University of Washington

Health Systems and Population Health

SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

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Stephen Bezruchka photo

Stephen Bezruchka

Associate Teaching Professor Emeritus, Health Systems and Population Health

206-932-4928 | sabez@uw.edu

Office H655K, Health Sciences Building
Box 357660
Department of Health Services, UW School of Public Health, Seattle, WA 98195

https://stephenbezruchka.com/

Research Interests

Effective methods of disseminating determinants of population health to the general population so they work to change societal structures to improve America’s health; theories of global health asking the question why do countries order by health outcomes such as life expectancy in the Health Olympics?; medical harm and the lack of interest in the USA for responding to this marked health risk; medical tourism and its affect on host populations

Bio

Stephen Bezruchka is a senior lecturer in the Department of Health Systems and Population Health and the Department of Global Health. He worked in clinical medicine for 35 years, including more than a decade in Nepal, where he set up a hospital for training generalist doctors and worked to improve surgical services. Bezruchka founded the Population Health Forum to promote dialogue about how political, economic and social inequalities interact to affect the overall health status of society. He despairs over the relative and absolute health decline in the United States despite this nation spending more on health care than the rest of the world combined. Bezruchka was awarded the School of Public Health’s Outstanding Teaching Award in 2002, the Faculty Community Service Award in 2008 and the Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award in 2017. He is on the board of directors of the Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility. Bezruchka earned an MPH from Johns Hopkins University and an M.D. from Stanford University.

Bezruchka’s most recent book “Inequality Kills Us All” is an examination of how economic and social inequality leads to poorer health and higher mortality, and how living in a society with entrenched hierarchies increases the negative effects of illnesses for everyone.

Education

MD Medicine, Stanford University, 1973
MPH International Health, Johns Hopkins University, 1993
AM Mathematics, Harvard University, 1967
BSc Mathematics, Physics, University of Toronto (Canada), 1966

Academic Programs and Affiliations

Recent Publications (PubMed)

Navigating the Intersection Between Persistent Pain and the Opioid Crisis: Population Health Perspectives for Physical Therapy.
PubMed
Davenport TE, DeVoght AC, Sisneros H, Bezruchka S. Navigating the Intersection Between Persistent Pain and the Opioid Crisis: Population Health Perspectives for Physical Therapy. Phys Ther. 2020 Jun 23;100(6):995-1007. doi: 10.1093/ptj/pzaa031.
Understanding perceptions of global healthcare experiences on provider values and practices in the USA: a qualitative study among global health physicians and program directors.
PubMed
Matthews-Trigg N, Citrin D, Halliday S, Acharya B, Maru S, Bezruchka S, Maru D. Understanding perceptions of global healthcare experiences on provider values and practices in the USA: a qualitative study among global health physicians and program director
Population Health and Paid Parental Leave: What the United States Can Learn from Two Decades of Research.
PubMed
Burtle A, Bezruchka S. Population Health and Paid Parental Leave: What the United States Can Learn from Two Decades of Research. Healthcare (Basel). 2016 Jun 1;4(2). pii: E30. doi: 10.3390/healthcare4020030. Review.
Assessment of graduate public health education in Nepal and perceived needs of faculty and students.
PubMed
Mahat A, Bezruchka SA, Gonzales V, Connell FA. Assessment of graduate public health education in Nepal and perceived needs of faculty and students. Hum Resour Health. 2013 Apr 26;11(1):16. doi: 10.1186/1478-4491-11-16.
The hurrider I go the behinder I get: the deteriorating international ranking of U.S. health status.
PubMed
Bezruchka S. The hurrider I go the behinder I get: the deteriorating international ranking of U.S. health status. Annu Rev Public Health. 2012 Apr;33:157-73. Epub 2012 Jan 3.
The effect of economic recession on population health.
PubMed
Bezruchka S. The effect of economic recession on population health. CMAJ. 2009 Sep 1;181(5):281-5.
Interplay of politics and law to promote health: improving economic equality and health: the case of postwar Japan.
PubMed
Bezruchka S, Namekata T, Sistrom MG. Interplay of politics and law to promote health: improving economic equality and health: the case of postwar Japan. Am J Public Health. 2008 Apr;98(4):589-94. Epub 2008 Feb 28.
Predicting time to subsequent pregnancy.
PubMed
Gold R, Connell FA, Heagerty P, Cummings P, Bezruchka S, Davis R, Cawthon ML. Predicting time to subsequent pregnancy. Matern Child Health J. 2005 Sep;9(3):219-28.
Income inequality and pregnancy spacing.
PubMed
Gold R, Connell FA, Heagerty P, Bezruchka S, Davis R, Cawthon ML. Income inequality and pregnancy spacing. Soc Sci Med. 2004 Sep;59(6):1117-26.
Income inequality and population health. Better measures of social differentiation and hierarchy are needed.
PubMed
Wilkinson R, Bezruchka S. Income inequality and population health. Better measures of social differentiation and hierarchy are needed. BMJ. 2002 Apr 20;324(7343):978.

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