In the News: Shannon Monnat

“All you have to do is map a route wherever you’re at, gather your group and have fun walking!” says Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion. "Many organizations, universities and cities have adopted the Monday Mile activity and have seen great results," she adds.

According to Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion, politicians are looking for quick fixes because of their short terms in office and public health in the U.S. too often treats problems after they appear. "If we were to invest similar money into revitalizing social infrastructure and economic infrastructure and our educational system we would see long term benefits," she says. 

According to Shannon Monnat, Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion, the opioid crisis is not disproportionately rural, but mortality rates among different rural areas vary drastically, depending on factors such as work stability and social infrastructure like churches or sport leagues. 

Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion, explains how Trump overperformed in places with high rates of drug use, suicide, and family distress. According to Monnat, Trump's message of economic nationalism and promises to bring back manufacturing jobs resonated with people in these areas who felt left behind by globalization and the decline of traditional industries.

Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion says long-running challenges in many rural communities are the underlying drivers of the increase in opioid overdose rates, things like economic decline and social isolation. 

Lerner Chair Shannon Monnat's research found that the Rust Belt counties that put Trump over the top were those that lost the most people in recent years to deaths of despair—those due to alcohol, drugs, and suicide.

"We must tackle root causes, which... drive suicide, alcohol-related deaths and more," says Shannon Monnat, Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion.

"Opioids may have been the spark, but a spark needs kindling in order to ignite," says Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion.

"This can’t be about government doing it all. It has to be about collaboration and community cohesion. Opioids thrive on isolation. The only way to combat this problem is community," says Shannon Monnat, Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion.

"Drug overdose rates just as with alcohol and suicide are higher in places that exhibit more economic and social distress," says Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion.

"Economic decline is certainly an important factor, but our drug, alcohol and suicide problem is also related to social decline," says Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion. "We live in an era of individualism, disinvestment in social safety nets, declines in social cohesion, and increased loneliness." 

"I would include in this funding building opportunities/outlets for social cohesion, community engagement and civic participation," says Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion, on how she would spend a hypothetical budget of $100 billion to solve the opioid crisis.

According to Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion, interventions should target communities with populations in "significant economic distress," focusing on "places that have experienced major labor market shifts and income decline over the past four decades." "Failure to consider the underlying economic causes could lead to ineffective policy strategies," she says.