Angela Liu, Klara K Lou, Kathryn E Linehan, Melinda B Buntin
{"title":"Medicare Spending Growth: Why Has It Slowed in Recent Decades?","authors":"Angela Liu, Klara K Lou, Kathryn E Linehan, Melinda B Buntin","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-082324-112451","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-082324-112451","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Medicare spending growth has slowed markedly over the last 20 years, defying projections despite a growing beneficiary population and expansion of the costlier Medicare Advantage program. Demographic, policy, and economic factors contributed to the spending growth slowdown. Key drivers include low payment rate increases-particularly following passage of the Affordable Care Act and sequestration policies-modest demographic shifts, and the evolving role of financial incentives and medical technology. The orientation toward value-based care played a role, though precise impacts of broad policies are difficult to quantify. While spending moderation is viewed as a success, it may mask trade-offs in access, quality, and service adequacy, especially for vulnerable populations facing unmet needs. We explore future spending projections and highlight the importance of balancing cost control with improving Medicare's capacity to serve high-need beneficiaries. Research insights are critical for shaping Medicare policy that is financially sustainable and responsive to beneficiaries' evolving needs.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":" ","pages":"499-513"},"PeriodicalIF":20.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145783517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Naima T Joseph, Daniela Reyes, J Sroda Agudogo, Carrie Wade, Rose L Molina
{"title":"The Epidemiology of Maternal Mortality in the United States: Trends, Structural Determinants, and Individual Risk Factors.","authors":"Naima T Joseph, Daniela Reyes, J Sroda Agudogo, Carrie Wade, Rose L Molina","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-100824-020456","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-100824-020456","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Maternal mortality in the United States is an urgent public health concern. Despite advances in medical technology and obstetric care, maternal mortality remains elevated in the United States, with disparate burden across racial and ethnic, socioeconomic, and geographic communities. The reasons for these disparities are myriad and include a confluence of structural and social determinants, variation in medical care access and quality, and individual risk factors. This review explores the evolving patterns of maternal mortality in the United States by examining contributing causes, demographic disparities, and systemic challenges, with an emphasis on the limitations of current US maternal mortality surveillance infrastructure. We highlight the urgent need for data-driven policy interventions, equitable health care reforms, and research innovation to enhance maternal health and eliminate disparities.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":" ","pages":"81-93"},"PeriodicalIF":20.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145828940","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rita Hamad, Emily C Dore, Emily Wright, Ruby Steedle, Sarah K Cowan
{"title":"Economic Policies to Address Poverty as a Fundamental Determinant of Health: Existing Evidence and Future Directions.","authors":"Rita Hamad, Emily C Dore, Emily Wright, Ruby Steedle, Sarah K Cowan","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-090924-033323","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-090924-033323","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Poverty is a fundamental driver of health, influencing access to resources and contributing to chronic stress and poor health. There has been substantial recent growth in the literature on the impacts of economic policies as upstream interventions to address poverty and reduce health inequities. This review synthesizes evidence on US income support policies with varying design features and populations served, e.g., tax policies, minimum wage, and guaranteed income programs. Drawing on robust quasi-experimental and experimental studies, findings suggest that policies increasing income, particularly the Earned Income Tax Credit, can meaningfully improve maternal, infant, and mental health and alleviate food insecurity. For many policies, however, there is insufficient research; for some, such as the minimum wage, evidence is mixed. Methodological challenges include data limitations, exposure misclassification, and policy co-occurrence. Future research should leverage longitudinal approaches, examine policy interactions, address equity of impact, and strengthen partnerships with policymakers to inform effective, equitable poverty alleviation strategies to improve health.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":" ","pages":"177-195"},"PeriodicalIF":20.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145769658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lingzhi Chu, Pin Wang, Minghao Qiu, Azar M Abadi, Kai Chen
