Policy Archives

01.08.2024 Close up of someone holding and looking down at a sonogram image

Pro-Life? Abortion Bans Increase Infant Deaths

U.S. counties in states with restrictive abortion laws had a 16% higher infant mortality rate than those counties in less restrictive states.

Fellow Caroline Dignard

10.26.2023 PHPod logo and player on the left with an optical illusion on right, representing body dysmorphia, weight discrimination, and stigma

Health Equity

Fat Liberation and Weight Discrimination

PHPod host Kara Schmidt sits down with Rev. Dr. Anastasia Kidd, director of Contextual Education at Boston University School of Theology, and Massachusetts State Senator Becca Rausch to discuss the fat liberation movement, the health effects of weight stigma, and recent legislation to address size discrimination in the Commonwealth.

10.13.2023 Line graphs depicting the change in volume of sales of taxed sugary beverages (oz, millions) in Philadelphia, PA vs Baltimore, MD before and after sugar-sweetened beverage tax implementation.

Line graphs depicting the change in volume of sales of taxed sugary beverages (oz, millions) in Philadelphia, PA vs Baltimore, MD before and after sugar-sweetened beverage tax implementation.

A Spoonful of Sugar, A Spoonful of Artificial Sweetener

After Philadelphia, PA implemented a tax on sugar-sweetened and artificially-sweetened beverages, volume sales decreased by 50% and remained low in the years following.

Fellow Adna Jaganjac

10.10.2023 Line graph depicting trends in percentage of U.S. adults with health insurance coverage by LGBTQ+ and partnered status

Health Insurance Trends Among LGBTQ+ Adults

Prior to the expansion of the Affordable Care Act and the legalization of same-sex marriage, LGBTQ+ adults were largely unable to qualify for health care coverage. Now, coverage rates have increased across the board.

Fellow Kara Schmidt

09.07.2023 close up of person wearing face mask to protect against COVID

Disease
COVID-19

Learning from Past Disasters to Help COVID Long Haulers

One in 7 Americans are still reporting symptoms of long COVID. Our current safety net is insufficient to support them.

Guest Authors Brontë Nevins, Heather Howard

06.20.2023 graph depicting mental distress in the wake of abortion bans and subsequent increased travel distances to abortion clinics post-Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision

graph depicting mental distress in the wake of abortion bans and subsequent increased travel distances to abortion clinics post-Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision

Dobbs Distress

After the Dobbs v. Jackson decision, women and pregnancy-capable people of reproductive age reported a 10% increase in mental distress compared to the months before the decision.

Fellow Caroline Dignard

06.02.2023 elderly couple smiling at the camera

Updated Guidance Addresses LGBTQ+ Elder Health

Recent changes to the Older Americans Act aim to improve LGBTQ+ elder health outcomes by removing barriers to care.

Guest Authors Kristina Carvalho, Callie MacDonald

04.20.2023

The Unsung Intersection of Ballroom and Public Health

PHPod sat down with Jennifer Barnes-Balenciaga, director of the Crystal LaBeija Organizing Fellowship and Commissioner for Gender Equity in New York City, to discuss her work with health policy and the ballroom community.

Fellows Connor McCombs, Bethany Hallenborg

04.14.2023 strip of homes in a city

Eviction Solutions Require Cross-Sector Policy

Since 2021, most COVID-related eviction moratoria have lifted, and the pace of evictions—and their consequences—has picked up as a result.

Guest Authors Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, Diana Cutts, Allison Bovell-Ammon

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