The following is an edited transcript of an interview conducted by Kelly Aves, a second-year student at the Harris School of Public Policy. Kelly spoke with Kim Wasserman and Juliana Pino of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO). Kim is... More »
Whether social media is good or bad for us remains a widely contested topic. Research shows that the same social media networks that can increase voter turnout can also leave us feeling lonely and depressed. So how do we really know if social media’s benefits ... More »
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the US economy and produced record-high unemployment. To make matters worse, more than half of the US adult population—about 158 million people—receives health insurance through their employer. This means that the current econ... More »
When the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a national emergency on March 13, the country was in the middle of primary election season. As states franticly adjusted plans for voting, Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court overruled Governor Tony Evers’ executive order to... More »
Mental health, suicide, and how to address these issues are increasingly salient parts of the national health discussion in the United States. For well over a decade, the suicide rate has increased and is now the 10th leading cause of death in the United State... More »
Burkina Faso, a small West African country, is experiencing a child public health crisis. 88 percent of children under five years old are anemic, 16 percent are wasted — meaning they weigh too little for their height (a good predictor of mortality), and 35 per... More »
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is the largest and most impactful anti-hunger program in the United States. The program targets low-income households, as eligibility is based only on household inco... More »
Medicaid continues to constitute a key component of the safety net for low-income households, covering more than 76 million Americans in 2016. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), 37 states expanded Medicaid to cover adults with incomes up to 138 percent of th... More »
In 2018, there were 234,000 new cases of lung and bronchus cancer in the U.S. and 154,050 estimated deaths — the highest among all types of cancers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cigarette smoking is linked to 80 to 90 percent of... More »
In 2017, as opioid-related deaths surpassed deaths from car accidents and gun homicides combined, the Trump Administration declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency. Since then, policymakers have responded with solutions ranging from pharmacological... More »
Childhood obesity is an issue in the United States. According to the CDC, nearly 1 in 5 school-age children and young people (ages 6 to 19) in the U.S. experienced obesity from 2015–2016. Policymakers have experimented with several policies to prevent obesity ... More »
The current opioid epidemic is unprecedented in its scope, accounting for the deaths of 72,000 Americans in 2017 and surpassing deaths from car accidents and gun homicides combined. In response, policymakers have been attempting to find solutions. One attempte... More »