Public health refers to social, cultural, economic, and geographic conditions that affect a population's well-being. To assist local, national, and international health agencies and organizations, RAND conducts research on public health issues including disaster preparedness and recovery; surveillance, prevention, and management of infectious disease outbreaks; screening for and prevention of chronic diseases; and ways to strengthen the public health infrastructure.
Report
This paper examines associations between substance use and occupational injuries and reviews related literature and policies.
Commentary
In the rush of constant news updates on swine flu, we must recognize that controlling the spread of this disease is not simply a health concern but also one of national security. And in today's globalized world, the spread of swine flu has become not just a U.S. national security threat but every country's national security threat, writes Melinda Moore.
Research Brief
This research highlight summarizes the findings of RAND's initial evaluation of the Cities Readiness Initiative and the program's impact on communities' readiness to conduct mass dispensing of medications and other medical supplies.
News Release
A federal program designed to help metropolitan public health agencies prepare to deliver essential medicines to the public after a large-scale bioterror attack or natural disease outbreak has succeeded in improving the level of readiness.
Report
A federal program designed to help metropolitan public health agencies prepare to deliver essential medicines to the public after a large-scale bioterror attack or natural disease outbreak has succeeded in improving the level of readiness.
Journal Article
This study found little temporal relationship between the demand for ED resources and that for inpatient services. A multivariate modeling approach provided a more accurate forecast of ED demand and the demand for inpatient services.
Journal Article
Describes results of a survey that investigates whether groups traditionally most vulnerable to disasters would be more likely than others to perceive population-level risk as high, worry more about terrorism, and avoid activities because of terrorism concerns.
Journal Article
Chronic medical and mental illness and disability increase vulnerability to disasters.
Journal Article
Project Fleur-de-lis[TM] (PFDL) was established to provide a tiered approach to triage and treat children experiencing trauma symptoms after Hurricane Katrina.
Journal Article
The authors compared the prevalence of condom use during a variety of sexual acts portrayed in adult films produced for heterosexual and homosexual audiences to assess compliance with state Occupational Health and Safety Administration regulations.
Journal Article
To improve health and reduce inequities through health services research, investigators are increasingly actively involving individuals and institutions who would be affected by the research.
Journal Article
Quantify the health and economic outcomes associated with changes in folic acid consumption following the fortification of enriched grain products in the USA.
Journal Article
Influenza is a serious disease, especially for older people, and incomplete vaccination take-up poses a major public health challenge.
Journal Article
This paper presents results that are part of a larger study carried out in five districts of the eastern Indian state of Orissa, where endemic malaria represents one of the most serious public health concerns. One of the Study's objectives, designed in collaboration with the micro-lender Bharat Integrated Social Welfare Agency, was to evaluate the possibility of using specifically designed consumer loan contracts to increase ownership and retreatment rates for insecticide-treated bednets.
Journal Article
The authors demonstrated the feasibility of collecting and disseminating mid-season estimates of influenza vaccine coverage.
Journal Article
Although the call for greater synergy between medical care and public health is hardly new, emerging technologies and the urgent need for health reform create the opportunity and imperative for them to come together.
Journal Article
Considers the role that alternative vaccination locations (e.g., workplaces and retail clinics) could play in increasing influenza vaccination coverage.
Journal Article
The presence of street gangs has been hypothesized as influencing overall levels of violence in urban communities through a process of gun-drug diffusion and crosstype homicide.
Journal Article
This commentary argues that using obesity as an argument to promote local produce or other multifunctional outcomes is questionable; framing obesity as an issue of poverty or food insecurity trivializes the continuing major problem of hunger worldwide.
Journal Article
This study assesses the impact of a school-based drug prevention program, called Project ALERT, on risky sexual behavior among 1901 nonmarried, sexually active young adults who participated in one of two program variations as adolescents.
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