{"title":"Extreme Weather Events and Their Health Impacts: International Variation.","authors":"Lingzhi Chu, Pin Wang, Minghao Qiu, Azar M Abadi, Kai Chen","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-090924-033314","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-090924-033314","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Climate change intensifies extreme weather events, and these events trigger cascading health impacts. Understanding the spatial variation of extreme weather events and their health impacts is critical for building tailored adaptation strategies. This review examines the trends in extreme weather events (including temperature extremes, floods, droughts, tropical cyclones, and wildfires), their linkages with climate change, the health impacts of these events, the global variations in the climate links and health impacts, and recommended adaptation policies. We found regional differences in observed trends and future projections in extreme weather events and discussed the associated uncertainty. Evidence on the global variations in health impacts is mixed and scarce, with differential hot spots identified by event type and by study. Adaptation policies should be designed and implemented in a holistic manner, including pre-event resilience building, during-event responses, and post-event recovery.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":" ","pages":"325-347"},"PeriodicalIF":20.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145828910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Helen Thomas-McLean, Rebecca Mak, Caitlin M Noonan, Winnie Yip
{"title":"Global Progress Toward Universal Health Coverage: Learning from Successes and Failures.","authors":"Helen Thomas-McLean, Rebecca Mak, Caitlin M Noonan, Winnie Yip","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-100824-103712","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-100824-103712","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Global progress toward universal health coverage (UHC) has varied widely across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in recent years. To better understand these differences, we used an analytical framework to compare individual health system components, or substructures, across selected LMICs, identifying institutional and policy mechanisms that shape UHC performance. Our case study comparison includes 12 countries spanning high and low UHC performance, as indicated by World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO) indicators for service coverage and financial risk protection as well as considerations of equity concerns not captured by these metrics. We highlight that stronger performance is associated with unified risk pooling, strategic purchasing, robust primary care-based integrated delivery, a systemic approach toward public/private service delivery, strategic investments in health infrastructure and workforce, and accountable governance. Future analyses and reviews using this comparative case study method with a structured analytical framework would be helpful in further advancing our understanding of the drivers of UHC progress and guiding policy reform.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":" ","pages":"459-477"},"PeriodicalIF":20.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145769695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Erica L Kocher, Felix Teufel, Rodrigo M Carrillo-Larco, Rosette J Chakkalakal, Mohammed K Ali
{"title":"The Epidemiology, Prevention, and Control of Type 2 Diabetes in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.","authors":"Erica L Kocher, Felix Teufel, Rodrigo M Carrillo-Larco, Rosette J Chakkalakal, Mohammed K Ali","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-081624-060046","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-081624-060046","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The burden of diabetes is rising rapidly, with the largest increases in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While most people with diabetes globally live in LMICs, high-quality data on diabetes prevalence, risk factors, complications, and mortality are scarce in these settings. Widespread challenges around health care financing, workforce capacity, and access to essential medicines and diagnostics compromise the reach and effectiveness of services for diabetes prevention and management in many countries. As a result, nearly half of people with diabetes remain undiagnosed, and a large share of those who are diagnosed do not achieve targets for glycemic control and prevention of complications. Targeted efforts are needed to close the research and implementation gaps between LMICs and high-income countries, with emphasis on improving disease surveillance, expanding access to essential medicines and diagnostics, and advancing implementation strategies to scale up and sustain evidence-based interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":"47 1","pages":"95-114"},"PeriodicalIF":20.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147610476","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): What Have We Learned and What's Next?","authors":"Rolando F Trejos, Russell S Kirby","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071723-011207","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071723-011207","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Childhood trauma research and practice have multidisciplinary origins and seek to identify, prevent, and mitigate maltreatment sources in childhood. Since the seminal 1998 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences study, the concepts of adverse and positive childhood experiences (ACEs and PCEs, respectively) have gained traction and interest. ACEs research has recently expanded to evaluate family and community sources of adversity. A lack of consensus on the operationalization and measurement of these constructs limits our understanding of their role (whether protective or risk factors) and utility for research or interventions. We review research on ACEs/PCEs and child development, adult health, and intergenerational outcomes, discuss their measurement, and provide an advanced conceptualization of ACEs/PCEs for public health. Use of the proposed expanded framework can aid researchers in elucidating the role of ACEs and PCEs across the life course in a contextually relevant manner. Researchers should consider contextual and sociocultural factors when developing and adapting instruments to measure ACEs/PCEs.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":" ","pages":"115-133"},"PeriodicalIF":20.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145543751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nason Maani, Kristina Kim, May C I van Schalkwyk, Mark Petticrew, Marco Zenone
