The COVID-19 pandemic created a barrier to care for West Virginians living with chronic disease, meaning many residents needed to find a new way of managing their health. The West Virginia Prevention Research Center, housed in the West Virginia University School of Public Health, is providing support to organizations that needed to quickly adjust their focus, an extension of its already community-focused mission.
Eligible, degree-seeking students at any West Virginia University campus can receive emergency grants through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II, part of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. WVU will continue distributing its allotted $10,087,116 in emergency grants to students who qualify.
West Virginia University confirmed three cases of the COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7 have been detected in the Morgantown area – two are WVU students. Genetic sequencing of samples from the WVU Medicine testing program detected the B.1.1.7 variant in Morgantown campus test samples analyzed this week. The University is working closely with the Monongalia County Health Department in its case investigation and contact tracing. It is believed that the three individuals who have tested positive for the variant are related to one another and have not visited the WVU campus during their infectious period.
In an ongoing effort to support West Virginia University’s commitment to keeping its campus community and others safe, the School of Public Health is partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct an eight-week mask observation study.
A free smartphone app is now available for state residents who are searching for connection while struggling with substance use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic.
lassifying a death as suicide may be easiest for medical examiners and coroners in the western United States, which reports the highest suicide rates officially. Suicide by firearm is the leading method there, and usually clear in terms of evidence.
Pregnancy doesn’t have to sabotage athletes’ fitness. Shon Rowan—a researcher with the WVU School of Medicine—and his colleagues used a wearable device called WHOOP to monitor the heart rate and heart rate variability of women before they conceived, throughout pregnancy and after giving birth. The data that the researchers collected from the WHOOP devices suggests that some women may be in better shape after delivering their babies than they were before they became pregnant.
Dr. Brian Hendricks, a research assistant professor with the West Virginia University School of Public Health’s Department of Epidemiology, is trying to better understand the needs of a historically underserved population in West Virginia — pregnant women with substance use disorder.
As a new year begins – and the inevitable wave of health-related resolutions go into effect – one West Virginia University researcher reminds parents in particular of the critical role they play when it comes to shaping their children’s self-image and lifelong relationship with food.
Cancer treatment isn’t just a matter of shrinking or removing a tumor. It also involves preserving or improving the patient’s quality of life. Rehabilitation services—such as behavioral therapies to alleviate pain and exercise to reduce fatigue—are a valuable way to do that. But they often aren’t included in cancer patients’ plans of care.