Do you have a hunch?
A hunch is an inkling, a possibility, a sneaking suspicion about the future. It’s that thought you’ve been turning over in your head that just might mean you’re onto something. We don’t often share our hunches, but when we do, amazing things can happen!
At the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we have a hunch your hunch can help build a Culture of Health. We hope you’ll share it with us.
Thank you for submitting your hunch!
We will email you when your hunch is live on this site.
If you have any questions, get in touch at hunches@rwjf.org
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Explore hunches
I have a hunch that... We can create sustainable wealth transfer (defined as $50-150k) for families w/out wealth (< $10k - 15k in assets?). It can occur in 15 yrs. It can create community. Hunch is it’s housing. could this happen? Trying in buffalo. Plz contact w/ideas
John HaughtonI have a feeling that... we'll recognize the need to replace our mostly analog health information infrastructure -- enabling safe and secure sharing of PHI -- with a mostly digital health information infrastructure. We can't improve health care without better information!
Bob BrownI'm noticing that... we aren't hearing enough about the radical change that COVID-19 should get us implementing. We need to think and act bigger!
Matthew HoltI wonder if... the perceptions of those nearing retirement will change when they face the often unaffordable cost of housing and health care. Will government, communities, and families be more valued? Will we understand we are all in this together?
Mark FrisseI wonder if... we could use the COVID crisis as a way to unblock medical misinformation channels? And I wonder what will happen if we fail to? Can we use this energy to fix, rather than entrench, social mistrust in clinical messages.
Fred TrotterI'm noticing that... when people listen -with openness to real-life stories of those whose lives differ from theirs, they begin to connect with a part of themselves that breathes better, opens up to love better, and allows greater wellbeing.
Julia MossbridgeI have a hunch that... among the 2,700 Community Emergency Response Teams (TEAMS), there are few teams in low resource inner cities or rural areas. A focus on building CERT teams & encouraging membership in Citizen Corps, may be a way to further build community capacity.
Noreen A HynesI wonder if... People who used to spend a lot of time commuting in the car are finding that their knees are healthier these days. I wonder if that is contributing to them being more physically active?
Lori mI'm noticing that... Much to my surprise, my kids have no complaints about wearing a mask all day at school. I have to remind them to take it off when they get home.
Lori mI have a hunch that... Continuing to do parent teacher conferences virtually after the pandemic could increase health equity by making it easier for parents who work to connect with their child’s teacher .
Lori MI wonder if... Diversifying the pipeline of social workers could have positive impacts on the mental wellbeing of communities of color.
TristaI wonder if... the things status is associated with now (high price) will change (sustainable)
ASI have a feeling that... proximity, not discourse, is the way to build stronger communities and bridge divides.
Eli PariserDid you ever notice that… people light up when they are allowed to share their personal stories.
Gregory TownsendI wonder if... The fact that wearing a mask is protecting other people will provide a small mood boost to people able to make that act daily.
Lori MI wonder if... covid-19 will normalize working from home and working less, freeing us up to spend more time with loved ones and less time chained to our offices.
KariI wonder if... breakthroughs in biotechnology and synthetic biology will create greater equality or widen the gaps
Jennifer KarppinenI wonder if... the population losses experienced by rustbelt cities like Cleveland and Detroit will become a more widespread phenomenon in the US, as the national population ages, Millennial women postpone or forgo having children, and immigration rates decline.
Terry SchwarzI have a feeling that... Food shortages during covid will change how we think about food waste moving forward. I think we will be more careful like our Great Depression era family members.
THI'm noticing that... children who were bullied in the classroom are flourishing during remote learning.
SherryI wonder if... teaching as a profession will be valued more due to Covid-19
EI wonder if... virtual reality will be used as a tool to create social interactions remotely.
EloniI have a feeling that... addressing mental health issues will become even more important in schools due to the effects of remote learning.
EI'm noticing that... children are becoming very frustrated in remote learning and not being in the company of their peers; I'm thinking they will appreciate and cooperate with classroom learning much more after they return, post COVID-19. How can we capitalize on this?
SherryI wonder if... introverts will excel more with students learning offline
Jody StruveI wonder if... People would be able to better navigate through personal 'problems' if we all felt more comfortable sharing among our peers?
