Featured Research

  • Sgt. Dasuni Nelson, a behavioral health technician assigned to 3rd Division Sustainment Brigade behavioral health team, assists Spc. Autumn Corban, a combat medic with 239th Military Police Company, Division Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Division Sustainment Brigade, as she writes down reasons of gratitude for another U.S. Army Soldier.

    Behavioral Health Technicians: Extending the Reach of Military Behavioral Health Care

    Behavioral health technicians are enlisted service members who work alongside licensed mental health providers. They serve as care extenders, helping the Military Health System improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its behavioral health care.

    Mar 22, 2022

  • A TSA agent uses a full body scanner on a man in a suit

    DHS's Use of Emerging Technologies: Why Public Perception Matters

    The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has deployed emerging technologies that affect the American public, such as face-recognition technology, 5G network technology, and counter–unmanned aircraft systems. Public perception is an essential element that can help identify the risks and benefits of these technologies.

    Mar 21, 2022

  • A biohazard warning symbol and social media icons over a city, images by petrovv and soulcld/Getty Images; design by Rick Penn-Kraus/RAND Corporation

    Social Media Can Provide Insights About Chemical Weapons Incidents

    Social media can be collected instantly, can tap into a massive pool of observers, and is remotely accessible. Researchers developed a new approach for analyzing social media data to derive insights about chemical incidents. They used chemical weapons employment in Syria as a test case.

    Mar 21, 2022

  • U.S. Marine Corps High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems with 3d Battalion, 12th Marines, 3d Marine Division simulate live-fire missions during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2021 at Shoalwater Bay Training Area, Queensland, Australia, July 15, 2021. TS21 supports the U.S. National Defense Strategy by enhancing our ability to protect the homeland and provide combat-credible forces to address the full range of potential security concerns in the Indo-Pacific, photo by Lance Cpl. Ujian Gosun/U.S. Marine Corps

    Establishing a Sovereign Guided Weapons Enterprise for Australia

    Australia's 2020 Defence Strategic Update calls for increased weapon inventories across the Australian Defence Force. How can Australia's creation of a Sovereign Guided Weapons Enterprise be informed by comparable international case studies?

    Mar 21, 2022

  • Wedding rings wrapped around a dollar bill, photo by SabdiZ/Getty Images

    Increasing the Minimum Wage Could Reduce Divorce in Low-Income Households

    U.S. survey data reveals that, among men and women earning low wages, a one-dollar increase in the state minimum wage was linked to delayed marriage and reduced divorce. Both changes are likely to strengthen low-income families.

    Mar 16, 2022

  • U.S. Air Force Maj. Lucky Lusterio performs a thoracic spine mobility test on Staff Sgt. Shaniqua Anderson at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, September 21, 2017, photo by Michelle Gigante/U.S. Air Force

    Quality and Safety of Pain Care in the Military Health System

    Pain is the leading cause of disability among active-duty service members. Given its potential impact on well-being and force readiness, providing high-quality treatment is a strategic priority. An assessment of outpatient care for acute and chronic pain, including opioid prescribing, can help the MHS continue to improve care.

    Mar 16, 2022

  • Woman at home on the phone holding a prescription bottle, photo by blackCAT/Getty Images

    Audio-Only Telehealth Remains Common at Safety Net Clinics; Raises Questions About Quality

    Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, rapid adoption of telehealth helped safety net clinics in California maintain service. But the use of audio-only care has persisted in the clinics, raising questions about the quality of care and equity for low-income patients.

    Mar 15, 2022

  • Two women hugging in a group setting, photo by FatCamera/Getty Images

    Evaluating WhyWeRise 2020 and 2021

    WhyWeRise is a social marketing campaign conducted by the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. It is focused on prevention of, and early intervention for, mental health challenges among county residents. Surveys suggest that this campaign reached a racially, culturally, and economically diverse group of county residents; fostered a feeling of support among those exposed to the campaign; and boosted residents' awareness of local resources.

    Mar 10, 2022

  • Flood damage is shown in this aerial photo in Percival, Iowa, March 29, 2019, photo by Tom Polansek/Reuters

    Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation Solutions to Climate Change

    The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change brings together scientists from around the world to assess the current state of knowledge regarding climate change, and potential consequences and solutions. Its recent report has a strong focus on adaptation solutions but also describes where adaptation is falling short.

    Mar 10, 2022

  • Red world map with areas circled, illustration by traffic_analyzer/Getty Images

    Competition and Restraint in Cyberspace

    Recent years have seen a mounting concern in the United States over foreign efforts to harm election security or legitimacy through cyber means, an increase in cyber espionage, and attacks of growing sophistication. How could international norms help constrain such destabilizing behavior in cyberspace?

