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Public health refers to social, cultural, economic, and geographic conditions that affect a population's well-being. To assist local, national, and international health agencies and organizations, RAND conducts research on public health issues including disaster preparedness and recovery; surveillance, prevention, and management of infectious disease outbreaks; screening for and prevention of chronic diseases; and ways to strengthen the public health infrastructure.

Commentary

How Much Do Americans Value Their Health During the Pandemic?

Oct 29, 2020

Do Americans believe that limiting the spread of COVID-19 justifies the social and economic costs of physical-distancing measures? Researchers conducted a survey to better understand how Americans weigh health against other priorities.
Project

Informing the Gun Policy Debate

Mar 2, 2018

RAND's Gun Policy in America initiative provides information on what scientific research can tell us about the effects of gun laws. Our goal is to establish a shared set of facts that will improve public discussions and support the development of fair and effective gun policies.

Explore Public Health

Commentary

Equal, Rapid Access to Vaccines Is More Important Than Ever as New COVID-19 Variants Emerge

Vaccine nationalism could prolong the pandemic and lead to preventable deaths. If some countries don't receive timely access to vaccines, then the virus will continue to spread in some populations, mutate further, and potentially render existing vaccines less effective.

Feb 9, 2021
Commentary

Understanding Our Culture of Health Before the Pandemic Can Help Us Improve It Afterward

Measuring health and the social and economic factors that influenced it before the pandemic helps us understand the kind of risks the United States faced previously. It can also inform how to move forward toward recovery.

Jan 29, 2021
Report

Comparing National and International Approaches to COVID-19 Measures

Uniform measures are needed to track how well other countries and U.S. states are responding to the pandemic and to make valid cross-country and cross-state comparisons. From December 2019 to May 2020, there was tremendous variability in how COVID-19 indicators were measured and reported. What could be done to allow for more standardized and valid comparisons?

Jan 29, 2021
Commentary

Getting COVID-19 Vaccines to Pennsylvania Residents

Pennsylvania state and county health departments have a number of options that could speed the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to make sure Pennsylvania residents at high risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes are vaccinated as soon as possible.

Jan 19, 2021
Commentary

COVID-19 Has Offered Opportunities for Communities to Come Together

The past year has been among the most turbulent in recent memory. Might recent crises provide a catalyst for a renewed sense of civic engagement that transcends some of the race and class divisions COVID-19 has exacerbated?

Jan 13, 2021
Report

COVID-19 and the Experiences of Populations at Greater Risk: Description and Top-Line Summary Data — Wave 2, Fall 2020

This report presents the results of the second 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.

Jan 13, 2021
Commentary

COVID-19 Options for 2021

The disorganized public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States helped ensure that the nation led the world in infections nearly from the beginning of the pandemic. With vaccines now becoming available, are we over the problem? Not necessarily.

Jan 12, 2021
Blog

As the Vaccines Arrive, So Do the Questions

As the first COVID-19 vaccines are being administered across the United States, countless questions have arisen about what comes next. Is one vaccine better than another? Can the United States both speed up inoculation and overcome some people's hesitance to get the shot? RAND experts offer insights into the historic vaccine rollout.

Jan 11, 2021
Multimedia

Overcoming Hurdles to Herd Immunity

RAND senior physician policy researcher Mahshid Abir describes several hurdles to achieving herd immunity to COVID-19, including the politicization of the vaccine and the spread of misinformation.

Jan 8, 2021
Research Brief

The economic benefits of equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines

Researchers used a global macroeconomic model to examine the economic effects of vaccine nationalism. This brief highlights the cost to 30 high-income countries if low and middle-income countries miss out on initial access to COVID-19 vaccines.

Dec 17, 2020
Report

When Hurricanes Happen During Pandemics

Hurricanes can change patterns of mobility and expand the spread of COVID-19, for example, to communal shelters. On the other hand, fear of the virus could cause people who might otherwise evacuate to shelter in place, resulting in more deaths from a hurricane. How can policymakers prepare for this threat?

Dec 9, 2020
Journal Article

Improved Street Walkability, Incivilities, and Esthetics Are Associated with Greater Park Use in Two Low-Income Neighborhoods

Improved walkability, incivilities, and aesthetics surrounding parks in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods were associated with greater park use and may help increase visits to underutilized parks.

Dec 3, 2020
Tool

Health Care Tools and Methods

Developing tools for improving health is part of RAND Health Care's ongoing commitment to translate research into real-world solutions. The tools help individuals, organizations, and government define—and tackle—their own challenges.

Dec 1, 2020
Commentary

Will Thanksgiving Be a National Super-Spreader Event?

Whether or not Thanksgiving will become a national super-spreader event will depend on the size of individual holiday gatherings across the country and the rate of COVID-19 cases in each community. December could be a grim month if people don't stay home on Thanksgiving.

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
Research Brief

Unequal Access to COVID-19 Vaccines Would Further Damage the Global Economy

As long as the coronavirus is not under control in all regions of the world there will continue to be a global economic cost associated with COVID-19. Vaccine nationalism could cost up to $1.2 trillion a year in GDP. If the poorest countries cannot access vaccines, the loss would be between $60 and $340 billion a year.

Nov 5, 2020
Report

American Health Attitudes During COVID-19

In a survey including people of color and those with low- to moderate-incomes, most prioritized health even when it implies limitations to their liberty and to the economy. But white and non-white respondents differed when weighing the risk of getting COVID-19 with opening the economy or protesting injustice.

Oct 29, 2020
Report

COVID-19 'Vaccine Nationalism' Could Cost $1.2 Trillion a Year

Nationalistic behavior by governments may exclude some countries from access to COVID-19 vaccines. This could cost the world economy up to $1.2 trillion a year in GDP. A globally coordinated effort to fight the pandemic is key, not only from a public health perspective but also an economic one.

Oct 28, 2020
Journal Article

Integration of Well-Being with Resilience and Other Broad Scale Social Change

This book is a combination of scientific papers, case studies from the field, and excerpts from a lively, multidisciplinary discussion which intentionally connects issues of measurement to the imperative for action.

Oct 22, 2020

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