Social and Behavioral Policy Publications

Featured Research

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  Veterans Health Care

  Opportunities to Improve Support for Western Pennsylvania’s Women Veterans

  Mar 8, 2023

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  Community-Based Health Care

  The Benefits of Mental Health First Aid Training

  Feb 7, 2023

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  Personal Finance

  Americans' Spending Declines Consistently After Age 65; Finding Applies Broadly Across All Wealth Groups

  Dec 7, 2022

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  Sleep

  Sleep Disturbances, Changes in Sleep, and Cognitive Function in Low-Income African Americans

  Jun 23, 2022

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  Journal Article

  Magic, Religion, and Science: Secularization Trends and Continued Coexistence

  We conducted two studies, an American nationally representative survey and a comparative phylogenetic analysis of religious traditions, to test three hypothesized cultural evolutionary drivers for beliefs in magic.

  Mar 8, 2023

  Luke J. Matthews, Werner Hertzog, Thanos Kyritsis, Rose Kerber

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  Journal Article

  Collective Action by Community Groups: Solutions for Climate Change or Different Players in the Same Game?

  This article investigates how community groups solve collective action problems though data gathered across 25 organizations in three sites—Sitka, Alaska, USA; Toco, Trinidad; and a global site of distributed citizen science organizations.

  Mar 8, 2023

  Luke J. Matthews, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, Michelle Scobie, Laura E.R. Peters, Unni Gopinathan, Anuszka Maton-Mosurska, Katy Davis, Sonja Myhre, Saskia Hirsch, Eija Meriläinen, Ilan Kelman

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  Report

  A Needs Assessment of Women Veterans in Western Pennsylvania: Final Report to Adagio Health

  To identify opportunities to expand and enhance Adagio Health's efforts to support women veterans' health and wellness, the authors quantitatively and qualitatively assessed the needs of women veterans in the Adagio Health service area.

  Mar 8, 2023

  Dana Schultz, Susan L. Lovejoy, Kayla M. Williams, Kerry Lindquist, Teague Ruder

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  Research Brief

  Opportunities to Improve Support for Western Pennsylvania's Women Veterans

  An assessment of the needs of women veterans provides a clearer picture of this often-underserved population, available programs and resources, gaps in support, barriers to access, and opportunities to better meet the needs of women who served.

  Mar 8, 2023

  Dana Schultz, Susan L. Lovejoy, Kayla M. Williams, Kerry Lindquist, Teague Ruder

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  Journal Article

  Low Tech, High Potential: Using Technology to Improve Communication Across Home Care Workers

  Our findings suggest that a basic workflow process—communication among HCWs—is limited in many home care settings. Simple technologies could be developed to support HCWs to navigate the challenges of providing care to clients in their homes.

  Mar 7, 2023

  Julia Bandini, Daniel Siconolfi, Katie Feistel, Jason Michel Etchegaray

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  Journal Article

  The Role of Pre-Treatment Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Adolescent Substance Use Treatment Outcomes

  This study assesses the association between traumatic stress symptoms and substance use treatment outcomes among trauma-exposed adolescents, using methods to reduce potential confounding from factors such as baseline substance use severity.

  Feb 21, 2023

  Donna L. Coffman, Lynsay Ayer, Megan S. Schuler, Mark D. Godley, Beth Ann Griffin

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  Journal Article

  Optimal Non-Pharmaceutical Pandemic Response Strategies Depend Critically on Time Horizons and Costs

  This paper performs a large-scale optimization exercise to find optimal non-pharmaceutical pandemic response strategies.

  Feb 14, 2023

  Sarah A. Nowak, Pedro Nascimento de Lima, Raffaele Vardavas

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  Report

  Evaluation of Mental Health First Aid in New York City

  More than 155,000 New Yorkers were trained in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) between 2016 and 2020. The authors evaluated this citywide dissemination of MHFA and needs for future training.

  Feb 7, 2023

  Eunice C. Wong, Michael Stephen Dunbar, Daniel Siconolfi, Anthony Rodriguez, Chester Jean, Vanessa N. Torres, Rosemary Li, Michele Abbott, Ingrid Estrada-Darley, Lu Dong, Rebecca Weir

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  Research Brief

  Large-Scale Training in Mental Health First Aid: An Evaluation of New York City's 2016–2020 Efforts

  In an evaluation of a city-wide effort to train New Yorkers in Mental Health First Aid, RAND researchers found that the majority of participants had used their skills to help friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers in the past six months.

