Department of Health Policy Archive — Page 2 of 11

Andrew Wiese, MPH, PhD, left, Carlos Grijalva, MD, MPH, and colleagues found that the risk of a heart attack diagnosis was highest in the first week after onset of pneumococcal infection.
March 2, 2023

Serious pneumococcal infections increase the risk of heart attack

A Vanderbilt study found that patients with serious pneumococcal infections, including pneumonia and sepsis, are at a substantially increased risk of heart attack after the onset of infection.

Infographic titled “Child Insurance & Health,” featuring a child dressed as a doctor, a line chart showing parent-reported child uninsured rates from 2019 to 2022, and text stating rates returned to pre-pandemic levels while overall well-being declined from 87.1% in 2019 to 81.6% in 2022. Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy branding appears at the bottom.
February 23, 2023

Poll finds rates of uninsured children back to pre-pandemic level

The latest analysis of the annual Vanderbilt Child Health Poll of Tennessee parents shows the rate of uninsured children in the state has returned to prepandemic levels.

Infographic titled “Vaccines & Trust” from the Vanderbilt Tennessee Child Health Poll. It shows a smiling child receiving a vaccination and a healthcare provider, with findings that two in three parents say vaccines protect their children and others, while 64% report their child’s health care provider as their most trusted vaccine-information source, a 20% increase from 2021.
February 8, 2023

Vanderbilt poll finds Tennessee parents trust their children’s health care providers the most for information about vaccines

A recent Vanderbilt poll found parents across the state reporting their children’s health care providers as the most trusted source for information about vaccines.

Computer illustration of a plasma cell (B-cell, left) secreting antibodies (white) against influenza viruses (right). Antibodies bind to specific antigens, for instance viral proteins, marking them for destruction by phagocyte immune cells.
February 2, 2023

Risk of household flu spread skyrocketed during pandemic

A Vanderbilt study found that the household spread of flu during the 2021-2022 season was more than twice as high as it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Three-dimensional illustration of a coronavirus particle with a textured gray spherical surface, red spike proteins, and smaller yellow surface structures; blurred particles appear in the background.
January 26, 2023

Study to explore COVID’s impact on essential workers

Vanderbilt researchers are inviting non-health care essential workers to participate in a study to better understand how they continue to be impacted by COVID-19.

Infographic titled “Top 5 concerns for parents in TN,” listing education and school quality; child mental health and suicide; bullying and cyberbullying; school gun violence; and drug and alcohol use. It includes a photo of a smiling child holding up five fingers and Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy branding.
January 25, 2023

Vanderbilt Child Health poll: majority of Tennessee parents worried about school quality, mental health

A new poll of Tennessee parents from the Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy found that most Tennessee parents placed school quality and child mental health at the top of their list of concerns for their children.