Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

States’ Covid-19 Restrictions Were Associated With Increases In Drug Overdose Deaths In 2020, Douglas A. Wolf, Shannon M. Monnat, Jennifer Karas Montez, Emily E. Wiemers, Elyse Grossman

Center for Policy Research

Drug overdoses surged in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health experts raised concerns in the pandemic’s early months about how the pandemic and the policies enacted to stem it might increase overdose risk. This brief summarizes the findings of a paper that used national data to identify how states’ COVID-19 policies affected drug overdose rates among U.S. adults ages 25-64 during the first year of the pandemic. Results show that counties located in states that adopted more aggressive in-person activity restrictions experienced larger increases in 2020 than counties located in states with fewer limitations. State economic support policies …

Suicide Rates Are Lower In Places With More Social Infrastructure, Xue Zhang, Danielle Rhubart, Shannon M. Monnat

Population Health Research Brief Series

Suicide rates among working-age adults (ages 25-64) in the United States are high, rising, and unequal across the country. Social infrastructure (SI), such as libraries, community centers, coffee shops, and entertainment venues, may reduce suicide risk by improving social cohesion, social support, and information and resource sharing. This data slice shows that suicide rates among working-age adults in 2016-2019 were significantly lower in counties with more SI, even after accounting for county-level differences in demographic composition (e.g., age, race/ethnicity, education), health care availability, and metropolitan status.

Behavioral Biases In Daily Fantasy Baseball: The Case Of The Hot Hand, Jeremy M. Losak, Andrew P. Weinbach, Rodney J. Paul

Sport Management - All Scholarship

Despite mixed evidence, sport participants and fans heavily believe in the existence of the hot hand. Prior literature examining NBA and NFL betting markets found betters were biased toward hot teams. Using a unique market and data set, this study identifies if the hot hand is prevalent in daily fantasy baseball contests, if there is a profitable hot hand selection strategy, and if consumers believe in its existence. Results show that while there is no evidence of a hot hand effect, and no evidence of a profitable hot hand strategy, consumers believe in and incorporate it in their lineup decisions.

States’ Covid-19 Restrictions Were Associated With Increases In Drug Overdose Deaths In 2020, Douglas A. Wolf, Shannon M. Monnat, Jennifer Karas Montez, Emily E. Wiemers, Elyse Grossman

Population Health Research Brief Series

Drug overdoses surged in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health experts raised concerns in the pandemic’s early months about how the pandemic and the policies enacted to stem it might increase overdose risk. This brief summarizes the findings of a paper that used national data to identify how states’ COVID-19 policies affected drug overdose rates among U.S. adults ages 25-64 during the first year of the pandemic. Results show that counties located in states that adopted more aggressive in-person activity restrictions experienced larger increases in 2020 than counties located in states with fewer limitations. State economic support policies …

The U.S. Military Does Not Adequately Prepare Members For Transition From Service, Emily Graham

Population Health Research Brief Series

Nearly 250,000 U.S. military members transition out of service each year. The Transition Assistance Program (TAP) provides information, tools, and training to prepare service members for their transition to civilian life. However, nearly half of veterans say the military did not adequately prepare them for their transition from service. This issue brief highlights the shortcomings of veteran transition programs, like TAP, and provides recommendations for improving transition outcomes through more holistic programs.

Older Adults Are At Greater Risk Of Opioid Use Disorder In Communities With High Social Vulnerability, Tse-Chuan Yang, Seulki Kim, Stephen A. Matthews, Carla Shoff

Population Health Research Brief Series

The prevalence of opioid use disorder (OUD) among older adults has increased and imposes a heavy burden on the health care system in the United States. This brief summarizes findings from a study that used data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to examine how county characteristics contributed to the prevalence of OUD among Medicare beneficiaries age 65+ in U.S. counties in 2021. They found that the prevalence of OUD among these adults is higher in counties with more place-level social vulnerability (e.g., socioeconomic disadvantage, high housing cost burden).

A Fork In The Road: Uncovering The Impact Of Industrial Animal Agriculture On The Physical Health Of Communities Of Color, Mariana Zepeda

Population Health Research Brief Series

Nearly all (99%) farmed animals in the U.S. come from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). CAFOs are industrial agriculture facilities defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as operations where animals are raised in confinement and meet animal size and waste material thresholds. Communities located near CAFOs, which tend to have high shares of low-income and racial/ethnic minority residents, are at risk of exposure to CAFO-related air and water pollutants. This brief summarizes the health risks for communities located near CAFOs. Additionally, it calls for government regulations that improve transparency, management, and consumer empowerment.

