Health Policy Commons^™

Reimagining Black Maternal Health Narratives: Embracing A Vitality Framework For Joy, Liberation, And Healing, Ijeoma Nnodim Opara, Yasmine M. Elmi

North American Conference to End Race-Based Medicine

No abstract provided.

Voices From The Field: Provider Perspectives On The Implementation And Impact Of Race-Neutral Pfts, Kumbie Madondo Phd, Zoelene Hill Phd, Kimberly Murdaugh Md Ms, Natoushka Trenard Md

North American Conference to End Race-Based Medicine

No abstract provided.

Gender Disparities In Medical Student Clinical Experiences During Obstetrics And Gynecology Rotations In The Usa, Naushad Khan, Luv Agarwal, Ritesh Sheth Md, Rehana Sheikh

North American Conference to End Race-Based Medicine

No abstract provided.

Governing Addiction: An Anthropological Comparison Of Care In The United States And The Netherlands, Kiren K. Bagga

Bates College Journal of Political Studies

This article examines addiction care as a form of moral governance through a comparative anthropological analysis of the United States and the Netherlands. Drawing on a Foucauldian theory of biopolitics alongside this study argues that approaches to addiction treatment reveal how states differentially value life, citizenship, and vulnerability. Joan Tronto's relational definition of ethical care is used to move beyond a solely moral context, towards an ethical understanding of both caretakers and those who require care. In the United States, addiction policy has historically functioned as a punitive and moralizing project, shaped by racialized drug criminalization, neoliberal ideals of individual …

Pages Of Despair: Economic Policy Uncertainty And Mental Health, Kori Massner

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Policy uncertainty threatens access to affordable medical care, yet few studies have examined how it shapes what people search for online. This study examines whether economic policy uncertainty predicts mental health information-seeking behavior by analyzing daily Wikipedia pageviews from July 2015 to April 2026 using a time series model. Results show that as economic policy uncertainty increases, there is an increase in pageviews on Wikipedia for suicide related information. When there is an increase in those searching for information on pages about depression and pages about anxiety, there is also an increase in pageviews on Wikipedia for suicide related information. …

Competition As A Solution To High Prices And Low Capacity In U.S. Healthcare: A Synthetic Control Analysis Of Certificate Of Need Repeal As A Lever For Hospital Market Reform, Eve Velasquez, Wyatt Greco

School of Public Policy Capstones

The U.S. healthcare system faces dual challenges: rising hospital prices and declining capacity. Between 2000 and 2024, average hospital expenses per adjusted inpatient day increased from approximately $1,000 to over $3,000, while hospital beds per capita declined from 3.11 to 2.45. This capstone evaluates three policy alternatives to address affordability and accessibility: restrictions on most-favored nation clauses in insurance-provider contracts, elimination of federal tax exemptions on employer-sponsored health insurance, and repeal of certificate of need (CON) laws. Through a comprehensive literature review and a synthetic control analysis of Indiana's 2019 nursing home CON reinstatement, we assess the empirical effects on …

Complex Systems Mapping Of Fiscal Growth Dynamics At Strategic Maritime Chokepoints Using Time-Series Slopes, Rahul Balamurugan, Preethi Nanjundan, Avichal Sharma

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

This study examines how maritime and trading states allocate public resources between defence, health, and economic growth around three strategic chokepoints the Strait of Malacca, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Suez Canal. The analysis extends the classic “guns versus butter” framing by treating defence and health spending as co-evolving components of an interconnected fiscal-growth system. Using World Development Indicators data (1999-2024), trend slopes are estimated for military spending (% of GDP), healthcare spending (% of GDP), and GDP growth (annual %). Two derived indicators are computed, a defence-to-health slope ratio (military slope/health slope) and a fiscal-balance proxy (health slope …

Florence S.T.C. Building Starts, Birmingham News

Documents

Student health at Florence State Teachers College to be enhanced with new gymnasium for the school

Exploring The Ethical And Practical Considerations Of Artificial Intelligence In Real-World Health Care Settings: Stakeholder Focus Group Study, Carmen Wendy Ulizio, Devika Dua, Naya Meenkashi Mukul, Santosh Areti, Kristin Kostick-Quenet, Vasiliki Nataly Rahimzadeh

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies continue to transform how we research human disease, diagnose and treat patients, and operate hospitals. However, emerging ethical dilemmas surrounding their design, use, and oversight demand both policy attention and empirical research.

