Advances

Advances gives a glimpse of the many significant research projects at the university. Tell us about your discoveries. E-mail: wisweek@news.wisc.edu.

Med school undertakes population health program
Which country spends the most in the world on health-care services – but consistently ranks far from the top on international measures of health and well-being?

The answer, of course, is the United States, and that disparity between dollars spent and results achieved has long suggested that health depends to a considerable degree on factors outside the medical system – such as personal behavior, environmental influences and social factors.

The emerging field of population health science is designed to examine and measure the impact of this broad set of factors and the changes that would promote better health.

The Medical School’s Department of Population Health Sciences and its Wisconsin Public Health and Health Policy Institute have been selected by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to develop a population health training program. The program will educate future leaders to do sound population health research and find ways to implement workable strategies to improve the health of the public. Only five other recipients were named nationwide.

The $193,000 grant will be used to plan the format for the training program for Health and Society Scholars, post-doctoral students pursuing additional training to conduct scientifically rigorous research to help improve the health of populations.

Computer program helps farmers plan manure use
UW-Extension faculty and crop advisers have a new tool to help dairy producers decide about manure management and address potential environmental effects of herd expansion.

Developed by Sherry Combs and written by Scott Lindsey of the Soil and Plant Analysis Lab in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Soil Science Department, the UW-Field Nutrient Application and Recommendation Manager (UW-FARM) is a computer program that analyzes soil test results and related crop nutrient recommendations to help answer “what if” questions about how expanding or modernizing dairy operations will affect manure management and crop rotation.

UW-Extension county faculty and crop advisers can use the program when they educate or consult with farmers about managing nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. Information: 262-4364.

Visit: http://uwlab.soils.wisc.edu

UW sets transplant record
The organ transplant program has released its year-end statistics for 2001:

506 organ transplants were performed in 2001, including heart and lung transplants, the largest number of transplants ever at UW Hospital and Clinics.
303 kidney transplants were performed, equaling the previous high in 1999.
107 live-donor kidney transplants were done, an increase of 12 from 2001.
Live transplants increased substantially, 17 more than in 2000 (including six live-donor liver transplants).
Heart and lung transplants increased by 16 (seven heart and nine lung).

“We are extremely pleased with this year’s high numbers,” says Hans Sollinger, chair of transplantation at UW Hospital. “But we’re also happy that our results, or patient outcomes, continue to be so good.” Patient outcomes are generally measured by whether an organ transplanted into a patient is still functioning for a certain period of time.

“Wisconsinites continue to donate organs at a rate among the highest in the nation and, for that, we are grateful,” Sollinger says, adding that the need for organs remains higher than ever.