RAND Research Topic: Health Disparities

COVID-19 and the Experiences of Populations at Greater Risk

2021-05-04T09:00:00Z

This report presents the results of the third of four surveys on how Americans' health views and values have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on populations deemed vulnerable or underserved.

Growing Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Buprenorphine Distribution in the United States, 2007–2017

2021-04-27T09:00:00Z

We find ecological evidence consistent with racial/ethnic disparities in buprenorphine distribution. Our finding that initiatives to increase the number of waivered prescribers are insufficient to achieve equitable buprenorphine access.

Associations Between Individual Demographic Characteristics And Involuntary Health Care Delays As A Result Of COVID-19

2021-04-27T08:45:00Z

We provide the first evidence on associations between individual characteristics and the propensity to experience an involuntary care disruption resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gender Differences in Patient Experience Across Medicare Advantage Plans

2021-03-31T10:30:00Z

We measured gender differences for six patient experience measures and how gender gaps differ across Medicare plans.

Americans' View of the Impact of COVID-19

2021-03-30T09:00:00Z

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disparate effect on African Americans and Latino groups. But it is unknown how aware the public is of these differences, and how the pandemic has changed perceptions of equity and access to health care.

Inter-Group and Intraminority-Group Discrimination Experiences and the Coping Responses of Latino Sexual Minority Men Living With HIV

2021-03-18T08:45:00Z

We conducted 30 qualitative interviews with HIV-positive Latino sexual minority men about recent discrimination events (context, details, perpetrator, type) and how they coped with these events.

Who Is (and Isn't) Receiving Telemedicine Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021-03-18T08:30:00Z

COVID-19 has affected telehealth utilization disproportionately. The increase in telemedicine use was greatest among patients in counties with low poverty levels, among patients in metropolitan areas, and among adults compared with children.

Sleep Health

2021-03-16T11:30:00Z

In this review, we describe current conceptualizations of sleep health and highlight findings linking sleep with cardiovascular disease, obesity, mental health, and neurodegenerative disease.

Exploring Workplace Financial Wellbeing Interventions

2021-03-08T09:00:00Z

Workplace financial wellbeing interventions could offer a key means for addressing rising financial concerns and mental health issues in the workplace. In this video, Christian van Stolk and Jennifer Bousfield describe their findings from an extensive analysis of British and Asian workplace survey data.

Workplace financial wellbeing interventions and the mental health of young workers

2021-03-08T08:30:00Z

In this study we explore the likely and proven impact of workplace financial wellbeing interventions on the mental health of young workers, through analysis of Britain and Asia's Healthiest Workplace survey data and a literature review.

Workplace financial wellbeing interventions for young workers

2021-03-08T08:30:00Z

Project SLIP

2021-03-05T08:45:00Z

The study developed and pilot-tested a PrEP screener for use in primary care clinics to help facilitate PrEP uptake. Findings suggest that brief HIV risk screening in primary care is acceptable, feasible, and shows preliminary effects in increasing PrEP referral rates.

Racial Differences in End-of-Life Care Quality Between Asian Americans and Non-Hispanic Whites in San Francisco Bay Area

2021-03-02T08:30:00Z

Compared with caregivers of non-Hispanic whites, caregivers of Asian decedents reported unmet needs for caregiver support and lack of respect for cultural traditions and religious/spiritual beliefs.

Allocating Scarce Resources During a Pandemic

2021-02-23T23:00:00Z

RAND senior behavioral/social scientist Lori Frank and senior policy researcher Thomas Concannon discuss their work in developing the Core Guidance Checklist for health care resource allocation decisionmaking during a pandemic.

Racial/ethnic Differences in Prescription Opioid Misuse and Heroin Use Among a National Sample, 1999-2018

2021-02-19T08:15:00Z

We compared relative prevalences across 6 racial/ethnic groups for prescription opioid misuse analyses and 4 racial/ethnic groups for heroin analyses.

Perspectives on Opportunities and Challenges for Medicare Advantage Plans to Address Social Determinants of Health Via the CHRONIC Care Act

2021-02-12T11:30:00Z

The effect of the 2018 CHRONIC Care Act and how it may evolve before implementation begins in 2020 remains uncertain as we wait to see how MA plans will interpret eligibility criteria and services offered without any additional allotted funding.

COVID-19 and Mental Health

2021-02-04T23:00:00Z

Senior behavioral/social scientist Joshua Breslau explains how findings from a RAND study of mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic can help in determining who in the population is most likely to experience significant psychological distress during future disasters.

Using an Innovative Database and Machine Learning to Predict and Reduce Infant Mortality

2021-02-04T08:30:00Z

Researchers created a unique database linking medical, social, and demographic information, then used machine learning techniques to evaluate risk of infant mortality and develop intervention recommendations to reduce each infant's risk of mortality

Drivers of Differential Views of Health Equity in the U.S.

2021-01-26T10:00:00Z

This study uses data from a nationally representative sample of American adults to examine the factors that people think drive health outcomes and their beliefs about the importance of health equity.

Education and Health Over the Life Cycle

2021-01-26T09:30:00Z

We extend the Grossman (1972) model of the demand for health and use it to analyze the effect of education on health at different ages.