Objective: This study aims to explore current AI development, integration, and use activities across the Texas Medical Center (TMC), the largest medical center in the world, and identify emerging ethical priorities.

Methods: We conducted a total of 3 qualitative focus groups via Zoom (Zoom Video Communications, Inc) between May and June 2025 to gauge the perspectives of 19 clinicians, developers, administrators, and patient …

The Cost Of Affordable Healthcare: How Brazil's Sus And Generic Drug Strtegy Produce Structural Inequality And Challenge Global Pharmaceutical Rules, Elena Kössler

Posters - 2026

Affordable healthcare is often seen as a major social achievement, but maintaining low costs involves important trade-offs. Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS) provides universal healthcare and relies heavily on generic medicines to expand access. This raises a central question: how can a system reduce the cost of healthcare while simultaneously generating new forms of inequality and tension within global pharmaceutical markets? This paper argues that Brazil’s cost-reduction strategy, particularly its reliance on generic medicines, improves affordability but also produces structural trade-offs between equitable access, quality of care, and incentives for pharmaceutical innovation.

To Work Or Not To Work? Lessons From Older Adults In Maine, Kimberly Snow, Mary Lou Ciolfi, Sarah Currie, Catherine Taylor

All Cutler Institute Publications

Work in later life is currently widely discussed for myriad reasons including that  many older adults want or need to work well past typical retirement age; employers  want and need the expertise, experience, and reliability of older workers; social and  health benefits often accompany later life work; anti-ageism awareness is  heightening the visibility and value of older workers; and economists and  demographers cite the importance of a dependable workforce that includes older  adults. The topic of later life work intersects with several other disciplines in social  science, business, health, technology, communications, and data collection - among  others - presenting opportunities …

Obesity In The Rio Grande Valley: Applying An Evidence-Based Public Health Approach, Erika Pineda-Horta

Posters - 2026

What structural and social determinants drive elevated adult obesity rates in the Rio Grande Valley, and what evidence-based interventions can reduce adult obesity prevalence in Hidalgo County by 5% by 2030?

Objective: This study applies an EBPH framework to (1) characterize the burden and structural determinants of adult obesity in the RGV, and (2) propose a culturally responsive, evidence-based intervention targeting adults aged 18+ in Hidalgo County.

Adult obesity is clinically defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m² in adults aged 18 and older (CDC, 2022). It is a chronic, multifactorial non-communicable disease shaped by structural, social, and …

Regulation Of Caffeine, Rileigh Gaddini

Gateway Reader- Individual Papers

• The Problem: Public overconsumption of normalized addictive substances like caffeine and sugar results in significant health risks, dependency, and potential cardiac fatalities.

• The Method: An analysis of regulatory policies, product labels, consumer consumption habits, physiological mechanisms, and documented health event case studies.

• Quantitative Finding: The average American daily intake of caffeine is 193 mg, with more than 87% of U.S. adults reporting regular use; the FDA recommended limit for caffeine is 400 mg per day; a 16-ounce Starbucks coffee contains at least 190 mg of caffeine; 70–85% dark chocolate contains 22.7 mg of caffeine per ounce, while …

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Call To Action Against Sex Trafficking Of Black Women And Girls, Stephany Powell, Tracey Sylvester, Brenda Myers-Powell, Audrey Morrissey, Melanie Thompson

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Impact Of Social Determinants Of Health On Outcomes Of Type Ii Diabetes In South Carolina, Alexander G. Downs

