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.
Journal Article
This paper presents research recommendations from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Working Group on emergency department management of acute heart failure.
Journal Article
Using surveillance data, researchers identified neighborhoods in a Georgia county with a persistently high incidence of cardiac arrest and low rates of bystander CPR. Such neighborhoods are promising targets for community-based interventions.
Report
Examines the DoDSR and DMSS, identifies gaps, and suggests strategies to improve their ability to meet current and potential future military health needs in the areas of surveillance, outbreak investigation, research, and clinical support.
Commentary
In his inaugural address, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu clearly accepted his dual challenge: rebuild a city that welcomes its still-displaced residents, and make long-needed changes to attract newcomers as well, writes Melissa Flournoy.
Report
This detailed data from a survey of adults age 18 and over of seasonal influenza vaccine uptake informs public health officials and other stakeholders about seasonal influenza vaccination of adults during the 2009-2010 vaccination season.
Report
This overview of the results of a survey of adults age 18 and over informs public health officials and other stakeholders about seasonal influenza vaccination of adults during the 2009-2010 vaccination season.
Report
Researchers assessing a disaster case management pilot recommend that future efforts establish better ways to find affected residents, consider needs/vulnerabilities in planning, and ensure continuity of services before, during, and after disaster.
Journal Article
Expert panel discussion of the emergency response in Haiti concluded that rigorous, objective after-action reports are needed both to improve ongoing operations in Haiti and to enhance future responses to large-scale population emergencies.
Report
In testimony presented before the House Homeland Security Committee, Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment, Brian Michael Jenkins asserts that applying the law can counter the individualistic quality of radicalization and recruitment to jihadist terrorism in the United States.
Report
Effective intelligence gathering and a Muslim community unsympathetic to calls to violence have discouraged homegrown jihadist terrorism in the U.S. While there was a spike in domestic terrorism in 2009, the perpetrators were mostly individuals who recruited themselves into the role of terrorists.
Report
This report describes the current policy context for domestic all-hazards risk-informed capabilities-based planning by local military and civilian authorities and provides a framework for a local planning support tool for their use.
News Release
Small sales taxes on soft drinks in the range currently in force in some states are insufficient to reduce consumption of soda or curb obesity among children.
Commentary
President Obama's nominee to lead the TSA said he would like U.S. airport screening to more closely resemble Israel's. Perhaps attention is turning to what really matters about the attempted Northwest bombing: what it can teach us about aviation security, write Brian Michael Jenkins, Bruce Butterworth and Cathal Flynn.
Commentary
The revelation of the arrest in October of Colleen Renee LaRose, who had adopted the pathetically predictable nom de guerre Jihad Jane, once again focuses national attention on homegrown terrorism. But while worrisome, this threat needs to be kept in perspective, writes Brian Michael Jenkins.
Research Brief
Stakeholders in communities in which health care access was disrupted by Hurricane Katrina were engaged in an assessment of health priorities, as well as in data interpretation and plan design, to produce a sustainable community-academic partnership.
Commentary
High-ranking officials in Washington tell Americans that the threat from terrorists—principally self-radicalized homegrown terrorists—is high. Do terrorists pose a threat to Los Angeles, and if so, what should ordinary citizens do? asks Brian Michael Jenkins.
News Release
California's dirty air caused more than $193 million in hospital-based medical care from 2005 to 2007 as people sought help for problems such as asthma and pneumonia that are triggered by elevated pollution levels.
Commentary
Previous efforts by the international community to stabilize Haiti have met with little or only short-term success. This time, following the earthquake, the U.S. response could actually leverage the response and recovery opportunities into a broader international plan, write Agnes Gereben Schaefer and Anita Chandra.
Project
The Flu Vaccine Survey from RAND is a project that reviews nationally representative samples of adults to collect data on the receipt of seasonal influenza vaccine in the United States.
Report
In testimony presented before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, James Dobbins discusses the current international disaster relief operation in Haiti and how it is affected by a preexisting post-conflict reconstruction mission, which he considers ultimately more important.
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