Does Smart Money Believe In The Hot Hand? Evidence From Daily Fantasy Baseball, Jeremy M. Losak, Andrew P. Weinbach, Rodney J. Paul

Sport Management - All Scholarship

The behavior of informed traders, or 'smart money,' in sports betting markets has long been f interest to researchers. In this paper, we focus specifically on the behavior of smart money in Major league Baseball (MLB) daily fantasy sports (DFS) contests to determine if they avoid cognitive behavioral biases to increase their expected earnings. Specifically, we investigate whether smart money avoids the hot hand bias, where individuals tend to overestimate the likelihood of success for players on a hot streak. Using a dataset of MLB DFS contests, we find that winning lineups have lower usage rates for players exhibiting the …

On The Value Of A Premium College Football Player: Evaluating The Literature, Jeremy M. Losak, Benjamin J. Posmanick, Raymond Sauer

Sport Management - All Scholarship

Over the past decade, the issue of player compensation in college sports has been the subject of several successful legal challenges. Athletes contend that the compensation they receive falls significantly short of the value they generate, attributing this gaps to unlawful NCAA restrictions. Numerous tools exist in the sport economic literature that estimate the value of colelge athletes, with an emphasized focus towards premium college football players. In addition to providing updated estimate of player marginal revenue product (MRP), we review past and contemporary methodologies for esitmating colllege player MRPs. We contend that, while presenting some evidence that restrictions on …

Infant Mortality Rates Vary Substantially Across Regions Of The United States, Marissa Merrifield

Population Health Research Brief Series

Infant mortality rates are higher in the United States than in its high-income peer countries. Additionally, infant mortality rates vary within the U.S., with much higher rates in some geographic regions compared to others. This data slice uses data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to compare infant mortality rates by geographic region in the U.S. between 2017-2021. The results show that the infant mortality rate was the highest in the South and lowest in the Northeast and West.

What Factors Increase Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease And Related Dementia?, Elizabeth Vásquez, Kai Zhang

Population Health Research Brief Series

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and ranks 7th in the leading causes of death in the United States (U.S.). This data slice uses nationwide data from 3,155 counties in the U.S. to identify the factors that best predict county-level rates of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRDs) in 2018. The results indicate that insufficient sleep, consuming less than one serving of fruits and vegetables per day, having no high school diploma, Black population percentage, and social vulnerability were among the leading factors predicting county-level ADRD prevalence.

Black Women Have The Highest Maternal Mortality Rate In The United States, Tori-Ann Haywood

Population Health Research Brief Series

The U.S. maternal mortality rate is consistently higher than its high-income peer countries. Since 2018 maternal mortality rates in the U.S. have steadily increased for all ethnoracial groups. This data slice uses data from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics to describe U.S. maternity mortality rates for women ages 15-45 across different ethnoracial groups between 2018-2022. Results show that, except for non-Hispanic (NH) Asian women, ethnoracial minority women have higher maternal death rates than NH White women.

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (Bdnf) Signaling Mechanisms That Regulate Learning And Memory In Rats, Clementine Faye Harvey

Theses - ALL

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a widespread neurotrophin implicated in cellular processes underlying memory, socialization, and emotion; however, little is known about how genetic modification of BDNF interacts with BDNF modulators (e.g., hormones) to regulate BDNF-TrkB signaling. BDNF binds to the TrkB receptor and triggers signaling cascades underlying neuroplasticity, learning, and memory. Inhibitory phosphorylation of one downstream target of the BDNF cascade - GSK3β – is also linked to memory improvements. The Val66Met allele – a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the Bdnf gene - produces impairments in regulated BDNF release from the cell, as well as deficits in spatial …

Asian Americans Have Relatively Low Anxiety But Experienced Large Increases In Anxiety Between 2020 And 2022, Tianqi Zhou

Population Health Research Brief Series

Anxiety has harmful effects on physical health. This new data slice uses data from the 2020-2022 National Health Interview Surveys to measure the anxiety levels among adults ages 18+ by race and ethnicity in the United States. Results show that Asian adults have lower average anxiety levels than other ethnoracial groups, but they experienced the largest increase in average anxiety levels between 2020 and 2022.

The Bradley-Terry Model In Binary Outcome Driven Rankings: An Apllication In Amateur Hockey, Connor Meissner, Jeremy M. Losak

Sport Management - All Scholarship

Ranking systems serve critical roles in sport settings, most notably in determining playoff participants and seeding. Numerous ranking methodologies exist that incorporate many input measures and produce models that are highly predictive of game outcomes. However, there are circumstances—especially for amateur sport leagues—in which more complex inputs are either unavailable or not desirable, as they may lead to adverse performance incentives. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to highlight a ranking methodology that only considers binary game outcomes, i.e., wins and losses. Specifically, we consider the efficacy of the Bradley-Terry Model to rank sport teams for playoff consideration. We …

The Federal Government Must Revise Public Housing Policies To Protect Vulnerable Populations From Evictions, Caroline Grabowski

