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2023-06-12
Kaiser Family Foundation;
Immigrants are an integral part of our nation, including our nation's workforce. Immigrants support the U.S. economy and its workforce by filling unmet labor market needs, especially in industries such as construction and agriculture that are at increased risk of adverse health outcomes and injuries, including climate-related health hazards. Through entrepreneurship and establishment of businesses, immigrants also create jobs that generate employment for other U.S. residents, including U.S.-born citizens. However, their employment patterns contribute to them having higher uninsured rates and facing increased health risks relative to their U.S.-born peers. While their employment patterns, in part, reflect lower educational attainment levels and skills among immigrant workers versus U.S.-born workers, research and data suggest that some immigrant workers may be overqualified for their jobs—that is having education or skills beyond what is necessary for their job. Addressing this occupational mismatch could help reduce disparities in health and health care faced by immigrant families and positively benefit the U.S. economy.This brief examines socioeconomic characteristics and employment patterns among immigrant workers and examines how they compare to U.S.-born workers, including differences among college-educated workers. It discusses the implications of these patterns for their health and well-being as well as the nation's economy.
2024-01-23
Church Church Hittle + Antrim;
This sixth edition of the Indiana Bar Foundation's Indiana Civic Health Index (INCHI) begins a new chapter in the decade of past research undertaken to explore Indiana's overall civic health. This report examines some of Indiana's successes and shortcomings during the past few years and continues to use this data to examine future opportunities for improvement in our collective civic health. In this latest INCHI we look at new data from the 2022 election cycle as well as additional data demonstrating other areas of our state's civic health as we look forward to the national elections in 2024. The insights gained by examining Hoosiers' participation in civic life from 2010 to the present will inform and motivate citizens and leaders alike to build a culture of civic engagement that enhances our economic, social, and political wellbeing.Building on the recommendations outlined in past INCHIs, the report details progress in advancing the goals of enhancing civic education in schools and promoting citizen participation in the election process, goals that are profoundly intertwined. Studies show a consistent and robust relationship between school experiences with voting education and civic participation later in life. As cornerstones of representative democracy, civic education and participation are crucial to advancing our civic health.The report incorporates earlier analyses and current data, examining additional measures of Indiana's civic activity, identifying areas of strength and opportunities for improvement. The 2023 INCHI is meant to further stimulate discussion and inspire a renewed commitment to advancing Indiana's civic health. Strengthening Hoosiers' civic health vitality will require a concerted effort of all stakeholders interested in supporting citizen participation in its many forms; the result will be a more vibrant, successful, and engaged Indiana and nation.
2023-12-14
Georgia City Solutions;
In 2013, Georgia Family Connection Partnership (GaFCP)—along with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, GeorgiaForward, and the National Conference on Citizenship (NCoC)—published the first Georgia Civic Health Index. A second edition was published in 2019 in partnership with GaFCP, NCoC, and the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA), launching conversations and action across our state.This third edition of the Georgia Civic Health Index examines the way Georgians interact with each other, with their communities, and in political life. It allows us to see the ways Georgia's civic health has changed since 2013 and explores the ways civic participation varies across demographic variables, including income, educational attainment, age, race and ethnicity, and geography. This report also compares Georgia's rates of civic participation to other states and to national averages, so that—together—we can support and broaden existing conversations, initiate new dialogues, explore and implement evidence-based practices, and implement strategies at all levels to strengthen civic health and communities.
2023-10-17
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials;
As the providers of essential public health services, the state and local government public health workforce is uniquely positioned to take on the root causes of structural racism in communities nationwide. This research brief analyzing data from the 2021 Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS) provides the first exploration of government public health employees' views on addressing racism as a public health crisis, how much they have been involved in such efforts, and the resources and supports they believe they need to take on racial justice work within public health agency contexts.Key findings:Nearly three-quarters (72%) of state and local government public health employees believe that addressing racism as a public health crisis should be part of their work within their agencies. However, only about 4 in 10 (39%) employees reported being highly engaged in such efforts.A strong majority of public health agency executives (81%) believe that addressing racism should be part of their work.Over half of the government public health workforce (58%) believes they lack adequate funding to address racism as a public health crisis. Nationally, employees reported needing more training, community engagement, and support from agency leadership to address racism in their work.
