CDC invests in preventative health care for Hispanics at home and in Latin America
The Prevention Research Center (PRC) in St. Louis is launching a multinational research project focused on preventing the leading causes of death in Hispanics in the United States and Latin America.
Nearly half of all U.S. children will use food stamps, says poverty expert
Holidays and tables full of delicious food usually go hand in hand, but for nearly half of the children in the United States, this is not guaranteed. “49 percent of all U.S. children will be in a household that uses food stamps at some point during their childhood,” says Mark R. Rank, Ph.D., poverty expert at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. “Food stamp use is a clear sign of poverty and food insecurity, two of the most detrimental economic conditions affecting a child’s health.” Rank’s study, “Estimating the Risk of Food Stamp Use and Impoverishment During Childhood,” is published in the current issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Video available.
Aging world population represents opportunity, says WUSTL aging experts
An aging society represents an opportunity, not just a crisis, said Nancy Morrow-Howell, Ph.D., the Ralph & Muriel Pumphrey Professor of Social Work at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work.
WUSTL, SLU receive $8 million grant to prevent chronic disease
A new multi-university initiative that studies innovative ways to prevent chronic disease has received an $8 million grant.
Expert discusses the next steps for health care reform in the U.S.
With health care legislation now up for debate in both the House and the Senate, comprehensive health care reform is closer than ever, says Timothy McBride, Ph.D., health economist and associate dean of public health at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. McBride says that there is still much work to be done with health care reform and contentious issues remain. Among those are the public option, how the legislation will be financed, the generosity of the coverage, Medicare Advantage reforms and whether there will be mandates for employers to offer coverage. (Video available)
The global demographic shift is a significant opportunity as long as it is in tandem with a policy and cultural shift, say productive aging experts
China’s population of adults over 65 tops 100 million. This number is steadily growing, putting China at the forefront of a global demographic shift that includes the United States and other developed nations. “While a common tendency is to focus on the burdens an aging population will place on a country’s economic and social welfare, an aging society represents an opportunity, not just a crisis,” says Nancy Morrow-Howell, Ph.D., productive aging expert and professor at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. “Expanding opportunities for productive engagement, including paid employment, formal volunteering, and mutual aid, may reduce social costs by reducing health care expenses and need for post-retirement income supports. (Video available)
Discrediting official uninsured estimates only minimizes the real health care problem, says health economist
McBrideThe health reform debate to date has been characterized by a lot of confusion and misinformation. “The conclusion that most of the uninsured either are voluntarily uninsured or do not need assistance is erroneous,” says Timothy McBride, Ph.D., leading health economist and associate dean of public health at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. The Census Bureau will announce the official health insurance estimates on Thursday, Sept. 10. According to McBride, because of the economic downturn, the number of uninsured may top 50 million.
New Injury Control Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has designated the Center for Violence and Injury Prevention (CVIP) at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis as one of its newest Injury Control Research Centers (ICRC). Preventing child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, suicide and related injuries through community-based research and educational outreach is the goal of the Brown Center for Violence and Injury Prevention. The center is led by Melissa Jonson-Reid, Ph.D., associate professor at the Brown School. John Constantino, M.D., the Blanche F. Ittleson Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the Washington University School of Medicine, serves as co-director.
Morrow-Howell and McCrary win Generations United Award for evaluation of Experience Corps tutoring program
Nancy Morrow-Howell, Ph.D. the Ralph and Muriel Pumphrey Professor of Social Work and Stacey McCrary, project manager, both at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work, are winners of the prestigious Generations United 2009 Brabazon Award for Evaluation Research. Morrow-Howell and McCrary are being honored for their work evaluating Experience Corps, an award-winning organization that trains thousands of people over 55 to tutor children in urban public schools across the country.
Widening racial gap exists in key factors for economic well-being, according to new study
“With President Obama now approaching six months in office, some have suggested that we have gone beyond race as a major dividing line in society. Yet nothing could be further from the truth,” says Mark R. Rank, Ph.D., professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis. “One of the fundamental fault lines in American society continues to be the ongoing racial disparities in economic well-being.” Using 30 years of data, Rank examined three key factors in attaining economic well-being: owning a home and building equity; attaining affluence and avoiding poverty; and possessing enough assets to survive economic turmoil, or a “rainy day fund.” “The results indicate that within each area, the economic racial divide across the American life course is immense,” Rank says.
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