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ritahamad.bsky.social
Social epidemiologist at Harvard School of Public Health • Social policy + health equity • Director https://hsph.me/sphere • Mama, immigrant • Opinions mine
165 posts 4,060 followers 215 following
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#Medicaid covers about one in five people nationwide. Join @RWJF and @JHPPL on June 12 @ 3 p.m. ET as we discuss the program’s legacy and future. Speakers include @povertyscholar.bsky.social Andrea Campbell, David Adler and me. Register: bit.ly/4dsIsXR

submitted 2 days ago • 1 comment

New research letter led by Hannah Factor, a star PhD student here in Harvard's health policy program, finds that damage from SNAP work requirements is hard to undo, likely because of the administrative burdens involved with re-enrollment jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

Our latest paper is now in print, showing ⬆️ prevalence of adverse perinatal health outcomes in the wake of pandemic. This suggests potential lasting impacts on future generations. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.... @societyforepi.bsky.social @dkarasek.bsky.social @alisongemmill.bsky.social 1/

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

Coverage @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social on horrific consequences of federal termination of funding @hsph.harvard.edu and across university, including abandoned patients, damage to study samples and partnerships, and choking off of pipeline of future researchers: www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

The House-passed Republican reconciliation plan would cut #SNAP by roughly 30%, putting food assistance at risk for over 2 million children and weakening the program’s ability to respond during economic downturns, even as recession risks remain elevated: www.cbpp.org/research/foo...

submitted 8 days ago • 0 comments

"We’ve already seen what happens when it goes wrong." www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

submitted 13 days ago • 2 comments

Many studies have shown +++ impacts of social safety net programs on health of low-income Americans. This unprecedented income redistribution from poor to rich will result in worsened health inequities, which is unfair & a disinvestment in our future. @justinwolfers.bsky.social @irpwisc.bsky.social

submitted 14 days ago • 0 comments

"This is the largest redistribution from poor to rich in American history."

submitted 14 days ago • 25 comments

From my colleague, Ben Sommers: “This is not savings through improved efficiency, or more people going to work. It’s savings by kicking people out of the program who are mostly eligible.”

submitted 14 days ago • 2 comments

Sad coverage @nytimes.com about termination of federal grants @hsph.harvard.edu. My team lost millions of $$ in NIH funding that we had been awarded through rigorous review processes. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/u...

submitted 15 days ago • 1 comment

Harvard Chan scientists participate in a rigorous application process for federal grants to conduct their vital health research. The government has now terminated nearly every single one of those grants.

submitted 16 days ago • 2 comments

Harvard Chan School is home to a wide variety of research initiatives, with faculty, researchers, and students all working together to improve health, prevent disease, and support well-being. We asked some of them if they could explain their research in 7 words.

submitted 15 days ago • 1 comment

There is no need for Medicaid work requirements because almost everyone who can work is working. What we are getting instead is Medicaid work *reporting* requirements, where people lose coverage because of administrative burdens.

submitted 17 days ago • 35 comments

House Republicans’ agenda would take food assistance from millions while giving big tax breaks to the wealthy, raising costs for families and breaks promises to those most in need. More from @sharonparrott.bsky.social on the impact of this bill: www.cbpp.org/press/statem...

submitted 20 days ago • 0 comments

Same. Our NIH research includes (or included, past tense) research on place-based risk factors for dementia, impacts of school segregation on heart disease, and health impacts of pandemic policies. The last is notably ironic: one study assesses how COVID school closures worsened kids' mental health!

submitted 20 days ago • 3 comments

Breaking coverage @nytimes.com of push to end school desegregation. My team has NIH grant to examine health impacts of exactly this rollback of school desegregation, finding negative impacts on Black kids across their lifespan, & spillover impacts for other kids. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/16/u... 1/

submitted 20 days ago • 1 comment

@donmoyn.bsky.social is right. Want to hear more from actual researchers who have are experts on this evidence? Check out @irpwisc.bsky.social virtual seminar coming up later this month: www.irp.wisc.edu/resource/wor... @chloeneast.bsky.social @centeronbudget.bsky.social

submitted 21 days ago • 3 comments

This is just not true. The majority view among researchers at this point is that work requirements do not work. There is a reason they do not cite a single study here.

submitted 21 days ago • 72 comments

The House Ag Committee bill cutting #SNAP by about $300 billion will harm people living in rural America. Specifically, work requirements miss the lack of job opportunities within rural counties. Let’s start with 2 pieces of background info… (1/9) www.cbpp.org/research/foo...

submitted 21 days ago • 1 comment

"Call for papers on estimating the impact of natural disasters on U.S. communities" www.upjohn.org/call-papers-...

