{"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":17.2,"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}
Khadijah S Ameen, Natalie J Bradford, Mienah Z Sharif, Collins O Airhihenbuwa, Chandra L Ford
{"title":"Practice-Focused Research Based on Public Health Critical Race Praxis.","authors":"Khadijah S Ameen, Natalie J Bradford, Mienah Z Sharif, Collins O Airhihenbuwa, Chandra L Ford","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-060922-045015","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-060922-045015","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A growing number of researchers use public health critical race praxis (PHCRP), an antiracism framework derived in part from critical race theory, to conceptualize racism as a public health problem and examine its contributions to health and health care inequities. Critical race scholars define racism as \"the state-sanctioned and/or extralegal production and exploitation of group-differentiated vulnerability to premature death,\" as stated by Ruth Gilmore in her 2007 book <i>Golden Gulag</i>. Despite solid evidence for the prevalence and potential effects of racism, few studies provide data to guide the development, implementation, and evaluation of antiracism interventions in diverse settings (e.g., community, health care), activities that we refer to in this review as practice. A central focus of PHCRP is to guide evidence-based action to disrupt racism; therefore, the framework may be useful in guiding antiracism practice. However, evidence for its use for practice has not been established. To encourage the development, implementation, and evaluation of antiracism solutions, this review examines the evidence applying PHCRP to practice-focused research. The findings provide a baseline assessment to guide future evidence-based antiracism mitigation efforts. We offer recommendations to support future practice-focused work.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":" ","pages":"415-438"},"PeriodicalIF":17.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145892848","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":"The Road from Science to Health: The Importance of Designing For, Measuring, and Communicating Impact in Public Health.","authors":"Douglas A Luke, Sara Malone, Sandro Galea","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-091624-015015","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-091624-015015","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Scientists are facing increasing challenges concerned with improving the health of the public. Declining trust in expertise, new diseases, widening disparities in access to care, and environmental changes all challenge population health science to lean into work that can help move societies closer to solutions. To do this work effectively, we need to nudge population health science toward research that engages with consequential health challenges, which will require a reprioritization of how we generate, measure, and articulate health impact. In this review, we provide a history of evaluating impact, along with a comprehensive framework for conceptualizing future public health research impacts. In addition, we review evaluation models and highlight best practices for measuring impact. We introduce a new framework that builds on realist evaluation principles for assessing the impact of public health research and addresses the need to communicate these impacts to diverse audiences. To achieve this reprioritization, we recognize the need for organizational and systemic changes that can incentivize, prioritize, and reward impact-driven engagement.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":" ","pages":"439-457"},"PeriodicalIF":17.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13177247/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145745533","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Causal Inference in Health Disparities Research.","authors":"John W Jackson","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071123-032637","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071123-032637","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Causal inference is a central endeavor in health disparities research. For decades, it has been used to both measure and explain disparity and discrimination and to evaluate the impact of interventions on disparity and discrimination. This article reviews the use of causal inference methods for each of these endeavors, highlighting critical challenges that emerging work attempts to overcome. A key feature of a newer proposal is to use a descriptive measure of disparity that builds in normative and ethical assumptions and then to perform causal inference on that measure of disparity when seeking to inform and evaluate interventions. In this way, the measure of disparity is applicable to real-world data; is consistent across measurement, intervention development, and evaluation efforts; and builds in normative and ethical assumptions that promote transparency, dialogue, debate, and reproducibility. The article also briefly highlights causal inference methods for transformative interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":"47 1","pages":"1-18"},"PeriodicalIF":17.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13052304/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147610459","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Darrell Hudson, Akilah Collins-Anderson, Anthony J Nixon, Tina Sacks
{"title":"Diminished Returns: The Hidden Health Costs of Upward Social Mobility for Black Americans.","authors":"Darrell Hudson, Akilah Collins-Anderson, Anthony J Nixon, Tina Sacks","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-081424-035408","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-081424-035408","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Black-White health inequities, systemic and unjust differences in health, are well documented across a broad range of outcomes. Socioeconomic resources are often cited as a key determinant of racial health inequities in the United States. While accounting for socioeconomic status (SES) reduces racial health inequities, it does not eliminate them, as emerging evidence suggests that the process of mobility can also carry unique psychological and physiological burdens. This review describes why upwardly mobile Black Americans continue to have relatively worse health outcomes than White Americans despite higher SES attainment. We examine factors that contribute to the hidden health costs of upward social mobility for Black Americans, including exposure to persistent stressors such as financial precarity, the navigation of predominantly White spaces, and uplift strain, in addition to the use of high-effort coping strategies. The findings from this review are especially pertinent, considering the current sociopolitical climate of the United States.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":"47 1","pages":"159-176"},"PeriodicalIF":17.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147610444","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}
Therese Y M Tsui, Thunyarat Anothaisintawee, Kridsada Chareonrungrueangchai, Sharon Hui Xuan Tan, Yot Teerawattananon