  Feb 7, 2023

  Eunice C. Wong, Michael Stephen Dunbar, Daniel Siconolfi, Anthony Rodriguez, Chester Jean, Vanessa N. Torres, Rosemary Li, Michele Abbott, Ingrid Estrada-Darley, Lu Dong, Rebecca Weir

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  Journal Article

  Randomized Controlled Trial of Rise, A Community-Based Culturally Congruent Counseling Intervention to Support Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among Black/African American Adults Living with HIV

  We conducted a randomized controlled trial of Rise, a community-based culturally congruent adherence intervention, from January 2018 to December 2021 with 166 Black adults living with HIV in Los Angeles.

  Jan 25, 2023

  Laura M. Bogart, Matt G. Mutchler, Kathy Goggin, Bonnie Ghosh-Dastidar, David J. Klein, Uzaib Saya, Sebastian Linnemayr, Sean Jamar Lawrence, Keshav Tyagi, Damone Thomas, Mahlet Gizaw, Jeff Bailey, Glenn Wagner

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  Journal Article

  Older Adults' Behavioral Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  This chapter synthesizes findings from existing research on the behavioral health implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, we consider differences across the life course and the relative resilience of older adults.

  Jan 25, 2023

  Vanessa Parks, Grace Hindmarch, Sonny Patel, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg

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  Journal Article

  COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake and Attitudes Among Pregnant and Postpartum Parents

  This study aimed to investigate COVID-19 vaccine uptake and reasons for delay or refusal among perinatal parents.

  Jan 24, 2023

  Kandice A. Kapinos, Maria DeYoreo, Rebecca Ann Lawrence, Molly Waymouth, Lori Uscher-Pines

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  Journal Article

  Food Insecurity During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Mixed-Methods Study from a Cohort of HIV Clients in Uganda

  The paper utilized a longitudinal mixed-methods approach to evaluate the economic impact of COVID-19 on food security and ART-taking behaviors among people living with HIV in Kampala, Uganda.

  Jan 19, 2023

  Sarah MacCarthy, Zachary Wagner, Uzaib Saya, Ishita Ghai, Yvonne Karamagi, Mary Odiit, Barbara Mukasa, Sebastian Linnemayr

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  Report

  South Korea's Policy Options in Asia: Summary of a Webinar Hosted by the RAND Center for Asia Pacific Policy

  South Korea faces uncertainty over the roles it might play in Asia, especially South and Southeast Asia. An October 2022 webinar examined the strategies and policies available to South Korea.

  Dec 15, 2022

  Erik Mobrand

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  Journal Article

  Preventing Youth Suicide: Potential "Crossover Effects" of Existing School-Based Programs

  This paper is intended to provide a framework to help researchers, practitioners, and policymakers as they consider how to prevent youth suicide using existing school-based resources.

  Dec 13, 2022

  Lynsay Ayer, Clare Stevens, Eve Reider, Belinda Sims, Lisa Colpe, Jane L. Pearson

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  Journal Article

  The Key Role of Schools in Youth Suicide Prevention

  This commentary presents the evidence for why schools are critical to youth suicide prevention efforts.

  Dec 7, 2022

  Lynsay Ayer, Lisa Colpe

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  Report

  Spending Trajectories After Age 65: Variation by Initial Wealth

  This report presents estimates of household spending trajectories from age 65 through the retirement years and how the trajectories vary by initial wealth position. The results help to anticipate and plan for household spending needs at older ages.

  Dec 5, 2022

  Michael D. Hurd, Susann Rohwedder

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  Journal Article

  Saving Regret and Procrastination

  Saving regret, or the wish in hindsight to have saved more earlier in life, is widespread in older populations. Little of the variation is explained by procrastination and psychological factors. Unemployment, health, and divorce are larger factors.

  Nov 23, 2022

  Axel Boersch-Supan, Tabea Bucher-Koenen, Michael D. Hurd, Susann Rohwedder

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  Journal Article

  Feasibility and Acceptability of Incorporating Social Network Visualizations Into a Culturally Centered Motivational Network Intervention to Prevent Substance Use Among Urban Native American Emerging Adults: A Qualitative Study

  Social network visualizations are a promising tool for increasing awareness of social challenges and sources of resilience for urban American Indian/Alaska Native emerging adults.

  Nov 22, 2022

  David P. Kennedy, Elizabeth J. D'Amico, Ryan Andrew Brown, Alina I. Palimaru, Daniel Dickerson, Carrie L. Johnson, Anthony Lopez

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  Journal Article

  Incentives and Reminders to Improve Long-term Medication Adherence (INMIND): Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

  This study aims to test the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a novel intervention that uses SMS text messages and conditional incentives to support ART initiators in establishing pill-taking habits.

  Nov 22, 2022

  Chad Stecher, Ishita Ghai, Lillian Lunkuse, Peter Wabukala, Mary Odiit, Agnes Nakanwagi, Sebastian Linnemayr