School of Public Health

Even for those of us who dodged the virus itself, the COVID-19 pandemic hit us in more ways than one.

Transitioning home after a stay in a nursing home or long-term care facility can be a difficult experience, oftentimes leading to hospitalization or reinstitution. But preliminary results from a new West Virginia University Office of Health Affairs pilot program shows that telehealth can help these individuals remain healthy and happy in their own communities.

People have been driving under the influence of alcohol since before the first person crank-started a Ford Model T. But CBD oil didn’t become a concern until years after people began driving the Tesla Model X.

Some things—like death and taxes—are certain, but a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes doesn’t have to be. A new study led by Adam Baus—a researcher with the WVU School of Public Health—shows that diabetes-prevention programming can reduce the rate of diabetes diagnoses, lower healthcare costs and add 4.4 quality-adjusted life-years to participant average lifespan.

Following a year of missed milestones, celebrations and traditions, West Virginia University’s first in-person commencement ceremony since December 2019 ushered in a renewed sense of optimism for the nearly 4,500 graduates who walked across the stage to receive their diplomas in four ceremonies this weekend (May 15-16).

As COVID-19 and its variants continue to spread throughout the country, workplace safety has taken on a new meaning. West Virginia University’s Master of Science in Industrial Hygiene, newly moved to the WVU School of Public Health, is designed to help students address modern day occupational health issues as they gain the ability to anticipate, evaluate and control occupational health hazards.

West Virginia University researcher Jennifer Mallow and her colleagues completed a systematic review of studies that dealt with telehealth and chronic conditions. They found that—in general—telehealth services benefitted patients more if they continued for about a year, rather than ending after six months or so. But perhaps their most significant finding was just how much we have left to discover.

As part of continuing efforts to increase transparency and better evaluate resources, West Virginia University recently launched a new Public Safety Advisory Committee to partner with the University Police Department to meet the needs of its diverse campus community.

West Virginia University graduates will return to in-person commencement ceremonies this May; and although some restrictions will be in place because of COVID-19, the celebrations will be no less memorable for the 4,499 who walk across the stage to receive their diplomas. Graduates from May, August and December 2020 are also eligible to participate in the exercises.

Under the quiet surface of near-stilled campuses over the past year, West Virginia University researchers, faculty and administrators have scrambled to learn more about COVID-19 and mitigate its spread, calculated how to teach online and hybrid classes and figured out how to better ensure people on those campuses could remain safe from the virulent disease that has killed more than 500,000 U. S. citizens to date.