Eden PI wonder if... the narrower than expected win by Biden, falling short in gaining Senate seats, and the loss of House seats will lead some Democrats and activists to rethink some of the words used in social justice work, such as "defund the police"?
EliseI'm noticing that... much of what we know about our country's history is skewed and continues to harm Black Americans and Indigenous communities. We learned it in school as children.
Britt MI wonder if... parents of distance learners are getting better at math
lori mI wonder if... companies like Misfits Market and Imperfect Foods will actually make a dent in reducing food waste
BrittI have a feeling that... we will see more food insecurity as the population grows and climate worsens, and we will get smart about land use - shifting from livestock to crops so that we can feed more people.
BMI'm noticing that... there is a lot of anxiety right now around the election.
AlexisI have a hunch that... people who spend more time thinking about the future vote differently than people who spend more time thinking about the present
lori mI wonder if... kids will have a healthier sense of identity as so many do/will create avatars and vivatars to represent themselves in their online education experience and so doing have a new way of continually exploring who they are and want to be
JLSI wonder if... composting is essential to keeping the soil and our food healthy. Imagine if we all composted our food, how nutrient our food sources would be instead of eating food with less nutritional value.
KimI have a feeling that... A “cancelled” Halloween that rocked signals that many Long standing holiday traditions will be interrupted and changed, in many cases for the better this year!
LoriI wonder if... enhancing the social environment at healthcare facilities would foster healthcare trust, promote healthy behaviors, and ultimately improve health outcomes for diverse populations.
Rahshida AtkinsI wonder if... Alternative solution for the current COVID 19 testing & contact tracing Challenge: Corona virus is spreading like a wild fire in the community and its related to the way we conduct testing and contact tracing with extensive delay to get test results and initiate contact tracing.
Dr Frank HamoI have a feeling that... If health information and communication were better personalized, culturally-appropriate and relevant for patients, we could improve engagement in care and health outcomes.
Lisa FitzpatrickI wonder if... in the future we might use robots to deliver medications to people or to disinfect rooms in hospitals and schools to prevent spread of viruses and germs...
Michelle RuggioDid you ever notice that… Some smaller agencies have a better capacity to provide ongoing support and wraparound integrative services to individuals and families even through tele health?
WendyI wonder if... COVID19 has impacted young women on cusp of turning 27 whose final HPV vaccines were postponed in March. They finally go back in June but now are 28 & their insurance does not cover due to age. Now price goes from covered to $400 & some cant afford and go w/out final shot.
MMI have a feeling that... Black and Latino should be get loans for their small businesses easier.
Chuck HockeyI wonder if... If we had more rigorous, non-partisan research on the spread of COVID-19 if there would be a consensus on how we should respond?
H.M.I have a feeling that... children would enjoy hearing a story a bedtime by calling a 1-800 number? Or a lonely elderly person could call and hear a story? What if we could access public libraries for on line stories? This could be a service initiative for nursing students in Community Health!
Dr. Cynthia HammondI wonder if... we should be taking a closer look at shared and congregate housing options for formerly homeless individuals to minimize social isolation, allow for sharing of scarce resources and creating purposeful opportunities to cook, shop, tend to the house, a garden and pets!
Kerry H MorrisonI have a feeling that... Demands for municipal services will increase. My hunch is that we will see an increased focus on and demand for green infrastructure because people will be more observant of their local environment.
Sharon RoertyI have a feeling that... there will be an increased demand for flexible childcare and recreation offerings for children and adolescents. For example – more drop in neighborhood services and casual after school recreation and homework centers.
Sharon RoertyI have a feeling that... With more people working from home, my slow hunch is that we will see increased community activism & volunteering leading to more women in elected and decision-making positions.
Sharon RoertyI have a feeling that... if we'd talk about mental health like we do cancer we would decrease the amount of suicides, put a dent in domestic violence crimes and actually change the shame game we all play. What if at a cocktail party we didn't ask what do you do rather we ask what's your MH story?
LisaI have a feeling that... Many smaller Main St. businesses will go under, and our neighbourhoods will become more same - same because the big chains will become even more ubiquitous.
