Why does Alaska have such low rates of low-birthweight babies? Why do more black babies in Washington State live to their first birthday compared to any other state? And, why do the health benefits of finishing high school and completing college apply unequally for racial and ethnic groups across every state? A generation ago, people…
Recent Posts
Changes to funding streams, infrastructure, and increased resources are recommended to improve Richmond-area community health and wellbeing, according to the latest collaboration between the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Center on Society and Health (CSH), Engaging Richmond, and the VCU Center for Urban and Regional Analysis (CURA). The researchers recently published a report, “Regional Scan and…
On June 14th, Director Emeritus Dr. Steven Woolf spoke at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s (NASEM) Roundtable on Population Health Improvement’s workshop in Oakland, California. The workshop–“School Success: An Opportunity for Population Health Action“–brought together leaders in medicine and education to explore how the health sector can be used to help improve…
By Shadelle Gregory Hi all! My name is Shadelle Gregory, I am approaching my final year at the University of Virginia, majoring in Public Health and minoring in Anthropology. I am currently interning at the Center on Society and Health where I’m assisting in data analysis and community engagement projects. I’ll also be writing the…
On June 6, Leadership Metro Richmond (LMR) graduated the Leadership Quest Class of 2018. This nearly 70 member class consisted of leaders from several sectors across the Richmond area, including Engaging Richmond founding members and CSH researchers Chanel Bea and Chimere Miles. The Leadership Quest program brings together area leaders from across sectors to…
For the second year in a row, graduates of the VCU Master’s of Public Health Program presented CSH Director Derek Chapman, PhD, and CSH Affiliate Faculty Roy Sabo, PhD, with awards for their excellence in teaching. The VCU Public Health Student Association presents annual awards to faculty members who teach the best core course and…
“The opioid crisis is the tip of the iceberg,” states a new report from Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center on Society and Health, which includes alarming information about rising death rates in Virginia. Stress-related conditions, including not only unintentional drug overdoses, but also suicides, alcoholic liver disease, and alcohol poisonings, are killing white Virginians aged 25-to-54…
Drugs, alcohol and suicides are contributing to an alarming drop in U.S. life expectancy, particularly among middle-aged white Americans and those living in rural communities, according to an editorial co-authored by Virginia Commonwealth University Center on Society and Health director Steven Woolf, M.D. The editorial, titled “Failing Health of the United States,” published in the…
In his inaugural address, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam pointed to health disparities across the state, highlighting the difference in life expectancy in Richmond: “In far too many places in Virginia, your zip code determines not just how well you will do, but how long you will live. Here in our capital city, a child born…
According to a study released by the Center on Society and Health, in partnership with the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh, “deaths of despair”—those related to drugs and alcohol and other causes of death linked to stress—are skyrocketing among young and middle-aged whites in rural Missouri. The study, funded by…