How did mandated paid sick leave affect people’s health care use?
Evidence suggests a lack of access to paid sick leave as a reason for inappropriate emergency department use and for reduced use of preventive and primary care services. Researchers from New York University evaluated the association between New York City’s 2014 paid sick leave mandate and health care utilization among Medicaid-enrolled adults and found the mandate was associated with decreases in emergency room and specialist visits, increases in primary care use, and an increased probability of receiving some preventive health services.
There is a long pathway from policy research to policymaking. To understand how evidence-based policymaking can be improved, Policies for Action drew on six years of grantmaking to define evidence-based policymaking, consider who is responsible for it, and identify challenges and barriers related to it. A new report offers perspective about how policies and policymaking (and the evidence that underpins them) can or should happen in the real world—insights that have implications for both policy development and policy-oriented research.
Estimating the benefits of paid family and medical leave proposals
Among all leave taken, 31 percent is taken without pay, with large variations based on gender, race and ethnicity, income, and family type. The Institute for Women’s Policy Research compared the effects of four existing medical and family care programs (three states, as well as the current national family leave policy) and the proposed FAMILY Act. Findings showed more outreach is needed to all workers but especially to low‐earning workers, who may not be served by employer personnel services that can provide accurate information about public benefits and how to apply for them.
On Thursday, May 27, the Institute on Race and Political Economy at the New School will host a one-hour briefing to introduce a new paper from P4A researcher Naomi Zewde, P4A National Advisory Committee member Darrick Hamilton, and colleagues proposing a national guaranteed income.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has launched the Health Equity Scholars for Action (HES4A) program and is seeking researchers from underrepresented communities interested in health equity research. The HES4A program will also support three aspects of career development: research, mentorship, and connection with a community of support. This funding opportunity will award 15 grants of $250,000 for work to be done over two years. Watch the applicant webinar here. Submit letters of intent by June 16, 2021.
