific ADA Center invites proposals for presentations at the 2027 Virtual Conference to be held March 9–10, 2027, to broaden perspectives and highlight innovative work related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

10/08/2026

Attending next month? The Public Health Institute and its programs will share their research, expertise and new ideas in San Antonio—dig into the presentations, poster sessions and special events in our PHI at APHA: Digital Guide.

Also in the latest news and updates from PHI: Reimagining Public Health with President & CEO Melissa Stafford Jones—Saving Lives in Rural Oregon | Call for Speakers: 2027 Virtual ADA Conference | Trust, Partnership and Shared Action in Community Health | Science Spotlight: Early Peer Helping in Recovery | New Jobs & more:

PHI at APHA 2026: Digital Guide The Public Health Institute and its programs will share their research, expertise and new ideas at the 2026 American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting and Expo, which is being held in San Antonio, Texas from November 1–4. In addition to the presentatio...

10/05/2026

✨ I-STARR Webinar: Overdose Vulnerability and Service Needs Among People Experiencing Homelessness
📅 Tuesday, October 20 | 11am–noon PT
🔗 Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xZ4NMgtBTY-7rhCp9tE6yQ #/registration

People experiencing homelessness (PEH) face high risk of opioid-associated deaths and face barriers when accessing treatment and other services.

Don't miss this upcoming webinar with PHI's Alcohol Research Group (ARG), which will review findings from studies examining the experiences of PEH who use drugs in San Francisco. Discussion will focus on the role of housing in overdose prevention and treatment, and challenges experienced by PEH when accessing substance use prevention, care and treatment services.

People experiencing homelessness (PEH) face high risk of opioid-associated deaths and face barriers when accessing treatment and other services. This webinar reviews findings from studies examining the experiences of PEH who use drugs in San Francisco. Discussion will focus on the role of housing in...

09/30/2026

📣 The Childhood Cancer & the Environment Program (CCEP) Scholars is now accepting applications from early and mid-career pediatric oncology clinicians.

CCEP Scholars is a 7-month hybrid training grant to connect leading researchers and clinicians working in childhood cancer and the environment with the goal of providing meaningful leadership and implementation experience. CCEP Scholars will kick off in January 2027 and include peer mentoring, monthly 1-hour sessions and focused projects to advance integrating environmental health at scholars’ institutions.

Travel, lodging and meals will be covered and $5,000 will be awarded to each participant upon completion of the program to support on-going implementation. Learn more and apply by November 1: https://www.phi.org/press/apply-childhood-cancer-the-environment-program-scholars/

CCEP is a program of PHI's Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units - PEHSU (National Program Office). PEHSU is a national network of experts in reproductive and children’s health issues related to environmental exposures.

Apply by November 1 for this hybrid fellowship for early and mid-career pediatric oncologists to integrate environmental health into pediatric cancer care and survivorship.

09/24/2026

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) can play a critical role in helping high-risk patients get treatment for opioid use disorder and using harm reduction measures to prevent future overdoses.

Bridge to Treatment’s Dre Cantwell-Frank Oregon Public Health Institute’s Emily Henke join PHI CEO & President Melissa Stafford Jones in the latest Reimagining Public Health blog post to discuss a project that’s supporting EMS agencies in rural Oregon to deliver buprenorphine treatment at the scene of an overdose.

It’s a systems approach, centered on the community, that can be adapted to close a gap in care and reduce deaths from overdose.

⏩ Read the post and comment: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/saving-lives-rural-oregon-ems-public-health-melissa-stafford-jones-l8f7e/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_detail_base%3BolfPoM1GTVSSf8KJXzMq3g%3D%3D
⏩ Subscribe to Reimagining Public Health so you never miss a post: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/reimagining-public-health-7482847310666989568/
⏩ Learn more about EMS Bridge: https://bridgetotreatment.org/addiction-treatment/ems-bridge/

09/23/2026

Attending the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting this November in San Antonio? Curious about how fiscal sponsorship works?

At a time of significant change for public health nonprofits and programs, fiscal sponsorship offers a strategic way to sustain and grow your work.

Join PHI for connection and coffee at the 2026 APHA Annual Meeting. Meet with our experts to learn how fiscal sponsorship works, what it can offer and whether it might be a good fit for your program.

Register to join us and learn more: https://www.phi.org/meet-phi-apha-2026/

Tuesday, November 3, 202612:30–2:00pm CT2026 APHA Meeting & ExpoRoom 214B | Henry B. Gonzalez Convention CenterSan Antonio, Texas  Event Description: At a time of significant…

09/23/2026

Residents in sober living housing (SLH) who help each other early in their stay have better recovery outcomes six months later, more than the house’s program design alone predicts.

That's the news from recent research that counters the prevailing assumption that the environment does the healing. The standard model holds that residents recover by living alongside peers, governing the household together, attending mutual-help meetings and absorbing a culture built on 12-step principles.

The study from researchers at the Alcohol Research Group (Public Health Institute) and Behavioral Health and Recovery Studies, both programs of the Public Health Institute, followed residents entering SLHs over six months.

The finding: residents who exchanged help with peers early in their stay experienced a more supportive house environment within a month. That environment, in turn, predicted better recovery outcomes at six months. House design mattered. But peer helping is what carried the effect.

“These results turn what we think about these recovery houses on its head,” said Sarah Zemore, Ph.D., lead study author and senior scientist at PHI’s Alcohol Research Group. “….residents who are helpers seem to foster personal environments within their recovery houses that are conducive to recovery for themselves. That tells operators that following basic social model principles is not sufficient to improve outcomes; helping has to be specifically modeled and encouraged.”

The takeaway for operators: Helping doesn't happen automatically because the rules allow it—it has to be modeled and encouraged.

Read more: https://www.phi.org/press/science-spotlightin-sober-living-homes-residents-shape-their-own-recovery-environments/

Study finds that early peer helping in recovery residences contributes to a better social environment and better outcomes six months later.