Health
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How Women’s Empowerment Reduces Child Hunger
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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 percent are stunted. Past studies have…
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SNAP Purchasing Power and Child Health Care Utilization: Estimating a Causal Relationship
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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 income. In 2018, it provided assistance to an average of 40 million people…
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Understanding the Impact of Medicaid on Poverty
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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 the federal poverty line. Previously, adults were required to…
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This Targeted Lung Cancer Screening Program Can Improve Health and Save Money
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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 lung cancer deaths in…
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The Insidious Relationship between Pharmaceutical Marketing to Physicians, Opioid Prescriptions, and Overdose Deaths
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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 remedies to prescription drug monitoring programs; however, there has been little accountability of those who…
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How Do Parental Attitudes Towards Sugary Beverages Affect Childhood Obesity?
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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 in childhood, ranging from school nutrition and fitness…
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Who Assesses the Assessors? Studying Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Data Quality
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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 attempted solution is the creation of Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs), databases…
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The Health Consequences of Climate Change
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The earth has warmed by 1.62 degrees Fahrenheit (0.9 degrees Celsius) since the late 19th century. This may seem insignificant to a layperson, but scientists and health experts agree that climate change poses a serious threat not only to the environment, but also to our health. In a recent study…
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Can Telemedicine Actually Work on the Frontlines?
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In a rapidly transforming and ever-globalizing world, countries continue to advance unevenly in technology, development and infrastructure. As a result, low- to middle-income countries have struggled to respond to the widening wealth gap, which leaves marginalized populations without access to basic resources, including health care. In certain hard-to-reach spaces, such…
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Opioid Use and Employment: A Complicated Relationship
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Opioid use can be traced back at least as far as the end of the 3rd millennium B.C., with notable crises worldwide in both the 19th and 20th centuries. However, today’s epidemic is “the worst drug addiction epidemic in [U.S.] history,” accounting for the deaths of 72,000 Americans in 2017…
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Housing Programs Improve Stability and Health of Homeless Families
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A home is an invaluable space, providing not only physical shelter but also psychological sanctuary and security. In January 2017, the National Alliance to End Homelessness identified 553,742 homeless individuals living in the U.S. Housing instability causes numerous challenges for the homeless, including negative health consequences. For example, homelessness increases…