Shannon Monnat

Shannon Monnat is the Lerner Chair in Public Health Promotion and Population Health and director of the Center for Policy Research. She is also a professor of sociology and co-director of the Policy, Place, and Population Health Lab at Syracuse University. Monnat is a rural sociologist, demographer, and population health scholar who conducts research on demographic and geographic trends and differences in health and mortality, with a specific interest in rural health and health disparities.

Her most recent research has focused on drug use and overdose, particularly trying to understand the factors that explain demographic and geographic differences in use and overdose rates. She has published over 70 peer-reviewed academic journal articles, book chapters, research briefs and reports, and has presented her research to numerous public, academic and policy audiences, including the United Nations, the National Institutes of Health, the National Academy of Sciences, the Aspen Institute, the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy and at Congressional briefings.

Her research has been featured in several media outlets, including CNN, NPR, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and the Atlantic. Monnat teaches graduate courses in Demographic Processes and Health and Place and an undergraduate Introduction to Sociology course.

Principal Investigator. “Demographic, Geographic, and Temporal Trends in Mortality from Drugs, Alcohol, and Suicide among Working-Age Adults.” Center for Aging and Policy Studies pilot grant funded through National Institute on Aging. 2020-2022. 

Principal Investigator. “Implementing and Evaluating the Efficacy of a New Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Plan of Safe Care.” Mother Cabrini Health Foundation. 2020-2021.

Subcontract Principal Investigator. “The New York Opioid Court Treatment Enhancement Project.” National Institute of Justice. 2019-2022.

Co-Principal Investigator. "Interdisciplinary Network on Rural Population Health and Aging." National Institute on Aging. 2019-2024.

Co-Investigator. "Network on Life Course Health Dynamics and Disparities in 21st Century America." National Institute on Aging. 2019-2024.

Co-Investigator. "Building Drug Intelligence Networks to Combat the Opioid Crisis in Rural Communities: A Collaborative Intelligence-led Policing Strategy." National Institute of Justice. 2019-2020.

Co-Investigator. “Understanding Opioid Risks in Rural and Micropolitan Communities: Economic Restructuring, Social Disorganization, and Local Responses.” USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Agriculture Food and Research Initiative (AFRI). 2018-2022.

Selected Papers

“Using Census Data to Understand County-Level Differences in Overall Drug Mortality and Opioid-Related Mortality by Opioid Type.” 2019. Monnat, Shannon M., David J. Peters, Mark Berg, and Andrew Hochstetler. American Journal of Public Health, 109:1084-1091.

“The Contributions of Socioeconomic and Opioid Supply Factors to U.S. Drug Mortality Rates: Urban-Rural and Within-Rural Differences.” 2019. Monnat, Shannon M. Journal of Rural Studies. Journal of Rural Studies 68:319-335.

“’You Never Know What You’re Getting’: Opioid Users’ Perceptions of Fentanyl in Southwest Pennsylvania.” 2019. McLean, Katherine, Shannon M. Monnat, Khary K. Rigg, Glenn Sterner, and Ashton Verdery. Substance Use and Misuse. 54(6):955-966.

“Opioid-Related Mortality in Rural America: Geographic Heterogeneity and Intervention Strategies.” 2018. Rigg, Khary K., Shannon M. Monnat, and Melody N. Chavez. International Journal of Drug Policy 57:119-129.

“Factors Associated with County-Level Differences in U.S. Drug-Related Mortality Rates.” 2018. Shannon M. Monnat. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 54(5):611-619.

“More than a Rural Revolt: Landscapes of Despair and the 2016 Election.” 2018. Shannon M. Monnat and David L. Brown. Journal of Rural Studies 55C:227-236.

“The New Destination Disadvantage: Disparities in Hispanic Health Insurance Coverage Rates in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan New and Established Destinations.” Shannon M. Monnat, Rural Sociology, Vol. 82, No. 1 (2017), pp. 3-43.

“Teaching to the Opioid Epidemic: An Interdisciplinary Approach.” 2017. George, Daniel R., Shannon M. Monnat, Rachel Levine, Barbara Blatt, and Jed Gonzalo. Medical Teacher 39(6):672-673.

“Associations between Demographic Characteristics and Physical Activity Practices in Nevada Schools.” Shannon M. Monnat, Monica A.F. Lounsbery, Thomas L. McKenzie, and Raeven Faye Chandler, Preventive Medicine, Vol. 95(Supp), S4-S9 (2017).

“Examining Rural/Urban Differences in Prescription Opioid Misuse among U.S. Adolescents.” Shannon M. Monnat and Khary K. Rigg, Journal of Rural Health, Vol. 32, No. 2 (2016), pp. 204-218.

“The Great Recession and America’s Geography of Unemployment.” Brian C. Thiede and Shannon M. Monnat, Demographic Research, Vol. 30 (2016), pp. 891-928.

“Differences in Human Papillomavirus Vaccination among Adolescent Girls in Metropolitan and Non- metropolitan Areas: Considering the Moderating Roles of Maternal Socioeconomic Status and Health Care Access.” Shannon M. Monnat, Danielle Rhubart, and Sherrie Flynt Wallington, Maternal and Child Health Journal, Vol. 20, No. 2 (2016), pp. 315-325.

“Racial/Ethnic Differences in Use of Health Care Services for Diabetes Management.” Raeven Faye Chandler and Shannon M. Monnat, Health Education & Behavior, Vol. 42, No. 6 (2015), pp. 783-792.

“Long-Term Physical Health Consequences of Adverse Childhood Experiences.” Shannon M. Monnat and Raeven Faye Chandler, The Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 56 (2015), pp. 723-752.

“Prohibiting Juvenile Access to Tobacco: Violation Rates, Cigarette Sales, and Youth Smoking.” Andrew Spivak and Shannon M. Monnat, International Journal of Drug Policy, Vol. 26 (2015), pp. 851-859.

“Comparing Characteristics of Prescription Painkiller Misusers and Heroin Users in the U.S.” Khary K. Rigg and Shannon M. Monnat, Addictive Behaviors, Vol. 51 (2015), pp. 106-112.

“Urban vs. Rural Differences in Prescription Opioid Misuse among Adults in the United States: Informing Region Specific Drug Policies and Interventions.” Khary K. Rigg and Shannon M. Monnat, International Journal of Drug Policy, Vol. 26 (2015), pp. 484-491.

“Correlates of State Enactment of Elementary School Physical Education Laws.” Shannon M. Monnat, Monica A.F. Lounsbery, and Nicole J. Smith, Preventive Medicine, Vol. 69 (Supp), S5-S11 (2014).