The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) have just released a new report on a proposal to build a national data infrastructure for the 21st century. The committee’s goal was to develop a vision for a new, national data infrastructure for the social and behavioral sciences. The report can be found here and there will be celebratory event in Washington, D.C. on October 13 from 2-5pm EST. Register for the event here. Notably several prominent demographers contributed to the report and serve on CNSTAT, including Matthew Snipp (Stanford), Judith Seltzer (UC Irvine), Ann Case (Princeton University), and Robert Groves (Georgetown).
NICHD Announces High Priority Research Areas on the Impact of Policy Changes and Emerging Public Health Crises on NICHD Populations of Interest
Research on the effects of policy changes and emerging public health crises are now high priority research areas at NICHD. In a recently published NOSI (Note of Special Interest) (NOT-HD-22-038: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Research on the Impact of Policy Changes and Emerging and Evolving Public Health Crises on NICHD Populations of Interest (nih.gov) [grants.nih.gov]). The NICHD has a long-term interest in research on the effects of emerging and evolving public health crises and policy changes on its populations of interest. This Notice is meant to formally establish that research on these topics is of high programmatic interest to the NICHD, and to obviate the need for individual NOSIs on public health crises and policy changes as they emerge. Emerging and evolving public health crises (hereafter, public health crises) include, in addition to emerging epidemics and pandemics, the sequalae of both natural and man-made disasters. Past and current examples are the Zika Virus (ZIKV) and the COVID-19 pandemic, Hurricane Katrina, and the events of September 11, 2001. Policy changes include changes achieved through legislation, legal decisions, or executive actions. Recent examples include the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the pandemic-related eviction moratorium.
This Notice applies to health, development, and well-being outcomes that are within the scientific scope of the NICHD. This Notice does not apply to research on outcomes that are the focus of other NIH Institutes and Centers. Also, because the focus of this Notice is on emerging or evolving public health crises, this Notices does not apply to research on long-term public health issues. Examples of areas not within this scope of this Notice are smoking, cardiovascular disease, substance abuse, and overweight and obesity. While this Notice is primarily focused on policy change and public health crises that are national in scope or, at a minimum, affect a large share of the U.S. population, there is no requirement that research submitted in response to this Notice be national or regional in scope. Research focused on outcomes in specific locations are also permitted if the results can be generalized to the United States overall, a large segment of the U.S. population, a major U.S. subpopulation, or a health disparities population.
High priority areas
- Public health crises and policy changes that have limited windows of opportunity for planning and conducting rigorous research and data collection.
- Expansion of existing research programs that will allow comparisons of pre- and post-event outcomes.
- Outcomes that are national in scope and are focused on the United States.
- Outcomes that are associated with high mortality or morbidity of NICHD populations of interest or that primarily or particularly affect the NICHD populations of interest.
- Research involving underserved and health disparities populations and that addresses the causes, consequences, and reduction of health disparities.
Secondary priority
- Outcomes related to policy change or public health crises that are regional in scope (such as a group of several adjoining or associated U.S. states)
Low priority
- Outcomes that are limited to a geographic or governmental region below the state level.
- Outcomes that primarily affect the elderly or other populations that are not NICHD populations of interest.
- Outcomes that are the focus of other NIH Institutes or Centers.
- Long-term public health issues not related to infectious disease such as obesity and overweight and the opioid epidemic.
NICHD Announces 2 Crowdsourcing Challenges to Advance Maternal Health Research
This month, NICHD and partners launched two challenges focused on improving our nation’s maternal health: the RADx® Tech for Maternal Health Challenge (register for the challenge by November 1) and the Connecting the Community for Maternal Health Challenge (register for the challenge by September 29th). Both are part of NIH’s Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) initiative.
On September 22nd @11am (PST), NIH is holding an informational webinar for interested participants to learn more about the RADx Tech for Maternal Health Challenge and to get their questions answered. This webinar will be recorded and link to view the recording will be posted here. Registration for the webinar is required and available at https://www.poctrn.org/radx-
Check it out – NASEM Panel on Integrated Data for US HH Income, Wealth and Consumption
The third public meeting on an integrated system of US household income, wealth, and consumption data will be held on September 20 from 11am-2pm (PST) via webinar here. This meeting will include presentations from from six countries – Canada, Finland, Italy, U.K., Netherlands, and New Zealand – about their experiences using multiple data sources to create both a data infrastructure for income, consumption and wealth, and improved estimates.
CSDE Welcomes Four New Affiliates!
