Lisa Berkman (left), chair of the new Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, with Trish Lavoie (center), masters academic coordinator, and Michele Brooks, doctoral academic coordinator.

"As we start to think about the factors that influence health, it has become clear over the last five to 10 years that it is important to look at life course issues," said Lisa Berkman, chair of the new department and Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy. "Human development and cumulative exposures to factors that influence health are central to understanding the onset and progression of disease, as well as functioning."

SHDH resulted from a merger of the Departments of Maternal and Child Health and Health and Social Behavior.

"The new department will serve to link understanding of the social determinants of health through the continuum of the cycle of human development, from infancy to aging, and we are all very excited about this compelling intellectual agenda," said HSPH Dean Barry Bloom.

Added James Ware, Dean for Academic Affairs, "We recognized that the Departments of Maternal and Child Health and Health and Social Behavior shared a great deal of common intellectual ground, particularly an interest in children, behavior and society. We are pleased to see the culmination of a year-long process planning the merger, and we welcome the creation of the unified department."

The research and teaching agendas of SHDH fall into several broad categories.

Faculty in the new department were drawn from the former Departments of Maternal and Child Health and Health and Social Behavior. Pictured above, from l to r, Beth Molnar, Jody Heymann, Laura McCloskey, S.V. Subramanian, Laura Kubzansky, Michael Ganz and Ichiro Kawachi.

"Faculty from the former Department of Maternal and Child Health in the new department will provide an opportunity to develop a clear picture of human development issues related to important public health problems over the life course," said Marie McCormick, Sumner and Esther Feldberg Professor of Maternal and Child Health and former chair of the Department of Maternal and Child Health.

SHDH researchers will investigate how major social conditions such as social and economic inequality, social integration and discrimination affect the health of populations. In doing so, they will add to the pioneering work of Berkman and fellow SHDH faculty members Ichiro Kawachi and Nancy Krieger in building the field of social epidemiology.

Other studies will look into how a variety of social policies can impact health, even if they were not intended to do so. For example, Jody Heymann, associate professor of society, human development, and health, studies ways in which work/family policies influence children’s health and development.

Projects in the area of planned social change will develop interventions such as tobacco control initiatives, particularly among underserved or vulnerable populations. Intervention strategies developed by Glorian Sorensen, professor of society, human development, and health, and others will include education, community organizing and development, social marketing, communication, adult-learning approaches and advocacy. The course work in this area also builds on strong interests in program planning and evaluation in both former departments.

"Our department is setting an innovative course into looking at determinants of health," said Berkman. "We have a unique niche because of our ability to blend our expertise in maternal and child health and in health and social behavior. Students and researchers who are interested in understanding how social, psychological and behavioral factors affect health will find a really good home here, whether they wish to study health related to children or to adults."

For more information about the Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, visit http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/Academics/shh/.