{"title":"The Politics and Profit of Disinformation in Public Health.","authors":"Nason Maani, Kristina Kim, May C I van Schalkwyk, Mark Petticrew, Marco Zenone","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071723-124408","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071723-124408","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Disinformation is a coordinated or deliberate effort to knowingly circulate misinformation (i.e., false information) to gain money, power, or reputation. While most public health research has focused on misinformation, disinformation can have particularly pernicious direct and indirect public health effects, including a growing impact on public health policy and the reputation of public health evidence and institutions. This review focuses on the role of disinformation for profit among multinational corporations, antiscience policy, and how and why disinformation is increasing. It also examines approaches to addressing disinformation in public health and social policy, such as a greater focus on the nature and power of framing, strategies for \"prebunking\" of predictable narratives, and denormalization and countermarketing.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":" ","pages":"267-282"},"PeriodicalIF":20.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145496283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Forging Just Futures: A Path from Climate Crisis to Climate Solutions.","authors":"Rachel Morello-Frosch, Hasibe Caballero-Gomez, Monika Shankar, Lara J Cushing","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071723-040657","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071723-040657","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Rapid decarbonization and climate adaptation are urgent to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, but past efforts at large-scale societal change and infrastructure investments have often exacerbated racialized and socioeconomic inequalities and further entrenched the structural drivers and root causes of climate change. We review dimensions of climate justice in the literature and define just climate solutions as those that (<i>a</i>) address root causes and dismantle structural drivers of social inequality and injustice; (<i>b</i>) are community centered and ground-truthed; (<i>c</i>) are reparative and maximally beneficial for historically marginalized populations; and (<i>d</i>) disrupt existing power relations to transform who controls framing, design, implementation, and accountability. We offer a set of guiding questions to help researchers, practitioners, community advocates, and policymakers operationalize this definition to evaluate climate actions in the context of mitigation, adaptation, and disaster response and recovery efforts.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":" ","pages":"349-367"},"PeriodicalIF":20.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145769637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Barbara A Israel, Amy J Schulz, Adam B Becker, Clara L Reyes, Edith A Parker, Angela G Reyes
{"title":"Community-Based Participatory Research: Evolution and Significant Developments.","authors":"Barbara A Israel, Amy J Schulz, Adam B Becker, Clara L Reyes, Edith A Parker, Angela G Reyes","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-082224-022223","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-082224-022223","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In 1998, in the <i>Annual Review of Public Health</i>, we reviewed the development of community-based research, later titled community-based participatory research (CBPR). The field has grown since then in multiple ways, including the number of CBPR partnerships; the diversity of communities involved and issues addressed; credibility within communities and academia; the volume of publications and reports; the amount of evidence of effective interventions and policy change; increased capacity-building opportunities; increased funding opportunities; and the development of validated partnership evaluation tools. This review examines the evolution of CBPR in the United States since 1998, based on peer-reviewed literature. We examine five significant areas: evolution of CBPR principles; location of CBPR within a continuum of community involvement in research; conceptual models, research design, and evaluation; translation of research findings into policy; and structural change to promote health equity. We discuss lessons learned, impacts on the field, and recommendations, concluding with a discussion of future directions.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":"47 1","pages":"135-157"},"PeriodicalIF":20.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147610463","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}