Posted on

Testing = Knowledge = Power: Factoring in cognitive function and literacy level in effort to increase HIV testing in South Africa

Older woman in South Africa

A team of researchers has found that those older adults in South Africa participating in the HAALSI study who demonstrated higher cognitive function and literacy levels were more likely to be knowledgeable about their own HIV status. The findings suggest that campaigns aimed at increasing HIV testing should factor in the cognitive function and literary level of the targeted audience.

Posted on

Comprehensive systematic review finds evidence that social policies have potential to improve health

Emilie Courtin headshot

Is it possible to improve population health through social policies that target early life, income and health insurance? The findings of a comprehensive systematic review of randomized social experiments provide evidence that social interventions have the potential to improve health. A recent Harvard Bell Fellow, Emilie Courtin, and her colleagues have published their findings in The Milbank Quarterly, and the review has received attention in the media.

Posted on

Announcing our next cohort of postdoctoral fellows

Map of countries with a magnifying glass hovering over them with the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies logo layered on top

After receiving a record number of highly qualified applicants, three finalists have been selected and will be joining us this coming fall as members of the 2020-2022 cohort of postdoctoral fellows at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. We look forward to having these scholars join us! Our incoming David E. Bell Fellow, Madeleine Daepp, is currently completing her doctorate in the department of urban studies and planning…

Continue reading “Announcing our next cohort of postdoctoral fellows”

Posted on

Mary Waters to serve as interim director during HCPDS leadership sabbatical

Mary Waters head shot

When Harvard Pop Center Director Lisa Berkman and Associate Director Jason Beckfield are both on sabbatical during the 2020-2021 academic year,  Mary Waters, the PVK Professor of Arts and Sciences and the John L. Loeb Professor of Sociology at Harvard University, will serve as interim director. Professor Waters is a closely affiliated faculty member and long-time Center collaborator, whose research interests—such as the integration of immigrants and their children, and…

Continue reading “Mary Waters to serve as interim director during HCPDS leadership sabbatical”

Posted on

Adolescents identifying as sexual minority found to be 3 times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual peers

Group of teens at gay pride parade

Three researchers affiliated with the Harvard Pop Center* are among the authors of a study in Pediatrics that looked at changes in US adolescent reported sexual orientation and suicide attempts by sexual orientation from 2009–2017. Authors on the study include: Julia Raifman, Brittany M. Charlton, Renata Arrington-Sanders, Philip A. Chan, Jack Rusley, Kenneth H. Mayer, Michael D. Stein, S. Bryn Austin and Margaret McConnell*. Photo: Seven Seas of Rhye on…

Continue reading “Adolescents identifying as sexual minority found to be 3 times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual peers”