Caregivers’ health shapes children’s health. That’s why we lead research on how systems can better help meet caregivers’ and families’ needs.Our unique position within a pediatric health system allows us to collaborate with community partners to bridge health, education, public benefit…

Objective: To assess the association between opioid exposure in the childbirth period and persistent postpartum opioid use and to evaluate whether there are differential associations based on specific medication exposure.Methods: Retrospective cohort study that used 2015-2021…

PolicyLab responded to a request for comment from the Pennsylvania Bureau of WIC on the 2026 WIC State Plan of Program Operation and Administration.In their response, PolicyLab experts offered recommendations to help increase uptake rates in Pennsylvania’s WIC program and to lower…

Background: Postpartum parents of hospitalized infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) have higher rates of chronic disease and pregnancy complications than parents of well newborns. NICU parents may prioritize remaining at their infants' bedsides over their own…

Many families in the Commonwealth struggle to afford the food they need to stay healthy. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) play a vital role in promoting child health and development…

At PolicyLab, we recognize that individuals impacted by substance use who are also caregivers of children need unique supports that are responsive to family context and experience.PolicyLab researchers are looking into programs and policies aimed at supporting families with a caregiver…

We examined changes in infant and neonatal mortality that occurred after extension in the minimum number of days of paid maternity leave and after the implementation of paid paternity leave in 148 cities using longitudinal city-level data (2000-2015) from Chile, Colombia, and Mexico,…

As abortion care restrictions increase, a growing population is continuing pregnancies complicated by life-limiting fetal conditions, making it more critical than ever to evaluate the state of the evidence in perinatal palliative care (PPC). Perinatal palliative care provides…

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic created a unique set of challenges within the USA. The combination of the pandemic and long-standing systemic racism has generated greater maternal health disparities in minoritized populations, especially Black birthing individuals,…

Health services researchers can impact policies in clinical spaces, hospital administration, public health, and the legislative world. But to do so, they must understand that the implications of their findings, and how such findings may speak to different stakeholders, are…