Public & Population Health

A recent literature review revealed most studies of social need interventions were poorly designed, inadequately documented, and inconsistently presented. In this post, Robert Dubois of the National Pharmaceutical Council, an AcademyHealth Organizational Member, outlines the state of the research and provides recommendations to improve study design quality.

Several breakout and plenary sessions at the 2021 Annual Research Meeting considered the role of health services research (HSR) in addressing health equity and structural racism, both in the field and in our health care system, particularly as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The theme of scientific innovation featured prominently as this year’s Annual Research Meeting. Speakers across panels pointed to opportunities for the field of health services research to better address the needs of decisionmakers.

A new study published in HSR, an official journal of AcademyHealth, found that while the use of new cancer therapies did result in noteworthy improvements in lung cancer survival rates, Medicare spending increased substantially, raising concerns about the financial burden of these treatments.

A report from the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) found that a lack of trust was a key barrier to data sharing. Expert panelists from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, the National Partnership for Women and Families, PCORI, and the NAM delved into this topic at the recent Health Datapalooza and National Health Policy Conference.

Informed by discussant interviews, this report highlights themes in successful state-based maternal health data linkage initiatives, gaps in implementing such initiatives, and the status of current data linkages to address maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity.

Members of AcademyHealth’s Child Health Services Research Interest Group Advisory Committee reflect on five key areas of advancement of Child HSR during 2020, and consider the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on children.

In a JAMA commentary published last week, three Medicaid Medical Directors from AcademyHealth’s Medicaid Medical Directors Network examine how Medicaid programs can ensure equitable administration of COVID-19 vaccines.

Shellie Ellis, 2019-20 NCI/AcademyHealth Visiting Scholar, describes rural cancer care providers’ participation in cancer care delivery research.

The severity and the complexity of the opioid crisis require research that is both patient-centered and supported by robust data infrastructure. Several U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) projects are working across agencies to build the nation’s capacity for exactly this kind of research.