Recent Posts

Urban Institute weighs in on climbing death rates among middle-aged whites

In a recent Health Affairs blog article, Urban Institute researcher Laudy Aron responded to a new widely publicized study released by two Princeton economists, Angus Deaton and Anne Case, on the startling rise of death rates among middle-aged white Americans. While Aron acknowledges their study addresses an “urgent national problem,” she argues that by combining…

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Big Data Community Design Team Meeting in San Diego

As part of the Center’s ongoing work on the Big Data Demonstration Project, director Steve Woolf, and one of the Center’s community engagement leaders, Amber Haley, traveled to San Diego to meet with the project’s Community Design Team as well as research partners from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the San Diego…

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Engaging Richmond at East End Community Field Day

Article by Travis White, Engaging Richmond member Engaging Richmond has been working hard on its latest community research project and has been actively reaching out and partnering with community organizations and their members. On August 20, 2015 Engaging Richmond members participated in the 3rd annual East End Community Field Day hosted by Richmond Promise Neighborhood…

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New Maps Show Large Differences in Health Across Short Distances in North Carolina

New maps released today by the Center and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) illustrate that opportunities to lead a long and healthy life can vary dramatically across North Carolina. Along the mostly rural stretch of U.S. Rte. 64 that leads west from Martin County to Wake County, life expectancy can differ by as much…

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New briefs explore connections between income or wealth and health

The greater one’s income, the lower one’s likelihood of disease and premature death. Americans at all income levels are less healthy than those with higher incomes. Not only is income associated with better health, but wealth affects health as well. Though it is easy to imagine how health is tied to income for the very…

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What the Research Community Can Learn from Patient and Stakeholder Engagement

To mark the fourth anniversary of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), VCU researchers Steven Woolf and Alex Krist were invited to describe the influence that PCORI has had on their work and their perspectives on clinical research. An excerpt from their guest blog article on how their research has changed as they have engaged…

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New Issue Brief Shows Health Care is Necessary But Not Sufficient

Quality health care is necessary to improve the health of disadvantaged populations – but it is not enough to eliminate the adverse effects of limited education, says a new policy brief. Released last week by the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Center on Society and Health, the brief features new Kaiser Permanente data and is supported…

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Connecting the Dots Between Education, Health, & Opportunity

In a new blog post, Center director Dr. Steve Woolf describes the environmental factors that influence the complex relationship between education and health. Not only do school, home, and neighborhood conditions affect a child’s learning opportunities and ability to perform in class, but poor health resulting from an unhealthy environment can also interfere with education….

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New Policy Brief and Video Explore the Complex Connections Between Education and Health

The links between education and health are complex, and tied closely to income and to the opportunities people have to lead healthy lives in their communities says a new policy brief and video released today by the VCU Center on Society and Health, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The brief and video…

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