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December 17, 2023
SPH This Week.
Latest News, Research, and More
Message From the Dean
Thank you to each member of our community for all you do to build, brick by brick, a healthier world.
SPECIAL EDITION | SOCIAL MEDIA AND STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH
In our last SPH This Week email of the semester, we explore the influence of social media on adolescents and student mental health. SPH This Week will resume on Jan. 7.
PUBLIC HEALTH CONVERSATION
During a Dec. 12 Public Health Conversation, health experts discussed the unique stressors that college students experience today, and the support that schools, parents, peers, and healthcare providers can provide to improve students' well-being. Read more and watch the video.
COMMENTARY
A new commentary by Monica Wang and Katherine Togher in JAMA Pediatrics provides recommendations for health experts, educators, parents/caregivers, policymakers, and others to mitigate adolescents’ exposure to inaccurate information on social media and create opportunities for positive engagement on these platforms. Read more.
RESEARCH
A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee chaired by Dean Sandro Galea has released a new report with comprehensive guidance on how to navigate the positive and negative effects of social media, such as new industry standards for platform design, transparence, and data use. Learn more.
PUBLIC HEALTH POST
While TikTok can be a breeding ground for misinformation, the social media platform has great potential for building community and sharing accurate information around disordered eating and recovery, writes PHP fellow Adna Jaganjac. Read more.
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Above all things, empathy and grace go a very, very long way.
JASON CAMPBELL-FOSTER
BU'S DEAN OF STUDENTS, ON HOW SCHOOLS CAN HELP IMPROVE THE MENTAL HEALTH OF COLLEGE STUDENTS BY PROVIDING SAFE SPACES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM TO SEEK AND RECEIVE HELP.
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PUBLIC HEALTH CONVERSATION
During the June event, the US Surgeon General and US Senator said smartphones and social media apps are exacerbating the mental health challenges young people face today. Read more.
RESEARCH
A study led by Monica Wang found that social media platforms, particularly TikTok and Instagram, are ideal digital spaces to educate and guide US youth of color on healthy weight management and ultimately reduce racial inequities in obesity. Read more.
SCHOOL NEWS
Last year, a group of SPH students worked with the West End House, a youth development organization in Boston, to empower youth to promote social justice and combat misinformation on social media. Read more.
RESEARCH
A 2021 report by Sarah Ketchen Lipson found that a majority of faculty are eager to support students in mental and emotional health distress, but they lack guidance from their institutions on how to best help them. Read more.
PUBLIC HEALTH POST
Social media is addictive and generally bad for our health, but there are ways to make it less harmful before even reaching the user, writes Elsa Pearson Sites in a viewpoint earlier this year. Read more.
COMMENTARY
Without concerted efforts to counter the anti-vaccine movement, the USA faces an ever-growing burden of morbidity and mortality, according to a viewpoint in The Lancet, coauthored by Timothy Callaghan, in collaboration with a 21-person commission that includes Chelsea Clinton and former US Surgeon General Regina Benjamin. Read more.
SCHOOL NEWS
Launched in April 2023, the Center researches and develops public health strategies to address the health consequences of stress and trauma. Jaimie Gradus leads the center, which envisions a future where mental health achieves parity with physical health in terms of cultural acceptance and accessibility of services. Read more.
PUBLIC HEALTH POST
This year, PHP fellows Caroline Dignard, Sean Hagan, Adna Jaganjac, and Kara Schmidt examined a myriad of public health subjects, including mental well-being, vaccine exemptions, incarcerated youth, artificial sweeteners, loneliness, and more. In this new viewpoint, executive editor Michael Stein revisits some of the most impactful stories of the year. Following a brief winter break, PHP will resume publishing on January 8. Read more.
SPH SNAPSHOT
On Dec. 8, SPH hosted its annual December Graduate Reception to recognize and celebrate the achievements of students graduating in January. View the gallery.
In the Media.
Quotes Michael Ulrich, associate professor of health law, policy & management.
Commentary by Monica Wang, associate professor of community health sciences.
Quotes Dean Sandro Galea.
Quotes Lauren Wise, professor of epidemiology.
Keep up with SPH on Instagram.
Yvette Cozier recently spoke with the Rev. Al Sharpton on his MSNBC show PoliticsNation to discuss a variety of findings from BU's Black Women's Health Study, the largest and longest-running study of its kind. Check out the full interview here.
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