Bruce HadenI wonder if... New Yorkers who have moved to small towns in Long Island will register to vote out there and flip local elections? or if they will all just register to vote remotely...
Lori MI wonder if... Doctors in Long Island and other NY suburbs will acquire patients from NYC.
Lori MDid you ever notice that… Ive noticed that I have gotten no robocalls since COVID hit the US
Lori MI have a feeling that... our new normal will include smaller in-person social groups with a social-contract to regularly share personal health information related to infectious diseases. Will we spend more time cultivating the in-person relationships which could have positive impact on mental health.
AnnaI have a feeling that... we will spend months (years?) understanding the undocumented impact of delayed "elective procedures" and "non-urgent clinic appointments" for patients --- and that income disparities will dictate who was adversely impacted the most.
AnnaI wonder if... the covid-19 pandemic will exacerbate diet-related health disparities based on existing inequalities (e.g., access to healthy food, food security, who has time to cook, etc)?
RinaI have a feeling that... ...since elevated resting heart rate is associated with inflammation, self-tracking RHR will give early warning of infection, so we can make better judgments about social distancing as the pandemic enters its "chronic" phase.
Gary WolfI wonder if... As many consumers shift shopping in store to using store and 3rd parties (Instacart, Shipt) shopping services for pick-up or delivery, can retail and food service workers effectively advocate for more consistent and flexible work schedules that promote a culture of health?
DonitaI wonder if... schools will find ways to teach skills like sharing in a virtual setting. If schools remain closed for long-term how will some of these social skills be taught and experienced, especially in younger kids?
JodySDid you ever notice that… families that have kids in different schools are having vastly inequitable online learning experiences...some are getting no online learning at all
Lori mI wonder if... The heightened awareness that frontline workers are not being valued the way they should be, along with the impending financial crisis, will be a shock to the system that leads to a change in our current social contract (hopefully positive!)
JulieDid you ever notice that… the pace of our news cycle isn’t very compatible with the scientific method? When we can’t wait for science to reach consensus, how do we report on important, but uncertain early findings without creating confusion?
EugeniaI have a feeling that... social distancing will have a lasting impact on the way we exercise outdoors and attend workout classes.
AlexisI wonder if... Our experience of COVID-19 Quarantine will encourage kids to put down the tablets and go outside and play more?
Eden PI wonder if... The panic around germs will continue after COVID-19, will this push more stores to invest in AI? For example: contactless delivery/pick-up, self check-outs, virtual social gatherings...etc.
Eden PDid you ever notice that… health systems only really exist for populations that offer profit to the system? Could a 'health system' be created around the uninsured/underinsured to provide a PPO network they could use to receive care wherever they may be in a given area?
MatthewI wonder if... Summer camp will be cancelled. If online options are offered I wonder if kids will participate
Lori MI have a feeling that... being exposed to the work (from home) of our loved ones will give us new appreciation for what people close to us go through each day--what excites them, what is hard, what they are good at--and may lead to healthier relationships.
JLSI wonder if... New Yorkers who are fleeing the city for COVID and feeling ill will in their new communities will have more empathy for immigrants in the future
Lori mDid you ever notice that… There are rats on the streets of New York City these days
Lori mI wonder if... schools will become less segregated as widespread virtual learning due to COVID opens up new opportunities for learning across geographic, cultural, and physical boundaries.
AnjliI have a feeling that... while many who have means to stock homes w/ food & snacks are joking about a "pandemic 20" weight gain, in actuality, they will lose weight and feel healthier due to more cooking at home. How can we can use this massive real-time data to support healthier eating?
JodySI wonder if... medical schools, residency programs will have years where no class matriculates now that MCAT and Steps are being cancelled/postponed.
ASI wonder if... colleges will lean more on other admissions factors as SAT and other exams are being cancelled/postponed
ASI have a feeling that... great things will come from all the extra sleep teenagers will be getting over the next couple of months
Lori mI wonder if... there is going to be extreme food conservation or extreme food waste during this quarantine
Lori mI have a feeling that... kids increased exposure to technology during the COVID-19 crisis will both speed up their capacity to use and increase their dependence on technology -- with ensuing health impacts to follow.
