Community Health & Population Science

During the COVID-19 pandemic and at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, researchers assembled a recruitment dream team and joined with African American men who are prostate cancer survivors to “do what is needed for future generations.”

African American men have disproportionately higher prostate cancer rates, with an earlier onset, and twice the prostate cancer mortality than other racial groups. These outcomes are difficult for University of Southern California (USC) researchers to accept.

Like many Native American communities, Osage Nation experienced involuntary removal from their traditional homeland and resettled in what are now known as Tribal reservations—the Tribal reservation

Gloria Ann Begay, MA, has dedicated much of her life advocating for Native American food security and sovereignty. A member of the Navajo Nation, she is the Executive Director of the Diné Food Sovereignty Alliance (DFSA) and works with local Navajo community leaders to develop long-term strategies to ensure Navajo food security. “We look at how we can restore our food system,” says Gloria. “Ninety percent or more of our food is imported and that’s not the Navajo food system.”

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a way that federal and state governments help working people with lower incomes. Most analysis of how the EITC works looks at its economic effects.

Researchers funded by NIMHD are exploring a different kind of effect: whether economic assistance improves health—specifically, whether it leads to healthier pregnancies. More money could mean better prenatal care, or healthier food.

American grocery store aisles are packed with a variety of processed foods and beverages. Crafted for the busy consumer with a small budget, these foods are a way of life for many Americans.