unlv students walking on campus

Department of Social and Behavioral Health News

Housed in the UNLV School of Public Health, the Department of Social and Behavioral Health consists of faculty who engage in research and develop and evaluate community-based programs that promote health and disease prevention. Our students learn to identify high-risk behaviors or trends in specific populations, as well as propose solutions that aim to improve overall public health in communities.

Current Social and Behavioral Health News

Josh Hawkins, UNLV
Campus News |

News highlights featuring UNLV students and staff who made (refreshing) waves in the headlines.

The Las Vegas skyline (Josh Hawkins, UNLV).
Campus News |

A collection of news stories highlighting UNLV’s dedication to community and research.

man in suit sits in front of wall that reads "school of public health"
People |

The Outstanding Faculty Award winner has spent over 40 years helping us understand health behavior.

individual holding pride progress flag on pride-colored sidewalk
People |

The research expert recently received a $3.5M grant to conduct a study on LGBTQIA+ caregivers of dementia patients and their experiences.

man posing in front of vegas skyline
People |

Manoj Sharma receives Community Engagement Award for his work to provide access and delivery of health care to marginalized groups.

UNLV letters surrounded by roses
Campus News |

A roundup of news stories highlighting UNLV faculty and students who made headlines locally, nationally, and globally.

Social and Behavioral Health In The News

Indica News

Diabesity is a term used to describe the blending of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The adverse health effects of these two conditions have commonalities. The term was first coined by Sims and colleagues in the 1970s, to highlight the close connection between type 2 diabetes and obesity. This condition is also referred to as obesity-dependent diabetes.

India Currents

How does one overcome a drug addiction? Dr. Manoj Sharma explains the impact of drug dependency and how to tackle it.

New India Abroad

Drowsy driving among college students and young drivers in America is a public health challenge that critically impacts road safety drives with the rising number of accidents involving the youth and new drivers, according to a new study published by the public health experts of the ҳ| 鶹ýӳ (UNLV).

India Currents

Ranjan* a 55-year-old first-generation immigrant to the United States lives in Texas. Last year, his wife, Usha* (54) was injured in an automobile accident that damaged her spine causing paraplegia. Even after rehabilitation Usha is still unable to use her lower limbs and is wheelchair-bound. She is dependent on Ranjan for her daily living activities. The couple do not have any children.

Indica News

Recent news reports point to the rising cases of whooping cough or pertussis in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), pertussis cases were lower than usual during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, as of week 39, reported on September 28, 2024, more than five times as many cases have been reported, compared to the same time in 2023. Several states have issued warnings about this trend on their websites. This summer, there was a pertussis outbreak among college students in the Lynchburg area of Virginia.

MedicalBrief

American scientists have suggested that people identifying as a sexual or gender minority (LGBTQ+) have a higher likelihood of adverse brain health outcomes, according to cross-sectional data.

Social and Behavioral Health Experts

An expert on health disparities and LGBTQ aging adults with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
An expert on health behavior and coping with stress.
An expert on drug misuse and addiction.
An expert on lactation, breastfeeding, and maternal and child health and nutrition.

Recent Social and Behavioral Health Accomplishments

Manoj Sharma (Social and Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine) presented a paper titled, “The advent of the fourth-generation multi-theory model (MTM) of health behavior change in health promotion research” at the World Summit on Public Health and Health Sciences held in Bern, Switzerland held between October 14 -16. The presentation was about the…
Manoj Sharma, Asma Awan, Sidath Kapukotuwa (all in Social and Behavioral Health), and Amar Kanekar from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock have authored a chapter titled “Fourth-Generation Multi-Theory Model (MTM) of Health Behavior Change. Genesis, Evidence, and Potential Applications” in the "Handbook of Concepts in Health, Health…
Sohail Akther, Asma Awan, and Manoj Sharma (all Social and Behavioral Health) presented a paper titled, “A Scoping Review of Water-based Exercise Interventions for Breast Cancer Survivors” at the International Colosseum of Scientific Research and Innovation Congress in Italy on October 13. Akhter and Awan are graduate students.  
Manoj Sharma (Social and Behavioral Health, Internal Medicine) has published a book titled, “Effective Approaches to Global Health Issues” along with Ram Lakhan of Berea College published by Academic Press (Elsevier) (ISBN# 978-0-443-29098-5). A book launch party is planned for Monday, October 21, 2024, between 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. in Room GTW…
Tim Grigsby (Social and Behavioral Health) coauthored an article titled “Adverse Childhood Experiences, Perceived Discrimination, and Mental Health in Sexual and Gender Minoritized Adults: Comparing Stress Accumulation and Stress Sensitization Models” in the journal LGBT Health, in association with researchers from Texas, North Carolina and…
Kavita Batra (Medicine) and Manoj Sharma (Social and Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine) as part of GBD 2021 Tobacco Forecasting Collaborators were coauthors in “Forecasting the effects of smoking prevalence scenarios on years of life lost and life expectancy from 2022 to 2050: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021”…