EXPERT ADVISORY: U.S. Poverty Rate Declines

By Frances Dumenci

Steven Woolf, M.D., Ph.D., director of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center on Human Needs, is available to discuss today’s announcement that the U.S. poverty rate has declined slightly, showing the first improvement after three years of increases.

“This trend is encouraging, but the income of most of the population remains much lower than it was a decade ago, with major ramifications for health,” said Woolf.

The VCU Center on Human Needs studies the relationship between social factors and health and presents research findings to the public and policymakers with information about the prevalence of societal distress in the United States and its impact on health and well-being.

The center examines societal distress in five domains – food security, housing, health, education and income.

Woolf is an expert in the areas of health services research, evidenced-based medicine, health and promotion and disease prevention and social justice and health disparities. He is board certified in family medicine and preventative medicine and public health. He is the author of more than 150 articles and two books.