House tax-and-spending bill and other Trump administration changes could make millions of people lose their health insurance coverage

President Donald Trump has promised not to cut Medicaid many times over the past decade, including in the tax-and-spending legislative package he has made a top priority in his second…

RFK Jr’s shakeup of vaccine advisory committee raises worries about scientific integrity of health recommendations

On June 11, 2025, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a slate of eight new members to serve on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the Centers…

Older adults with dementia misjudge their financial skills – which may make them more vulnerable to fraud, new research finds

Older adults diagnosed with dementia lose their ability to assess how well they manage their finances, according to a recent study I co-authored in The Gerontologist. In comparison, people of…

Adolescents who smoke or vape may believe tobacco’s perceived coping benefits outweigh accepted health risks

Tobacco use in a variety of forms is common in adolescent life today, with over 2.25 million youth using. Huge progress has been made over the past few decades in…

Teens say they can access firearms at home, even when parents lock them up, new research shows

More than half of U.S. teens living in households with firearms believe they can access and load a firearm at home. Even when their parents report storing all firearms locked…

LGBTQ+ patients stay up-to-date on preventive care when their doctors are supportive, saving money and lives throughout society

When LGBTQ+ patients are unsure if they can be open about their identity and related health needs, it becomes more difficult for them to access high-quality health care. In our…

US health care is rife with high costs and deep inequities, and that’s no accident – a public health historian explains how the system was shaped to serve profit and politicians

A few years ago, a student in my history of public health course asked why her mother couldn’t afford insulin without insurance, despite having a full-time job. I told her…

Game theory explains why reasonable parents make vaccine choices that fuel outbreaks

When outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles occur despite highly effective vaccines being available, it’s easy to conclude that parents who don’t vaccinate their children are misguided, selfish or…

Cuts to school lunch and food bank funding mean less fresh produce for children and families

The U.S. government recently cut more than US$1 billion in funding to two long-running programs that helped schools and food banks feed children and families in need. The U.S. Department…

1 in 4 children suffers from chronic pain − school nurses could be key to helping them manage it

Joint pain, headaches, stomachaches, fibromyalgia – the list sounds like an inventory of ailments that might plague people as they age. Yet these are chronic, painful conditions that frequently affect…