Sean Bruna, PhD

Haven’t posted in a while. Happy Sunday Beaches.

Welcome! What does JAMA think of the current policy moment?

Thanks for sharing. I’m pulling my application materials together and will keep an eye out.

Latino Health Advocacy Driving public health policy and research to improve health outcomes for medically underserved communities.

I am honored to serve on the inaugural Board of Directors of the Organization for Latino Health Advocacy (OLHA), a national nonprofit dedicated to elevating the voices of Latino communities in research and public health policy development.
LatinoHealthAdvocacy.org
#PublicHealth

Yeah, that’s not a good budget. I’m curious to see if and how states and research/educational institution pick up the slack.

AcademyHealth’s Situation Report: The Latest on HHS Layoffs and Reorg, How We’re Responding, and What You Can Do | AcademyHealth This edition of AcademyHealth's Situation Report provides a comprehensive overview of the significant challenges arising from the HHS reorganization, Medicaid funding debates, and NIH grant disruptions,...

The health research community is facing a critical moment. We can’t stay on the sidelines. I’m sharing how @AcademyHealth.bsky.social is responding—and how you can help defend essential research.

AHRQ is more than a funder—it’s a catalyst for smarter, safer, more responsive health system transformation. With possible changes to federal agencies ahead, AHRQ’s important work is at risk. Learn how you can take action here: buff.ly/szp9ezP

Building a public-private partnership to confront the emergency department boarding crisis This commentary, authored by leaders at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), s

New article: Building a public-private partnership to confront the emergency department boarding crisis

#EmergencyMedicine #AHRQ #HHS

academic.oup.com/healthaffair...

Did You Work on a Terminated NIH Grant? ProPublica Wants to Hear From You. The National Institutes of Health is canceling grants that are seen as conflicting with the Trump administration’s priorities. We want to hear from researchers who have been affected.

Did You Work on a Terminated NIH Grant? ProPublica Wants to Hear From You.

www.propublica.org/getinvolved/...

This is a long line of Health and Human Services employees in Rockville, Maryland (just outside of DC), waiting in line to get into the building where they work. They find out they’ve been fired because their ID does not work, so they can’t enter the building. #HHS

AHRQ director Robert Otto Valdez, who left the agency in January after three years, shares about the agency’s role in the federal government and what its reduction means for technological advancement. #AHRQ

www.politico.com/newsletters/...

Related resources are available on AHRQ's Emergency Department resource page

www.ahrq.gov/topics/emerg...

Hot off the press!
Technical Report AHRQ Summit to Address Emergency Department Boarding

www.ahrq.gov/sites/defaul...

Sat: Roundtable: Healthcare System Overload (Roundtable)

..... and thats all 5 presentations. Hope to see you there!

Thurs: Selling Your Anthropology Degree to Get That Job! (Workshop)

Fri: "An Ethnographic Look Inside a Federal Initiative (Emergency Department Boarding)" for Scaling Ethnography for Policy and Practice: What Works and Lessons Learned, Part I and Part II. (Podium)

Mon & Tu: "National Perspectives on Disability, Data, and Healthcare Research" for the Disability Anthropology Across the Four Fields Workshop.

Wed: Revitalizing the Role of Anthropologists in Health Professions Education (Roundtable)

I'm looking forward to the Society for Applied Anthropology conference this week. I ended up in 5 sessions. 😅 ... so I'm glad this conference is in the land of good coffee! Details below...

#SfAA25 #HealthPolicy #EDBoarding #HSR #MedicalAnthropology

HHS agency responsible for health care quality research threatened with mass layoffs AHRQ, a small government agency responsible for health care quality research, is feared to be the latest target for mass layoffs by the Trump administration.

HHS agency responsible for health care quality research threatened with mass layoffs

“[AHRQ ], part of the [HHS], has about 300 employees and a budget of $369 million, which is about 0.02% of what the government spends on health care. But … DOGE…”

#AHRQ #HHS

www.statnews.com/2025/03/20/h...

The Trump Administration Goes To War With Health-Care Quality Inside its plan to destroy a small agency that keeps you safe.

“AHRQ’s contribution to “government efficiency” is hard to measure, but it certainly improves efficiency within the health care system, and probably saves both the government and consumers money by reducing waste and malpractice.” #AHRQ #HHS

www.offmessage.net/p/the-trump-...

“The rumors of a sweeping reorganization at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which studies ways of improving health services, has had a chilling effect on the health research industry.”
#AHRQ #HSR #Healthcare

www.politico.com/news/2025/03...

Johns Hopkins Plans Staff Layoffs After $800 Million Grant Cuts Local and international health research efforts are already winding down as the university braces for even more potential cuts.

The Trump administration has terminated $800 million in grants to Johns Hopkins University, spurring the nation’s top spender on research and development to plan layoffs and cancel health projects

Policy on Adhering to the Text of the Administrative Procedure Act The Department of Health and Human Services' (the Department) Immediate Office of the Secretary is rescinding the policy on Public Participation in Rule Making (Richardson Waiver) and re-aligning the ...

“…the Richardson Waiver is rescinded …“matters relating to agency management or personnel or to public property, loans, grants, benefits, or contracts,” are exempt from the notice and comment procedures of 5 U.S.C. 553, except as otherwise required by law.”

www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

Serving Those Who Serve Us
www.thejusticeconnection.org

A professional headshot of a woman in a navy suit with long black hair.

I’m sad to learn that my law school classmate, Kiah Duggins, died in the DC plane crash last night.

Kiah was an exceptionally talented civil rights lawyer and aspiring legal scholar.

I hope you’ll read about her work and the causes she cared about, some of which I’ll 🧵 below.

What an immense loss

All NIH study sections canceled indefinitely. This will halt science and devastate research budgets in universities.

If you work in the disability research space, or want to learn more, I recommend reading the report.

Many thanks to all of the non-governmental and governmental experts that contributed or worked on this document. I was honored to be part of the team and work alongside so many dedicated experts.

NSTC: Federal Evidence Agenda on Disability | OSTP | The White House The NSTC’s Federal Evidence Agenda on Disability is available here.

The NSTC: Federal Evidence Agenda on Disabilityprovides a roadmap for how the federal government can build additional evidence to make data-informed decisions that improve outcomes for people with disabilities.

www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-up...

#DisabilityResearch

The Use of Race and Ethnicity in Biomedical Research See resources and frequently asked questions about this study.

Our report addresses the use of race & ethnicity in #BiomedicalResearch & makes recommendations for responsible use, transparent reporting, best practices for analysis, and community engagement. Access the report & supporting materials:

Yeah, I don’t think anyone would disagree on the financial aspects

Climate change is the leading threat to public health, contributing to both individual health problems and broader disruptions to vital infrastructure and the healthcare system. Read the special emphasis notice for details.