Rwanda’s health insurance program has improved care utilization, reduced household spending
In Rwanda, the community-based health insurance program Mutuelle de Santéhas improved medical care delivery and reduced household catastrophic spending since it was adopted in 1999, according to a new study. The researchers found nationwide improvement in maternal and…
Climate change could increase number of undernourished women and children by 20 percent
Today almost half a billion women and children under five in the developing world are undernourished. That number could increase by 20 percent in the next ten years due to the effects of climate change on global food…
Simple, low-cost checklist dramatically improves practices of health workers during childbirth
Safe Childbirth Checklist Program Aims to Prevent Maternal and Newborn Deaths in Low-Income Countries For immediate release: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 Boston, MA - A new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the World Health…
Routine mammograms may result in significant overdiagnosis of invasive breast cancer
Late-Stage Disease Incidence Not Reduced by Screening For immediate release: Monday, April 5, 2012 Boston, MA – New Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) research suggests that routine mammography screening—long viewed as an essential tool in detecting early…
Wanted: 100,000 nurses for next generation of landmark study
Researchers at Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) are recruiting 100,000 nurses to expand the landmark Nurses’ Health Study. Female RNs, LPNs, and nursing students, ages 20 to 46, who live in the U.S. or Canada are eligible…
New epidemiology chair at HSPH hopes to continue department's legacy of discovery and training scientists to change the world
January 20, 2012 -- Michelle Williams, SM ’88, ScD ’91, began as Chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Stephen B. Kay Family Professor of Public Health at Harvard School of Public Health in August 2011. Previously a professor…
Expert panel releases report on environmental links to breast cancer
While a yearlong study of potential environmental causes of breast cancer in women failed to pinpoint links with any chemicals, pesticides, or consumer products, that doesn’t mean these chemicals are safe, according to David Hunter, dean for academic…
US to keep morning-after pill restrictions
Article in the Boston Globe, December 7, 2011, featuring HSPH's Robert Blendon
Rotating night shift work linked to increased risk of type 2 diabetes in women
For immediate release: December 6, 2011 Boston, MA -- Women who work a rotating (irregular) schedule that includes three or more night shifts per month, in addition to day and evening working hours in that month, may have…
Harvard School of Public Health hosts seminar on school's contributions to maternal health
November 16, 2011 -- When Aparna Chandrasekhar traveled from the United States to India at age 13 to visit family, she spent time shadowing her aunt, an obstetrician. Chandrasekhar, who’s working toward a master of science in global…