EJB Talks: Rutgers Bloustein School Experts

When we think of people engaging in unhealthy lifestyles, we are quick to blame the offender. What we often fail to recognize is that not everyone has the same opportunities. In this episode of EJB Talks, Stuart Shapiro delves more deeply into the area of health disparities with professor Dawne Mouzon, a medical sociologist specializing in health disparities across vulnerable populations. Dr. Mouzon sheds light on why some populations, particularly black Americans and Latinos, are more susceptible to infection--not just from COVID-19--and why their health outcomes are not as good as those in predominantly white or more affluent communities. She also expresses the importance of delving into why some other countries have had much better outcomes managing COVID-19 and why the U.S. should take steps to make universal healthcare a priority.

The Rutgers Urban and Civic Informatics Lab (RUCI Lab) was recently founded at the Bloustein School, with the mission of using new sources of data and emerging technologies to study the health of cities, and by doing so, improve the quality of urban life. This week, Stuart Shapiro talks with the Bloustein School's newest employee, Gavin Rozzi, who joined the school as a Research Computing Specialist for the RUCI Lab just days before the state's stay-at-home order took effect. They discuss some of the projects the RUCI Lab will be working on, including using geographic and social media data to predict the long-term social and economic impacts of COVID-19 on society, as well as Gavin's personal interest utilizing emerging technology -- 3D printing PPEs for frontline healthcare workers.

The New Jersey/New York region is one of the most densely populated in the United States with some of the most widely traveled public transit systems. Thousands of New Jerseyans take NJ Transit bus and rail to New York City; thousands more crowd the New York bus and subway systems. These heavily-used systems have been flagged as possible reasons for the spread of COVID-19. Today on EJB Talks, Stuart Shapiro tackles the issue of public transit and safety measures our transit agencies may need to make to bring commuters back, the effect telecommuting will have on these transit systems, and the new dependence on online services will have on the future of work with Robert Noland, Distinguished Professor and Director of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at the Bloustein School.

There has been both in- and out-migration from cities now for years depending upon economic conditions, but the pandemic has hit our cities and high-density areas the hardest. After years of re-urbanization, are we going to see a new wave of urban flight? Has the shift to staying home, working from home, and having all of our necessities being delivered to our homes going to fundamentally change the way we work and live? In our newest episode of EJBTalks, Stuart Shapiro talks with Professor Tony Nelessen, an architect and urban designer, who discusses some of these questions facing the future design of our cities. 

Returning to the healthcare field amidst the COVID-19 crisis, host Stuart Shapiro welcomes Professor Soumitra Bhuyan, who teaches in the Bloustein School's health administration program and Dr. Sabiha Hussain from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Their discussion focuses on the social determinants of health; what they are and how they are affecting the outcomes of COVID-19 patients. The role of information technology (IT) and telemedicine are also playing a larger role in the crisis, as doctors seek to reach populations disproportionately affected by COVID-19 while at the same time reducing the burden on the healthcare system. 

The unemployment numbers in this first month of the COVID-19 pandemic have been staggering. What can we do to help those who are finding themselves newly unemployed, desperately waiting for their benefits to start and not sure where to turn? In this episode of EJB Talks, our host Stuart Shapiro, Associate Dean of Faculty and Professor of Policy at the Bloustein School, talks to Carl Van Horn, Distinguished Professor at the Bloustein School and Director of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, on the dangers of long-term unemployment, who is most vulnerable, and the services the Heldrich Center can provide, along with the State of New Jersey, to help people traverse through the economic crisis brought upon us by COVID-19.

The battle against Covid-19 has required a society-wide response.  One of the key underappreciated components of that response has been the people who keep our hospitals running.  We talk with Professor Ann Marie-Hill who teaches in the Bloustein school health administration program about the role that health administrators are playing in the Covid-19 response.