Population Health Research Brief Series

Over 100,000 Americans are now dying from drug overdoses annually, signifying that the goal of the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act (ADAA) to end illicit drug use has not been achieved. What’s more, numerous statutes within the ADAA have created or worsened housing instability among people who use drugs and their families. This is because the ADAA allows public housing officials to use their own discretion when determining evictions and lease refusals and has disproportionately harmed individuals in public housing who did not participate in the drug-related activities that led to their eviction. This brief describes how the ADAA negatively affects …

Bridging The Gap: Reducing Disparities In Reproductive Healthcare For Black And White Women, Emma Weiden

Population Health Research Brief Series

A woman’s reproductive healthcare experience in the United States can vary dramatically depending on her race. In 2020, the pregnancy-related mortality rate in the U.S. was 40.8 deaths per 100,000 live births for Black women, which is more than three times the rate among White women (12.7 per 100,000). This brief summarizes disparities in reproductive healthcare outcomes for Black women compared to White women in the U.S., advocates for policy changes, and provides recommendations for addressing racial disparities to create more equitable reproductive healthcare.

Serving Those Who Served: Renegotiating Support And Benefits For U.S. Military Veterans With Less Than Honorable Discharges, Mariah Brennan, Emily Graham

Population Health Research Brief Series

Approximately 1 in 7 veterans are discharged from the military under less than “Honorable” conditions. Veterans with less than “Honorable” discharges experience bias and stigma related to their discharge, which can lead to elevated risk for behavioral and mental health challenges and homelessness. This brief summarizes the different military discharge types, explains how less than “Honorable” discharges can affect veteran health, identifies groups of veterans who are at risk of receiving a less than “Honorable” discharge, and makes policy recommendations for the Department of Defense (DoD), civilian employers, and community healthcare providers.

Sexual Minorities Are More Depressed And Anxious Than Heterosexuals In The U.S., Especially Among Women, Joshua Grove

Population Health Research Brief Series

Depression and anxiety are harmful to health. People who suffer from depression or anxiety are more likely to engage in risky health behaviors and have higher risk of various chronic diseases and premature death. This data slice uses data from the 2022 National Wellbeing Survey to explore the prevalence of depression and anxiety among U.S. adults ages 18-64. The results show that sexual minority adults are significantly more likely than those who identify as heterosexual to suffer from depression and anxiety, and differences in prevalence rates between sexual minority and heterosexual women are larger than the differences between men.

Treatment For Mental Health And Substance Use: Spillovers To Police Safety, Monica Deza

Center for Policy Research

We study the effect of community access to mental health and substance use treatment on police officer safety, which we proxy with on-duty assaults on officers. Police officers often serve as first-responders to people experiencing mental health and substance use crises, which can place police officers at risk. Combining agency-level data on police officer on-duty assaults and county-level data on the number of treatment centers that offer mental health and substance use care, we estimate two-way fixed-effects regressions and find that an additional four centers per county (the average annual increase observed in our data) leads to a 1.3% reduction …

Covid-19 Mortality Rates Were Higher In States That Limited Governments From Enacting Public Health Emergency Orders, Xue Zhang, Mildred Warner, Gen Meredith

Center for Policy Research

State and local governments enacted various public health emergency policies during the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in lower infection and death rates than would have occurred without these policies. However, some states limited emergency public health authority of state executives, state governors, and state and local officials during the pandemic. This brief summarizes the results of a study that used data from the Center for Public Health Law Research and Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker to explore which states passed laws that limited emergency public health authority during the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of those limitations on COVID-19 death …

Older Adults With A History Of Psychiatric Conditions Experience More Cognitive Decline Than Older Adults Without This History, Maria T. Brown, Miriam Mutambudzi

Population Health Research Brief Series

Having psychiatric conditions (such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder) throughout one’s life can lead to faster rates of cognitive decline as one ages. This data slice explores the associations between psychiatric history and cognitive function among U.S. White, Black, and Hispanic adults ages 65 and older from 1995-2014. Findings demonstrate that having a history of psychiatric problems is related to lower cognitive functioning and a faster rate of cognitive decline for all three groups, but Black and Hispanic adults experience steeper declines compared with White adults.

Collegiate Recovery Programs Are An Effective But Underused Resource On College Campuses, Emily Graham

Population Health Research Brief Series

Substance use disorder is one of the most serious public health issues for young people in the United States. About 30% of full-time college students develop a substance use disorder during their academic careers, and nearly half a million identify as in recovery. Yet, many college campuses lack the resources necessary for college students to access important recovery-based programs and support. This brief explores the barriers to accessing Collegiate Recovery Programs on college campuses and provides recommendations to enhance student engagement and wellbeing.

