Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion

Walktober Health and Wellness Recreation Services and Healthy Monday

Mission

To improve population health through applied research and evaluation, education, engaged service and advocating for evidence-based policy and practice change.

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News & Headlines

Our Female Veterans Deserve Better Healthcare

December 10, 2019

Mariah Brennan DOWNLOAD THE BRIEF [PDF] Women now make up 30% of veterans from the Post 9/11 service era. This large group of women is increasingly diverse, with non-Whites comprising 32% and Hispanics comprising 13% of female veterans.1 …

Research coauthored by Lerner Chair, Shannon Monnat, is featured in this CityLab article: The Changing Geography of the Opioid Crisis

December 6, 2019

Monnat and colleagues published work on the geography of the opioid epidemic, which highlighted in an article by CityLab: The Changing Geography of the Opioid Crisis. The article explores the history of the opioid epidemic and its evolution into a nationwide crisis…

Child Poverty Has Been Declining in Single-Mother Families, but the Gap Remains Large

November 26, 2019

Xiaoyan Zhang [DOWNLOAD THE BRIEF] It is well known that family environments impact children’s health. Family structure (whether a child lives in a married vs. single-parent family) is a strong predictor of child poverty, and child poverty is associated with poor health…

DeRuyter Monday Mile Team Wins the “Power of Rural Award” for Dedication to Improving Community Health

November 21, 2019

In celebration of National Rural Health Day, the Madison County Rural Health Council recognizes Madison County residents who have shown a deep passion and commitment to bettering the health and wellness of their community. This year, the Rural Health Council awarded the DeRuyter Monday Mile Team for creating their own Monday Mile Day and organizing…

We Need to Change the Language we use to Describe Individuals with Substance Use Issues

November 19, 2019

Austin McNeill Brown DOWNLOAD THE BRIEF [PDF] KEY FINDINGS Terms like “Substance Abuser,” “Alcoholic and “Addict” stigmatize people with substance use issues. Health care professionals, individuals with addictions, individuals in recovery, and the general public all associate negative bias with terms like “addict” and “abuser”. Person-first language such as “person with a substance use disorder”…

Lerner Chair Shannon Monnat participates in White House roundtable on reducing opioid overdoses

November 15, 2019

Monnat, the Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion, traveled to our nation’s capital to participate in a roundtable discussion on addressing the opioid epidemic in the United States…

Results from the SU Health & Wellness Goal Survey

November 5, 2019

Shannon Monnat, Mary Kate Lee, Ashley Van Slyke, and Alexandra Punch DOWNLOAD THE BRIEF [PDF] KEY FINDINGS Increasing physical activity is the top-ranked health and wellness goal at SU. Improving diet and nutrition and better managing stress were also highly prioritized. Graduate students were more likely than other groups to report having goals to be…

The U.S. Has a Serious Shortage of Affordable Housing, Especially for Younger and Older Adults

October 22, 2019

Sarah Mawhorter DOWNLOAD THE BRIEF [PDF] Many renters in the U.S. struggle to afford housing. Nationwide, half of renters pay more than 30% of their income for rent (the federal standard for affordability). Over a quarter of renters pay more than 50% of their income for rent…

There are Costs from Spending Too Much Time on Social Media

October 8, 2019

Sean Withington and Alexandra Punch DOWNLOAD THE BRIEF [PDF] In 2006, Facebook marked the beginning of a new era in social media by making itself universally available. Since then, membership on social media platforms has exploded. Ninety percent of young adults in the U.S. are now on social media, and the majority visit these sites…

People with Developmental Disabilities Have Much more Life to Live

October 1, 2019

Dalton Stevens DOWNLOAD THE BRIEF [PDF] KEY FINDINGS • Adults with any type of development disability (DD) die an average of 23.5 years earlier than adults without developmental disability. • The early death disadvantage is largest for those with cerebral palsy, other rare developmental disabilities, or co-occurring developmental disabilities, who die up to 34 years…

Having a Disability Reduces Chances of Employment for all Racial/Ethnic Groups

September 17, 2019

Jennifer D. Brooks DOWNLOAD THE BRIEF [PDF] Having a disability is related to lower rates of employment for all racial/ethnic groups. The figure below illustrates a clear race/ethnicity and disability employment hierarchy for adults ages 21 to 65. In 2017, 78% of whites without disabilities were employed, placing them on the top rung of the…

Having a disability increases the likelihood of food insecurity despite federal programs to prevent this hardship

September 10, 2019

Colleen Heflin, Claire Altman, and Laura Rodriguez DOWNLOAD THE BRIEF [PDF] KEY FINDINGS Disabilities are associated with food insecurity through multiple pathways. Work-limiting disabilities, cognitive limitations, trouble hearing, and certain physical limitations are related to increased likelihood of food insecurity for prime-age adults (age 19-59). The high prevalence of food insecurity among the disabled population…

DeStress for Success: Improving Student Mental Health with a New Healthy Monday Program

January 7, 2019

Mary Kate Lee DOWNLOAD THE BRIEF [PDF] College students’ mental health is suffering. Over the past decade, rates of depression and suicidal ideation among college students have steadily increased.1, 2 Suicidal ideations have nearly doubled from 5.8% in 2007 to 10.8% in 2016-2017.1, 2 The proportion of college students who are diagnosed with a mental…