Creating Healthier, More Equitable Communities

The rising rate of non-medical exemptions is a driving force behind our nationwide measles crisis. Chelsea J. Richwine, Avi Dor, and Ali Moghtaderi of George Washington University examine the effect of California’s 2016 decision to repeal all non-medical exemptions on immunization coverage in a new working paper.

In the last few decades, gentrification has grown increasingly common in cities across the country. Kacie Dragan, Ingrid Ellen, and Sherry A. Glied, representing P4A’s NYU Wagner Research Hub, released a working paper offering new evidence about the consequences of gentrification on mobility, building and neighborhood conditions.

California was the first state to enact a paid family leave entitlement in 2002, providing eligible workers up to six weeks of paid leave. Jessica E. Pac, Ann P. Bartel, and Jane Waldfogel of Columbia University, and Christopher J. Ruhm of the University of Virginia evaluated the effect of the policy on breastfeeding in this National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper.

William H. Dow, Anna Godoey, Christopher Lowenstein and Michael Reich released a National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper investigating whether “deaths of despair” respond to two key policies that raise incomes for low-wage workers: the minimum wage and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

Pay for success sparks innovation in the public sector while limiting risk to taxpayers by ensuring the government only pays for services that are effective. Importantly, it can bring financing to interventions for populations that are often forgotten, neglected, or deemed less worthy of taxpayer support, including people experiencing chronic homelessness.

There are many explanations for the housing crisis in the U.S. One is that the law has never stopped promoting and preserving segregation, nor has it adequately supported the supply of enough affordable, safe, and stable housing for all citizens.

Rebecca M. Schermbeck, Julien Leider, and Jamie F. Chriqui release the first-ever report on whether CACFP-participating early childhood centers are limiting sugary cereals for children aged 2-5 years. Nearly one-third of these centers failed to meet the sugar-in-cereal requirement.

Abraham Gutman, Katie Moran-McCabe and Scott Burris at the Temple University Center for Public Health Law Research published an article in the Northeastern University Law Review that explores 23 legal mechanisms, or levers, that may impact health equity in housing in the U.S., and reviews the evidence base evaluating each lever.

To find out whether California's 2016 repeal of non-medical exemptions was associated with an increase in uptake of vaccines required for school entry, P4A researchers at George Washington University evaluated California’s new policy and tracked vaccination rates from 2012 to 2017. While vaccination coverage rose, the policy came with unintended consequences.

Kai Hong, Kacie Dragan, and Sherry Glied from P4A's NYU Wagner Research Hub published a paper in the Journal of Health Economics exploring the health impacts of New York City’s 2014 roll-out of a Universal Pre-Kindergarten program.

In a new issue brief examining the 2017 San Francisco Paid Parental Leave Ordinance, Julia M. Goodman, William H. Dow and Holly Elser find little evidence that implementing new paid family leave policies or expanding existing policies negatively affects employers.

In the 2018 midterm elections, candidates across the political spectrum ran on platforms that included expansion and support of early education and childcare assistance programs. In many ways, this signals an increased awareness by our country’s representatives that families and communities are struggling to afford high-quality care, even for dual-earner households.