Research Library

Throughout Houston, disparities in injury risk for children walking and biking are prevalent. In a new Center for Health and Biosciences brief, nonresident fellow Zoabe Hafeez and his coauthors look at who is disproportionately affected and identify ways to reduce risks. Solutions include promoting safe routes to school, reducing motor vehicle speeds, and making roads safer for children.

Treatment advances over the past decade offer new medications and procedures to combat the growing problem of childhood obesity. In a new brief, nonresident fellow Dr. Sheela Gavvala and coauthors provide policy options and recommendations to encourage evolution in the state’s approach to this important health issue, ensuring a healthier and more prosperous future for all Texans.

Texas abortion bans lack specific guidelines for physicians to follow when providing reproductive care, especially in miscarriage cases. Thus, health care providers are forced to weigh legal consequences before patients’ safety. In a paper by researchers from the Center for Health and Biosciences and Rice University students, authors outline the large-scale implications of Texas policy on access to miscarriage care and recommend policy actions to ensure the protections of physicians and patients.

On this episode of the Baker Briefing podcast, Jim Blackburn and Edward M. Emmett discuss the takeaways from Hurricane Beryl, a storm that hit the Houston region last month as a Category 1 hurricane and left thousands without power for over a week in brutal summer heat.

If China coercively annexed Taiwan, it would be a devastating loss for America. This paper assesses key consequences and argues that the U.S. must urgently prevent such an outcome.

Will Iran’s reformist new president bring about meaningful change? Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar and Kristian Coates Ulrichsen joined the Baker Briefing podcast to discuss Masoud Pezeshkian’s surprising electoral victory and what to expect from his administration.

Farm labor shortages put pressure on the United States’ food security, the livelihoods of farmers and farmworkers, and the economies and identity of rural communities. In a new Center for the U.S and Mexico research paper, Alejandro Gutiérrez-Li, assistant professor at North Carolina State University, examines the crucial role played by Mexican immigrant farmworkers in putting food on American tables.

In 1969, nearly 50% of young people walked or biked to school, now that figure has dropped to just over 10%. This alarming decline in physical activity impacts children’s physical health, social health, well-being, and autonomy — presenting an urgent need to increase their physical activity by enhancing active transportation safety for children. This brief from the Child Health Policy Program provides key insights and policy recommendations.

Addressing non-medical drivers of health (NMDOH) is crucial to improving health outcomes and containing health care costs. A brief by Jacquie Klotz, Charles W. Mathias, and Elena M. Marks reports findings from policy crowdsourcing workshops. Researchers, practitioners, and policymakers joined the Texas NMDOH Consortium to collaborate on identifying NMDOH policy opportunities in Texas. In the Fall of 2024, the Texas NMDOH Consortium will publish policy recommendations to elaborate on opportunities to advance the integration of non-medical interventions into the health care system.

Texas’ growing population produces a mounting demand on the state’s power grid. In his recent testimony written for the Texas Senate Committee on Business and Commerce, Kenneth B. Medlock III, senior director of the Center for Energy Studies, examined the current power capacities of ERCOT, Texas’ grid operator. With support from a recent CES report, he outlined ways to address ERCOT’s structural risk through policy to promote investor and consumer confidence in Texas’ power supply.