This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Vitamin D guidelines are currently in a state of paralysis. The problem: the numerous competing ways of measuring levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, a slightly modified form of vitamin D in the body. This lack of standardization has produced three conflicting sets of guidelines for defining vitamin D status across the globe, those from the UK, the US, and the Endocrine Society. The guidelines from the UK and US set similar standards, defining vitamin D deficiency as 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations less than 10 to 12 nanograms per milliliter. This is the standard typically adopted by government-sponsored committees. Non-governmental organizations, however, tend to adopt the guideline set by the Endocrine Society, which defines deficiency as 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations less than 20 nanograms per milliliter. Despite a wealth of data on vitamin D and how to measure it, a worldwide consensus on determining vitamin D status remains elusive..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This module focuses on four major health crises in this country since 1900: the 1918 influenza pandemic; polio in the 1950s; HIV-AIDS since 1980; and the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Students will examine: (1) the extent to which some groups of Americans, particularly communities of color and low-income people, have been affected more severely than others; (2) medical, economic, social, and historical factors that affect health and healthcare, including access to good nutrition, good education, good neighborhoods, and a healthy environment; and (3) the possible effects of inequities and discrimination long embedded in United States’ society, such as legacies for African Americans from enslavement and Jim Crow segregation; conditions of Native Americans on reservations; experience of LatinX immigrants and migrant farmworkers; and conditions of low-income whites across the country, especially in Appalachia and rural areas.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic required every American to consider their health and the ways that American society and government contribute to our good health or bad health. This  explores Americans’ experiences in health crises since 1900 and  differences in outcomes, including death rates, among diverse groups in American society, especially underserved poor people and communities of color. It considers the nature, causes, and effects of inequities in healthcare. The goal is to understand what  affects your own health and health in your community, both now and in the future.