Research Library

Previous studies of tobacco policies aimed at reducing hospitalizations may have overestimated the benefits of bans on public smoking and underestimated the benefits of cigarette taxes, according to new research by the Baker Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Yale University, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “Public-place smoking bans play a critical role in improving public health, and we are not arguing that smoking bans be lifted in restaurants, bars and workplaces,” said research co-author Vivian Ho, the chair in health economics at the Baker Institute and director of the institute’s Center for Health and Biosciences. “However, policy makers and public health workers must be realistic in understanding the benefits of alternative policy interventions like taxes and bans. We found that raising cigarette taxes can have an immediate beneficial effect in terms of reducing costly hospitalizations. As for smoking bans, while these may eventually lower hospitalizations, our research found no immediate benefit in terms of reduced hospitalizations.”

The percentage of young adults ages 18 to 34 in Texas without health insurance has dropped by 35 percent since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) went into effect.

Little is known about regional variation in cancer treatment and its determinants. In this publication, authors compare rates of adherence to treatment guidelines for elderly patients across Texas and whether local specialist supply is an important determinant of treatment variation.

This study assesses the attitudes of women in Jordanian maternity clinics with regard to CB banking and transplantation.

State "right to try" laws can give terminally ill patients early access to experimental drugs and medical devices — but they arguably make safety and efficacy secondary to speedy access.

Research analyst Ariana Marnicio explores whether gender-segregated transportation in the Middle East protects women’s rights and presence in the public sphere, or serves to deepen gender divides.

State-based Medicaid programs have begun using All Patient Refined–Diagnosis-Related Groups (APR-DRGs) to determine hospital reimbursement rates. This study examined how well APR-DRGs reflect admission costs for childhood cancer chemotherapy to inform clinicians, hospitals and policymakers in the wake of policy changes.

Current medical research and literature may be overemphasizing the role that hospital volume plays in patient outcomes, according to a study co-authored by health economics fellow Vivian Ho.

This issue brief argues that continued investments in global health and the study of emerging pathogens could yield better tools to fight infectious diseases like the Zika virus long before they become a problem in the developed world.

The 340B Drug Pricing Program, which allows uninsured or low-income patients to buy prescription drugs at discounted prices, is under attack.