BenDid you ever notice that… I have been noticing that people are being much more friendly than they were in the past while walking outside. Before they might have been in their own world and now there is always a smile and a wave even though we make sure we are 6 feet apart
Lori mI wonder if... people will exercise outside more because of social distancing
AlexisI wonder if... Work colleagues will stop shaking hands after Covid 19
Lori mI wonder if... We can tell a lot about a community by which products fly off the shelves first in anticipation of a quarantine
Lori mI wonder if... the COVID 19 outbreak will lead to universal health coverage and paid sick leave for all workers as we see how interconnected we all are.
Trista HarrisI have a feeling that... someone, someday soon will come up with a narrative that is more informative and more sticky than the myth of 'the American Dream'. Until then, there will be too much noise for our society to move boldly towards achieving health equity.
will yangI wonder if... the decrease in travel as a result of the corona virus scare will set us on our way to reducing the travel we need to reduce in service to our planet.
Lori mI wonder if... planes will ever be part of public transport.
ASI wonder if... some public spaces will be designated cell-phone-free (turn off your cell phone and put it away, no staring at your screen, no headphones) for people who simply want to be 'present' around other people
JEBI wonder if... people still ask the neighbor for a cup of sugar
Lori mI wonder if... Being generous and understanding with people providing services is a generational or a young person thing.
Lori mI wonder if... we created a hotline for people to report vehicles with visible smoke coming out of the tailpipe for a DMV review/remediation, with some laws and regulations to back it up, whether this would keep super polluters off the road and more greenhouse gasses out of the atmosphere.
Margaret Wolfe-RobertsI have a feeling that... the hunch sought is accord & toil through music Advertising is vital through all four focus areas How to use best use health systems Create healthy spaces in communities for children and families Spending time TOGETHER working hard will ensure we have the best leadership possible
Lacey Jean Turning HeartI have a feeling that... If mental health was started at birth and all doctors incorporated mental health into wellness at the beginning it might not be as needed.
Kathey AveryDid you ever notice that… healing is often but should not be compartmentalized?
4GGI wonder if... others are spent
4GGI wonder if... soil health impacts soul health?
4GGI wonder if... we can combat toxic stress for young African American females by supporting them intentionally K-12?
4GGI have a feeling that... if we trusted directly impacted communities more and supported building their capacity, we would see communities healing themselves.
Camryn S.I wonder if... there is a correlation between startup community health and broader community health
Eric PDid you ever notice that… the Future of Nursing 2020-2030 Technical Panel on advancing technology & analytics did not include any nursing informatics experts? Nursing Informaticists are the leaders and experts in technology and analytics as it relates to improving care outcomes.
Ann O’Brien RN, MSN, FHIMSSI wonder if... any sociologists have ever studied sports banter
Lori MI wonder if... New Yorkers burp out loud less because they are less often alone than people who live in other places
Lori mI have a feeling that... the structure of health care/ education will change - more fluid, less credentials, more public education (e.g. by Red Cross CPR), less control "at the top," more self care, more personal care by robots, less human involvement/less "jobs," alteration in the definition of "pay
Dr. NDid you ever notice that… hospitals do not have organic food! The food there does not taste good, nor do they have self-growing farms to reduce hospital costs and control the food products. Food is important to healing and if patients don't eat, they stay longer.
Kimi NovakDid you ever notice that… currently the infrastructure that supports the mentally ill is geared towards using ERs to direct care rather than a PCP provider system. The lack of connection and collaboration between community agencies further fragments a patients access to care. Needs our attention!
Deborah MI have a feeling that... Netflix knows more about my well-being than my primary care physician.
erin k.I wonder if... when millennials reach middle age, we will see a higher prevalence of spinal issues compared to previous generations at middle age?
L. MendelowDid you ever notice that… often, related health disciplines—for example, orthopaedic medicine and PT— have conflicting treatment guidelines for certain conditions, confusing patients when opinions are offered.
L. MendelowI wonder if... employees who work remotely (read: at the kitchen table or on the couch) have higher instances of back and/or neck issues than their counterparts who work in offices with more ergonomic furniture?
