The number of deaths from COVID-19 reported in the news during since March may be underestimating the pandemic's actual death toll. From March 1st, 2020 to January 2nd, 2021, the United States saw 522,368 excess deaths, but only 72% of those were attributed to COVID-19. The other 28% were linked to other causes such as heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease.
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A brief based on a previous center study, “Uneven Opportunities: How Conditions for Wellness Vary Across the Metropolitan Washington Region”, that examined the health of the community at the census tract level, focusing on life expectancy and the factors that shape health.
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A project, led by the National Collaborative for Health Equity, to develop a resource to chart progress towards health equity at the national, state, and local level. As part of this project, the Center is providing data and research support for the Texas Health Institute.
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A study examining trends in life expectancy and mortality rates among all 50 states, from 1959 through 2017. Study results were published in a special communication by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), November 26, 2019, and found increases in mortality rates for 35 different causes and continued declines in life expectancy.
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An analysis of mortality trends in California, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, and Virginia, with a special focus on specific causes driving increases in mortality, the characteristics of places in which mortality is increasing, and stress-related conditions, such as deaths from suicide, drug overdoses, and cardiovascular disease.
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A collaboration with the Urban Institute, the project is a detailed analysis comparing states on dozens of health measures and examining connections between 39 health outcomes and 123 drivers of health across five domains: health systems, health behaviors, socioeconomic conditions, the environment, and public policies and spending. Findings were published in a series of reports.
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Media-friendly maps depicting dramatic differences in life expectancy across small distances in U.S. cities and rural areas. Building on an earlier set of five maps released for the RWJF Commission to Build a Healthier America, the Center produced maps for 21 additional cities and rural areas across the country, including New York City; Richmond, VA; Chicago; Philadelphia; Tulsa, OK; and Detroit. Maps were released throughout 2015 and 2016.
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A report examining social determinants of health in metropolitan Richmond, utilizing data from a variety of sources, and including findings from research conducted by Engaging Richmond. The report was released in April, 2016.
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An initiative to test how the application of computational modeling to large data sets (“big data”) can support public health and social policy in San Diego, California and explore whether decisions made by the community can benefit from advanced methods in the display, analysis, and modeling of local data spanning health care, public health, social service, the environment, and other domains.
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A series of issue briefs and an interactive online visual tool on the relationship between income, wealth, and health designed to unpack this complex relationship and offer evidence-based policy recommendations. A collaboration with the Urban Institute.
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A research and outreach effort to raise awareness among leaders in government and the private sector about the important connections between health and social factors such as education, income, neighborhood, and community.
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A rapid-cycle assessment prepared for Congress as it deliberated reauthorization of the 2013 Farm Bill and the health consequences of weakening the SNAP program. The report provided estimates of potential effects of legislative proposal on mortality and the cost of diabetes care in the United States as a result of the proposed legislation.
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A research and outreach effort to raise awareness about the association between education and health among policymakers and stakeholders in national, state, and local settings. Related resources include issue briefs, videos, and online data about the health and economic implications of educational attainment.
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A mixed-methods study to understand “outlier” census tracts in California, communities with higher life expectancy than would be predicted based on their poverty rate and other social conditions (e.g., poverty) present in the area, and explain those factors which may contribute to the unexpectedly positive outcomes. The goal is to identify community assets that enhance population health.
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A comprehensive assessment of the direct and indirect health consequences of placing an energy facility in a rural agricultural community poultry litter management that are of most important to health, including recommendations to maximize health outcomes.
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An assessment of community priorities in the East End of Richmond, Virginia, conducted by the Engaging Richmond team and Richmond Promise Neighborhood using community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods.
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A community-academic partnership based in Richmond's East End, employing mixed methods research to explore the social and environmental factors that influence health.
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A series of reports examining the relationship between place and health in eight communities across the United States. Completed in 2011, the reports examined how health is influenced by demographic, social, and economic conditions of importance to each community.
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The Center's flagship project, completed in 2011. An initiative that documented the prevalence of societal distress in the United States across five domains: food security, housing, health, education, and income. Data on the United States and three states—Michigan, Mississippi, and New Mexico—are provided.
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A project to better understand the impact of the opioid epidemic, funded by The Virginia Department of Health Division of Prevention and Health Promotion, by assessing the economic repercussions of opioid-related deaths.
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Research, development, and dissemination of a toolkit that facilitates inclusive, healthy school environments
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