Skip to page content

Health Behaviors

News Release

News Release

Some Asian Nations Reforming Drug Policies; China Unlikely to Curb Fentanyl Exports in Short Term

Strict policies traditionally embraced by Asian nations to discourage illicit drug use are beginning to change, with a few nations adopting alternative approaches while other nations are taking an even harder line against drugs.

May 15, 2019
Report

Contemporary Asian Drug Policy

An analysis of drug use, drug supply, and the burden of disease associated with illegal drugs in Asia can inform policies aiming to reduce substance use disorders and drug trafficking. Three case studies show how drug policy is shifting in the Philippines, Thailand, and China.

May 15, 2019
Testimony

How to Reduce Suicide Among U.S. Veterans and Service Members

The rate at which veterans and service members die by suicide is a national security problem that requires a comprehensive approach. Improved leadership and investments in solutions such as increasing access to high-quality care, better identifying at-risk individuals, and reducing access to lethal means can make a difference.

May 8, 2019
Commentary

Sri Lanka's Easter Attacks: Dismantling Myths to Prevent the Next Attack

On Easter Sunday, suicide bombers hit six locations across Sri Lanka, killing more than 250 people. Even before ISIS claimed responsibility, there was no obvious connection to the quarter-century of violence that afflicted the nation until 2009. It is worth dismantling a few myths that might prevent better preparation for future attacks.

May 6, 2019
News Release

Allowing Pharmacists to Directly Dispense Opioid Antidote Can Sharply Cut Opioid Overdose Deaths

Allowing pharmacists to dispense the opioid antidote naloxone without a physician's prescription can sharply reduce the incidence of fatal opioid-related overdoses. States that adopted such laws saw fatal opioid overdoses fall by an average of 27 percent during the second year following passage and 34 percent in subsequent years.

May 6, 2019
Project

Evaluation of Drug and Alcohol "Payment by Results" Pilots

RAND Europe conducted an independent evaluation of the UK Department of Health's drug and alcohol recovery payment-by-results pilots to determine whether market forces can encourage the development of better recovery programs.

May 3, 2019
Report

2018 National Survey of Health Attitudes

This survey seeks to understand how people in the United States think about, value, and prioritize health. Results indicate that many Americans recognize the influence of social and physical factors on health, but one in four do not consider investment in community health a top priority.

May 1, 2019
Commentary

The Right Kind of Incentive Can Help People to Stay Active

Having the motivation to keep exercising regularly can be challenging for many of us. So the question is: what will motivate people to keep heading out the door, whether it's for a swim or to the gym, for some much-needed activity?

Apr 30, 2019
News Release

Using Cannabis and Tobacco/Nicotine Together Is Linked to Heavier Use and Poorer Functioning Among Young Adults

More than a third of young adults report using both cannabis and tobacco or nicotine products, providing a unique challenge to public health officials as cannabis is legalized in more jurisdictions.

Apr 29, 2019
Periodical

Periodical

RAND Review: May-June 2019

This issue describes RAND research efforts to help schoolkids suffering from trauma; to help health care providers get better, more meaningful feedback; and to use technology to improve the lives of displaced people throughout the world.

Apr 29, 2019
Journal Article

Do Graphic Health Warning Labels on Cigarette Packages Deter Purchases at Point-of-Sale? An Experiment With Adult Smokers

Graphic health warning labels reduced the chances of cigarette purchases for smokers lower in nicotine dependence but had no effect on smokers higher in dependence.

Apr 26, 2019
Blog

A Holistic Approach to Solving the Opioid Crisis

While federal, state and, local governments deploy strategies to tackle the opioid crisis, the problem continues to proliferate. RAND researchers suggest that these strategies fail to solve the larger problem because they've largely been developed in silos. The opioid crisis is an ecosystem, and mitigating the problem will require a holistic approach.

Apr 15, 2019
Dissertation

Dissertation

The Criminal Justice System and More Lenient Drug Policy: Three Case Studies on California's Changes to How Its Criminal Justice System Addresses Drug Use

Explores California's recent liberal policies, mostly associated to drug-related crimes, to provide implications for future policymaking.

Apr 15, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Healthcare Costs and Opioid Use Associated with High-Impact Chronic Spinal Pain in the United States

Opioid dosage and use increased annually for individuals with all levels of chronic pain; those with high-impact pain had average dosing 5.5 times higher than those with low-impact pain.

Apr 11, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Evaluation of the Drugs and Alcohol Recovery Payment by Results Pilot Programme: Final Report

An evaluation of how the PbR approach can help to provide different schemes that support the recovery of individuals from drug and alcohol dependence and their successful re-integration into their communities.

Apr 11, 2019
News Release

Graphic Warning Labels on Tobacco Packages Can Deter Some Smokers

Placing graphic anti-smoking warning labels on cigarette packages may deter some adults from purchasing tobacco products. But the strategy is unlikely to influence smokers who are most addicted to nicotine.

Apr 9, 2019
Commentary

(Grey's) Anatomy of an Opioid Crisis

More than 130 Americans die every day after overdosing on opioids. So when one of the most popular shows on TV made opioid misuse a major plotline, RAND experts paid attention to how it presented this public health crisis. The show mirrored reality pretty closely, for the narrow slice of the opioid crisis it addressed.

Apr 8, 2019
Commentary

Preventing Suicide: Treat Mass Shooting Trauma Beyond Initial Tragedy

The need for mental health support and suicide-prevention efforts targeting survivors of mass shootings, and the friends and families of victims, is great. Putting such programs in place could go a long way toward helping them heal, and preventing more tragedy.

Apr 4, 2019
Journal Article

The Affordable Care Act in The Heart of the Opioid Crisis: Evidence from West Virginia

The growing use of medication treatment for opioid use disorder in the West Virginia Medicaid expansion population provides an opportunity to reduce overdose deaths.

Apr 4, 2019
Commentary

Pittsburgh's Hill District Is Losing More Than a Supermarket

When the Shop 'n Save in Pittsburgh's Hill District closed its doors for good, residents lost the ability to go to a supermarket near their homes. But they also lost something less tangible: a symbol of hope, opportunity, and change for their neighborhood.

Apr 1, 2019

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Next

RAND Topic:
Health Behaviors

Topic Synonyms:
Health Behaviour

Research conducted by