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Families

A multigenerational group of people who share a close relationship and generally live in the same household, with one or more parents caring for biological or adopted children, families also include adult children who care for their elderly parents. RAND research on families spans various populations and socioeconomic backgrounds in developed as well as developing countries and addresses such topics as child welfare, fertility, marriage and divorce, and household economic security.

Journal Article
The Family Crisis Migration Stress Framework: A Framework to Understand the Mental Health Effects of Crisis Migration on Children and Families Caused by Disasters
We synthesize relevant theories and models of disaster, migration, and family resilience to create a framework to organize the complex processes that occur within families as a result of migration and that affect the mental health of children.
Mar 2, 2021
Commentary
Family Caregivers Are the Health Care Workers That Vaccination Plans Overlook
About 53 million family members and friends provide care to loved ones in the United States, representing a critical element of the long-term care system. The pandemic has made family caregivers front-line workers. They can't be left out of important discussions around vaccination priorities and how to minimize the virus's risk to those with compromised health.
Mar 1, 2021
Multimedia
From Day One: The Importance of Early Learning
RAND researchers Rita Karam and Gail Zellman discuss the importance of early childhood learning. This video features interviews with families and educators in the Middle East who have experienced the positive effects of engaging children in conversations and educational activities at home and in early childhood programs.
Feb 24, 2021
Commentary
The COVID-19 Bed-Spread
Sleep science has traditionally viewed sleep as an individual phenomenon. But how well (or poorly) we sleep is clearly tied to the quality of our closest relationships. COVID-19 has further highlighted the critical importance of both healthy sleep and healthy relationships.
Feb 9, 2021
Report
Home Care Workers Are Essential Yet Undervalued
Home health and personal care aides are socially isolated and at heightened risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journaling is a promising way to give them a voice and reduce stress and anxiety. But policy-level changes are needed to address the issues of low wages and minimal benefits.
Feb 3, 2021
Brochure
Spotlight 2020–2021
Spotlight 2020-2021 features examples of our research that helped to improve people's lives during a turbulent year. It also highlights a selection of research initiatives on the horizon for 2021.
Jan 26, 2021
Journal Article
The Impact of Parental Involvement Laws on the Abortion Rate of Minors
We conduct a comprehensive analysis of the effect of parental involvement laws on the incidence of abortions to minors in the United States.
Jan 26, 2021
Commentary
Helping Mothers Return to Work Is a Gender Equality Issue
Employers and policymakers play a crucial role in ensuring that women are not unnecessarily disadvantaged when they have children. Policies such as access to family leave, job protection, and childcare options can play a large role.
Jan 21, 2021
Report
Australia's Third Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and Their Children, Priority Area 2: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women and Their Children — Final Report
The authors discuss their evaluation of the Australian government's Third Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and Their Children, designed to address family violence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Jan 20, 2021
Blog
A Message from Our President, Medical Mistrust, Insulin Prices: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on Wednesday’s siege on the U.S. Capitol, Americans' psychological distress, medical mistrust and COVID-19 vaccines, and more.
Jan 8, 2021
Report
Family Caregivers Should Be Integrated into the Health Care Team
The pandemic has produced changes in health care practices, such as shorter hospital stays and more frequent management of chronic illnesses at home. This has shifted the responsibility for many medical tasks to family caregivers. Caregivers have become frontline workers and should be treated as members of the health care team.
Jan 5, 2021
Commentary
What the EU LGBTIQ Strategy Means for Rainbow Families with Children
Rainbow families can face challenges because of ongoing discrimination against LGBTIQ people. The first EU strategy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, nonbinary, intersex, and queer equality sets out actions and initiatives to ensure the safety and equal rights of LGBTIQ people in the EU.
Dec 21, 2020
Blog
RAND Commentary Highlights of 2020
The roughly 400 op-eds and blog posts published by RAND researchers during the year reflected an enormous variety of expertise and perspectives, from remote education to election cybersecurity to the economic harms of racial disparities. Here are 10 highlights that landed in high-profile news outlets.
Dec 18, 2020
Journal Article
Do Income Supplemental Programs for Older Adults' Help Reduce Primary Caregiver Burden? Evidence from Mexico
This article analyzes the effects of a supplemental income program for older adults on primary caregiver burden, in Yucatan, Mexico.
Dec 15, 2020
Journal Article
After Parental Leave: Incentives for Parents with Young Children to Return to the Labour Market
This study examines the employment situation of parents with young children in the EU and specifically, the factors that affect parents' return to the labour market.
Nov 25, 2020
Journal Article
Intimate Partner Violence and Witness Intervention: What Are the Deciding Factors?
This report examines the factors that encourage witnesses of intimate partner violence to intervene (including reporting the violence to the relevant authorities). It draws on qualitative research in Denmark, Germany, France and Portugal.
Nov 25, 2020
Commentary
Women Are Leaving the Labor Force in Record Numbers
The economic downturn during the pandemic is affecting women workers measurably harder than men. There were 2.2 million fewer women in the labor force in October 2020 than there were last October. Investing in childcare and expanding labor laws could keep women employed and buoy the entire economy.
Nov 24, 2020
Periodical
RAND Review: November-December 2020
Features explore the challenge of delivering effective treatments for veterans with co-occuring disorders; teachers, students, and the importance of civic responsibility in present-day America; and teaching and learning in the age of COVID-19.
Nov 16, 2020
Blog
Veterans Day, Psychedelic Drug Policy, Family Caregivers: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses supporting veterans with mental health and substance use disorders, changes to psychedelic drug policy, the vital role of family caregivers, and more.
Nov 13, 2020
News Release
Efforts Needed to Expand Ability of Family Members to Integrate into Formal Health Care Teams
Integrating family caregivers into a patient's health care team can help improve care quality and the quality of life for both patients and their families, yet family caregivers face significant barriers coordinating their efforts with the formal health care team.
Nov 10, 2020

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RAND Topic:
Families

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