The research behind these figures came from the VCU Center on Society and Health’s Mapping Life Expectancy project<\/a>–an awareness raising endeavor that involved researchers, community members, public health workers, elected officials, and graphic designers coming together to communicate a story of health in cities and regions across the US. The maps that came out of the project quickly and succinctly illustrate the health of the community and lead to questions about why disparities arise and how we can change the picture.<\/p>\n The Mapping Life Expectancy project is only one example of the Center’s work in cross-sector collaborations and awareness raising. Subsequent projects such as Health of the States<\/a> and Mortality Studies<\/a>\u00a0seek to answer questions that stakeholders want answered–what determines a community’s health, where is mortality increasing, who is at risk. A goal of the Center is to research questions that are important to our audience and to present the research in understandable and actionable formats.<\/p>\n Research directed at community members and policy makers can help to move the needle on health; it arms those individuals with sound research to help inform their decisions. As Governor Northam said in his address, “The solutions to these problems are not easy. But we do know what they are…Let’s get to work.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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…<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/societyhealth.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/LE-Map-Richmond-Black.jpg\")
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