Perspective

Health equity depends on data equity: the representation of communities in the data used to identify disparities, target interventions, and hold systems accountable. More

The United States has among the highest firearm-related deaths in the world. More

Chronic absence, defined as missing more than 10% of time in school, has risen sharply in the United States following the COVID-19 pandemic and now affects more than one in four students. More

Access to sexual and reproductive health care varies widely by geography, and state-level policies play a major role in establishing the contours that govern the coverage, provision, availability, and costs of services. More

Rural and urban areas have diverged significantly in health care access and health outcomes over the last four decades. More

The US public health system is facing an inflection point characterized by chronic underinvestment, workforce and service delivery challenges, outdated data infrastructure, growing health inequities, and increasing instability within the broader health care safety net including projected Medicaid coverage changes and continued rural hospital closures. More

Housing is a fundamental social determinant of health and is particularly amenable to policy intervention. More

Medicaid Section 1115 demonstration projects are widely used to test innovative policies but are subject to “budget neutrality” limits so that federal expenditures do not exceed what the federal government would have spent if the project was not adopted. More

Racial equity impact assessments (REIAs) are used by local governments to integrate equity considerations into policymaking and decision-making processes by evaluating potential impacts of proposed legislation before enactment. More

From 2021 to 2025, federal nutrition assistance policy in the United States shifted rapidly from expansion to contraction, with major implications for food insecurity, diet quality, and chronic disease risk. More