While COVID-19 is still present and ever-changing, public health professionals must also grapple with new challenges such as monkeypox, increasing firearm homicide, and widespread heat waves. In the ...
Public health agencies are working to reduce dementia risk and to optimize the health and well-being of people living with dementia and their caregivers.
Housing and overall neighborhood conditions significantly influence a community’s health. Housing quality, stability, and affordability also directly impact an individual’s opportunity and ability to ...
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children is a targeted public health nutrition program designed to support nutrition and health behaviors that reach low-income ...
How states are using 1115 waivers to improve health equity for people on Medicaid.
Each year, ASTHO tracks and analyzes key legislation that impacts public health, and highlights the emerging trends for our members. While the bulk of the tracked legislation arises in state ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the intersections of social determinants of health, such as transportation, education, and housing, and their impact on the health of individuals and ...
During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, temporarily expanding the use of telehealth ...
When rural hospitals close, it increases the distance people must travel for essential healthcare services. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and magnified the factors leading to rural hospital ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the consequences of decades of underfunding. To ensure we are better prepared for future pandemics and biological threats, we must consider the long-term ...
With many of the state and territorial legislatures reconvening over the next few weeks, we can look forward to new (and not-so-new) legislation start to crop up that will impact public health. To ...
As the Delta variant spreads across the country and increases the number of COVID-19 cases, the strain it is placing on the nation’s health system continues to grow. The surge of COVID-19 patients is ...
As the country prepares for the inauguration of President-Elect Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on Wednesday, the incoming administration has highlighted several priorities over the next four years. This post ...
Many states have introduced bills to strengthen and increase access to these prenatal, delivery, and postpartum services, building a solid foundation of care for women who must navigate the ...
On the 32nd anniversary of the ADA, this blog post explores state legislation around the country that supports people living with disabilities.
More than 100 rural hospitals have closed since 2010, and an additional 25% are at high risk of closure, and COVID-19 has magnified the existing stressors on rural healthcare. As a result, states are ...
For many Americans, access to dental care remains out of reach, but there are a number of states pursuing strategies to improve access and oral health outcomes, such as primary care and dental care ...
States have identified different strategies to implement healthy eating approaches and reduce obesity at the school and community levels, as well as through food labeling at grocery stores and food ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted youth mental health, particularly as a result of school closures, social isolation, family economic hardship, fear of family loss or illness, and reduced ...
For more than a decade, rural hospitals have been closing (or are in danger of closure) at an alarming rate. As a result, states have used a variety of measures to address and prevent rural hospital ...