submitted 21 days ago • 0 comments

New report from Bernie Sanders, ranking member on the HELP committee www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/u... Lots of substance in here. Some highlights... 1/n

submitted 23 days ago • 3 comments

Work by colleagues @hsph.harvard.edu shows how Medicaid work requirements result in lost coverage for people who are actually still eligible (due to bureaucratic hurdles), with no impact on actual employment, and negative impacts on health. www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10....

submitted 23 days ago • 0 comments

Our work has shown how cuts to SNAP hurt food security and mental health: www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.... With sky-high food prices and the threat of recession, such cuts could be even more detrimental for #pophealth now. @hsph.harvard.edu @harvardpopcenter.bsky.social

submitted 23 days ago • 0 comments

It's not too late to sign up for @bostonglobe.com #HealthEquity summit this Wed May 14, including panel I will be joining on the future of policy & practice. Details & registration here, including virtual options: healthequitysummit25.splashthat.com @hsph.harvard.edu @harvardpopcenter.bsky.social

submitted 24 days ago • 0 comments

Excited to be joining a stellar policy-focused panel at the @bostonglobe.com #HealthEquity summit next Wednesday May 14, with many other great panels throughout the day. Space still available for virtual attendance. Details and registration here: healthequitysummit25.splashthat.com

submitted 27 days ago • 0 comments

Here's one of many examples of the damage to medical #science and #publichealth if these cuts to @harvard.edu funding aren't reversed, not to mention the other academic institutions nationwide. @aaup.bsky.social @apha.org @democracyforward.org

submitted 27 days ago • 0 comments

Funding opportunity from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation!! Did you study racial or indigenous health inequalities and just lose federal research funds? This might be for you! Brief proposal due May 28. They're holding office hours. See link: www.evidenceforaction.org/funding/rapi...

submitted 27 days ago • 1 comment

This study shows that gender roles still persist in households. Other work @jesscalarco.bsky.social has shown that mothers take on extra responsibilities in the absence of equitable #paidleave, #sickleave, and #childcare policies. Also: happy #mothersday to all the amazing moms out there!

submitted 27 days ago • 0 comments

Great post @ylepidemiologist.bsky.social on kinds of social policies that would be supportive of US families with kids, rather than one-time payment for new parents: yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/birth-rate.... Includes many policies my team studies, e.g., #paidleave, #poverty policies.

submitted 28 days ago • 0 comments

Join us for this exciting event! Our speakers Issa Dahabreh, @steffriedhoff.bsky.social, and Alfredo Morabia will address topics on the intersection of health, misinformation, and epidemiology adapting to a rapidly changing information landscape. ➡️ Register here: hsph.harvard.edu/epidemiology...

submitted 44 days ago • 0 comments

As federal data infrastructure is gutted, we'll lose a window into the vast local health disparities. But those disparities will remain because place is an engine of health provision and stratification, not just an analytic vessel. New essay from me in UAR: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

submitted 28 days ago • 1 comment

Rumor has it that SNAP work requirement waivers are on the chopping block. Waivers are a critical safety valve for turning off work reqs when local economic conditions warrant. An oldy but goody analysis on how waivers help SNAP respond to a recession. www.hamiltonproject.org/publication/...

submitted 28 days ago • 2 comments

Important work @mkushel.bsky.social @ucsfbhhi.bsky.social showing that gov't programs aren't generous enough to support low-income older adults, leading to homelessness and early death. We've talked about how the administration is further cutting these key programs: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

submitted 31 days ago • 0 comments

Even if one is opposed to undocumented immigrants benefiting from school vouchers, consider this: they also excludes legal permanent resident children, and US citizen children whose parents can't overcome the administrative hurdles of required documentation. @pamherd.bsky.social @donmoyn.bsky.social

submitted 31 days ago • 0 comments

New study @nber.org finds ACA #Medicaid expansion substantially reduced mortality, benefiting both younger and older adults. Critical policy implications, as current budget proposes massive cuts to Medicaid. www.nber.org/papers/w33719 @ucstonecenter.bsky.social @kffhealthnews.org @warren.senate.gov

submitted 31 days ago • 0 comments

I hate that I'm updating my fall education policy syllabus to include school shootings, but grateful that this paper + @maya-rossin-slater.bsky.social's other papers makes it possible to teach it.

submitted 34 days ago • 1 comment

Why are they trying to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs? #WithoutNSF the US would not be at the forefront of science innovation in the world. #SaveNSF #StandUpForScience www.nsf.gov/policies/doc...

submitted 34 days ago • 9 comments