Rita Hamad

As a social epidemiologist, I often use data from Bureau of Labor Statistics to study health impacts of economic policies. As Trump fires head of #BLS and justifies decision with false reasons, I worry about quality and politicization of data we use to inform policies. @aeainformation.bsky.social

What Role Do Immigrants Play in the Rural Workforce? | KFF This data note examines the role that immigrants play in the rural workforce, particularly in industries disproportionately filled by immigrants, including health care, agriculture, construction, and ...

New analysis by @kff.org finds that immigrants make up 3X the share of physicians and surgeons in rural America than their share of the rural population/total workforce (14% vs. 5%). They also play outsized roles in agriculture, construction, and service occupations.
www.kff.org/racial-equit...

“It’s Horrible to Live Like This”: Immigration Policy’s Real-Time Impact on Young Children The Trump administration has launched a mass deportation campaign in its first few months that is reaching children, families, and communities across the country.

A quarter of US children have at least one immigrant parent; >90% of these kids are themselves US citizens. Read a new report from the Center for the Study of Social Policy on immigration policy’s real-time adverse impact on these young children: cssp.org/resource/imm... @nilc.org @immcouncil.org

Health Affairs is planning a theme issue on the intersections of #climate, #health, and #equity. Read more and submit your abstract here by August 11:
www.healthaffairs.org/request-for-...

@apha.org @iaphs.bsky.social @societyforepi.bsky.social

Not surprising. US is only high-income country--and 1 of only a few countries worldwide--that doesn't have national #paidleave policy for new parents. Our research (and others) have shown positive effects of state leave policies on health: tinyurl.com/3x55ykhn @irpwisc.bsky.social @npwf.bsky.social

20 best countries for work-life balance—And U.S. isn't on it The U.S. fails to place in the top 20 countries in the world with the best work-life balance.

"... the United States was absent from the top rankings due to its lack of statutory paid parental leave and private healthcare system." www.newsweek.com/20-best-coun...

Read more about increased #childtaxcredit take-up during the pandemic-era expansion, and continuing barriers to #healthequity. Final article is now posted and special free access is available until 8/28 via this link! authors.elsevier.com/a/1lPJ23k7xF...
@hsph.harvard.edu @delauro.house.gov

Take-up of the 2021 Child Tax Credit Expansion Among Disadvantaged Households in California: Continuing Barriers to Health Equity In 2021 Congress expanded the Child Tax Credit (CTC), one of the largest US economic supports for working families with proven benefits for health. In…

Our findings are particularly relevant given recent passage of #OBBB Act, which adds substantial administrative hurdles to many programs including SNAP & Medicaid. We can anticipate that adding such barriers to safety net programs will likely worsen health. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 3/3

Another finding was that CTC take-up in 2021 was higher than for the Earned Income Tax Credit, which also involves filing taxes. Both programs have positive impacts on health, meaning that administrative burdens are barriers to health equity. @donmoyn.bsky.social @mdrc-news.bsky.social @itep.org 2/

The 2021 Child Tax Credit expansion involved automatic deposits of cash into bank accounts of most eligible families. Our study finds that this reduced administrative burdens & boosted CTC take-up, but disparities remained. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @pamherd.bsky.social 1/

Check out personal stories from #pophealth scientists about how drastic federal funding cuts are affecting scientific progress & junior researchers' careers. This includes several stories from people here @hsph.harvard.edu who lost all federal funding, including my team's story. @iaphs.bsky.social

Check out personal stories from #pophealth scientists about how drastic federal funding cuts are affecting scientific progress & junior researchers' careers. This includes several stories from people here @hsph.harvard.edu who lost all federal funding, including my team's story. @iaphs.bsky.social

A majority of working-age Medicaid enrollees report that losing Medicaid coverage would affect their ability to work, with 40% saying it would have a "major impact," per polling released by @kff.org yesterday

www.kff.org/medicaid/pol...

Judge orders NIH to restore hundreds of grants cut under Trump William Young calls terminations illegal, berates agency for discrimination

Judge Young said that the NIH grant terminations were rooted in discrimination against racial, sexual, and gender minority groups: “I would be blind not to call it out. My duty is to call it out.” #HealthInequity #DEI

www.science.org/content/arti...

