Social Determinants of Health

Study finds correlation between number of tobacco retailers and prevalence of tobacco use in Virginia counties

Mary Cunningham — Thu, 25 Aug 2022 16:59:02 +0000

Study finds correlation between number of tobacco retailers and prevalence of tobacco use in Virginia counties Mary Cunningham Thu, 08/25/2022 - 12:59

A new study from Hong Xue and colleagues shows that the county-level association between tobacco retailers and adult smokers can be largely explained by several social determinants of health, including mental and physical health.

Hong Xue, Associate Professor in the Department of Health Administration and Policy

Smoking-related costs in the United States account for more than 12% of health care spending, making the United States one of the top countries to have health issues caused by smoking. Many public health practitioners and researchers, including Associate Professor Hong Xue in the Department of Health Administration and Policy, have identified the importance of evidence-based policies and regulations to reduce tobacco use, including regulating the tobacco industry.

Xue’s most recent study found that a higher number of tobacco retailers in a Virginia county is associated with a higher prevalence of adult smoking in that county. The analysis done by the interdisciplinary research team found that the higher number of smokers in a county is largely explained by social determinants of health, including socioeconomic status, environmental factors, risk conditions or behaviors, and population health, more than the amount of tobacco retailers.

“Tobacco retailers are more prevalent in areas where the population has low income and a lower quality of physical and mental health, responding to the higher demand of tobacco products in these areas. A higher supply in turn promotes greater demand. This is a dynamic enforcing feedback loop that policies and regulations need to intervene. Also, it’s not only the store selling tobacco that is attracting more smokers, but other aspects of life that are leading people to smoke,” said Xue, who was the principal investigator. “Thus, efforts to reduce tobacco use and consequent negative health effects should explore the impact of improving regional social determinants of health.”

This is the first study that identified the spatial relationship between tobacco retail outlets and smoking prevalence in Virginia and revealed the importance of social determinants in tobacco control.

“This study helps disentangle the complicated relationship between tobacco retailers and adults who smoke and provides actionable evidence to local, state, and federal regulators for effective tobacco prevention and control,” said Xue. “Reducing the number of tobacco retailers might not be sufficient. Policy or program intervention may wish to focus on the social factors, such as reducing the rate of violent crime or addressing issues related to mental distress and physical inactivity.”

Digging deeper into the social determinants of health, the study found that mental distress and physical inactivity are the most important determinants of smoking at the population level. Additionally, results showed that risky environmental conditions related to low income, such as food insecurity and violent crime, were closely associated with county-level smoking prevalence.

The study, “The association between tobacco retailer outlet density and prevalence of cigarette smoking in Virginia” was funded by the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth and published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research in August 2022.

The research team included three other researchers associated with Mason: Shuo-yu Lin, a Health Administration and Policy doctoral student; Weiyu Zhou, a doctoral student in the Department of Statistics; Ruixin Yang, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Geoinformation Science, as well as J. Randy Koch from the Department of Psychology and the Center for the Study of Tobacco Products and Andrew J. Barnes from the Department of Health Behavior and Policy, both at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Topics

Social Determinants of Health

Tobacco Prevention

Global and Community Health Students ‘Take Over’ This is Public Health’s Social Media

John Brandon Cantrell — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 14:23:19 +0000

Global and Community Health Students ‘Take Over’ This is Public Health’s Social Media John Brandon C… Tue, 02/08/2022 - 09:23

In honor of Black History Month, McNally and Harmon highlight Black contributions and historical moments in health care

Future public health leaders in the Department of Global and Community Health bring awareness to health disparities affecting underserved communities through education, research, and advocacy. Public Health PhD student Kimberly McNally and Master of Public Health student Danielle Harmon lead by example by serving as student ambassadors for This is Public Health (TIPH), a student-centered organization from the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) that provides leadership experience opportunities to public health scholars across the country.

As TIPH ambassadors, McNally and Harmon will each create week-long social media campaigns, referred to as Ambassador Takeovers, that center around a public health topic of their choice. They strategically chose their Ambassador Takeovers to occur in February to raise awareness of historical moments in health care in honor of Black History Month.

McNally, a registered nurse, created her campaign to highlight Black health care heroes who, while often overlooked in nursing textbooks, made substantial contributions to the nursing field.

Public Health PhD student Kim McNally

“To celebrate Black History Month, I am focusing on community health nurses that broke boundaries despite discrimination and barriers,” McNally said. “I am honored to post about community health nurses like Jessie Sleet Scales and Mabel Keaton Staupers. It is important to both public health and nursing to celebrate the pioneers who advocated for their communities and their profession. Their contributions improved our understanding and delivery of culturally competent care.”

The following week, Harmon’s campaign brings attention to the social determinants of health affecting Black communities throughout the nation.

Master of Public Health student Danielle Harmon

“I plan to bring attention to monumental moments of history such as redlining and radicalized residential segregation to the Tuskegee Syphilis Study that has left the Black community feeling distrustful and at a disadvantage in health care,” said Harmon. “My goal is not just to show how Black people are disproportionately affected but also show how intertwined each of the risk factors is for many of the diseases that affect the Black community at an irregular rate compared to White America.”

