This fall, Old Dominion University introduces a new Health Equity and Social Justice minor developed by faculty from the university’s Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice and the proposed Joint School of Public Health.
The minor has prerequisite and required classes in both Sociology and Public Health.
“There is a growing recognition that health disparities are a problem,” said Katie Slauson-Blevins, a professor whose specialties include the sociology of health and illness. “We want to try to collaborate across disciplines and fields to try and address them.”
Maternal mortality rates for Black women are twice those for white women in Virginia. A 2024 report from Virginia’s health commissioner, Karen Shelton, also showed that Black women are more likely to die from cancer, COVID-19 and homicide than females of other races.
“It’s stunning,” Slauson-Blevins said. “People should be valued equally, but we know that is not the case in terms of what we see in health statistics.”
The new minor is designed to be useful to students in a variety of subjects, said Slauson-Blevins, who will administer the minor. The list includes sociology, public health, political science with a focus in public policy, human services, nursing, and environmental science.
“Concerns about health disparities are not new, but I do think there is a growing call to address them,” Slauson-Blevins said.
Elizabeth Brown, assistant professor and director of the Bachelor of Science in Public Health Program, said the idea of a new minor took root because academic program advisors said that students, especially in nursing, wanted to know more about the intersections of public health, sociology, health outcomes, and especially maternal and child health.
“I love how public health and sociology connect, so I thought it might be a great idea to collaborate and see what we come up with,” Brown said.
“In public health, we can do a better job discussing and demonstrating how social constructs like race impact individual and community health,” she said.
Developing the minor helped launch another idea: the new Health Equity and Social Justice Community on Old Dominion’s campus. It’s one of many projects, including the Joint School of Public Health, and the integration of Eastern Virginia Medical School into the university to create the Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University, effective July 1, that focus on addressing the needs of education on health disparities.
“We are pleased to have been able to work with Dr. Brown to develop this minor and are excited about the opportunities this collaboration provides ODU students,” said Ruth Triplett, chair of the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice.
Top photo: A doula training class held at Old Dominion University was offered in part to address the region’s high maternal mortality rates. Image courtesy of the Old Dominion University Department of Women’s and Gender Studies.