Social Medicine
Making a local and global impact
The Department of Social Medicine is an interdisciplinary department comprised of social scientists, humanities scholars and physicians. We study the dynamic interplay of people, culture, the environment and their impact on health care delivery and health outcomes. Our teaching, research and service inform medical students, health professionals and the public about factors affecting clinical decision making, the social responsibilities of health care providers, the social determinants of health and illness, and health policy and politics.
Chair, Joe Bianco
Email: bianco@ohio.edu
Phone: 740.593.2130
Administrative Specialist, Cassie Tritipo
Email: tritipo@ohio.edu
Phone: 740.593.4694
Our Expertise
Our department has active research and teaching expertise in the following areas:
- Biostatistics
- Clinical prevention and population health
- Cultural competence and health care
- Epidemiology of diabetes and cardiovascular disease
- Evidence-based medicine
- Gerontology and geriatrics
- Global warming, climate change and health
- Health in Appalachia
- Health policy
- International health and medicine
- Maternal and child health
- Medical decision making
- Medical ethics
- Reproductive health
- Stress, nutrition and aging
- Sustainability and urban environments
Our Disciplines
Our faculty's disciplines include:
- Biological anthropology
- Biostatistics
- Epidemiology
- Experimental psychology
- Family studies
- Health psychology
- History of medicine
- Interpersonal communication
- Pediatrics
- Social psychology
Global Health Initiative
Students, faculty and staff experience impactful research, education and outreach activities abroad and in immigrant communities in the U.S. to truly understand global health issues and increase multicultural awareness.
Our Faculty
Discover the diverse research topics and current projects conducted by our faculty.
Social Medicine
From our mission to teaching topics to employment opportunities, you’ll find it all here.
Events
Monday, December 2
Athens Primary Care Clinic
8:30 AM — 3:30 PM
Heritage Community Clinic Grosvenor Hall West Ohio University
June 23, 2016
Tom Fries, a Democrat from Dayton, was serving his third term in the Ohio House of Representatives when he became lead sponsor of the 1975 legislation that created what is now the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine.
May 19, 2016
A graduate of the college's inaugural class of 1980 is thankful for “the chance to have the most fascinating life I could possibly imagine.”
May 18, 2016
This discovery revolutionized biomedical research, making national news at a time when gene-splicing was still in its infancy.
April 21, 2016
Ohio's governor and Legislature join in recognizing the college’s 40th anniversary.
April 1, 2016
At its height, the program reached an estimated hundreds of thousands of listeners in the United States, China, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the American Forces Radio Network.
- 40 Things to Know: Our college was led by the first female African American dean of a medical school
March 17, 2016
The 1993 selection our college's leader, Barbara Ross Lee, D.O., sister of Motown superstar Diana Ross, marked a step forward for diversity in medical education
January 15, 2016
Since the early 1980s, the arrival of this annual event means it's time for students, faculty and staff to brush off the formal wear and join in the Nae Nae.
December 21, 2015
November 23, 2015
Alumni from college's first decade remember janitor Sherman Brooks for always remembering students’ birthdays and offering a kindly word when they needed one.
November 16, 2015
We’ve chosen 40 facts, initiatives, ideas and people that make our college extraordinary. Follow along as we lift up a few of the things that shape who we are today.
November 16, 2015
Key health care partnerships help drive our primary care-focused curriculum.
October 15, 2015
The college opened in 1976, thanks to a clear vision, persistence and a healthy dose of courage.
October 15, 2015
The Youngstown Democrat saw the college’s potential to transform health care in southeast Ohio, so he forged a coalition of lawmakers, physicians and academics to charter and fund the college in 1975.