Senior Theses

Type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) represents a significant public health burden in South Carolina, where 13.5% of adults are affected, surpassing the national rate of 12%. This integrative literature review examines the social determinants of health most strongly associated with T2DM morbidity and mortality in South Carolina, including race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, rural or urban residence, educational attainment, healthcare access, and food insecurity. Evidence drawn from peer-reviewed studies, epidemiological reports, and state health data reveals that African American, rural, and low-income populations bear a disproportionate share of the diabetes burden in the state. These disparities arise through multilevel mechanisms …

Physical And Behavioral Health Diagnoses And Comorbidities Associated With Transition From Military Health System To Veterans Health Care Among Post-­ 9/11 Veterans, Nikki R. Wooten, Megan E. Amaun, Madeline Meyers, Prince Nii Ossah Addo, Jeffery Bowers, Felicia R. Carey, Rudolph P. Rull, Edward J. Boyko, Nathaniel Bell, Ana Defede-Lopéz, Mary Jo V. Pugh

Faculty and Staff Publications

Objective

To identify factors associated with transitioning from Military Health System (MHS) to Veterans Health Administration (VHA) care in post-9/11 veterans.

Study Setting and Design

Retrospective cohort study from the Long-Term Impact of Military-Relevant Brain Injury Consortium Phenotype Study.

Data Sources and Analytic Sample

Population-level data were analyzed from MHS and VHA electronic health data (FY2000-2020). Participants received ≥ 3 years of MHS care and separated from the military before October 1, 2016. The primary outcome was transition from MHS to VHA care after military separation. Covariates included demographic, military, and deployment characteristics at military separation; physical, mental, and substance …

Ethical Controversies In Organ Procurement: A National Survey On Public Perceptions Of Thoracoabdominal Normothermic Regional Perfusion, Trevor M Bibler, Jill Oliver Robinson, Adam Omelianchuk, Tariq Nisar, Savitri Fedson, Ariel N Levchenko, Amy L Mcguire

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Thoracoabdominal normothermic regional perfusion (TA-NRP) would likely expand the quantity and quality of organs procured after controlled circulatory death donation in the United States, yet its ethical permissibility remains contested. We surveyed a representative sample of US adults (n = 975) with the goal of assessing their perspectives on the ethical permissibility of TA-NRP. After reading a neutral description of TA-NRP, participants judged its permissibility, reviewed 5 critic and 5 supporter arguments (in random order), and chose which argument they found most convincing. Multivariable logistic regression examined predictors of agreeing with critics. Before exposure to the arguments, 51.5% stated that …

Quantifying Provider Relief Fund Allocation Trends: A Descriptive Analysis Of Rural And Urban Hospitals, 2014-2023, Wendell C. Mcclurg

MUSC Theses and Dissertations

Rural hospitals operate on thin margins, have limited access to capital, and face a heightened risk of closure. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) distributed more than $170 billion to health care providers to offset revenue losses and preserve access to care. Most evaluations of PRF have focused on profitability, which may overstate financial resilience by overlooking liquidity. Using Hospital Cost Reports for hospitals from 2014-2023, we examined trends in Days Cash on Hand (DCOH), operating margin, total margin, and PRF funding intensity by rurality and ownership. Liquidity rose sharply during 2020-2021, coinciding with the peak of …

Minimum Wages And Workplace Injuries, Michael Davies, R. Jisung Park, Anna Stansbury

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

How do minimum wage changes affect workplace amenities? Using the universe of claims from California, the US’ largest workers’ compensation system, over 2000-2019, we exploit geographic variation in state- and city-level minimum wages and local occupation-level variation in exposure to minimum wage changes to estimate whether minimum wage increases affect the rate of workplace injuries. We find a large adverse effect of raising minimum wages on injuries. A 10% increase in the minimum wage increases the injury rate by 7.2% in an occupation-metro area labor market which is fully exposed to the minimum wage increase. Our results imply an elasticity …

How Do Minimum Wages Affect Workplace Injuries?, Michael Davies, R. Jisung Park, Anna Stansbury

Upjohn Institute Policy and Research Briefs

No abstract provided.