Center on Society and Health

The VCU Center on Society and Health is an academic research center that studies the connections between social factors and health.

[Center on Society and Health @VCUSocHealth]

“The COVID-19 pandemic removed any doubt that state policies can affect health outcomes." https://t.co/FP46HeOF3u

[Center on Society and Health @VCUSocHealth]

More than 60 countries have higher life expectancy than the US, writes @shwoolf from @VCUSocHealth. "The better outcomes that other countries have achieved—in some cases for more than 50 years—suggest that the US health disadvantage is a matter a choice." https://t.co/GTUKYlQJG7

[JAMA @JAMA_current]

#OrigInvestigation: Study of deaths in California found life expectancy decreased in 2020 and further decreased in 2021; the life expectancy gap by income level increased during the first 2y of the #COVID19 pandemic relative to the prepandemic period. https://t.co/teaqDB5NZb

[Nova Institute for Health @NovaForHealth]

What have we learned about #PublicHealth communications? How do we reach audiences with accurate info, uphold equity, & navigate misinfo.?

Read our work in partnership with @VCUSocHealth & Scholar @shwoolf about public health comms during the #pandemic.

https://t.co/oMEFjcBKU1

[Center on Society and Health @VCUSocHealth]

From the #DeeplyRooted archives: Although some people of high socioeconomic status worked their way up, a large number of successful families benefited from the property ownership, education, and other advantages that were offered prior generations. https://t.co/gDqOMZtcBA

[Center on Society and Health @VCUSocHealth]

From the #DeeplyRooted archives: Five years after the Brown v. Board of Education decision that banned school segregation, four Black students from the Hall’s Hill neighborhood in Arlington were the first to integrate Virginia’s public schools. https://t.co/dazt1AmBjK

[VCU Family Medicine & Population Health @VCUFamMed]

full JAMA article here:
https://t.co/3mwnONcWln

[VCU Family Medicine & Population Health @VCUFamMed]

Published in @JAMA_current today, @DerekAChapman & @shwoolf from @VCUSocHealth.
SW: "Even in a state like CA, where health is better than in much of the country, devastating losses in life expectancy occurred in low-income communities and the Latino population in particular."

[VCU News Center @VCUnews]

"Life expectancy has always tended to be shorter for Americans on the lower rungs of the income ladder, but this study shows that the pandemic has put those vulnerable families at even greater risk,” said co-author @shwoolf of @VCUSocHealth. https://t.co/2HpnhyW2Ro

[Center on Society and Health @VCUSocHealth]

Statement on Reproductive Rights: https://t.co/34fYu6hh39

[Center on Society and Health @VCUSocHealth]

From the #DeeplyRooted archives: Many Black businesses in Northern VA opened in response to Jim Crow. These small business owners opened restaurants, repair shops, and barbershops, serving clientele who were unwelcome elsewhere. Read more: https://t.co/iZT6PAzfts

[Nova Institute for Health @NovaForHealth]

We partnered w/ @VCUSocHealth to use focus groups + message testing to learn how communications might raise the profile of place-based determinants of health, given the recent COVID experience. These 9 key takeaways can help inform further health comms:

https://t.co/oMEFjcTlLz

[Center on Society and Health @VCUSocHealth]

From the #DeeplyRooted archives: Dion Diamond was always a prankster. He used his humor to, as he put it, “crash segregated society.” A 1960 photo shows him sitting at a segregated lunch counter, appearing unbothered the American Nazi Party confronts him. https://t.co/2CfscQJvjO

[Center on Society and Health @VCUSocHealth]

Rural community stakeholders provide important perspectives that offer a unique roadmap in which prioritized actions can be customized and adapted for improving health outcomes. https://t.co/jAviDySrle

[Center on Society and Health @VCUSocHealth]

From the #DeeplyRooted archives: In the late 1800s, those who wanted additional education could travel to D.C. where Black high schools existed. Some traveled to the Manassas Industrial School, an institution for Black students founded Jennie Dean. https://t.co/oC3HXZfIp9

[VCU News Center @VCUnews]

"We ... expected to see a decline in life expectancy, but we were horrified to see how large it was."

New research by @CUBoulder, @urbaninstitute and @shwoolf at @VCUSocHealth shows COVID led to a 4.71-year drop in Native American life expectancy. https://t.co/ayR4husuaZ

[Center on Society and Health @VCUSocHealth]

In April, a study from @shwoolf showed that COVID had led to the biggest drop in US life since 1943. The study has been updated to reflect latest death counts with additional peer countries and estimates for US Native American and Asian populations. https://t.co/pMMfgzqDMf

[Center on Society and Health @VCUSocHealth]

From the #DeeplyRooted archives: At Tinner Hill in Falls Church, there stands a stone archway that honors E.B. Henderson and Joseph Tinner. In 1918, they found the first rural branch of the NAACP, paving the way for rural branches across the South. https://t.co/Hdx3BSIOvo

[Center on Society and Health @VCUSocHealth]

Check out this video from @PBS: At 7:30, they discuss Engaging Martinsville, a project co-led by the Center's Emily Zimmerman. Learn more about Engaging Martinsville on our blog: https://t.co/fUZyAiu426 https://t.co/o8Rfe305kk

[Center on Society and Health @VCUSocHealth]

In Northern Virginia, life expectancy can vary by as many as 17 years depending on where you live. Several factors contributed to this gap, among them were policies created generations ago. Read the @novahealthfdn blog on our report "Deeply Rooted" https://t.co/hxZAhL4xNZ