Once the pandemic began, many Ohio State students found themselves taking on contact tracing roles within their communities and at the university.

Some of those students were also enrolled in the highly relevant epidemiology course “Outbreak Investigations” (PUBHEPI 5411), taught by Professor and Senior Associate Dean of Research Bill Miller.

When using social media to nudge people toward safe and healthy behaviors, it’s critical to make sure the words match the pictures, according to a new study. 

After looking at social media posts, parents of young children were better able to recall safety messages such as how to put a baby safely to sleep when the images in the posts aligned with the messages in the text, the researchers found. 

The study appears in the Journal of Health Communication. 

This year hasn’t quite been what we expected, and the college’s top news stories of 2020 reflect the transformations we’ve undergone — at The Ohio State University, in the community and as a society. The college is thankful to its students, staff and faculty for their courage, commitment and innovation during 2020, and we look to 2021 with hope and certainty that growth and triumphs lie ahead.

Most-read stories of 2020

Those in the field know that so much of the meaningful, life-changing work of public health goes on quietly, without fanfare or accolades. But leadership at Ohio State’s College of Public Health believes in recognizing those who use their voices, their energy and their expertise to make a difference. This year’s Champions of Public Health Awards are presented to individuals and organizations whose actions personify the college’s mission to improve the lives of Ohioans. This year’s five winners were nominated by various community leaders and selected by a faculty committee.

When Associate Professor and Interim Chair of Health Behavior and Health Promotion Liz Klein first started making COVID-19-inspired holiday ornaments with her sons over the summer, she didn’t envision it turning into a national business operation.

A new study offers strong evidence that kids who use e-cigarettes are more likely to take up smoking or smokeless tobacco, researchers say. 

Teen boys who vaped were almost three times as likely to start smoking as other teen boys with similar risk profiles and more than two times as likely to try smokeless tobacco, the study from The Ohio State University found. The research was published online this week in the journal Addictive Behaviors. 

Social media influencers vaping glamorously into their social media feeds are often not doing so for free. And new research suggests that calling out their pay-to-play posts as advertisements in a plain, obvious way might have an impact on young people.

Each month, the College of Public Health is shining a spotlight on one of its students. For December’s feature, meet Angie Hetrick, a third-year PhD student in the Division of Epidemiology.

In children with autism, repetitive behaviors and gastrointestinal problems may be connected, new research has found.

The study found that increased severity of other autism symptoms was also associated with more severe constipation, stomach pain and other gut difficulties.

The research, which appears in the journal Autism, found no association between social and communication difficulties and gastrointestinal symptoms.