Rollins School of Public Health

Opioid Monitoring Programs Linked to Increased Pain Reports in Older Adults, Study Finds A new study shows that state policies requiring clinicians to check prescription drug monitoring databases before prescribing opioid pain relievers may be associated with increased pain among older ad...

Over 80% of states use opioid monitoring policies to combat opioid overprescribing and keep patients safe. But a new study found these programs are associated with more pain in older adults.

Enhancing FDA Drug-Safety Surveillance — Beyond Releasing Daily Adverse-Event Data | NEJM The FDA recently announced that it will be releasing daily drug adverse-event data. But questions remain about how it will manage frequent releases and how the public may interpret released informa...

Now out in @nejm.org is a new Perspective piece from the CRRIT team on the potential consequences of @fda.gov's recent announcement to release daily drug adverse event reports from FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.... (1/11)

A study from Rollins and University of Kansas found:

👉49 states have Plans of Safe Care (POSC) policies for infants with prenatal substance exposure.

👉Only 18 states have any part of their POSCs codified, making them hard to implement.

👉31 state policies were rated as very inaccessible.

New Study Finds Implementation Barriers to States’ Plans of Safe Care for Infants with Prenatal Substance Exposure A recent study from researchers at Rollins shows that policies designed to support infants exposed to substances before birth remain difficult to access and implement.

Almost every U.S. state has a policy to support infants exposed to substances before their birth, but many are unclear, hard to access, or lack clear standards.

The result? Challenges for families affected by prenatal substance exposure.

New Analysis Shows Delaying the Hepatitis B Birth Dose May Lead to Thousands of Preventable Infections and Hundreds of Millions in Avoidable Healthcare Costs - HepVu

ACIP recommended that babies not vaccinated for hep B at birth should get the first shot at 2 months.

Per modeling data, delaying to 2 months could yearly cause upwards of:

1400 preventable hep B infections
300 cases of liver cancer
480 deaths
$222 million in excess health care costs

ACIP Changed Hepatitis B Birth Dose Recommendations. Now What? The ACIP voted today not to universally recommend the hepatitis B vaccine at birth for babies born to mothers who tested negative for hepatitis B. This is a major change to U.S. vaccine recommendation...

ACIP voted today to not universally recommend the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.

Parents can still choose to give the birth dose after consulting their doctor, but this is a major departure from our previous guidance with big potential health consequences.

The findings highlight the need to:

👉Strengthen mental health screening and referral within oncology and primary care

👉Expand the mental health workforce that accepts Medicaid and CHIP, including through telehealth

👉Develop culturally and linguistically responsive services

Even more troubling are inequities in who gets mental health care. The study found that cancer survivors living in the most disadvantaged communities were less likely to get needed mental health support.

👉 Less than 4 in 10 children with depression, anxiety, or trauma/stress received at least the minimum recommended mental health care.

👉 Only 1 in 5 young adults received the minimum recommended mental health care.

New Study Finds Significant Mental Health Care Gaps for Childhood Cancer Survivors Childhood cancer survivors are not receiving the mental health care they need, according to a new study.

Childhood cancer diagnoses take a physical, mental, and financial toll on patients and their families. A study from researchers in our Department of Health Policy and Management looked at how often childhood cancer survivors get the mental health care they need.

The answer? Not nearly often enough.

If we delay the birth dose of hep B vaccine to 12 years, every year we could see...

Up to 2,700 extra infections
503 excess cases of liver cancer
788 preventable deaths
$313 million in excess health care costs

If we delay the birth dose of hep B vaccine to 2 months, every year we could see...

Up to 1,400 extra infections
300 excess cases of liver cancer
480 preventable deaths
$222 million in excess health care costs

Economic evaluation of delaying the infant hepatitis B vaccination schedule Introduction Children who acquire hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in early childhood through perinatal, household or community exposures are at highest risk of all age groups for experiencing chroni...

A Rollins researcher and colleagues developed a model looking at the health and economic impacts of delaying the hepatitis B birth dose.

Their findings? Delaying hepatitis B vaccination a newborn's first day to later in life won't just hurt American health—it will also hurt our wallets.

Study Finds Telemedicine Dramatically Improves Coverage of HIV Prevention Medication A new study led by researchers at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health estimates that nearly 20% of U.S. residents who use pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention received the...

Learn more about telePrEP and our HIV research on our News Center.

77% of telePrEP users had never used PrEP previously, and one-third were uninsured. This shows the demand for PrEP delivery outside of traditional medical settings, especially for people who may not be able to access it in clinics.

