Informatics and electronic health records can help integrate context into health care

Social determinants of health (complex contextual factors) are considered to have a profound impact on our health, yet are not part of our health care system. Harvard Pop Center faculty member Hossein Estiri, PhD, is an author of a Perspective published in JAMIA Open that makes a case for utilizing informatics and electronic health records as a way to “…give tomorrow’s clinicians the tools and the data they need to…

Does cardiovascular disease risk vary among different groups in India?

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality in India. A study in PLOS Medicine (with Harvard Pop Center fellow Jennifer Manne-Goehler, MD, ScD, and faculty member Till Bärnighausen, MD, PhD, ScD, among the authors) identified significant geographic and sociodemographic variation in CVD risk, findings which could help to shape effective targeting of CVD programs.

Special population health colloquium with Professor Sir A. Deaton and Professor Sir M. Marmot to be streamed live

Renowned scholars Professor Sir Angus Deaton and Professor Sir Michael Marmot will be featured speakers at our upcoming special colloquium Nations at Risk: The Changing Distributions of Population Health on Friday, April 13, 2018, from 2–5 p.m. Although seating will be limited, the event will be streamed live.

A holistic look at what influences older adults’ perception of their longevity

Harvard Bell Fellow Lindsay Kobayashi, PhD, is lead author on a paper in PLOS One that takes a closer look at the sociodemographic, biomedical, behavioral, and psychological predictors of older adults’ perceived life expectancy, which is predictive of mortality risk.

When can a healthy economy actually shorten a lifespan?

Part of the answer may depend on where you live (industrial vs. agricultural economy). The findings of recent work by Harvard Pop Center faculty member and health economist David Cutler and his colleagues is cited in this New York Times article. He also comments on how opioids may be influencing the impact that the economy has on our health.

Maternal health literacy linked to child nutrition in India

According to a study published in The Journal of Nutrition, Harvard Pop Center faculty member SV Subramanian, PhD, and colleagues have found that children in India with mothers who were better able to understand, assess and apply maternal health-related information from health promotional materials were half as likely to suffer from several different forms of undernutrition. The findings suggest that interventions targeting maternal literacy could be an effective way to…

Europeans exposed to economic downturn during their 40s may face poorer health later in life

A study published in the European Journal of Public Health by Harvard Pop Center Bell Fellow Philipp Hessel, PhD, and former Bell Fellow and current faculty member Mauricio Avendano, PhD, examines the impact of economic downturns experienced during early and mid adulthood on late-life (55-80) health.

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.