Health & Society Archives

To restore attention, reach out to nature

Psychology researchers at WashU have found evidence that children’s exposure to natural spaces correlates with improved attention and achievement scores.

Social Work

Alcohol use held steady among cancer survivors

The drinking rate of adults who have had cancer has remained unchanged for nearly a decade, according to a new study by researchers at the WashU Brown School.

Health & Society

Loneliness as a Public Health Problem

Does loneliness pose the same health risk as smoking? And from medicine to government, what kind of interventions are even possible? In this episode, WashU’s Sandro Galea, dean of the Bursky School of Public Health, and Julianne Holt-Lunstad, professor at Brigham Young Unversity, explore what’s driving the loneliness problem in today’s world.

Julianne Holt-Lunstad

Economy

Private equity owns less than 4% of U.S. hospitals, WashU research finds

A new study led by researchers at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis finds private equity only accounts for a small share of the nation’s hospitals, with most investors exiting within five years.

Advancement

Spielman installed as Lauren and Lee Fixel Distinguished Professor

Economist David Spielman brings global expertise in food policy and agricultural innovation to Bursky Public Health, advancing research connecting food systems and health.

Health & Society

How technology is reshaping violence — and what can be done about it

WashU Bursky Public Health researchers examine how digital technology and generative AI are changing violence — and how decades of violence-prevention research can help shape effective responses.

Health & Society

Medicine, Science, and Ancient Wisdom

Should medicine be more broadly defined? Can an emphasis on our shared humanity lead to better treatments? And what about joy? In this episode of Ideas Matter, WashU’s Sandro Galea, dean of the Bursky School of Public Health, and the University of Chicago’s Geeta Maker-Clark, a physician and expert on integrative nutrition, explore how a more holistic approach to medicine can benefit us all.

Geeta Maker-Clark

Health & Society

Malone, Stark named inaugural Ryan Institute faculty scholars

Sara Malone and Lindsay Stark, both of WashU Bursky Public Health, become inaugural faculty scholars of the Ryan Institute for Interdisciplinary Health Solutions.Their projects will examine housing as a health intervention and improve transitions from pediatric to adult care for children with chronic illnesses.

Health & Society

New Transcend Initiative to address mycobacteria threats

A new Transcend Initiative seeks to address and fight life-threatening mycobacterial infections.

Medicine & Health

Why Health?

What We Need to Think About When We Think About Health

A deeply reflective and urgently argued book that asks a deceptively simple question: why do we, as individuals and societies, pursue health–and what does that pursuit say about who we are?

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