Humanitarian Innovation Initiative Receives Funding from Gates Foundation
November 1, 2018
HI² received funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a predictive tool to guide the treatment of pediatric diarrhea.
Global Health
News & Research
How Do Physicians, Policymakers Respond When a Procedure Proves No Better Than a Placebo?
October 12, 2018
In response to the Lancet’s ORBITA study in November 2017, Public Policy program director Eric Patashnik co-hosted a workshop at Yale University to address the research. The result of that workshop is a series of essays on the Health Affairs Blog titled, “ORBITA: Lessons from a Landmark Trial.”
Brown Professor Awarded $2.8 Million NIH Grant to Develop Mobile Health App
September 25, 2018
Director of the Humanitarian Innovation Initiative, Adam Levine, has been awarded a $2.8 million, five year grant from the National Institute of Health to develop a mobile health app.
All the scientific support for breastfeeding that the US apparently didn't read (research by Emily Oster cited)
July 12, 2018 Quartz
Earlier this year, the U.S. tried to weaken a World Health Organization proposal encouraging the benefits of breastfeeding. Economist Emily Oster pointed out that it's "impossible to disentangle" the most commonly cited benefits of breastfeeding, such as higher IQ and lower obesity rates, from socioeconomic factors.
The Health 202: Medicare for all is new Democratic mantra in congressional races (comments by Eric Patashnik)
July 9, 2018 The Washington Post
Progressive political candidates motivated by Bernie Sanders' insurgent run against Hillary Clinton in 2016 are advocating for Medicare for all as part of their platforms. Professor Eric Patashnik said that the political viability of the idea will ultimately depend on its details -- such as whether the program would eliminate the private-insurance system altogether.
Unhealthy Politics: The Battle Over Evidence-Based Medicine
June 13, 2018
Unhealthy Politics: The Battle over Evidence-Based Medicine, co-written by Public Policy program director Eric Patashnik, describes the U.S. medical system, the most advanced in the world, and its insufficient evaluation process of treatments that often become widespread.
Health Reform after the 2016 Election
June 5, 2018
In May 2017, Professor Eric Patashnik convened a conference on “Health Reform after the 2016 Election,” bringing together scholars to examine and discuss the state of health reform. The contributions led to a special edition of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law.
What we know about fighting Ebola (interview with Adam Levine)
May 25, 2018 International Medical Corps
Adam Levine, Director of the Humanitarian Innovation Initiative, speaks to International Medical Corps about the fight against Ebola.
The Arc of History Bends Toward Coverage: Health Policy at a Crossroads
April 9, 2018
A new article co-written by Public Policy Professor James A. Morone analyzes the repeated interaction between Republicans and Democrats when a U.S. president seeks to expand health coverage, and wonders if the Affordable Care Act has broken the pattern.
The arc of history bends toward coverage: Health policy at a crossroads (written by James A. Morone)
March 7, 2018 The Commonwealth Fund
Political scientist James A. Morone teams up with The Commonwealth Fund's President David Blumenthal to look back at the Affordable Care Act's passage through a historical lens, beginning with Harry Truman's proposed universal insurance plan in 1945.
Are You Getting Evidence-Based Healthcare? (interview with Eric Patashnik)
February 23, 2018 Innovation Hub
Eric Patashnik joins Innovation Hub to discuss evidence-based medical procedures and his recent book, Unhealthy Politics: The Battle over Evidence-Based Medicine.
A Top-Secret US Military Base Will Melt Out of the Greenland Ice Sheet (comments by Jeff Colgan)
February 20, 2018 Motherboard
Political scientist Jeff Colgan discusses his new study on the impacts of climate change on military bases. “It’s not a high priority. In fact it’s a barely known [issue] in Washington."
Evidence-based guidelines for supportive care of patients with Ebola virus disease
February 17, 2018
In new research, Adam C. Levine, Faculty Fellow and Director of the Humanitarian Innovation Initiative, joined colleagues to employ the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology to develop eveidence-based guidelines for the care of admitted Ebola patients.
Is There a Place for Environmental Justice in Global Health? (written by Alex Nading)
February 8, 2018 Edge Effects
Senior Fellow Alex Nading in Edge Effects, "Occupational health experts compare the work of planting and harvesting sugarcane to running a half marathon in 90-plus degree weather, going home and going to sleep, and doing the same thing again for the next five days.
Efforts of climate change can complicate the politics of military bases, study finds (research by Jeff Colgan cited)
February 5, 2018 News from Brown
When Project Iceworm, an abandoned Cold War-era U.S. Army initiative in Greeland was shut down in 1967, military expected leftover materials would freeze. A new study by Jeff Colgan finds that now, the melting ice in the Arctic has remobilized some toxic waste and threatens to do the same at other sites.
Emily Oster on Diabetes and Diet, Disease and Vaccinations and Debunking Pregnancy Myths
January 19, 2018 Economic Rockstar Podcast
Economist Emily Oster joined economics and finance lecturer Frank Conway on his podcast Economic Rockstar to discuss diabetes and diets, disease and vaccinations, and pregnancy myths.
After a Debacle, How California Became a Role Model on Measles (co-written by Emily Oster)
January 16, 2018 The New York Times
In The New York Times' The Upshot, Emily Oster co-writes about the 2014 episode that left 159 Disneyland visitors with the measles, and the policy change that followed in California that triggered a jump in vaccination rates across the state.
These are the states where infant mortality is highest (research by Emily Oster cited)
January 5, 2018 CNN
Research by Emily Oster is cited about the infant mortality rate in the United States. "In the paper, published in the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 'we find that 45% of regional differences can be attributed to differences in birth weight, with lower birth weights in states like Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas, especially relative to the Northeast.'"
Why American doctors keep doing expensive procedures that don't work (written by Eric Patashnik)
December 28, 2017 Vox
Professor Eric Patashnik in Vox, "Eventually, the war over Obamacare will end. When it does, there may be an opening to have a sensible conversation about ensuring that patients receive treatments grounded in sound science."
CVS and Aetna: Will It Work? (research by Jim Morone cited)
December 8, 2017 Barron's
Research by Jim Morone is cited in an article about the recent announcement that CVS will buy insurance company Aetna.