The Department of Global and Community Health inspires students to be leaders in their fields. Students accomplish this through interprofessional networking and applying their skill set to educate others through projects and initiatives, such as TIPH. For McNally and Harmon, the TIPH experience, coupled with their Mason coursework, allows them to gain the skills needed to pursue their career goals as health care leaders.

McNally said her student experiences have transformed her outlook on global health and will benefit her future career as a nursing educator. “My TIPH experience and my Mason coursework have challenged me to think beyond my role and identity as a nurse. I am now able to see health from a bigger perspective, and I have also had the opportunity to learn from student and faculty experiences. I will leave Mason as a better clinician and a more well-rounded educator.”

Harmon will apply the skills she is learning to pursue a health policy analyst career after completing her degree.

“My TIPH involvement [gives] me an array of experience from working collaboratively with people from different backgrounds, collecting information to develop engaging materials for a broad audience, and the ability to put forth accredited materials to help bring awareness to health topics,” said Harmon. “I am very confident that the rest of my coursework at Mason will give me the foundation and building blocks to a successful career in health policy by giving me the knowledge needed to analyze, write, and develop health policies.”

To view McNally and Harmon's social media campaigns, visit This is Public Health on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Topics

Social Determinants of Health

Department of Global and Community Health

Student Spotlight

Mason’s College of Health and Human Services Joins Johns Hopkins Clinical Research Network

dhawkin — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 14:04:05 +0000

Mason’s College of Health and Human Services Joins Johns Hopkins Clinical Research Network dhawkin Tue, 03/02/2021 - 09:04

Mason joins university and health care system collaboration to conduct translational research to improve health outcomes.

��AV’s College of Health and Human Services (the College) has recently joined the John Hopkins Clinical Research Network (JHCRN). This collaboration between regional health care systems and research institutions will have a direct impact on health care delivery throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region.

The JHCRN is a translational research organization dedicated to facilitating collaboration between diverse, community-based health care delivery systems and researchers. Translational research focuses on applying knowledge to address the needs of health care systems; it is specifically designed to improve health outcomes.

The JHCRN specializes in clinical trials across a variety of disciplines including oncology, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal conditions, neurological disorders and genomics. Sites within the network also collaborate with Johns Hopkins physicians. Some of the topics the College plans to explore with JHCRN include health disparities, social determinants of health, and health care costs.

“As part of the JHCRN, we look forward to improving the flow of scientific information and bringing a collaborative approach to clinical and translational research,” said Dr. Rosemary Higgins, associate dean of research for the College.

Collaborations between regional health care systems are an important part of the College’s dedication to making a positive impact on local communities in the surrounding areas. The College will join a number of other regional sites within the network including the Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Luminis Health, TidalHealth and Reading Hospital, an affiliate of Tower Health.

“We are proud to join this highly-respected network of health care delivery organizations to bring research discoveries into clinical practice in a timely manner to improve the health of those we serve,” says Dr. Germaine Louis, Dean of the College. “It is only through partnerships such as these that we can improve health equity and make health visible and accessible for all people.”

About ��AV

��AV is Virginia's largest and most diverse public research university. Located near Washington, D.C., Mason enrolls 39,000 students from 130 countries and all 50 states. Mason has grown rapidly over the past half-century and is recognized for its innovation and entrepreneurship, remarkable diversity and commitment to accessibility. For more information, visit https://www2.gmu.edu/.

About the College of Health and Human Services

��AV's College of Health and Human Services prepares students to become leaders and shape the public's health through academic excellence, research of consequence, community outreach, and interprofessional clinical practice. George Mason is the fastest-growing Research I institution in the country. The College enrolls more than 1,900 undergraduate and 1,370 graduate students in its nationally-recognized offerings, including: 5 undergraduate degrees, 13 graduate degrees, and 7 certificate programs. The college is transitioning to a college of public health in the near future. For more information, visit https://chhs.gmu.edu/.

Topics

CHHS Research

Social Determinants of Health

Health Disparities

health care

Health Care Finance

College of Health and Human Services

CHHS News

Karen Brown

tguingab — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 15:48:58 +0000

Karen Brown tguingab Mon, 06/17/2019 - 11:48

Director, Area Health Education Center at Mason, Nursing

Contact Information

Email: kbrown62@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-5967
Building: Peterson Hall
Room 3004

Biography

Ms. Karen Brown is the Director for the Northern Virginia Area Health Education Center (AHEC) at George Mason. Prior to her role at George Mason, Ms. Brown worked for the Texas AHEC East – Waco Regional Center for nearly five years; three of them as Center Director. Ms. Brown has over a decade experience in community and public health, working for regional teen tobacco prevention programs in eastern North Carolina, in addition to her years as a program coordinator and director with Texas AHEC. She has previously served on the Board of Directors for the Texas Rural Health Association, Texas Society for Public Health Education, and has worked with community driven initiates with a focus on access to care.

Community Service

National AHEC Organization Member
Board of Directors, Texas Rural Health Association, 2015 to 2018
Board of Director, Texas Society of Public Health Educators, 2016 to 2018

Degrees

MEd, Health Education & Promotion, East Carolina University
BA, Physical Education, K-12 Teaching Certificate, University of North Carolina Wilmington