Social Epidemiology

The social epidemiology research program in the Department of Epidemiology is grounded in fundamental cause and life-course theories. Quantitative, qualitative, and community-engaged approaches are utilized to understand how social and environmental conditions influence population health across the life span.

Our work focuses on:

• Characterizing population-level variation in health outcomes across demographic and social groups, with attention to temporal and geographic patterns
• Investigating biological, behavioral, and psychosocial pathways through which social environments and living conditions affect health 
• Conducting within-group analyses and evaluating effect-modification to identify subpopulations at elevated risk, as well as factors that support resilience
• Assessing structural and community-level conditions relevant to population health, particularly those that can be addressed through evidence-informed programs or policies
• Developing and evaluating interventions that target modifiable social, behavioral, psychosocial, and biological factors as contributors to adverse health outcomes.

The VCU Center on Society and Health is an academic research center that studies the health implications of social factors—such as education, income, neighborhood and community environmental conditions—and public policy. Its mission is to raise awareness about the importance of factors outside of health care that shape health outcomes and to explore ways to improve population health and wellbeing. 

The Center approaches this work by blending four ingredients for success:

• User-oriented research: Scientific scholarship directed at delivering actionable and policy-relevant findings and evidence sought by decision-makers
• Policy outreach: Active efforts to meet with decision-makers in all sectors to gain deep familiarity with the decision-making environment, priorities, and language
• Partner and community engagement: Engaging with affected populations and other key partners with an intimate understanding of priorities, context, key questions, and feasible solutions
• Strategic communication: An organized effort to identify target audiences and prepare materials and media in a tailored format that is engaging and accessible to the audience

The Center pursues these goals through collaboration with scholars in different disciplines at VCU and other institutions, and by nurturing partnerships with community, government, and private-sector partners.