    Mar 7, 2022

  • Teenage student getting help from her parent during remote school, photo by Imgorthand/Getty Images

    Educating Students with Disabilities: Lessons from the Pandemic

    A survey of U.S. educators sheds light on the obstacles that teachers and principals faced—even before the pandemic—that make supporting students with disabilities especially challenging in the COVID-19 era.

    Mar 3, 2022

  • Global communication network concept network dots surrounding planet earth with focus on America. Information exchange via satellites, illustration by Thomas/Adobe Stock

    How Space Might Be Used Between Now and 2050

    The number of space-related activities conducted by government, military, and commercial actors around the world is increasing. How will the way space is used change? Who will the key actors be? And what can be done to ensure a more future-proof space strategy?

    Mar 2, 2022

  • The Ronald Reagan Strike Group ships conduct an exercise with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ships in the South China Sea, August 31, 2018

    Japan’s Possible Acquisition of Long-Range Land-Attack Missiles and the Implications for the U.S.-Japan Alliance

    The security environment in Northeast Asia is rapidly worsening. How is this situation affecting the debate in Japan over how to deter Chinese coercion? And what role might the U.S.-Japan alliance might play? To better understand these, RAND organized a virtual conference to discuss.

    Mar 1, 2022

  • Volunteers with the Red Sand Project raise awareness on the problem of human trafficking at information tables set up in Holiday Gas Stations in Great Falls, Montana, March 31, 2021, photo by Rion Sanders/USA Today via Reuters

    The Nexus Between Sex Trafficking and Substance Use

    Substance use disorders are common among sex trafficking victims. Drugs or alcohol may be used to lure, coerce, or control them, and they may use substances to cope with trauma. This creates barriers to accessing treatment, support services, and assistance from criminal justice agencies.

    Feb 24, 2022

  • Wind turbines surrounded by fog in Costa Rica, photo by OGphoto/Getty Images

    A Green Costa Rican COVID-19 Recovery

    Before COVID-19 hit, Costa Rica had been taking a leading role in addressing the effects of climate change by investing in decarbonization. Could these same investments also accelerate Costa Rica's pandemic economic recovery and help address historical inequities?

    Feb 24, 2022

  • Teacher helping student in classroom

    A Snapshot of Anti-Bias Education in U.S. K–12 Schools

    In this webinar, RAND researchers share data from a national teacher survey administered in spring 2021 concerning the extent to which public school teachers report addressing anti-bias education in their K-12 classrooms. Discussants from organizations that support high-quality teaching and learning reflect on the findings and their implications for helping all students in public schools succeed.

    Feb 23, 2022

  • Students hold signs inside the Kentucky Capitol Rotunda in opposition to bills Kentucky lawmakers say would eradicate critical race theory from state schools, January 12, 2022, photo by Alton Strupp/USA Today via Reuters

    Anti-Bias Education in U.S. Public Schools

    Teaching students explicitly about issues of identity, diversity, equity, and bias can lead to positive outcomes. Nearly three in four K–12 teachers reported that they provide such anti-bias instruction, but more than half said that their school's or district's curriculum materials did not adequately address anti-bias topics.

    Feb 22, 2022

  • Thank you in many languages, photo by aaabbc/Adobe Stock

    Investment in Languages Education Could Return Double for UK Economy

    Languages play a significant role in international trade, and not sharing a common language acts as a non-tariff trade barrier. Benefit-to-cost ratios for increasing Arabic, Mandarin, French, or Spanish education in the UK are estimated to be at least 2:1, meaning that spending £1 could return £2.

    Feb 21, 2022

  • Home health care worker attending to a woman sitting on her couch, photo by Phynart Studio/Getty Images

    Including Complementary and Integrative Health Providers in the Public Health Pandemic Response

    Complementary and integrative health providers, such as chiropractors and naturopathic doctors, have been an underutilized public health asset in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. How can they be better integrated into future responses to public health emergencies?

    Feb 17, 2022

  • An SM-3 Block IIA is launched from the USS John Paul Jones during a flight test off Hawaii resulting in the first intercept of a ballistic missile target by the SM-3IIA, February 3, 2017, photo by Missile Defense Agency

    Instability in the U.S.-Russia Deterrence Relationship

    U.S.-Russian strategic stability is based on mutual vulnerability to retaliation, which eliminates the incentive to strike first. But the United States has developed counterforce capabilities that Moscow fears could be used for a first strike. What could be done to address Russia's concerns and increase stability?

    Feb 17, 2022