2023-12-04
Arkansas Peace & Justice Memorial Movement;
Citizen engagement is vital for the flourishing of democracy and communities. Active citizen engagement can increase the legitimacy and effectiveness of policies and programs, and heighten public officials' accountability, leading to better governance. Those who favor a smaller government promote energetic civic engagement as key to ensuring that the civil, religious, and business sectors of society have the capacity to deliver effective public services. Further, civic health is associated with greater economic growth and improved physical health outcomes for citizens.To gauge the civic health of a state, three kinds of civic engagement can be examined: citizens' direct participation in politics through voting, political activity beyond elections, and connectedness to their families, neighbors, and communities. By registering to vote and voting in local, state, and national elections, citizens exercise control over their leaders and ultimately over policy, control that is especially valued by Arkansans, whose state motto is "Regnat populus": the people rule. Engaging with politics beyond the ballot box—such as through political conversations with family and friends, participating in informed discussions and debates on the issues, attending local government meetings, and communicating with public officials—strengthens our democracy by helping residents learn about and generate solutions to public issues. Moreover, building ties to fellow residents through neighborly conversations, memberships in local organizations, volunteering, and donating to worthy causes nurtures thriving local communities. The Civic Health Index framework complements other, broader models of civic engagement, such as the Active Citizen Continuum and The Points of Light Civic Circle.Further, this report augments the civic health index's measures with additional indicators. Among these are citizens' trust in government and one another, the extent to which nonprofit organizations build coalitions across sectors to address complex issues, the transparency of local government information on the web, the availability of newspapers and radio stations as well as other sources of public-affairs information, and physical and online spaces in local communities where residents can gather to discuss public matters.Â
2023-03-14
California HealthCare Foundation;
For the first time since 2017, the federal government has released health care spending data by state. The data, available for 1991 to 2020, cover spending on personal health care (PHC), which includes goods and services, such as hospital care, physician services, and prescription drugs, but excludes the net cost of health insurance, government administration, public health activities, and investment.In 2020, California PHC spending totaled $405 billion and accounted for 12% of total US PHC spending. On a per capita basis, California health care spending ($10,299) surpassed the US average ($10,191) for the first time since 1991.Between 2010 and 2020, health care spending in California grew faster on an annual average basis than health spending in the US and the economic growth in the state.
2023-01-31
Chicago Community Trust;
Chicago is known as one of the most segregated cities in America, with pockets of both deep wealth and extreme vulnerability. Even compared with the country as a whole, the city's legacy of race-based discrimination and decades of disinvestment and marginalization is extreme. Today, that legacy manifests in starkly different financial opportunities and realities for its citizens, falling largely along racial and ethnic lines. In partnership with The Chicago Community Trust, we examine the factors that contribute to financial health disparities among Chicagoans and residents of surrounding Cook County.Key TakeawaysCook County, including Chicago, demonstrates both greater financial health and greater financial vulnerability than the U.S. as a whole.The disparities in financial health across race and ethnicity are dramatically larger in Cook County than in the U.S.Black and Latinx households in Cook County are far less likely than white households to have access to wealth-building assets, yet are more likely to hold most kinds of debt than white households.Black and Latinx people in Cook County are far more likely to be Financially Vulnerable than their counterparts nationwide.Racial gaps in financial health of Cook County residents can't be explained by household income alone.
2023-05-08
Urban Institute;
High rates of preterm birth, low birth weight, and late initiation of prenatal care can be asign of poor health and high levels of social risk factors in a community. On the otherhand, early entry into prenatal care and better-than-expected birth outcomes can signala supportive community environment. We identified six counties in North Carolina withbetter-than- and worse-than-expected birth outcomes among Medicaid members(Bladen, Catawba, Cumberland, Halifax, Orange, and Wayne; Johnston et al.,forthcoming) and interviewed public health officials and health care and social serviceproviders in each county to examine community-level strengths and challenges tooptimal maternal and infant health. As North Carolina looks to improve birth outcomesand reduce health disparities in its new Medicaid managed care program, findings fromthis study can provide useful insights.
2023-02-16
California HealthCare Foundation;
California is home to nearly 40 million people of different incomes, ages, and racial and ethnic backgrounds, and who live in different regions. Every year since 2019, the California Health Care Foundation has conducted a representative, statewide survey of residents' views and experiences on a variety of health care topics, some of which are tracked to detect meaningful shifts over time.The California Health Care Foundation and NORC at the University of Chicago, a nonpartisan research organization, conducted the survey again in late 2022. Results are reported and, where applicable, compared to the prior annual survey, which was conducted in late 2021.Key findings from this year's survey include:Health care costs. Like prior years, half of Californians (52%) report skipping or delaying health care due to cost in the past 12 months. Of those who skipped or delayed care, half of them (50%) say their condition got worse as a result.Medical debt. More than 1 in 3 (36%) report having medical debt, and of those, 1 in 5 (19%) report owing $5,000 or more. Californians with lower incomes (52%) are more likely than those with higher incomes (30%) to report medical debt.
2023-07-01
Guttmacher Institute;
KEY POINTSIn recent years, governments across Africa have sought to shield theirpopulations from the high financial cost of health care by implementinguniversal health coverage schemes.Universal health coverage cannot be achieved unless comprehensive sexualand reproductive health (SRH) care is included in national health plans.Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia and Benin offer examples of how to integrate SRHinto broader health coverage plans.Recommendations are offered to inform stakeholders' approach tointegrating sexual and reproductive health care into national healthcoverage plans.