Five years ago, a groundbreaking report showed people in the US in worse health and dying younger than those in other rich nations. Today, despite the alarm the report generated, we learned that life expectancy in the country declined for a second year in a row – astonishing by any standard.

To advance a Culture of Health in our country, we must engage all sectors to work collaboratively. At the core of this effort should be a commitment to rigorous, engaged research that reflects people’s true conditions and realities, generates quick feedback on what is working and what is not, and feeds into policy and practice to drive continuous real-time improvements. 

Starting this month, nine new P4A research teams will embark on projects to illuminate how policies and laws (at the local, state, and national levels, and in the private sector) can help improve population health, well-being, and equity. With topics including paid family leave laws, substance use interventions, and vaccine exemptions, our newly funded research projects represent truly innovative thinking on some of the most urgent issues of our time.

Despite the billions of dollars spent each year on health care in this country, too many Americans are falling behind on key indicators of health and well-being. Yet, health care is just one piece of the puzzle. In communities across the country, people are struggling to access stable employment, safe neighborhoods, reliable transportation, and high-quality education. A growing body of evidence on these broader determinants of health makes it clear that these things matter (a lot) to our health and well-being.

Together, RWJF, P4A, Urban Institute, and our grantees are working to build a Culture of Health where everyone has the opportunity to live as healthy a life as possible.

Here’s what you should know about place and disadvantage, and how they work together to cut lives short.

The impact of the opioid epidemic on children, their families, and on child-serving systems (early childhood education, schools, child welfare, etc.) is not well understood. This exploratory project will examine some of the most critical dimensions, urgent challenges, and important nuances for policymakers and others, drawing on a review of the existing literature and a deeper dive into two states at the forefront of the opioid epidemic.

This study will examine how social spending and Medicaid policies influence child health and development. Analysis will be based on NSCH data matched by birth cohort and state to historical government spending data from the Census of Governments. Multivariate analysis will be used to examine the impacts of state spending by developmental phase on health.

This study examines state level regulations that are being used to promote access to care for primary care services and prescription drugs in private insurance plans. Data are being drawn from a regulatory review of all 50 states and a more in-depth review of activities in six states.