Brown School

With the United States and affiliated NATO troops preparing to pull out of war-torn Afghanistan by the end of 2014, attention will continue to focus on the 12-year war and the aftermath on its citizens. But a new study on mental health in Afghanistan, led by Jean-Francois Trani, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, looks beyond the effects of war and identifies the root causes of mental distress and anxiety among its citizens: poverty and vulnerability.

President Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton announced the program and featured participants for the sixth annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) to be held at Washington University in St. Louis April 5-7. In addition to President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, Stephen Colbert, Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus and WUSTL’s Michael Sherraden are among the featured speakers.

In his first two books, Predictably Irrational and The Upside of Irrationality, Ariely shows how we often fail to act in our own best interests. With his third book, The (Honest) Truth about Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone – especially Ourselves, Ariely examines dishonesty in American culture and has some surprising findings to share at an Assembly Series presentation at 2 p.m. Wed., March 6 in Graham Chapel.

The 23rd annual Pow Wow, a festival of American Indian cultures, will be held Saturday, March 16, in the Field House on the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis. This event, hosted by the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at the Brown School, is free and open to the public. This year’s theme is “Honoring Our Cultures While Strengthening Our Communities.”

A new study, led by Jenine K. Harris, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, examined the use of social media by state health departments in the United States. The study, published Feb. 7 in the journal Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research, found use of web-based sites such as Facebook and Twitter a growing trend.

A new study published earlier this month found that men and women don’t fit neatly into gender stereotypes, that perhaps men aren’t from Mars nor are women from Venus. But why do we want them to be? Lead author Bobbi Carothers, PhD, senior data analyst at Center for Public Health System Science at Washington University in St. Louis, has some theories as to why.

In an effort to increase father participation in parenting programs, as well as improve father-child interactions, Patricia L. Kohl, PhD, associate professor of Social Work at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, has collaborated with the Father’s Support Center of St. Louis to develop Engaging Fathers in Positive Parenting, a program funded by the CDC designed to be used in conjunction with the evidence-based parenting intervention, Triple P, Positive Parenting Program.

A special supplemental issue of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine titled, “Research Collaboration with 2-1-1 to Eliminate Health Disparities” was recently published, marking the first time a journal has focused entirely on scientific research conducted within 2-1-1 systems. And Washington University in St. Louis researchers, led by Matthew W. Kreuter, PhD, director of the Health Communication Research Laboratory, played a key role in the publication.

Timothy McBride, PhD, professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis and an expert on healthcare policy and health economics, has been named chairman of the MO HealthNET Oversight Committee for the state of Missouri.

Missouri’s first Family Impact Seminar, a national program aimed at educating lawmakers on family policy issues, was held Jan. 17 in Jefferson City for legislators and aides, and the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis took a lead role in bringing the forum to the state.