The South Jersey Institute for Population Health is hosting what it dubs a “Sandbox” event at the Joint Health Sciences Center, allowing 12 teams of researchers from Rutgers University-Camden, Rowan University and various local nonprofits to present and workshop proposals for research projects related to population health challenges in southern New Jersey. Attendees will observe and connect with academics and community organizations working in fields related to population health in southern New Jersey. They will be able to watch small teams advance their projects in collaboration with an expert facilitator. The “Sandbox” event creates a space for the needs of individual communities to intersect with higher education.

The proposed projects are related to health and health equity, and cover a wide range of populations including infants, mothers, adolescents, LGBTQ individuals, adults with intellectual disabilities, recently incarcerated individuals, housing insecure populations, food insecure populations and drug users. The projects target the cities of Camden, Glassboro, Salem and Atlantic City, along with several southern New Jersey counties. The projects cover an array of content including program implementation, mapping impact of drug use, youth soccer programs, digital equality, perinatal depression, vaccine hesitancy, health needs assessments, housing in Camden, food policy, data integration and the effects of COVID-19 on mental health. 

About the South Jersey Institute for Population Health

The South Jersey Institute for Population Health (SJIPH) is focused on advancing collaborative research projects to improve health and wellbeing in southern New Jersey. SJIPH will focus on population health in South Jersey by addressing health disparities among underserved populations in both urban and rural communities. SJIPH will develop and deepen the network of relationships among the many entities, from schools and nonprofits, to government agencies and hospital networks, that work to improve health in the region. By supporting collaborations between this network of community stakeholders and the research expertise at Rowan University and Rutgers University-Camden, SJIPH will lay the groundwork for a robust research and data resource that can inform population health programs, research and policy needs in the future.