Can We Learn To Heal Ourselves? The Promise, Perils, And Insights Behind Medicalizing Psychedelics, Brielle Seidel

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Before they were criminalized, psychedelics were once used in mental health research. Today, they are making a resurgence in the medical field following a long hiatus. Current clinical trials for psychedelic-assisted therapy reveal their potential to treat a variety of mental health conditions. While this novel treatment provides promise, there are many implications to consider regarding its integration into the Western medical model. This paper includes a literature review of the past and current use of psychedelics for healing purposes and mental health research. The literature review provides background for understanding the resurgence of psychedelics within a larger context. Additionally, …

Psychosocial Interventions Among Patients With Cancer And Their Family Caregivers In The Sub-Saharan Region: A Systematic Review, Ting Guan, Yousef Qan’Ir, Jamie Conklin, Chifundo Colleta Zimba, Agatha Bula, Wongani Jumbo, Kondwani Wella, Patrick Mapulanga, Samuel A.M. Bingo, Evelyn Chilemba, Jennifer Haley, Nilda Peragallo Montano, Ashley Leak Bryant, Lixin Song

Social Work - All Scholarship

Cancer is becoming a public health issue in the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

This systematic review aims to synthesise psychosocial interventions and

their effects on the health outcomes of adult cancer patients and their

family caregivers in SSA. We identified eligible publications in English

language from PubMed, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health

Literature Plus with Full Text, Embase, APA PsycInfo, Scopus, and

African Index Medicus databases. We included psychosocial

interventions targeted adult cancer patients/survivors or their family

caregivers in SSA. This review identified five psychosocial interventions

from six studies that support adult cancer patients and their family

caregivers in …

How Has The Opioid Crisis Affected Health, Health Care Use, And Crime In The United States?, Johanna Catherine Maclean, Justine Mallatt, Christopher J. Ruhm, Kosali Simon

Population Health Research Brief Series

The U.S. opioid crisis is the deadliest drug crisis in the nation’s history and is not abating. This brief summarizes what is known about the relationships between opioid misuse, health, healthcare use, and crime. The authors show that the opioid crisis has led to worsening health, increased mortality, increased healthcare use, and modest increases in crime. In addition, the policies designed to curb opioid misuse and its associated harms have had only limited success.

Opioid Treatment Programs Can Reduce Opioid-Related Emergency Department Visits And Foster Care Placements, Lindsey Rose Bullinger, Vivian Wang, Kenneth A. Feder

Population Health Research Brief Series

The U.S. opioid epidemic has led not only to unprecedented increases in opioid overdoses, functional impairment, and deaths among adults but also harmed children. After lifting a long-standing moratorium on drug treatment programs and increasing the number of medication-assisted opioid treatment programs (OTPs), Indiana saw a decrease in emergency overdose treatments and foster care placements. This brief explores the positive effects of medication-assisted treatments on children and their caregivers and the cost savings for foster care agencies.

Which Demographic Groups And Which Places Have The Highest Drug Overdose Rates In The U.S.?, Shannon M. Monnat

Population Health Research Brief Series

Although the drug overdose crisis has affected all demographic groups and places in the United States, overdose rates are much higher in some sub-populations and places than others. This brief describes demographic and geographic differences in fatal drug overdose rates from 1999-2020. Throughout most of this period, fatal drug overdose rates were highest among young and middle-aged adult White and Native American males and middle-aged and older Black males. Rates have been consistently highest in Appalachia, but in recent years have spread throughout several regions in urban and rural areas alike. Although opioids have been the main contributor, cocaine- and …

Federal Medication-Assisted Treatment Expansion Grants Do Not Reduce Homelessness, Andrew Sullivan, Changwe Park

Population Health Research Brief Series

Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is an evidence-based intervention that, combined with counseling and behavioral therapies, can effectively treat opioid use disorders. However, MAT is underused due to multiple barriers. To increase access to MAT, the U.S. government awarded grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations to increase and retain the number of people receiving MAT. This brief examined differences in homelessness and employment outcomes between places that received a MAT grant and those that did not. They found that these grants did not reduce homelessness or unemployment rates in the places that received funding and concluded that their effectiveness may have …

The Oxycontin® Reformulation In 2010 Increased States’ Food Insecurity Rates, Colleen Heflin, Xiaohan Sun

Population Health Research Brief Series

The massive surge in opioid misuse and overdose over the past three decades has led to major family, economic, and social disruptions in the United States. OxyContin® - a highly potent, extended-release opioid was among the most commonly-abused narcotics throughout the 2000s. After reformulating OxyContin® to make it more difficult to inhale or inject, many people with opioid use disorders switched to using street drugs. The reformulation had many other unanticipated consequences. This brief shows that states with higher initial OxyContin® misuse rates had an increase in food insecurity after OxyContin® reformulation. The authors argue that public policies must consider …