{"title":"Economic Evaluation of Community-Based Public Health Interventions: A Critical Review of Methodologies, Evidence, and Future Directions.","authors":"Therese Y M Tsui, Thunyarat Anothaisintawee, Kridsada Chareonrungrueangchai, Sharon Hui Xuan Tan, Yot Teerawattananon","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-081424-040849","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-081424-040849","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This critical review explores the current state of health economic evaluations of community-based public health interventions. Referencing 79 systematic reviews, it highlights the diversity of interventions, target populations, and evaluation methods while identifying promising cost-effectiveness evidence and significant methodological challenges. Key issues include inconsistent terminology, limited data from low- and middle-income countries, and variability in assessment approaches, which hinder comparability and policy application. The article emphasizes the need for standardized frameworks, tailored guidelines to inform evidence generation and decision-making, and stronger research capacity for conducting high-quality economic evaluations, particularly in resource-constrained settings. We highlight the importance of incorporating broader perspectives, such as spillover effects, and developing innovative modeling techniques to better capture community dynamics. Addressing these gaps will enhance the quality, rigor, and relevance of evaluations, supporting more sustainable investments in community health initiatives worldwide. Strengthening evaluation practices will ultimately improve resource allocation and health outcomes across populations and settings globally.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":" ","pages":"393-413"},"PeriodicalIF":17.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145460199","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}
Vicki Fung, Damian Archer, Jennifer S Haas, Terrence Shirley, Rajan A Sonik, Cheryl Clark
{"title":"Opportunities and Challenges for the Federally Qualified Health Center Program: A Critical Review.","authors":"Vicki Fung, Damian Archer, Jennifer S Haas, Terrence Shirley, Rajan A Sonik, Cheryl Clark","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-082224-022250","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-082224-022250","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) were founded to improve access to primary health care for medically underserved areas and populations. Since their inception in the 1960s, FQHCs have grown to provide comprehensive primary care services to more than 31 million patients in 2023. In this review, we provide an overview of the role and growth of the FQHC program, summarize the existing evidence on its association with key outcomes, and discuss opportunities and challenges for the FQHC model. Evidence finds that FQHCs have played a crucial role in expanding access to primary care for low-income populations and that quality of care delivered in FQHCs often compares similarly or favorably to that of other settings. The ability to sustain and expand FQHCs' role is contingent, however, on stabilizing revenue streams and financing, developing comprehensive models of safety-net health care that include linkages with specialists, and implementing policies to support workforce recruitment and retention.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":" ","pages":"515-532"},"PeriodicalIF":17.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145402806","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}
Alvin Thomas, Tova Walsh, Qiana R Cryer-Coupet, Justin Harty, David Pate
{"title":"The Health Implications of Fatherhood: A Comprehensive Literature Review.","authors":"Alvin Thomas, Tova Walsh, Qiana R Cryer-Coupet, Justin Harty, David Pate","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-091624-014926","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-091624-014926","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>There is growing recognition that paternal involvement matters for child development and family well-being, even while we know comparatively little about how fatherhood affects men's own physical and mental health. This review brings together our current understanding of how becoming and being a father shapes men's health and the current efforts at improving the fatherhood experiences for men, thus indirectly influencing their children and families. We explore emerging work on father support systems, from mobile health interventions to successful community-based programs. The review also considers how policy-both historic and current-has shaped fathers' health and their capacity to be involved parents. Our analysis reveals substantial gaps, particularly around understanding the nuances of paternal support. We conclude by identifying where research efforts should focus next and what practitioners and policymakers need to consider, as attention to the impact of fatherhood on men's health continues to grow.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":" ","pages":"249-266"},"PeriodicalIF":17.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145919115","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}
Maura Kepper, Callie Walsh-Bailey, Constance Owens-Jasey, Rose Gunn, Rachel Gold
{"title":"Integrating Social Needs into Health Care: An Implementation Science Perspective.","authors":"Maura Kepper, Callie Walsh-Bailey, Constance Owens-Jasey, Rose Gunn, Rachel Gold","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071823-111332","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071823-111332","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Unmet social needs (e.g., housing instability, food insecurity, transportation barriers) impact a patient's ability to participate in health-seeking behaviors (e.g., physical activity, routine preventive care) and to achieve optimal health. A rapidly growing number of health care systems are incorporating social needs screening and assistance into clinical workflows, yet many implementation and sustainability challenges exist and require collaboration with social service organizations. This review highlights implementation approaches used within this rapidly changing US landscape and uses implementation science frameworks to systematically identify multilevel barriers to and facilitators of implementing and sustaining social needs care. Policies and economic investments are necessary as they determine critical barriers and facilitators within the clinical and social service contexts. Implementation may be further strengthened by cross-sector engagement, evidence-based implementation strategies, and capacity building within clinical and social service organizations. Successful, sustained implementation of social needs care may improve the quality of health care, population health, and health equity.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":" ","pages":"151-170"},"PeriodicalIF":20.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12171984/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142548744","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brendan Saloner, Daliah Heller, Corey S Davis, Susan G Sherman
{"title":"Harm Reduction: The Neglected Pillar of US Drug Policy.","authors":"Brendan Saloner, Daliah Heller, Corey S Davis, Susan G Sherman","doi":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071723-112620","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071723-112620","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Harm reduction programs provide tools that enable people who use drugs to do so more safely in a nonstigmatizing environment without the goal of them necessarily seeking treatment or abstinence. Most harm reduction programs in the United States distribute sterile syringes and naloxone and safely dispose of used syringes and other drug use supplies. Many also provide drug checking services, and other safer use supplies. These programs exist on a limited scale and often face restrictions on their funding and scope of operations. While research demonstrates the effectiveness of existing programs in preventing infectious disease transmission and fatal overdose, there is less evidence about conditions that support the effective expansion and sustainment of existing models. Other harm reduction interventions such as overdose prevention centers and safer supply programs have promising international evidence but are prohibited or severely restricted under US law. In this review, we summarize the evidence for harm reduction interventions, describe the policy environment in which they exist, and provide recommendations to better align drug policy with existing and emerging evidence in the US context.</p>","PeriodicalId":50752,"journal":{"name":"Annual Review of Public Health","volume":" ","pages":"369-387"},"PeriodicalIF":20.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142848341","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}