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Innovate for Good is a new ongoing series that examines how faculty in the College of Health and Human Services are improving health outcomes using technology such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and personal apps. Part I explores two social work faculty who are using apps and virtual reality to improve the lives and health of those they work with.

Promote the Vote: Positioning Social Workers for Action asserts that supporting political participation is integral to social work practice.

Youth smoking remains a significant public health problem in the U.S. and in Virginia. Hong Xue, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Health Administration and Policy, is conducting a study of youth smoking and prevention on the effects of policy and prevention strategies on the use of conventional and e-cigarettes in Virginia adolescents.

Farrokh Alemi, professor of Health Administration and Policy, is working on a new study to identify a connection between COVID-19 and suicide among essential workers. The study aims to offer evidence-based policy recommendations for improving mental health and preventing suicide in essential workers.

Katherine Scafide, PhD, assistant professor in George Mason’s College of Health and Human Services School of Nursing, has received a three-year appointment to NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Michael S. Bloom, PhD, associate professor in George Mason’s College of Health and Human Services, was recently appointed to the Editorial Board of Fertility and Sterility.

Amira Roess, professor in the College’s Department of Global and Community Health, says that while several Middle Eastern countries had preparedness plans in place prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the region’s response shows that the implementation plans remain underdeveloped and under-resourced.

In a recent study, ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓƵ Associate Professor Hong Xue, PhD and colleagues evaluated the impact of ending market exclusivity for brand-name statin drugs. The first study to comprehensively assess the economic impact of generic competition for statins found that ending market exclusivity for statins saves U.S. $12 billion and individuals nearly $1,000 annually.

Mason epidemiologist Amira Roess offers advice on COVID-19 safety over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Web site developed based on the study can help alleviate depression symptoms more effectively.