Community Advisory Board adds members

The Community Advisory Board shared by the Institute for Public Health and the Institute for Clinical and Translational Sciences has added four new members to its diverse board. Read more about it!

‘Why public health at WashU?’ (Links to an external site)

The Margaret C. Ryan Dean for the planned School of Public Health, Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, also named the Eugene S. and Constance D. Kahn Distinguished Professor in Public Health, recently visited WashU for a meet and greet with the university’s public health community.

Celebrating freedom and wellness: Uniting our community for an empowered Juneteenth

Written by Maeve Fahy, BCL, MD candidate, University College Dublin, Ireland, and the Mark and Cathleen Reifsteck Summer Research Program Scholar in the 2023 Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program As a student in the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program – Public and Global Health Track, I was thrilled to attend the festivities […]

Women’s Society hosts October 6 lecture by two institute leaders

Written by Kim Furlow, communications manager for the Institute for Public Health Guest speakers at the October 6 Women’s Society of Washington University Lecture Series will include two leaders from the university’s Institute for Public Health. The Larry J. Shapiro Director of the Institute, William G. Powderly, MD, and Karen Joynt Maddox, MD, MPH, an […]

Papers published on Institute & STL County Health COVID prevalence study

Written by Kim Furlow, communications manager for the Institute for Public Health Articles concerning the 2020 study by the Institute for Public Health and the St. Louis County Department of Public Health, are published by PubMed, a publication of the National Institutes of Health, and in the Elsevier journal, ScienceDirect. The collaborative study involved a […]

Reflection: Public health in St. Louis

Written by Lauren Jennings, BS Candidate, University of Kansas; SPRIGHT Scholar in the 2020 Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program – Public and Global Health Abbreviated Track  As a rising senior at the University of Kansas, I study Molecular Biology on the premedical track. My experiences working with marginalized groups in my collegiate career paired with my […]

How physicians can use their privilege to become a patient’s advocate

 Written by Laasya Vallabhaneni, BS neuroscience and cognitive Science at University of Arizona; SPRIGHT Scholar in the 2020 Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program – Public and Global Health Abbreviated Track The physician is the ultimate patient advocate, finding themselves at an intersection where they have the power to help a patient outside of […]

Perspectives: Black Lives Matter

Written by Adjoa Cofie, research technician, Washington University School of Medicineand alumnus of the Institute for Public Health Summer Research Program, Public and Global Health Track In the wake of the death of Floyd George, and subsequent nationwide civil unrest over police brutality and systemic racism, many are speaking out about how we can all work […]

Striking a balance: Violence prevention in communities

The Gun Violence Initiative at the Institute for Public Health turns five in April 2020. This blog is part of a special series related to the key themes of the initiative: What we know, what we need to know, and what to do about this critical issue. Violence prevention is both a science and an […]

Participating in a clinical trial

Written by Shea Roesel, clinical research coordinator I at Volunteer for Health at the School of Medicine As a clinical research coordinator with the Volunteer for Health (VFH) office at Washington University School of Medicine over the past 15 years, I have noticed that each participant’s situation is distinctive and the motivation to participate in […]

Assistance requested from local service providers

The St. Louis Area Violence Prevention Collaborative has been working to advance the goal of identifying, mapping and coordinating resources in our region as they relate to critical services and programs that support the reduction of gun violence. These include, but are not limited to, behavioral and mental health, social, afterschool recreational, education, employment, housing, […]

Speed networking for community health

The Institute for Public Health’s Center for Community Health Partnership and Research hosted a speed networking for community health event on June 17. The event drew participants from diverse organizations working with residents of St. Louis city and county and Illinois. The 18 organizations included those addressing clinical healthcare needs, general health and wellness, and healthcare and public health workforce […]

Civic engagement for robust communities

Written by Matthew Bakko, Jennifer Harpring, and Stephanie Kurtzman of the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement The Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement serves as a university convener on the Danforth campus to utilize and leverage university resources to respond to community needs and concerns. In its 10th year, the institute has […]

Get to know the Center for Community Health Partnership & Research co-directors

Written by April Houston, MSW/MPH, graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis; and Hilary Broughton, MSW, co-manager of the Center for Community Health Partnership & Research The Center for Community Health Partnership & Research—a joint endeavor of the Institute for Public Health and the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences at Washington University in […]

The Discharge Summary Tracking System project: Ensuring community health center providers can care for patients after hospital discharge

Written by the Discharge Summary Tracking System project team [1] Our local community health centers are bustling with the activity of  primary care providers answering their patients’ vital inquiries. But what happens if their question regards a hospital visit of which the provider was never informed? “My patient exclaimed, ‘I’ve been shot!’” said primary care doctor […]

Community health – An idea first developed by Mother Nature

If a creature from outer space came to Earth wanting to collect a specimen capable of disrupting and destroying the health of its own community, pretty much any human would do. If that same creature also wanted to study a living being that ensured the health and wellness of its community, pretty much any animal […]

Keys to community health partnerships: Lessons learned at Becker Library

Over the years, the Becker Medical Library at Washington University School of Medicine has worked with various institutions and programs across the St. Louis metro area to provide credible health information resources to the community. Our projects have included training public school librarians on reliable health information resources, working with community health fellows on campus, […]

Supporting partnerships to improve health outcomes in St. Louis

The Community/University Health Research Partnership (CUHRP) Initiative was formed to help community organizations and academic researchers at Washington University and Saint Louis University work together to address some of the most critical health problems in St. Louis. Overview: Listening to community concerns The St. Louis Community/University Health Research Partnerships (CUHRP) Initiative was formed after a series […]

