Pulse
   1.1

Public Health in Action

By

Li-Wu Chen

Fifty years ago, a physician shortage threatened Southeastern Virginia. The community confronted the problem head-on, establishing a medical school to educate the next generation of physicians and health professionals. Now, complex challenges threaten public health. Once again, the community has responded, this time rallying behind the creation of the Joint School of Public Health, a collaborative partnership between Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University.

We spoke with Li-Wu Chen, Ph.D. (pictured), founding dean, who explained how the new school will serve the region by creating long-term sustainability of public health initiatives, educational opportunities and targeted health activities.

Q. Why is it important to have a joint school of public health?
A. Integrated resources for the Joint School of Public Health give students and faculty myriad opportunities that would not be available from just one institution. Whether pursuing a graduate or undergraduate degree, receiving a certificate in public health studies, or engaging in community outreach through practicum and hands-on service opportunities, we are bringing together resources and expertise for students to further their education in public health in ways that cannot be done by a single institution. Along with teaching, our faculty work across multiple sectors to transform public health and better address complex health challenges faced by communities not only across the Hampton Roads region, but across Virginia and elsewhere. Our school is only the third joint school of public health in the country, which means we are in groundbreaking territory for forward-thinking educational opportunities. Public health contributes to improving life expectancy and quality of life. To sustain this progress, we need an effective public health workforce that the aforementioned resources can help build and maintain to integrate across fields of study, new and existing partnerships for community access to safe and healthy environments.

Q. What was the driving force behind establishment of the school of public health?
A. The field of public health is growing, and it’s predicted that its job market will expand significantly over the next 10 years. By combining the strengths of multiple institutions while also preserving what makes each unique, we can provide expanded opportunities in both education and community engagement to our communities and students. As the only academic partnership of its kind in Virginia, the Joint School of Public Health brings together resources for a more competitive educational and research experience for our students and faculty. We also plan to increase our faculty’s research productivity by encouraging collaborative grant projects across partner institutions. For instance, the Joint School of Public Health has committed research funding to faculty who collaborated with their academic partners across ODU and NSU. Collaborations between the institutions have been underway since before the Joint School of Public Health was official and continue to make headway under the collaboration. For example, in 2023, the universities began funding research projects with the requirement that a researcher must apply for funding at their home institution and include a co-researcher from the partner institution. By encouraging this collaboration, it is helping to build a solid foundation of co-institutional knowledge and fully utilizing all resources across the schools in a way that directly benefits public health.

Q. What are the region’s major public health issues?
A. Communities in Hampton Roads face complex health challenges, including lower life expectancy and elevated rates of smoking, obesity, preventable hospitalizations, diabetes, hypertension, firearm-related injuries and strokes. Crucial upstream factors and social determinants of health, such as access to quality and affordable healthcare, housing and environmental public health challenges including coastal resiliency are also priority public health issues in our region.

Q. How will the new school help address these issues?
A. Our faculty have historically collaborated and engaged with various community partners on addressing critical public health issues. The formation of the Joint School of Public Health will further enhance and expand these collaborations with the community to address priority public health areas in Hampton Roads. The Joint School of Public Health will serve as the chief health strategist in the Hampton Roads region by engaging our community partners across multiple sectors in vibrant and collaborative partnerships to better address challenges. We will provide transformative educational programs, including continuing education to train the public health workforce to meet evolving challenges to population health in the field. Along with teaching, our faculty conduct innovative, cutting-edge research to inform public health practice and policy communities about the development and implementation of evidence-based strategies to better address health gaps and make actionable data accessible in timely and reliable ways.

Q. Why is NSU such a vital partner?
A. Norfolk State has a long history of meaningful outreach in public health in Hampton Roads, so it’s a natural fit for any work in public health. Additionally, NSU is home to a Center of Excellence in Minority Health Disparities and the Center for Public Health Initiatives. As such, Norfolk State brings the advantage of new perspectives on academic public health and a focus on emerging trends and communications. The development of the Joint School of Public Health inspired the creation of the NSU Public Health Collaboratives, a multi- disciplinary working group of more than 30 faculty members dedicated to public health education, training and scholarship. This NSU Collaborative will help expand and enhance interprofessional and interdisciplinary public health scholarship and community engagement within the partnership and across Brock Virginia Health Sciences at ODU.

Q. How will the multi-institutional model work?
A. It’s already working in many ways, and will continue to improve as we work through strategic planning and growth initiatives. My appointment as founding dean in 2023 was a first step in bringing faculty and partners from multiple institutions together to serve our students and the community. Through our multi-institutional Leadership Council, which has been meeting for more than a year now, our partnership grows by ensuring best practices and collaborations are present in all areas of the school. Of course, the launch of Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University was another step in the multi-institutional model, as it brought talented faculty officially into the Joint School of Public Health for teaching, research and community engagement. And our approval by the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia in September 2024 took us from an initiative to a full-fledged joint academic partnership. It is truly an exciting time, and I am confident in our continued growth.

Pictured at top: Li-Wu Chen, Ph.D., Founding Dean, Joint School of Public Health (Photo by Chuck Thomas)

Originally published in Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University Magazine Issue 1.1