Following up on progress made since its initial recommendations were released in 2009, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s (RWJF) Commission to Build a Healthier America released its 2014 recommendations today in an online event broadcast from Washington, DC. The Commission’s 2009 recommendations called for breaking down conventional policy-making silos; arguing that health is shaped greatly…
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Americans without a high school diploma are living sicker, shorter lives than ever before, and the links between education and health matter more now than they have in the past, says a new policy brief and video released today by the Virginia Commonwealth University Center on Society and Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation….
The VCU Center on Society and Health is pleased to announce the arrival of Derek Chapman, Ph.D., the Center’s new Associate Director for Research. Dr. Chapman, who joined the Center in December, brings significant expertise in conducting applied public health research for the purpose of informing programs and policy and has authored numerous scientific works…
By Frances Dumenci, University Public Affairs Appearing before a United States Senate subcommittee for the second time in as many months, Steven Woolf, M.D., director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Center on Society and Health and professor of family medicine and population health in the VCU School of Medicine, is making a habit of lending…
A brief published by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation examines how societal factors like race, gender and education can affect health disparities. The brief examines new findings on the topic such as patterns related to geography. The figure shows disparities in life expectancy by race and gender. Hispanic females have the highest life expectancy while…
The MacArthur Foundation recently published a brief examining how a child’s living conditions predict emotional and/or behavioral problems. The brief found that, among the five housing conditions examined, “poor housing quality is the most consistent and strongest predictor of emotional and behavioral problems in low-income children and youth.” The five factors studied were: quality, stability, affordability, ownership, and whether households…
Our staff at the Center on Society and Health recently submitted two proposals to the Knight Foundation as part of their Knight News Challenge. The challenge takes proposals from media innovators and community organizations and awards grants for projects. The challenge awards winners a share of $5 million in funding if their projects are selected….
Members of the Center on Society and Health attended The 6th Annual Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) National Conference held August 22-23 in Bethesda, MD. The two day event featured researchers and public health experts from around the country who conduct community-engaged research and are committed to advancing translational science. One speaker was Christopher…
Spending on health care and education make up about one quarter of America’s economy. Despite spending more than other developed countries, however, our outcomes in both sectors lag behind our peer countries. Budget expert Isabel Sawhill’s post on Brookings asserted that “providers are paid based on what they deliver and not on the outcomes they produce.”…
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has updated its DC-Metro life expectancy map and has included maps for other areas based on data produced by the Center’s Place Matters study. The maps give a clear example of how life expectancy differs within a small geographic area and how even though we attribute so much of…