CSDE’s Executive Committee is pleased to introduce four of our new UW Faculty Affiliates:
- Isabelle Cohen–Assistant Professor, Evans School of Public Policy & Governance. Dr. Cohen’s research focuses on innovations and their potential to change the implementation of governmental and non-governmental activities and services in developing countries, using large-scale randomized control trials to rigorously evaluate new technologies and organizational methods.
- Daniel Enquobahrie—Associate Professor, Epidemiology. Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Systems and Population Health. Dr. Enquobahrie’s research focuses on (1) pre-pregnancy and early/mid pregnancy risk factors (and associated mechanisms) for pregnancy complications and outcomes, and (2) early life and developmental origins of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.
- Laura Evans—Associate Professor, Evans School of Public Policy & Governance. Dr. Evans’ work addresses both historic and continuing obstacles to Native American tribal governments’ exercise of sovereignty and self-determination. She documents how tribes respond to their context in order to dismantle barriers and expand opportunities to self-govern.
- Vedavati Patwardhan—Postdoctoral Scholar, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). Dr. Patwardhan is an applied microeconomist, with research interests in development economics and demography. Her research focuses on women’s economic empowerment, maternal and child health, and program evaluation in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
CSDE Welcomes Professor Jung-Hwa Ha, Visiting Scholar from Seoul National University
This academic year, CSDE is hosting Professor Jung-Hwa Ha from the Department of Social Welfare at Seoul National University in South Korea. Dr. Ha received her Ph.D. in Social Work and Sociology from University of Michigan and her research interests include aging and the life course, widowhood, social support, end-of-life care, and dementia care. She is primarily interested in examining how late-life transitions such as widowhood or a health decline affect older adults’ social and psychological well-being, and the extent to which various social and psychological factors moderate these relationships. She also conducts more practice-oriented research on advance care planning for people with dementia and cross-cultural research comparing the impact of childlessness on older adults’ well-being across different Asian countries with her collaborators. This opportunity was made possibly by CSDE Executive Committee Member Professor Heather Hill and the Evans School. Dr. Ha will be sitting in CSDE, participating in CSDE events, and delivering a seminar lecture this year (stay tuned!). Dr. Ha is looking forward to speaking with any member of the CSDE community who also shares her research interests!
Upcoming Formal Demography Working Group: Outsurvival Statistic!
The Formal Demography Working Group, a virtual community of demographers, will hold its first meeting of the academic year on Friday, September 30 – 2pm Central European Summer Time. The meeting time accommodates the authors’ time zone, so it’s early bird time for PST residents – 5am. Nevertheless, it should be a good session! If you are interested in joining the mailing list or participating more actively visit the Demography Working Group GitHub site.
Dr. Marie-Pier Bergeron Boucher will present ‘Outsurvival statistic: Method and application to sex differences in lifespan,’ related to her recent work on this topic. Meetings are recorded for those who are unable to join. Previous recordings can be found here. If you are interested in presenting at a future meeting, fill out this form.
Acolin, Crowder, Hajat, Hall, & Decter-Frain Publish Research on Connection Between Gentrification and Contextual Determinants of Health
CSDE Affilliates Arthur Acolin, Kyle Crowder, and Anjum Hajat, and Matt Hall, along with co-author Ari Decter-Frain recently published research in Housing Policy Debate. The study examines exposure to four contextual Determinants of Health (cDOH) among residents of gentrifying and not gentrifying lower income neighborhoods in central cities for the 100 largest metropolitan regions in the US using their location in 2006 and 2019 based on individual level consumer trace data.
Sherr, Barnabas, and Co-Authors Conduct Qualitative Evaluation of Systems Analysis and Improvement Approach in New Study
CSDE Affiliates Kenneth Sherr and Ruanne Barnabas, with several co-authors, have published new research in Implementation Science Communications. In the article, the authors test an implementation strategy called the Systems Analysis and Improvement Approach (SAIA), an evidenced-based multi-component implementation strategy focused on improving entire care cascades, aiming to address gaps in HIV testing and counseling (HTC) in family planning (FP) clinics. The study leverages and cluster randomized trial of 24 FP clinics in Mombasa County, Kenya.
Two New Studies from Walter, Acolin, and Co-Authors Explore Different Aspects of Urban Communities
CSDE Affiliates Rebecca Walter, Arthur Acolin, and several co-authors recently published geospatial research in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology and an analysis of shared equity homeownership (SEH) programs in Housing Studies. The first paper examines the degree of crime concentration at micro-places across six large cities (Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and Seattle), the spatial clustering of high and low crime micro-places within cities, the presence of outliers within those clusters, and extent to which there is stability and change in micro-place classification over time. The second explores how changes in neighborhood characteristics differ when households enter and exit SEH units relative to similar households that entered traditional homeownership or continued to rent.