Research news | Department of Family and Community Medicine | UC Davis Health

What does it mean to design a study with patients, not just for them, and why does that shift matter for kidney care outcomes? Na’amah Razon answered these questions and more in the Hot Topics in Kidney Health podcast with the National Kidney Foundation (NKF). Razon is a physician and assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. 

Joshua Fenton, a professor and vice chair of research in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, was recognized for his dedication to mentoring aspiring researchers. He received the 2024 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring from the UC Davis School of Medicine. 

The UC Davis Department of Family and Community Medicine hosted the Revitalizing Primary Care (Rev PC) Summit in October 2024 to discuss the crisis in primary care in the U.S. In June 2025, a 30-member expert panel that was first convened at the summit released its recommendations. The 50-page report made seven recommendations to improve the state of primary care.

A qualitative study found that people experiencing homelessness often delay seeking care due to past dehumanizing healthcare encounters, while street medicine teams help restore trust through respectful, patient‑centered engagement. Department of Family and Community Medicine faculty Alicia Agnoli and Na'amah Razon were coauthors on this BMJ Public Health study with family medicine resident Ren Bruguera.

Spinal imaging for back pain may not be needed, but patients might still ask for it. A program designed to help clinicians engage patients with back pain did not help reduce imaging rates, found a study authored by physician researchers Joshua Fenton and Anthony Jerant from the Department of Family and Community Medicine.

Academic Medicine published a review of U.S. studies that found persistent stigmatizing attitudes among health care professionals toward patients with substance use disorders. Elizabeth Magnan and Joy Melnikow, coauthors of the review and Department of Family and Community Medicine faculty, concluded their review with a call for more research to understand and address this type of stigma in healthcare. 

UC Davis researchers received a new grant to evaluate a unique emergency department-based program to treat opioid use disorder. The study will assess utilization of outpatient behavioral health services. Joshua Fenton, a professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, is the principal investigator on the study.

Na’amah Razon, assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, is conducting a study to better understand the impact transportation and different modes of transportation have on dialysis patient outcomes. Razon and her team will analyze a quantitative data set looking at the associations of patient outcomes and particular modes of transport, including services provided by Medicaid, paratransit, public transportation, or private pay transportation.

New guidance recommends all women get screened for breast cancer every other year starting at age 40. The recommendation issued by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) comes alongside a new systematic evidence review and modeling study published in JAMA that helped inform the updated recommendations. Joy Melnikow, professor emeritus in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, contributed to the USPSTF evidence review and co-authored the systemic evidence review in JAMA. Learn more from this UC Davis Health article. 

UC Davis Health researchers evaluated California’s mental health crisis management and prevention programs in a report that called for more sustainable programs and community collaborations to support people with mental illness. Joy Melnikow, professor emeritus in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, is a co-lead author of the report. Learn more from this UC Davis Health article.

A UC Davis medical student takes their research to a national audience of family medicine physicians to advocate for better health care access for people experiencing homelessness. The student received invaluable guidance from several mentors from the Department of Family and Community Medicine, including research faculty members Alicia Agnoli and Na’amah Razon. Learn more from this UC Davis Health article.

A new study sheds light on disparities in telehealth access and use among older adults, particularly concerning social isolation and loneliness. Department of Family and Community Medicine researchers Alicia Agnoli, Grace Amadi, Joshua Fenton and Rebecca Howe co-authored the study. Learn more from this UC Davis Health article.

A $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice will provide funding to help promote safe prescribing and reduce overdoses that involve prescription drugs. Joshua Fenton, a professor and vice chair of research in the UC Davis Department of Family and Community Medicine, is a co-investigator on the project. Learn more from this UC Davis Health article.

The specialist you see first for your neck pain has a big impact on how your condition gets diagnosed and treated, a UC Davis study has found. The study's lead author is Joshua Fenton, a professor and vice chair of research in the UC Davis Department of Family and Community Medicine. Learn more from this UC Davis Health article.

Joshua Fenton, co-investigator Alicia Agnoli and their team have received a new CDC research grant to study the risks of combined opioid and benzodiazepine therapy.

Elizabeth Magnan and colleagues from multiple UC campuses recently published a policy brief on the potential impacts, benefits and risks of universal screening for adverse childhood events (ACEs) among children and adults. This work arose from a bill analysis they conducted for the CA state legislature last year as part of the California Health Benefits Review Program (CHBRP). The brief may be read here

Mika Godzich, Department of Family and Community Medicine Residency Director, was a co-author of “Mental health implications of abortion restrictions for historically marginalized populations,” in New England Journal of Medicine. Godzich and colleagues review the implications of the Supreme Court’s Dodd decision through an intersectional lens that takes in structural racism, reproductive injustice, and mental health.