April 2016

April 2016

April 20, 2016

Longer Maternity Leave Reduces Infant Mortality in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

IAPHS Staff

In the first such study outside high-income countries, researchers have found that lengthening paid maternity leaves by a month results in eight fewer infant deaths per 1000 live births. This quasi-experimental study conducted by scientists at McGill University and the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health examined the effects of changes in the legislated length of paid maternity leave in 20 low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2008 on infant death rates. The researchers drew on panel data for approximately 300,000 live births recorded by the Demographic and Health Surveys. The study was published recently in PLOS Medicine; the full article can be accessed here.

April 8, 2016

A Population Health Vision at NIMHD

IAPHS Staff

IAPHS Staff

In a recent video presentation, Dr. Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities described his vision for a science of health disparities and his priorities for the Institute. (Read more…) Dr. Pérez-Stable called for a “multidisciplinary systems approach across the lifespan” to address the Institute’s mission “to lead scientific research to improve minority health and eliminate health disparities.” This includes research on: The etiology of adverse and beneficial outcomes associated with race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status; The mechanisms that produce these outcomes through interaction of social, behavioral, environmental, biological and clinical factors; Interventions to improve health status and reduce disparities; and The methodologies, metrics and tools that are needed to establish a science of health disparities. Two of the five priorities established for the Institute are to “Define the science of health disparities and minority health” and “Promote innovation from extramural scientists in population sciences.” Watch the video for more!

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