Public Health Policy Lead

Samantha Overhauser

Samantha is a college student in the final year of a BBA in economics. She serves as a Public Health Policy Brief Lead for YIP, as well as serving on the student union board at Baylor University. She is currently conducting research on health equity and safety net policy and intends to pursue a Master’s in Public Health.

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All articles by the author

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Policy Briefs by the author

Genetic Engineering: An Ethical Dilemma

Public Health Policy

February 13, 2022

The recent rise of the genetic engineering field has brought about vigorous debate among Americans. The benefits of this field are apparent, especially for agriculture—both crops and animals—but the public worries about the safety of genetically modified food and its long term health effects. Similarly, the public is divided on the topic of human genome editing, where genetic engineering is used to alter the genes in order to prevent genetic disease or “enhance” desirable features. This has obviously been a point of contention within the American public and has been addressed by many different stakeholders.

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Climate Change: Where are we now?

Public Health Policy

January 30, 2022

Since the turn of the century, climate change has become an increasingly important issue in American politics. Two-thirds of U.S. adults believe that the government is doing too little to mitigate the “climate crisis”—but there remains a significant partisan divide on the issue. In this brief, we will discuss the causes and effects of climate change, as well as the policies and initiatives aimed at slowing it down.

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Global Healthcare Systems

Public Health Policy

March 20, 2022

The United States has a mixed healthcare system with mostly private health insurers and a public healthcare option. The U.S. is one of several countries across the world with such a system, while some other countries provide a single-payer, fully public healthcare system, and others rely on solely private healthcare. In this brief, we examine the logistics of each healthcare system, as well as their benefits and drawbacks.

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Mental Health in the United States

Public Health Policy

December 9, 2021

In this brief, we discuss the state of mental health in the United States, the breakdown in mental illness across various demographic groups, and the recent mental health trends in the United States. In particular, we examine factors like COVID-19 and gender identity—two very strong factors that influence mental health.

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Omicron: The Unprecedented Surge

Public Health Policy

January 16, 2022

The Omicron surge that originated in Botswana and South Africa has swept across the world. This SARS-CoV-2 strain, though seemingly milder, is much more transmissible than previous variants, contributing to extreme case counts, especially in the United States. As a result, the Omicron surge has invigorated political debates surrounding vaccine mandates, school closures, and other public health measures, hence exacerbating regional divisions in political ideology and the COVID-19 burden.

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Racial Inequities in American Healthcare

Public Health Policy

February 27, 2022

Both structural and interpersonal racism play a major role in perpetuating the racial disparities in the American healthcare system. Racial minorities are disproportionately negatively affected by difficulties in healthcare access, treatment, and costs: all of which have consequences in the overall well-being of minority communities. In this brief, we examine the extent to which racial disparities affect American society and the efficacy of policies implemented to reduce them, such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act.

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The FDA’s Accelerated Approval of Aducanumab

Public Health Policy

November 4, 2021

In this brief, we discuss the FDA’s approval of Aducanumab for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. This decision has sparked controversy within the clinical community due to the accelerated nature of the approval as well as the surrogate endpoint used.

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The Misinformation Pandemic

Public Health Policy

October 22, 2021

The world has not only grabbed with the COVID-19 pandemic, but also a misinformation epidemic that has done considerable damage to the public health infrastructure. In this brief, we examine the causes, effects, and implications of the COVID-19 misinformation epidemic.

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The Opioid Crisis: An Unprecedented Epidemic

Public Health Policy

April 10, 2022

In the late 1990s, pharmaceutical companies assured the public that individuals would not become addicted to opioid pain relievers, and healthcare providers began to prescribe them at an increased rate. It soon became clear that these companies were misleading the public—misuse of these drugs had become a serious issue and was declared a public health emergency in 2017. In this brief, we will discuss the opioid epidemic in depth, including its beginning, its effects on public health, and its relation to COVID-19.

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Vaccine Rollout in the United States

Public Health Policy

November 19, 2021

In this brief, we discuss vaccine rollout in the states as well as the general public response to the COVID vaccine. Techniques for increasing vaccination rates differ widely across the states - and this difference can be better understood by considering differing political landscapes in our analysis. Public response to the vaccine are sharply divided along vaccination status, political ideology, and occupational status.

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Women's Health in America

Public Health Policy

March 27, 2022

Women grapple with many health-related issues, particularly those related to reproductive health. In this brief, we evaluate the state of women’s health in the U.S., with a particular emphasis on teen pregnancy rates, birth control access, and abortion access. We consider various social determinants of health, such as race, income, and geographic location, and analyze their impact on women’s health. We also discuss legislation aimed to improve women’s health in the U.S. and the effects that they have had.

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