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Health, Health Care, and Aging

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RAND advances understanding of health and health behaviors, and examines how the organization and financing of care affect costs, quality, and access. Our body of research includes innovative studies of health insurance, health care reform, and health information technology, as well as obesity, substance abuse, and PTSD. RAND findings also help inform policies that aim to improve the health of seniors and the care they receive.

Report

How to Boost COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance in the United States

Sep 9, 2021

Vaccine hesitancy is a major challenge to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Reaching herd immunity will require boosting confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines, combatting complacency about the pandemic, and increasing the convenience of getting vaccinated.
News Release

Linking U.S. Prescription Drug Prices to Those in Other Nations Could Cut Costs in Half

Sep 10, 2021

High prescription drug prices in the United States drive up overall health care costs and lead many patients to forgo their medications. Linking U.S. drug prices to those in other countries would have cut U.S. spending on insulins and 50 top brand-name drugs by 52 percent in 2020—a savings of $83.5 billion.

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RAND Technical Expert Panel Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D Contract Star Ratings, November 12, 2020 Meeting

On November 12, 2020, the RAND Corporation convened a Technical Expert Panel (TEP) web meeting to gather input about social risk factors and approaches for ensuring accurate performance measurement.

Mar 16, 2021
Report

RAND Technical Expert Panel Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D Contract Star Ratings, November 19, 2020 Meeting

On November 19, 2020, the RAND Corporation convened a Technical Expert Panel (TEP) web meeting to gather input about stratified reporting of performance and approaches to reduce disparities in Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D Contracts.

Mar 16, 2021
Testimony

Core Principles of Public Health Emergency Preparedness

Public health emergencies are defined by their consequences, not their causes. That means infectious disease outbreaks such as COVID-19 qualify, but so do some hurricanes and terrorist attacks. What can policymakers do to support effective public health emergency preparedness?

Mar 16, 2021
Journal Article

Recent Updates in the Social and Environmental Determinants of Sleep Health

In this brief review article, we provide an overview of recent (since 2010) scientific contributions to our understanding of the social and environmental determinants of sleep health.

Mar 16, 2021
Journal Article

Food Insecurity Is Associated with Objectively Measured Sleep Problems

Food Insecurity (FI) can be a profound source of stress, which may increase the risk for sleep disturbance. This is the first study to examine the association between FI and objectively and subjectively measured sleep.

Mar 16, 2021
Journal Article

A Preliminary Study of a Composite Sleep Health Score: Associations with Psychological Distress, Body Mass Index, and Physical Functioning in a Low-Income African American Community

The current study investigates associations of five sleep dimensions, analyzed separately and simultaneously, with psychological distress, body mass index, and physical functioning among a low-income, predominantly African American population.

Mar 16, 2021
Journal Article

Sleep Health: An Opportunity for Public Health to Address Health Equity

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

Mar 16, 2021
Journal Article

Changes in Perceptions of Neighborhood Environment and Cardiometabolic Outcomes in Two Predominantly African American Neighborhoods

Perceived neighborhood characteristics, including satisfaction with one's neighborhood as a place to live, are associated with lower obesity rates and more favorable cardiovascular risk factor profiles.

Mar 16, 2021
Journal Article

Do Investments in Low-Income Neighborhoods Produce Objective Change in Health-Related Neighborhood Conditions?

This study examined the effect of neighborhood investments on neighborhood walkability, presence of incivilities, and crime in two low-income, primarily African American neighborhoods in Pittsburgh.

Mar 16, 2021
Journal Article

An Audit Tool for Longitudinal Assessment of the Health-Related Characteristics of Urban Neighborhoods: Implementation Methods and Reliability Results

To identify neighborhood features that are predictors of health, objective assessments of the environment are used. In this paper, we have described implementation methods, reliability results and lessons learned to inform future studies of change.

Mar 16, 2021
Journal Article

Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status, Sleep Duration, and Napping in Middle-To-Old Aged US Men and Women

In over 300,000 middle-to-old aged Americans, we examined neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and change in neighborhood SES in relation to nocturnal sleep duration and napping.

Mar 16, 2021
Multimedia

The Debate Over Daylight Saving Time

RAND senior behavioral/social scientist Wendy Troxel discusses the ongoing debate over whether or not to observe Daylight Saving Time (DST).

Mar 16, 2021
Commentary

For Americans Uprooted by Climate Change, Mental Health Is the Next Crisis

The challenges climate migrants face are not limited to basic needs, such as housing and employment; displacement may also create trauma. It's imperative that policymakers take mental health into account when devising climate change policies.

Mar 15, 2021
Commentary

Domestic Violence Support Staff Need More Help

During the first wave of COVID-19 lockdowns, European Union states had a 60 percent increase in emergency calls about intimate-partner violence. Amid a protracted second wave that has led to further lockdowns, it may not be too late to provide the funding and legislative changes necessary to ensure domestic violence service providers can offer crucial support.

Mar 15, 2021
Report

Lessons Learned for Provisioning and Delivering U.S. Military Behavioral Health Care, 2003–2013

This report highlights selected events and the insights of 17 experts interviewed about the significant changes in the provision and delivery of behavioral health care in the U.S. military that took place from 2003–2013.

Mar 15, 2021
News Release

Growth of Telehealth During Pandemic Occurred Mostly in More Affluent and in Metropolitan Areas

Increases in the use of telehealth during the coronavirus pandemic among people with private insurance has occurred mostly among those who are more affluent and those who live in metropolitan areas.

Mar 15, 2021
Blog

COVID-19 Testing in Schools, Family Caregivers, U.S. Entrepreneurship: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on COVID-19 testing in schools, giving a voice to family caregivers, preparing for daylight saving time, and more.

Mar 12, 2021
Commentary

Could the Bioweapons Treaty Be Another Tool for Addressing Pandemics?

What might governments do to reduce the risk of future large-scale biological attacks or naturally occurring pandemics? Perhaps now is the right time to revisit the 46-year-old Biological Weapons Convention treaty and make it a better tool against future biological threats.

Mar 12, 2021
Commentary

The Uncertain Future of Audio-Only Visits and Why We Need Them to Address Disparities

Audio-only health care visits have been instrumental in maintaining access to care during the pandemic. Despite this, coverage for audio-only visits is likely temporary. Devaluing and prematurely casting off a key telemedicine modality could mean the difference between a needed doctor visit and no visit at all.

Mar 12, 2021
Blog

RAND Staff Member Helps Get Masks to Communities in Need

Jessica Arana, a designer at RAND, volunteers with the Auntie Sewing Squad, a mask-making effort started by comedian Kristina Wong. Arana first donated to the effort but soon became an organizer focused on minority, immigrant, farmworker, and low-income communities.

Mar 12, 2021

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Health, Health Care, and Aging

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