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What is the Effect of Opioid Use During Pregnancy on Infant Health and Wellbeing at Birth?

Jessica Pac, Christine Durrance, Lawrence Berger, and Deborah Ehrenthal

This brief summarizes the results from a  study that evaluated the effects of exposure to prescription and illicit opioids during pregnancy on infant health and wellbeing at birth. 

March 31, 2023

Federal Medication-Assisted Treatment Expansion Grants Do Not Reduce Homelessness

Andrew Sullivan and Changwe Park
This brief examined differences in homelessness and employment outcomes between places that received a MAT grant and those that did not.
March 31, 2023

Which Demographic Groups and Which Places Have the Highest Drug Overdose Rates in the U.S.?

Shannon Monnat
This brief describes demographic and geographic differences in fatal drug overdose rates from 1999-2020. 
March 31, 2023

Over Two-Thirds of Opioid Overdose Victims in Canada were Employed Before They Died

Alexander Cheung, Joseph Marchand, and Patricia Mark
The authors of this brief quantify the lost labor productivity from opioid overdoses in Canada. 
March 31, 2023

The OxyContin® Reformulation in 2010 Increased States’ Food Insecurity Rates

Colleen Heflin and Xiaohan Sun
This brief shows that states with higher initial OxyContin® misuse rates had an increase in food insecurity after OxyContin® reformulation. 
March 31, 2023

Counties with Higher Prescription Opioid Presence Have Slower Student Learning Rates

Jessica Drescher and Carrie Townley-Flores
This brief shows that students in counties with high levels of opioid prescribing are learning more slowly over time than their peers in counties with low levels of opioid prescribing. 
March 31, 2023

U.S. Counties with Higher Drug Overdose Rates Have Lower School Test Scores.

Rajeev Darolia, Sam Owens, and John Tyler
This brief describes the link between county-level opioid overdose rates and children’s test scores, finding that counties with higher overdose rates have lower average 3rd and 8th-grade test scores than counties with lower overdose rates. 
March 31, 2023

How has the Opioid Overdose Crisis Affected Child Maltreatment in the U.S.?

Alexander Chapman
This brief summarizes results from a study examining the association between U.S. county-level opioid mortality rates and child maltreatment rates from 2007 to 2017. Places with higher opioid overdose mortality rates have higher rates of child maltreatment. 
March 31, 2023

How Has the Opioid Crisis Affected Health, Health Care Use, and Crime in the United States?

Johanna Catherine Maclean, Justine Mallatt, Christopher J. Ruhm, and Kosali Simon
This brief summarizes what is known about the relationships between opioid misuse, health, healthcare use, and crime.
March 21, 2023

The Opioid Epidemic Has Disrupted Children’s Living Arrangements

Mónica L. Caudillo, Andres Villarreal, and Philip N. Cohen
This brief summarizes how children’s living arrangements have changed during the opioid epidemic.
March 21, 2023

Opioid Treatment Programs Can Reduce Opioid-Related Emergency Dept Visits and Foster Care Placements

Lindsey Rose Bullinger, Vivian Wang, and Kenneth A. Feder
This brief explores the positive effects of medication-assisted treatments on children and their caregivers and the cost savings for foster care agencies.
March 21, 2023

Poor Children Have Lower Literacy Skills than their Higher-Income Peers

Michah W. Rothbart, Colleen Heflin, and Gabriella Alphonso

This study finds that children in households that participate in more than one social assistance program (such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs, and Free or Reduced-Price Lunch) have lower literacy skills when they enter kindergarten than children whose households participate in fewer or no social programs. 

March 20, 2023

State COVID-19 Policies that Restricted In-Person Interaction and Economic Support Saved Lives

Yue Sun and Erin M. Bisesti

This brief summarizes the results of a recent study examining how U.S. states’ COVID-19 policies were related to COVID-19 mortality rates from April to December 2020. 

February 21, 2023

CDC Guidelines Hide the Alzheimer Disease Mortality Burden among Adults with Down Syndrome

Scott D. Landes

This brief summarizes results from a recent study seeking to accurately measure the disparity in the Alzheimer disease mortality burden between adults with versus without Down syndrome for years 2005-2019. 

February 20, 2023

Exposure to Free School Meals in Kindergarten Has Lasting Positive Effects on Students’ Attendance

Samantha Trajkovski, Amy Ellen Schwartz, and Michah W. Rothbart

This brief summarizes findings examining the relationship between exposure to UFM in kindergarten and attendance and weight outcomes in NYC students from grades K-3. The results demonstrate that children who receive free meals through UFM in kindergarten have better school attendance than those who do not. In addition, there is no evidence receiving free meals in kindergarten affects weight outcomes.  

February 7, 2023

The U.S. Should Increase Access to Medication for Opioid Use Disorder Among Incarcerated Individuals

Cody Nagle

This brief describes the use of Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) and Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) as realistic and legally protected approaches to reducing overdoses upon exiting incarceration. It also calls for federal regulation and guidance on the use of MOUD in prisons, jails, and drug courts to ensure each person who needs treatment receives it.

January 31, 2023

The End of the “Chemical Imbalance” Theory of Depression - What Now?

Austin McNeill Brown

This brief summarizes new findings examining the theory that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance and calls for healthcare professionals and patients to consider the market influences and social structures that impact health.  

January 24, 2023

Food Insecurity is a Common Problem for Military Service Members and their Families

Colleen Heflin and Gabriella Alphonso

This brief summarizes the key findings of a memorandum and discusses what can be done to improve food security among active-duty military members and their families.

January 16, 2023

How Did COVID-19 School Closures Affect Adolescents with ADHD?

Nandini Jhawar, Ashley Schiros, Andrew S. London & Kevin M. Antshel
This brief summarizes results from a recent study examining the risks, protective factors, and family processes that shaped well-being among adolescents during COVID-19-related school closures. 
January 11, 2023

Mothers of Disabled Children Faced Numerous Challenges During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Amy Lutz, Sujung (Crystal) Lee, and Baurzhan Bokayev
This brief summarizes results from a recent study on the challenges mothers of disabled children faced during the COVID-19 pandemic during the Spring of 2020 in Central New York.
December 13, 2022

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Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion and Population Health