GPH Takes Strides to Research Drug Use and Abuse
September 7, 2018
Dear Colleagues and Students:
Welcome back to campus as the 2018-2019 Academic Year officially begins this week. I hope your summer was wonderful, and that you were able to sneak in some much-needed rest to prepare for the demanding semester ahead.
We return amidst troubling times that cry out for new solutions to a host of our nation’s problems, especially complex public health crises.
One example was underscored just last month in a new study published in the American Journal of Public Health: Weaponized Health Communication: Twitter Bots and Russian Trolls Amplify the Vaccine Debate. Findings determined that “using tactics similar to those at work during the 2016 United States presidential election, these Twitter accounts entered into vaccine debates months before election season was underway.(Science Daily).
A promising example of rare bipartisanship in our nation’s capital took place late yesterday when “the Senate cleared a major hurdle on an opioids package, increasing the possibility that a bill aimed at addressing the national drug crisis could reach President Trump's desk by year's end.”
It couldn’t come too soon, as a recent poll found the epidemic “has hit all corners of the country, and more than two-thirds of Americans say opioid misuse is a very or somewhat serious problem in their state.” (Washington Post).
Here at GPH, we’re thrilled to welcome several new faculty members and world-renowned experts in drug use and abuse, and we’ll soon announce an innovative cross-college initiative on opioids. Stay tuned!
Have a good weekend and – again -- welcome back!
Cheryl Healton, DrPH
Dean