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Childhood Poverty in New Jersey: Impactful strategies and policies

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Telehealth has evolved from a concierge convenience for private insurance companies into an essential tool for increasing access to care1and improving health equity.2 The benefits and challenges of telehealth and telementoring are documented below, as are recommendations for policymakers to consider to improve individuals’ access to care.

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Heat exposure has killed more people in the U.S. than any other weather-related event over the past 30 years. The human body can only adapt to a narrow range of temperature change.

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Climate change negatively affects food production in non-Arctic areas through altered precipitation patterns, extreme weather events, rising temperatures, and shifting pest and disease patterns.

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This month’s episode tackles a fascinating combination of topics involving the impact of biological and social factors on chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes, and the prevention and treatment efforts for those chronic diseases through state and local government programs.

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The recent pandemic has contributed to a climbing number of teacher vacancies, though retention has long been an issue.

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School choice programs take many forms, widely varying within and across states. These myriad programs, such as charter schools, magnet schools, and voucher programs, have myriad impacts on students’ experiences and later success, and can be a tool to improve or hinder equity goals.

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While almost 70% of K-12 students in the U.S. continue to attend their neighborhood public school, an increasing number attend other types of schools.

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Participation in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs can enhance students’ skills and help them prepare for high-wage and/or in-demand careers, while simultaneously addressing critical workforce challenges (e.g., staffing shortages).

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A community school is a school with intentional, coordinated partnerships with other community resources.

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In this month’s episode, we tackled innovations in healthcare. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve seen a focus on various healthcare innovations and technology like artificial intelligence, cloud-enabled solutions, and inpatient telehealth, but other innovations are important, too. Some of these focused on in Pennsylvania include how we can get more value out of the country’s healthcare system without sacrificing the quality of care and lowering barriers for underserved populations.

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As the nation begins to “reopen” and the economy begins shifting, many states have begun ending pandemic-era unemployment insurance benefits. For many, unemployment insurance was the only thing keeping them afloat following the unprecedented unemployment crisis at the beginning of the pandemic. And yet, despite the unbelievable numbers of unemployed workers in our country, the stigma of receiving unemployment insurance persists. We asked ourselves why, in a time of tremendous health and economic crisis, are we giving folks who need help a hard time? We know that research shows that many families and individuals are still out of work and struggling to afford adequate food and pay mortgages or rent. Like other topics we covered – childcare and food insecurity, for example – the pandemic has made it abundantly clear that our country’s systems are unsustainable and not enough to support the financial needs of families and individuals.

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COVID-19 has upended the lives of nearly every individual in the United States, with prolonged school closures one of the major driving forces of disruption for youth and families.

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High-quality, affordable, and reliable child care options are not accessible across the country. Child care deserts—areas with an insufficient supply of licensed child care options—are most frequently observed in marginalized and rural communities.

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In this month’s episode, we spoke to Alexis Santos, PhD, Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State, and David Saunders, Director of the Office of Health Equity for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, about different disparities throughout the Pennsylvania Commonwealth and how the lack of good data impacts what we understand about poverty and health inequities.

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Implicit bias is an unconscious attitude based on one’s experiences and societal exposure to social messages.

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The ways to improve minority and underserved communities’ interest and literacy for vaccine trials and contact tracing.

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Systemic maternal healthcare disparities disproportionately affect Black women and other women of color, particularly those also experiencing socioeconomic disadvantages. Provider training and inter-agency partnerships have the potential to buffer risks and support maternal health.

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In addition to participating in the following interviews, Ann Michelle Daniels, Dara Whalen, and Kamila Alexander also participated in our virtual congressional briefing on this topic.

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Contact tracing is critical to containing and mitigating the spread of COVID-19. It is a tried and true, evidence-based mechanism to identify disease patterns during a pandemic. Coordinated federal efforts, including the use of national contact tracing strategies, are effective at containing and mitigating the impact of pandemics.

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The COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately affecting people of color, in terms of number of cases, mortality rates, pay cuts, and job loss. The health and economic devastation of this outbreak, in addition to the distress raised by the recent killing of George Floyd and many others, are significantly contributing to the stress of the nation and disproportionately impacting the mental health of people of color.

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The emergence of COVID-19 is not just a reminder of the digital divide in our community; it also highlights the inequities in accessing technology and online educational resources.

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The U.S. is the new epicenter of the Coronavirus pandemic. Mitigation strategies are more critical than they ever were before; however, they may exacerbate socioeconomic inequities and disparities that endanger the health and well-being of families.

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COVID-19 is an equal opportunity virus, but exposure to this virus does not take place in an equal opportunity context. Although only some states and counties provide COVID-19 cases and outcomes by race, the data available indicate that disparities are stark.

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We have begun to identify researcher-oriented professionals who have expertise in the following areas...

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Racial and Ethnic Infant Mortality: Narrowing the Gap in Michigan

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Racial and Ethnic Infant Mortality: Narrowing the Gap in Michigan

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The New Age of Health Care: Implications for Hoosier Families

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The Continuing Recession: Impact on Economic Security for Families

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Health Reform, Rural Communities and You

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Health Care and Family Stability: Policy Decisions and Costs

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Financing Healthcare for Indiana Families

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Building the Future: Strategies to Serve Immigrant Families in the District