Marcella Alsan, an SHP courtesy faculty members, writes in this STAT opinion piece that mental illness and addiction can be curbed with proper funding.
Private equity (PE) firms have increasingly influenced U.S. health care, posing risks to health equity—the idea that everyone should have a fair opportunity for optimal health. While PE investors claim to improve efficiency, raise capital, and leverage economies of scale, evidence indicates that their involvement often leads to reduced access to affordable high-quality care, particularly for rural populations, older adults, low-income communities, and marginalized racial and ethnic groups. Without strong regulation and enforcement, PE practices are likely to continue transforming health care in ways that could harm patients and burden clinicians.
Children deprived of their liberty in the US juvenile justice, criminal justice, and immigration detention systems face profound and evolving health risks that demand a creative, sustained, and urgent pediatric response. These risks unfold within distinct but overlapping systems that share structural gaps in oversight, inconsistent standards of care, and a legacy of harm to children’s health and development. A promising opportunity lies in linking expertise across these systems to strengthen care, safeguard rights, and address the vulnerabilities of this often-overlooked population, which is disproportionately composed of racially and ethnically minoritized children.
Background: High rates of iron-deficiency anemia among school-age children have been a common issue in developing countries. In 2012, China rolled out a school feeding program (SFP) to address this issue. This study assesses changes in anemia rates, as well as potential factors driving these changes, both 3 and 10 years after the SFP was implemented.
Methods: Data were from two cross-sectional surveys (n = 1510) in northwestern China. T-tests were used to compare the differences in health outcomes of students and their dietary diversity across the different sample years. Regressions were used to examine the associations between health outcomes and dietary diversity.
Results: After the SFP was launched, hemoglobin levels of students improved from 126 to 131 g/L between 2015 and 2022/2023; the rates of anemia and stunting decreased from 17% to 6% and 9% to 1%, respectively. A rise in student dietary diversity and an increase in the share of students that consumed iron-rich foods are two main contributing factors.
Implications for School Health Policy, Practice, and Equity: Increase in funding allotted to the SFP over time appears to be a key element in improving the health and nutrition of rural students.
Conclusions: SFP in rural China exemplifies the concrete advantages in improving the health and potential educational outcomes of students.
