Health in Social Context
The establishment on campus of a school of public health emphasizing the social and behavioral sciences provides the opportunity to integrate innovative basic social science approaches pioneered by MPRC scholars with outstanding research on improving health and reducing health disparities situated in a social and environmental context. Examples to date include the application of time use methods to obesity, the application of models of gender and parenthood to health, and the environmental context of physical activity.
Research in this area includes:
- determinants of infant, child, and youth health;
- health and aging; and
- impact of health care systems and social programs.
Some examples of current research in this area can be seen below.
The impact of mental health treatment on women's alcohol use
Faculty Associate Kerry Green and colleagues find mental health treatment is linked to reduced alcohol use disorders in women
Examining the effects of maternal smoking on offspring depression
Maternal smoking quantity seen as vital factor
Temporal trends in mental health disparities among sexual minorities
Research shows persistent mental health disparities among sexual minority populations
Improving mental health for older adults
Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) could reduce health disparities
The built environment and traffic collisions in the United States
Quynh Nguyen and Thu Nguyen examine how built environment features affect U.S. traffic collisions
Medication and procedural abortions before 13 weeks gestation and risk of psychiatric disorders
Faculty Associate Julia Steinberg and colleaguse set out to test risks associated with having a medication or procedural abortion prior to 13 weeks of pregnancy
Wildfires and Child Health
Faculty Associate Michel Boudreaux leads an R01 to measure impact of increasing particulant pollution on child health
Elementary School Desegregation and Mid-Life Cognitive Function
Walsemann research identifies integrated early childhood education as factor for improved cognitive function for Black individuals
State level structural racism and alcohol and tobacco use behaviors
New paper by Faculty Associate Kerry Green examines structural racism impacts among a national probability sample of Black Americans
Inequities in childrens' exposure to neurotoxicants
Payne-Sturges' scoping review of the literature and recommendations to narrow health disparities
Asian Americans & Racism: Individual and Structural Experiences (ARISE)
Thu Nguyen to address the underrepresentation of Asian Americans in Alzheimer's and aging research through $3.4 million NIA grant
Environmental Systems and Occupational Health Policy Analyses to Interrupt the Impact of Structural Racism
Payne-Sturges leads multi-disciplinary research team
13 million Facebook users weigh in on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, vaccination, and mask wearing
Quynh Nguyen and colleagues use big data from the Facebook-based U.S. COVID-19 Trends and Impact Survey to identify predictors of attitudes and behaviors during the pandemic
Stigma as a deterrent to PrEP usage among Black sexual minority men
Journal article by Typhanye Dyer, Hongjie Liu, and others finds that stigma is associated with lower utilization of PrEP
Can incentivized peer-to-peer health communication promote preventative health behaviors?
A new NBER Working Paper by Jessica Goldberg tests this theory in India and Zambia
Maryland Environmental Justice Map and Screening Tool
Sacoby Wilson leads project to enhance environmental equity monitoring
Confronting Racism in Environmental Health Sciences
Commentary by Devon Payne-Sturges and others presents recommendations for a path toward eliminating racial inequities
Care Coordination for African American and Hispanic Adults with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias
National Institute of Aging R01
Examining and Addressing COVID-19 Racial Disparities in Detroit
Governance Studies at Brookings paper
Using Big Data to measure discrimination impacts on birth outcomes
New National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities grant