WCPO: Cincinnati's Lost Year: Pandemic fuels increase in gun violence, anxiety, depression

UC faculty member Edward Wallace cited as expert in series on Cincinnati residents in crisis

In a three-part series on the effects of the pandemic in Cincinnati, Edward Wallace, a UC expert in Africana studies, speaks to how the health crisis has exacerbated issues in minority and low-income households.

Wallace told the I-Team the pandemic reveals the effects of systemic racism for many predominately low-income African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods already lacking access to quality health care, education, housing and employment opportunities.

"Not only haven't we learned much, but we haven't done anything to prevent it from actually getting worse," Wallace said.

Proffessor Wallace has focused much of his research on public health in minority communities.

Read the article.

Featured image at top of Cincinnati skyline. Photo/Rafik Wahba/Unsplash. 

Impact Lives Here

The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.

Related Stories

2

Are you experiencing “post-election stress disorder”?

November 6, 2026

Feelings of stress and anxiety tied to election results can persist even after the votes are counted, said University of Cincinnati psychiatrist Julia Stimpfl, MD, even though “post-election stress disorder” is not officially recognized as a mental illness. As she recently told Spectrum News 1 Ohio, those feelings can linger even after an election is finalized.

3

Returning A&S student finds success, belonging through community science project at PEWS

November 6, 2026

AJ Kmetz, a current Geosciences master's student, decided at 29 he wanted to return to the university he first attended and obtained a Journalism degree in 2016. He started with a bachelor's degree in Geosciences in 2022 and then decided to take it a step further. Kmetz says he wanted to go a different direction with his life, and he wanted to do that with the College of Arts & Sciences.