Public Health Policy

Women's Health in America

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.

Global Healthcare Systems

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.

Racial Inequities in American Healthcare

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.

Genetic Engineering: An Ethical Dilemma

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.

Climate Change: Where are we now?

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.

Omicron: The Unprecedented Surge

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.

Mental Health in the United States

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.

Vaccine Rollout in the United States

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.

The FDA’s Accelerated Approval of Aducanumab

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.

The Misinformation Pandemic

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.

Healthcare Disparities for Disabled Individuals

This paper will examine some of the disability health disparities that arise from inaccessible physical environments, social assumptions and prejudices, and inflexible policies and procedures, as well as how federal and state governments should actively work to reduce inequities.

Healthcare equity and inequity amongst BIPOC and immigrants in Sweden, Pakistan and the United States

This paper will dicuss the said topic and will provide some proposals that can improve health inequity.

Rethinking Vaccination Policy: Insights from the Latest Data

Debunking Covid Myths