Novel study on impact of minimum wages on early-life health in LMICs

Harvard RWJF Health & Society Scholars program alum Arijit Nandi, PhD, is an author on a paper in Social Science & Medicine that is the first to assess the impact of legislated minimum wages on the early-life health of children in low- and middle-income countries.

Lower child mortality rates when longer paid maternity leave in LMICs

Harvard RWJF Health & Society Scholars program alum Arijit Nandi, PhD, is lead author on a study published in PLOS Medicine that finds a correlation between lower child mortality rates and longer paid maternity leave in low and middle income countries. The findings of the study have received attention on BigNewsNetwork.com.

Paid maternity leave linked to better child vaccination coverage

Harvard RWJF Health & Society Scholar program alum Arijit Nandi, PhD, is co-author on a paper published in Social Science & Medicine that studied 20 low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) and found that more generous paid maternity leave benefits were associated with higher rates of immunization for DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis), commonly administered during clinic visits after birth.

Debt hurts more than just your credit rating

A recent study led by former RWJF scholar Elizabeth Sweet found that high student debt leads to a greater incidence of high blood pressure and depression in people ages 24-32. The study was featured in both Time and Forbes. With regard to cultural messages regarding an individual’s responsibility for debt, Sweet pointed out that debt, while often impossible to avoid, is stigmatized by our society. “[Debt] is going to be a way of…

Former RWJF Scholar Nandi’s paper on inequalities in HIV/AIDS prevalence in sub-Saharan African countries

Arijit Nandi, PhD, a scholar in the RWJF Health & Society Scholars Program at the Pop Center from 2008- 2010, had a article titled Socioeconomic inequalities in HIV/AIDS prevalence in sub-Saharan African countries: evidence from the Demographic Health Surveys published on February 18, 2014 in the International Journal for Equity in Health.

The Health Cost of Debt

Arijit Nandi and Elizabeth Sweet, former RWJF Health & Society Scholars, find debt to be an important socioeconomic determinant of health in their recent study, “The high price of debt: Household financial debt and its impact on mental and physical health” published in the journal Social Science and Medicine.