New research out of Rollins found that "telePrEP," or acquiring PrEP via telemedicine, has increased in the past six years: from 1% of PrEP users in 2019 to 9% in 2022 to 20% in 2024.

Telehealth is an important frontier for expanding access to HIV prevention—just ask the 20% of U.S. PrEP users who access their medication using telemedicine.

Brain Study Unlocks Roadmap to Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease Research findings provide a biological roadmap of what's really happening in the brain, which could help solve the puzzle of Alzheimer's disease

Rollins researchers have brought us one step closer to unlocking the complexities of Alzheimer’s disease in a new study.

sph.emory.edu/news/brain-s...

Three Rollins faculty members collectively contributed five systematic reviews and a commentary to this BMJ Global Health supplement on hand hygiene in community settings.

‼️ Join the launch event this Thursday, September 18, at 11:00 a.m. EST to hear more about their work and its impact!

Health Wanted Health Wanted brings you each week’s need-to-know public health headlines and breaks down the science behind trending topics. Hosted by social media science influencer Laurel Bristow.

This week on Health Wanted, host Laurel Bristow dives into the controversial rise of kratom, the compound that’s being dubbed the “next opioid crisis.” Then, she is joined by guest Oliver Grundmann, PhD, to explore whether these products are a harm-reduction tool or a danger to public health.

This week on Health Wanted, Laurel Bristow and Dayna Johnson talk about why we sleep, the importance of sleep quality, and how to get the most out of your body’s time at rest.

WABE: www.wabe.org/podcasts/hea...
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Affordable Programs Prevent Youth Substance Misuse Researchers at Rollins School of Public Health partnered with Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health to design and implement programs to help prevent youth substance use in their community.

Rollins researchers partnered with Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health to create and apply two new evidence-based interventions aimed at preventing youth substance use. After program implementation in high schools, the results showed reductions in alcohol, cannabis, and prescription opioid misuse.

Did you know we have a weekly newsletter? Rollins Public Health News brings insights about the week's top public health headlines to your inbox every Wednesday.

Read the latest (presidential fitness testing, child policy polling, and more) here: emory-university.read.axioshq.com/p/rollins-pu...

Editorial: Science, interrupted

Patrick Sullivan, PhD, recently published an editorial piece in the Annals of Epidemiology that outlines the consequences of halting public health research projects. The countless projects that have been put on hold in 2025 have resulted in ethical violations, data loss, and weakened public trust.

Poll: Americans Largely Don't Support Federal Changes to Child Health Programs A new national survey from Rollins School of Public Health revealed how American adults view recent federal actions and proposals that affect children's health and nutrition.

The new Emory-Rollins National Child Policy Poll reveals how U.S. adults view recent federal actions and proposals that affect children's health.

"Cuts to critical public health programs that serve the nation’s children are unpopular across the political spectrum.” - @stephenwpatrick.bsky.social

This week on Health Wanted, Laurel Bristow and Megan Greenwell explain how private equity can lead to lower-quality care for patients and financial instability for hospitals.

WABE: www.wabe.org/podcasts/hea...
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Medina Court Case and Spending Bill Carry Consequences for Reproductive Health Care Recent federal decisions could have significant implications for people’s access to reproductive health care in the United States—especially people in the lowest income brackets.

Recent federal actions threaten to cut Medicaid funding to reproductive health providers. Rollins researchers share how these changes could lead to worsening health disparities through clinic closures, reduced access to sexually transmitted infection testing, cancer screenings, and contraceptives.

This week on Health Wanted, Laurel Bristow and guest James LeBrecht review the history of the disability rights movement and the importance of continuing to advocate for equality.

WABE: www.wabe.org/podcasts/hea...
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Community fighting for funding for Superfund Research Center to expand toxic blood study A study that showed high levels of polluting chemicals in the blood of local folks spawned an idea to open a Superfund Research Center in Glynn County to look deeper

After they found high levels of toxic chemicals in the blood of Glynn County residents, Rollins researchers proposed a Superfund Research Center to study health impacts and limit exposure. The project’s future is uncertain, as funding availability from the National Institutes of Health is unknown.

Study: Pregnancy Offers Critical Opportunity to Address Vaccine Uncertainty A new study led by researchers at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health found that nearly of half of first-time expectant mothers in the U.S. were unsure if they would fully vaccinate the...

A new study led by Lavanya Vasudevan, PhD, found that almost half of first-time pregnant people are unsure about vaccinating their child. This research shows that the pregnancy period could be a key time for health care providers to offer education around childhood vaccines to expecting parents.