L. MendelowI wonder if... when autonomous vehicles become the norm, we will see a higher prevalence of whiplash, since those cars will be so good at stopping to avoid things in the road?
Lisa MendelowI wonder if... in addition to thinking about how tech might improve health care, we can think about how health care (in this case, referring to PTs) can improve tech?
L. MendelowI wonder if... there will be a brain drain of physical therapists from in-network clinics, where the best, brightest and most experienced who are sick of putting up with the grind will leave for cash-based practice (or other careers altogether)?
L. MendelowI'm noticing that... Covid-19 has uncovered numerous structural inequities in public education, despite it being referred to as the "great equalizer" in the US.
EliseI wonder if... We improve soil health we can improve public health? We can sequester carbon AND possibly improve the nutritiousness of food.
Kai RobertsonI have a feeling that... Focusing on continuous innovation at the cost of scaling what we know works, will lead to limited true systems change and local impact.
Nadir S.I have a feeling that... Food waste diversion and upcycling in particular can have larger impact on our food system than the organic movement.
Ben G.Did you ever notice that… Eating healthy and food insecurity is discussed at the doctor, but no food is there. What if we put good (rescued) food in the office people could just take and eat no questions asked?
Aubrey AlvarezI have a feeling that... Conversations of health and food security and food waste need to be brought to a wider audience. l, including those who are having negative health outcomes. How do we make this a more accessible and inclusive conversation?
Lily HerdI have a feeling that... We may subsidize unhealthy foods for national security reasons (so we can maintain domestic industries in time of war), and that may make it difficult to encourage healthy food purchasing because the less healthy food is made cheaper.
PhilipI wonder if... We can ensure that the growing attention and investment in biotechnology for food can have truly beneficial impacts on health. (And we can be transparent/proactive/strong about mitigating against harm.)
Lorin FriesI wonder if... Insect protein is the next big thing?
Lily HerdI have a feeling that... Everyone will understand their genetics and health decisions will be personalized
TerryI wonder if... pretty soon everyone will turn to social media outlets to treat themselves instead of going to see a Physical Therapist in person?
Z HidalgoI wonder if... more minorities would pursue careers in healthcare if they knew they wouldn't be in so much student loan debt after?
Z HidalgoDid you ever notice that… patients will google what they think is going on with them first before consulting with a healthcare professional?
Z HidalgoI wonder if... cell phone usage changes as kids transition from high school to college
AnonymousI have a feeling that... The microbiome plays a bigger role than we realize in our mental health -- depression, anxiety, mood, etc.
JeanetteI wonder if... I wonder why airplanes don’t show public service messages. Different legs could be better for different messages and they could even micro target. Just one message before a movie might help shift mindsets, create new narratives or change behavior.
Lori MI have a feeling that... If healthcare put as much investments in digital technologies as other industries, outcomes and physicians would be happier.
AndrewI have a feeling that... Surveying patients about health-related issues (such as barriers to medication adherence) and providing personalized feedback via summaries and suggested next steps, can help empower patients to drive more effective patient-provider conversations and better care.
Amir GorenI have a feeling that... Using low level electrical or magnetic stimulation can improve depression care at scale and low cost
John HI have a feeling that... People get confused by generic meds because they often look different from the brand name equivalent and often from different generic versions of the same molecule. And they have different names. My hunch is that confusion and errors would be reduced if we could standardize.
David AschI have a feeling that... if we removed subsidies from the meat, dairy and sugar industries and started taxing them according to how they contribute to lifestyle diseases much like the tobacco industry there would be distinct changes in how these items would be consumed. Overproduction = overconsumption.
Martina PlagI wonder if... I’ve noticed that moms and dads dress differently today than they did when my parents were parenting. One might argue that, at least in some communities, they dress”younger.” I wonder how this impacts (or reflects) their mindsets and thus their parenting.
Lori MI have a feeling that... significant paternity leaves decrease postpartum depression.
KmsI have a feeling that... excessive screen use is causing mood changes.
TristaI wonder if... I’ve noticed that parents of kids entering high school often alter family behavior as they sense their kid’s time at home is short.
Lori M