In a letter, PolicyLab responded to a Request for Information from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on how to improve infant and maternal health in rural areas. While CMS had already highlighted many challenges faced by rural pregnant women, new mothers and…

Women who smoke may be motivated to switch to vaping (use electronic cigarettes, e-cigs) around pregnancy in seeking to alleviate known hazards of smoking. E-cigs typically contain nicotine but either eliminates or greatly reduces exposure to the combustion products of tobacco. We…

Young children from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds are at risk for poor sleep, yet few studies have tested behavioral interventions in diverse samples. This study tests factors that could contribute to associations between parenting skills and child sleep to inform…

IMPORTANCE: Medicaid expansion was widely expected to alleviate the financial stresses faced by hospitals by providing additional revenue in the form of Medicaid reimbursements from patients previously receiving uncompensated care. Among nonprofit hospitals, which receive tax-exempt…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) now affects at least 1 in 59 children. While we know that we can often detect ASD by age 2, the average age of diagnosis remains 4 years old and is even later for racial/ethnic minority, rural and low-income youth and girls. This is concerning as early…

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of paid family leave in California on statewide rates of preterm birth, low birthweight, postneonatal mortality, and overall infant mortality. DATA SOURCES: Live birth and death certificates from all in-hospital deliveries occurring in California …

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects nearly 1 in 10 resettled refugee adults in high- and middle-income nations. Not effectively treating an adult’s PTSD can have profound negative impacts on their child’s behavior and development, which can lead to a number of health…

Children in foster care have worse medical and behavioral health than children in the general population. This is influenced by multiple factors, including a high incidence of poverty, exposure to trauma, and chronic medical conditions. Despite known differences in health, less…

In the last few years, US immigration policy has received increasing attention from the media, political candidates, and citizens. Within the medical community, there has been a slower but burgeoning realization that immigration policy has consequences for the practice of medicine as…

Although there is growing interest in screening for Food Insecurity (FI) in the clinical setting, little research exists describing the effect of screening practices on caregiver comfort and willingness to disclose social risk, or what factors affect eventual engagement with food…