Objective We sought to assess the association between parental depressive symptoms and school attendance and emergency department (ED) use among children with and without chronic health conditions. Methods Secondary analysis of the 1997–2004 National Health Interview Survey, a nationally representative survey. Parental depressive symptoms were measured by three questions assessing sadness, hopelessness, or worthlessness in the past month. Children with and without asthma or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were identified, and their school attendance and ED visits were reported by adult household respondents. Children with information on parental depressive symptoms, health conditions, and services use were eligible. We incorporated weights available in the survey for each eligible child to reflect the complex sampling design. Results 104,930 eligible children were identified. The point prevalence of parental depressive symptoms was low (1.8%, 95% CI 1.7–2.0), but greater among children with asthma (2.7%, 95% CI 2.4–3.0) and ADHD (3.8%, 95% CI 3.2–4.4) than among other children (1.6%, 95% CI 1.5–1.7). After adjustment for potential confounders, children whose parents reported depressive symptoms most or all of the time were more likely to report an ED visit (adjusted Incident Rate Ratio [IRR] 1.18, 95% CI 1.06–1.32) or school absence (adjusted IRR 1.36, 95% CI 1.14–1.63) than children whose parents did not. The effect of parental depressive symptoms was not modified by child health conditions. Conclusions Parental depressive symptoms were adversely associated with school attendance and ED use in children. These results suggest the importance of measuring depressive symptoms among adult caregivers of children.

We thank Ross Epstein of SafeGraph for providing us with the data and helping us understand it. This research was supported by the Integrative Biosciences Center (IBio) which has received grant funding from the Michigan Health Endowment Foundation The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peerreviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications.

Nearly 85% of acute heart failure (AHF) patients who present to the emergency department (ED) with acute heart failure are hospitalized. Once hospitalized, within 30 days post-discharge, 27% of patients are re-hospitalized or die. Attempts to improve outcomes with novel therapies have all failed. The evidence for existing AHF therapies are poor: No currently used AHF treatment is known to improve long-term outcomes. ED treatment is largely the same today as 40 years ago. Admitting patients who could have avoided hospitalization may contribute to adverse outcomes. Hospitalization is not benign; patients enter a vulnerable phase post-discharge, at increased risk for morbidity and mortality. When hospitalization is able to be shortened or avoid completely, certain risks can be mitigated, including risk of medication errors, in-hospital falls, delirium, nosocomial infections, and other iatrogenic complications. Additionally, patients would prefer to be home, not hospitalized. Furthermore, hospitalization and re-hospitalization for AHF predominantly affects patients of lower socioeconomic status (SES). Avoiding hospitalization in patients who do not require admission may improve outcomes and quality of life, while reducing costs. Short stay unit (SSU: <24 h, also referred to as an 'observation unit') management of AHF may be effective for lower risk patients. However, to date there have only been small studies or retrospective analyses on the SSU management for AHF patients. In addition, SSU management has been considered 'cheating' for hospitals trying to avoid 30-day readmission penalties, as SSUs or observation units do not count as an admission. However, more recent analyses demonstrate differential use of observation status has not led to decreases in re-admission, suggesting this concern may be misplaced. Thus, we propose a robust clinical effectiveness trial to demonstrate the effectiveness of this patient-centered strategy.

University students have been particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. We present results from the first wave of the Global COVID-19 Student Survey, which was administered at 28 universities in the United States,

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In the wake of the reversal of the public charge rule, immigrant children are increasingly likely to be uninsured as opposed to relying on public health insurance.

On March 15, 2020, as the novel coronavirus spread through US cities, The New York Times published an infographic categorizing occupations by risk of exposure to the virus. 1 The risk was evaluated as a function of physical proximity to others and the extent of exposure. Though health care professionals faced the overall greatest risk, dentists and dental hygienists topped the list as the care they provide involves not only immediate proximity to the patient, but also work in the direct path of the exhalation plume of the patient. In recognition of this risk, most states suspended elective medical procedures, including some dental care. Furthermore, starting in the first week of March, 39 states and DC imposed stay-at-home orders which limited individuals' ability to step outside the home. While these orders did not halt all dental care, many dentists shut their practices temporarily in order to slow the spread of the virus, protect patients and providers, and conserve personal protective equipment. Dental offices took this opportunity to reconfigure their practice to introduce protective measures such as temperature screenings, updated procedures (limited polishing, peroxide swish, etc.), greater spacing of patients, and upgraded air filtration systems.In this study, we evaluate changes in visits to dentists' offices due to the stay-at-home orders imposed by some states to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 starting in March 2020. Though many clinics reopened for limited services in these states, patients avoided dental care for fear of exposure to the virus. We also take advantage of variability in the wording of stay-athome orders to examine whether language actively encouraging dental care during this period yielded the intended policy outcome.

Environmental disasters impact disadvantaged communities disproportionately both through the epidemiological challenge of exposure, but also by undermining the progress of public health efforts. This paper studies changes to smoking cessation, breastfeeding, and weight gain during pregnancy in the period following the switch in water supply in Flint, Michigan, in April 2014. As the switch resulted in immediate and significant deterioration in water quality, eventually leading to its contamination with lead, we estimate a 10.5 percentage point increase in smoking and a 2.1 percentage point decrease in breastfeeding. We show evidence that these changes in maternal behavior are linked to increased stress due to changing water quality. We estimate that the increase in smoking alone is responsible for most of the increase in incidence of low birthweight among infants in Flint, resulting in $700 additional costs per birth. Increased smoking during pregnancy and lower breastfeeding rates in Flint roll back years of public health efforts, resulting in lifetime higher rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer for mothers in the community.