Recent Posts

Northern Virginia’s Uneven Opportunity Landscape

When it comes to providing opportunities for social and economic mobility, Northern Virginia is a region of stark contrasts, with communities of great affluence virtually adjacent to highly disadvantaged neighborhoods where residents struggle to get ahead. A new report by the Center on Society and Health, commissioned by the Northern Virginia Health Foundation (NVHF), found…

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New Study Links America’s Health to Social, Economic and Environmental Factors in State-by-State Comparisons

In a new report, released today, the Center on Society and Health and the Urban Institute show how states rank on dozens of health outcomes, highlighting where they are doing well and areas in which they need improvement. Perhaps most importantly, the data also provide detailed information about more than 100 potential drivers of these…

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Why Place Matters

In a recent blog article featured on Urban Wire, Urban Institute author Laudy Aron comments on the relationship between place and disadvantage and the effects on health outcomes. She outlines several policy steps that are needed to ensure that all Americans have access to support and resources they need to live “healthy, productive, and fulfilling…

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Presentation on Health Equity at Institute of Medicine Committee Meeting

On January 6, 2016, Dr. Steven Woolf gave a presentation on “What Shapes Health (and Health Inequities)”  at the Institute of Medicine Committee on Community Based Solutions to Promote Health meeting in Washington, D.C. The committee was convened at the request of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to examine the evidence on solutions to promote…

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The Implications of Living in Poverty

Following some off-the-cuff comments from Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, stories about the population of Americans living under the poverty limit as well as those living in more extreme measures of poverty have become more frequent in the past few weeks. Living in poverty has important implications for personal and societal well being.

Long-term Homelessness is Down but Family Homelessness is Up (HUD, June 19, 2011)

HUD’s Annual Homeless Assessment Report provides estimates of the number of homeless persons from a point-in-time count on a single night in January 2010 and 12-month data from the Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) on the sheltered homeless.  Key findings for 2010 are: ·         The number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night increased…

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