Diverging Mortality Trends by Educational Attainment in the US This cross-sectional study examines trends in US mortality rates by sex and educational attainment before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. once saw steady declines in mortality—but progress stalled around 2010.

New research: In 2023 alone, there were 525,505 more deaths than expected had pre-2010 trends continued.

91% were among adults without a BA degree. Most were due to CVD and diabetes.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

The 2025 Health Datapalooza unites patients, investors, researchers, policymakers & more to use data to tackle the toughest challenges in health care. We'll see you in Washington DC this September 4-5:

Register by July 10 for early bird rates! buff.ly/pWELCI6 #hdpalooza #healthdata

Interested in social epidemiology but don't have access to formal training, or do you want more than your current training program offers? Check out new online course from University of Toronto, including lectures from yours truly on social policy evaluation: leongcentre.utoronto.ca/social-epide...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Medicaid at 60: Examining the Program's Past, Present, and Future. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicaid into law on July 30, 1965. Sixty years later, the program covers about one in five people in the United States. Medicaid’s 60th anniversary is an opportunit...

#Medicaid covers about one in five people nationwide. Join @RWJF and @JHPPL on June 12 @ 3 p.m. ET as we discuss the program’s legacy and future. Speakers include @povertyscholar.bsky.social Andrea Campbell, David Adler and me. Register: bit.ly/4dsIsXR

New research letter led by Hannah Factor, a star PhD student here in Harvard's health policy program, finds that damage from SNAP work requirements is hard to undo, likely because of the administrative burdens involved with re-enrollment

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Researchers say moms and babies are ‘going to get hurt’ by federal pregnancy data team cuts In the remote villages of Alaska where social worker Laura Norton-Cruz works to improve maternal and infant health, there are no hospitals.Pregnant patients, almost all of whom are Alaska Native, ofte...

Our paper was conducted using CDC PRAMS data, the only national survey data set capturing perinatal health, which was recently terminated. Studies like this can no longer be done because of attacks on #science. I spoke about this @statesnewsroom.com: www.newsfromthestates.com/article/rese... 3/3

Perinatal Health in the United States: COVID‐19 Exacerbates an Ongoing Crisis Click on the article title to read more.

A commentary accompanying our paper discusses how these trends in perinatal health build on longstanding inequities, leaving the US trailing behind other high-income countries. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... @hsph.harvard.edu @maya-rossin-slater.bsky.social @abpeds.bsky.social @acog.org 2/

Our latest paper is now in print, showing ⬆️ prevalence of adverse perinatal health outcomes in the wake of pandemic. This suggests potential lasting impacts on future generations. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.... @societyforepi.bsky.social @dkarasek.bsky.social @alisongemmill.bsky.social 1/

Coverage @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social on horrific consequences of federal termination of funding @hsph.harvard.edu and across university, including abandoned patients, damage to study samples and partnerships, and choking off of pipeline of future researchers: www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

House Reconciliation Bill Proposes Deepest SNAP Cut in History, Would Take Food Assistance Away From Millions of Low-Income Families | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities The House-passed Republican reconciliation plan would cut nearly $300 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through 2034, based on Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimat...

The House-passed Republican reconciliation plan would cut #SNAP by roughly 30%, putting food assistance at risk for over 2 million children and weakening the program’s ability to respond during economic downturns, even as recession risks remain elevated: www.cbpp.org/research/foo...

"We’ve already seen what happens when it goes wrong."

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

My solution: no make-up! Take this face or leave it.

Many studies have shown +++ impacts of social safety net programs on health of low-income Americans. This unprecedented income redistribution from poor to rich will result in worsened health inequities, which is unfair & a disinvestment in our future. @justinwolfers.bsky.social @irpwisc.bsky.social

"This is the largest redistribution from poor to rich in American history."

From my colleague, Ben Sommers: “This is not savings through improved efficiency, or more people going to work. It’s savings by kicking people out of the program who are mostly eligible.”

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health | Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences Form. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health | Support the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences and help Change the World.

Please consider supporting our department's health equity work: community.alumni.harvard.edu/give/6296446...

If you'd like to support my team's research in particular, in which we examine impacts of US safety net policies on health equity, check out our website & contact me directly! hsph.me/sphere