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Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology

McConnell and DeWaard Co-Authored Study of Wildfire-Related Migration Featured by the Population Reference Bureau

Although wildfires have become increasingly common and devastating for communities in recent years, their long-term consequences for affected households remain unclear. In an article in Nature Communications that was recently featured by the Population Reference Bureau, CSDE External Affiliates Kathryn McConnell (University of British Columbia) and Jack DeWaard (The Population Council) and several colleagues use several sources of demographic data to examine migration patterns after wildfires. The authors’ analysis of combined data on wildfire-related structure loss and credit data shows that a small number of extreme wildfires account for most destruction and wildfire-induced migration. Read the full study here.

Chi Quoted in Idaho Statesman Story on Water Fluoridation

Idaho has one of the lowest rates of water fluoridation because of public concern about the practice. This concern has developed despite strong scientific convergence about the benefits of fluoride in public water supplies. In a recent article in the Idaho Statesman, CSDE Affiliate Donald Chi (Oral Health Sciences) describes his qualitative work on the subject and argues for the importance of flexible, open communication between dental patients and providers. Read the full article here.

Bui and Colleagues Examine Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Youth Access to Mental Healthcare

Research has identified significant unmet mental health needs among youth in the US. In a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, CSDE Affiliate Anthony Bui (Pediatrics) and colleagues examine racial and ethnic disparities in foregone preventive mental healthcare, unmet mental health needs, and difficulty accessing mental healthcare among youth with common mental health problems. A cross-sectional analysis of data from the 2022 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) identified significant racial and ethnic disparities in forgone preventive care and unmet mental healthcare needs; Black youth have higher rates of foregone preventive care, while Asian youth have higher unmet mental healthcare needs compared to White youth. There was also evidence of widespread difficulty obtaining mental healthcare across all racial categories. Read the full study here.

Social Science Research Council Announces Updated DATA2GO.NYC Tool

Since 2006, the Social Science Research Council’s Measure of Americaprogram has worked with local and state governments to integrate and report health, education, and income data in ways that enable communities to better understand their residents’ needs. We are excited to report that Measure of America has now launched an updated version of DATA2GO.NYC, their free online mapping and data tool. DATA2GO.NYC lets users explore over 400 indicators of well-being and access to opportunity across New York City’s nearly 200 neighborhoods.

DATA2GO.NYC is designed for policymakers, nonprofits, philanthropies, community service providers, researchers, journalists, students, and all New Yorkers who want to understand the needs and well-being of New York City residents. Measure of America is offering free, open-to-the-public demos of DATA2GO.NYC on May 15th, 12-1pm and May 21st, 1-2pm. Learn more and register here.

 

*New* Join the West Coast Poverty Center Virtual Roundtable on Resettled Refugees’ Experiences with Finding Employment in King County (5/22/25)

Since the passage of the 1980 Refugee Act, the main goal of the refugee resettlement program has been to move refugees into paid employment within 3-6 months after arrival to ensure self-sufficiency. This results in refugees frequently being placed in “survival jobs” characterized by low pay, high turn-over, and part time hours. At this virtual meeting, Mehr Mumtaz (Ohio State University) and Someireh Amirfaiz (New Americans Alliance for Policy and Research) will present results from their community-based study that explores the experiences of resettled refugees in King County, Washington, with finding employment. The research identifies barriers to securing employment and achieving economic success and elevates the voices of participants to offer recommendations to improve policy and practice to support refugees’ access to living-wage employment with continuous wage progression opportunities. We invite you to join us for this conversation on Thursday, May 22nd from 9:30 – 11am. Register here.

Apply for Harry Bridges Center WA State Labor Research Grants (5/22/25)

Each year, the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies seeks proposals for policy-oriented research directly relevant to policymakers in Washington State. All University of Washington faculty,  full-time lecturers, and UW graduate students sponsored by a faculty member are eligible to apply.

Up to $15,000 is available for each grant. Depending on available funding, awards may include a tuition waiver for graduate employees. Please note this waiver does not extend to students in fee-based programs. Proposals requesting funding for student salaries will be given priority.

We also ask researchers to consider and address the following in their proposals, as appropriate:

  • Please address how your project will use ethical research methods, including identifying the relationships you have with the population(s) you’re proposing to study and your positionality to the research process and research project.

  • If applicable, will research participants and participating organizations provide input on your proposed methods before the study begins? Will they review the findings before they are publicly available? Will contributors, including interviewees, be compensated?

Proposals on the following topics will receive priority:

  • Race and/or gender as they pertain to labor and workforce issues.
  • Aspects of labor force employment, wages, conditions (including health and pension benefits), and/or unionization.
  • Local policies to address the impacts of trade, outsourcing, off-shoring subcontracting, automation, or technology.
  • Policies of unions and professional organizations to expand or preserve marketable skills and quality production.
  • Problems facing contingent, casual, or gig workers, and employment-related aspects of poverty and/or discrimination.
  • Historical work that has a direct impact on contemporary policy.
  • International case studies and/or comparative research relevant to Washington State.

A subcommittee of the Standing Committee and staff of the Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies will select the Washington State Labor Research Grant recipients, who will be announced at the Bridges Center’s annual awards celebration. Learn more here.

York University Centre for Refugee Studies 2025 Summer Course – Climate Migration Futures: Shaping the Research Agenda for 2050 (Application Deadline 5/25/2025)

For over two decades, York University’s Centre for Refugee Studies has run an internationally acclaimed, non-credit professional development Summer Course that brings together practitioners, policy makers, and researchers to learn together about the most pressing forced migration and refugee issues.

All participants who complete the full course receive a York University Centre for Refugee Studies Summer Course Certificate. Learn more here.

About this year’s course

The nexus of climate change and human mobility is rapidly transforming, demanding new, innovative research that anticipates the challenges and impacts of the coming decades. Climate Migration Futures: Shaping the Research Agenda for 2050 challenges conventional approaches and pushes the boundaries of how research can support our response to climate-induced migration. This cutting-edge summer course focuses on bold, forward-thinking research priorities and methods that can help to address the framing of climate migration, the governance of climate migration, ethical strategies for climate adaptation and relocation, and envisioning climate migration in 2050.

Leading international academics will provide introductory keynotes on themes critical to climate migration research. Participants will engage with case studies and research findings from climate frontlines, exploring how research scenarios address these questions and reveal both successful interventions and the unintentional, but often time intentional, creation of new vulnerabilities.

Through an immersive combination of expert-led sessions, collaborative design-thinking workshops, and innovative scenario planning, the course will help to: 1) redefine the research agenda on climate migration; 2) explore what research is needed to tackle the impacts of climate migration; 3) advance the appropriate research methods that can inform policy development.

Learning outcomes of this course will empower participants to:

  • Redefine Research Approaches: Develop innovative frameworks and methods to address the challenges of climate migration, focusing on resilience, climate justice, and ethical adaptation strategies
  • Enhance Policy and Governance Understanding: Explore the intersection of language, governance, and human rights in shaping adaptive policies and addressing vulnerabilities
  • Foster Collaborative Visioning: Engage in scenario planning and interdisciplinary collaboration to envision transformative solutions for climate migration by 2050

This course is designed for scholars, policymakers and practitioners who are ready to push the boundaries on current research thinking and praxis, bridging interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary tools to address the current and unforeseen factors that will define climate migration by 2050. Participants will leave prepared to advance a transformative research agenda rooted in resilience, climate justice, and innovation in the face of global climate change impacts.