Alaina Maciá and MTM generously support public health

Alaina Maciá and her husband Daniel have been supporting public health at Washington University for several years. She is the president and CEO of Medical Transportation Management (MTM) Inc., and serves on the National Council of the Institute for Public Health. Alaina and MTM, Inc. have made a five-year pledge to the Leading Together campaign […]

Introducing the new Center for Community Health Partnership & Research

Working with community members, physicians, and organizations to improve health in our region and end related disparities is central to the public health mission at Washington University. The university’s Institute for Public Health and the Institute of Clinical & Translational Sciences are combining their centers focused on community health—the Center for Community Health Partnerships and […]

White fear creates white spaces and exacerbates health disparities

Written by Melody Goodman, PhD, assistant professor at the Washington University School of Medicine “White fear has manifested itself in outright violence post-slavery through the imposition of Jim Crow segregation. White fear has manifested itself legislatively via redlining laws and cruel lending practices barring blacks from owning property in ‘white neighborhoods.’ White fear has manifested itself […]

For the Sake of All project update

For the Sake of All recently released an “Evidence in Action” update, detailing the progress that has been made since the release of its signature report eighteen months ago. The initiative began in 2013 as an effort to investigate the health and well-being of African Americans in the St. Louis region, with an eye toward […]

HEAL Partnership aims to reduce obesity in St. Louis by 5% by 2018

Written by Melissa Ramel, MS, MPH, RD, LD, associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics at Saint Louis University It’s the beginning of a New Year which brings New Year’s resolutions, cold weather, and hope for healthy change. For the HEAL (Healthy Eating, Active Living) Partnership, the community coalition tasked with reducing obesity […]

Working to connect and coordinate local HIV/AIDS efforts

Written by Matthew Brown, MPH, manager of the Center for Community Health Partnership and Research at the Institute for Public Health The Center for Community Health Partnerships continues to bring together a diverse group of stakeholders working in HIV/AIDS in St. Louis. The group first met last December, and assembled again in September 2015. At […]

Saint Louis Effort for AIDS engages community through World AIDS Day event

On December 1, 2015, Saint Louis Effort for AIDS organized its annual World AIDS Day event. This year’s event was titled “Getting to Zero”: Remembering the impact of HIV/AIDS on our community, and took place at the Missouri History Museum. It included live music, exhibit booths, a names project, HIV testing and other health services, […]

Food Outreach helps local HIV/AIDS patients through nutrition and education

Written by Jessica Healey, marketing and event specialist at Food Outreach For more than 27 years, Food Outreach has continued to be the only nonprofit organization in the greater St. Louis area that focuses on providing vital nutritional support to low-income men, women and children with HIV/AIDS or cancer. An impassioned staff, along with 600 […]

A regional approach to improving STI care

In November, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released two reports detailing the increasing rates of sexually transmitted infections in the US. As a provider of care for patients with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV, increasing rates of all STIs are a great concern to me. National STI data indicates that rates […]

A legacy of environmental health concerns in St. Louis

Written by Faisal Khan, MBBS, MPH, director of the St. Louis County Department of Public Health The St. Louis region played a significant role in the development of America’s atomic weapons program in the 1940s, and the impacts of this legacy continue to be felt today. Brief history From 1942 to 1957, the Mallinckrodt Chemical Plant extracted […]

Preparedness resource guide

In conjunction with Prepared for Peril: Readiness and Recovery for Public Health Threats, the Institute prepared this guide with a variety of resources relating to the conference theme. General emergency preparedness All-Hazards Preparedness Guide, 2013 Best Practices for Communicating with the Public During an Outbreak, 2005 Clinician Outreach and Communication Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication […]

Linking community members to key resources with 2-1-1

Written by Regina L. Greer, vice president of community response at United Way of Greater St. Louis Imagine being a first responder that saves a family from their severely damaged home; a concerned citizen witnessing devastation and grief on the faces of your neighbors on TV; or a parent seeking food, water, and toiletries for […]

Emergency preparedness planning on a regional Level

Written by Dominic “Nick” Gragnani, executive director of the St. Louis Area Regional Response System Since 2003, there has been a little-known emergency and disaster planning agency that has been diligently working to improve St. Louis disaster response capabilities of first responder and general healthcare agencies. The St. Louis Area Regional Response System, better known […]

Communication about threats: Keep it simple, visual, and specific

Every day, the general public is inundated with news about potential threats such as tornadoes, food contamination, and infectious disease outbreaks. The media keep the public up-to-date on these threats, both big and small. And while the media can be a valuable tool in disseminating information in threatening situations, they often miss the mark of […]

First-year medical students volunteer in urban gardens

The Washington University Record recently reported on a volunteer opportunity for first-year medical students, allowing them to volunteer at City Seeds Urban Farm through Gateway Greening. The experience tied together some of what the students learned during the Washington University Medical Plunge (WUMP), which addressed community health issues including food insecurity and malnutrition.

Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) partnership in St. Louis

Written by Kara Lubischer, MUPPD, community development specialist at University of Missouri Extension The HEAL Partnership is working to reduce obesity in the City of St. Louis by increasing access to healthier foods. The problem How close do you live to the nearest grocery store? If you live in the City of St. Louis, chances are […]

Engaging older adults in shaping Ferguson’s future

Nancy Morrow-Howell, director of the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging, was awarded one of the Ferguson Academic Seed Fund Grants for the spring 2015 cycle. Her project, titled “Engaging Older Adults in Shaping Ferguson’s Future,” aims to document the experiences of older adults in the recent events in Ferguson and nearby communities in north […]