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
Thursday, November 14 Asian Pacific American Medical Students Association - Bibibop fundriaser
10:30 AM — 9:30 AM
Bibibop
Friday, November 15 Student Association of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians - Pie your Faculty/MEA in the face
12:00 PM — 1:00 PM
Heritage Hall
Saturday, November 16 Future Physicians for Patients - Volunteering at Passion Works
2:00 PM — 4:00 PM
Passion Works Studio
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February 24, 2020
Over more than 40 years, Harold Thompson III, D.O., has earned a place in the history of both southeast Ohio and the Heritage College as an engaged community doctor, medical educator, pioneer of diversity and mentor to many future osteopathic physicians.
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January 31, 2020
Faculty and staff from throughout our medical school and the Scripps College of Communication have developed the Open Book Project, a unique program grounded in narrative medicine that’s part of a larger movement to embrace diversity, cultivate inclusion and promote affiliation.
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October 29, 2019
Graham Smith is neither a medical clinician nor a research scientist. But when the Heritage College hosted the third annual International Symposium on Growth Hormone and Metabolism, he attended to learn more about his daughter’s growth hormone (GH) deficiency.
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October 24, 2019
Incoming students in our Rural and Urban Scholars Pathways program learned about health care needs and experiences in underserved areas of Ohio during a three-day community-based immersion experience.
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October 11, 2019
When Heritage College staffer Sherie Steinberger learned about a book project collecting personal accounts of Ohio’s opioid crisis, her family contributed a message about the value of honesty – and the danger of stigma – in helping a loved one battle addiction.
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October 3, 2019
The Heritage College, Dublin, was only 1 year old when the Humanism in Medicine student group was launched there in 2015. Four years later, the group is still celebrating “the continuity of art and medicine."
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September 9, 2019
John Allerding's incurable wanderlust has led the 1985 Heritage College alumnus to places around the world - including two trips (so far) to Antarctica.
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April 30, 2019
Mikhail Varshavski, D.O., better known in the social media world as Doctor Mike, spoke to a packed house at the Ohio Osteopathic Symposium about the need for physicians to raise their voices in the media.
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April 10, 2019
When Brian Clark moved to Athens, he thought it might be a brief stop. But he stuck around and helped turn OMNI into a powerhouse of research into pain disorders and healthy aging.
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April 4, 2019
A first-year medical student and a faculty member discuss lessons learned during a global health experience, where health professions students at Ohio University learned about health care in Cuba.
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March 28, 2019
On a winter evening, more than 70 students, faculty and staff gathered in the OMM lab on the college's Athens campus to participate in “Behind the White Coat,” a storytelling event organized by students and inspired by “The Moth” Podcast.
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March 22, 2019
The Heritage College's innovative new Pathways to Health and Wellness curriculum, launched in the fall of 2018, demonstrates what medical training of the future looks like.
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December 17, 2018
How a mouse helped launch a scientific discovery that improved lives and opened pathways for research into obesity, diabetes, cancer and aging.
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November 8, 2018
A documentary tries to close the gap between the health care needs of 20 million U.S. veterans and the civilian physicians who often feel unprepared for the unique health-related exposures and risks that military service members encounter.
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August 27, 2018
After a summer at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a second-year medical student gains a fuller appreciation of how he can help translate new research findings into hope for young patients.
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July 19, 2018
An expert describes the importance of breastfeeding in developing countries where populations contend with unsanitary water that can be life-threatening to formula-fed infants.
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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.
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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.”
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May 18, 2016
This discovery revolutionized biomedical research, making national news at a time when gene-splicing was still in its infancy.
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April 21, 2016
Ohio's governor and Legislature join in recognizing the college’s 40th anniversary.