policy | The Pump Handle

Affordable Care Act Poorer health, shorter lives and lower incomes: ‘We don’t really appreciate the magnitude of the problem’

April 14, 2015 Kim Krisberg

Low income and poor health tend to go hand in hand — that’s not a particularly surprising or new statement. However, according to family medicine doctor Steven Woolf, we have yet to truly grasp the extent to which income shapes a person’s health and opportunity to live a long life. And if we don’t confront the widening income inequality gap, he says things will only get worse.

Food Safety & Nutrition Researchers map a policy route toward huge reductions in U.S. childhood poverty

February 3, 2015 Kim Krisberg

If national lawmakers took action on less than a dozen policy fronts, they could reduce child poverty in the U.S. by a whopping 60 percent. In sheer numbers, such a reduction would lift 6.6 million children out of poverty and significantly improve their opportunities for living long and fruitful lives.

Government New research estimates that one in eight U.S. children will experience maltreatment

June 6, 2014 Kim Krisberg 1Comment

Researcher Christopher Wildeman has spent his whole career describing and quantifying the more unpleasant parts of people’s lives and his latest study on the surprising prevalence of childhood maltreatment is no exception. Still, there is a bit of a silver lining.

Food Safety & Nutrition New study confirms that eating healthy does indeed cost more

December 13, 2013 Kim Krisberg 3Comment

On average, eating healthy costs about $1.50 more per day than the least healthy diets, according to a new study. The extra cost seems insignificant at first — a small cup of coffee often costs more — but it all adds up to be a considerable barrier for many low-income families.

Food Safety & Nutrition How San Francisco restaurant inspectors help assure workers get paid

December 6, 2013 Kim Krisberg 2Comment

There are few factors that shape a person’s health as strongly and predictably as income. And while enforcing wage and labor laws may at first seem outside the purview of public health agencies, Rajiv Bhatia adamantly disagrees. In fact, he says that public health may wield the most persuasive stick in town.

Child Labor Worker victory in Houston: City passes ordinance punishing wage theft

November 22, 2013 Kim Krisberg 2Comment

This week, Houston became only the second major city in the U.S. South to pass a law to prevent and punish wage theft. It’s a major victory for all workers, but it’s especially significant for the city’s low-wage workers, who lose an estimated $753.2 million every year because of wage theft.

Education Pedestrians, bicyclists at disproportionate risk of being killed by a distracted driver

November 4, 2013 Kim Krisberg 2Comment

It takes time to change social norms, so it’ll probably take many, many years until it’s as socially unacceptable to text or use a cell phone while driving as it is to start the engine without first buckling a seat belt. In the meantime, researchers say, smart policies are needed to address the increasing share of pedestrian and bicyclist deaths attributed to distracted driving.

Drug Safety Report: Some progress on the prescription drug abuse front, but much more is needed

October 11, 2013 Kim Krisberg

Strategies to reduce the deathly toll of prescription drug abuse are reaping positive outcomes, though not every state is taking full advantage, according to a new report from Trust for America’s Health.

Education Cracking down on deadbeat bosses: Wage theft victory a milestone in Chicago’s worker center movement

April 15, 2013 The Pump Handle 2Comment

For Angel Nava, Chicago’s newly adopted wage theft ordinance is particularly personal. Until recently, Nava had worked at the same car wash business in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood for 14 years. The 55-year-old employee did it all — washing, detailing, buffing — for about 50 hours each week. Then, his boss decided to stop paying overtime.

Education New report: Kids will eat their veggies…if you give them the chance

April 5, 2013 The Pump Handle

If you serve it, they will eat it. That’s one of the many lessons gleaned from a new report on the national Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.

Liz Borkowski, MPH	Celeste Monforton, DrPH,
Kim Krisberg	Garrett Brown