New research finds trans adults face two barriers to healthcare: stigma from providers, and costs that insurance doesn’t always cover. When both barriers occur together, the health consequences are steepest—higher odds of depression, anxiety, and intimate partner violence.🔗
Did you know? Job discrimination at work may raise your risk of high blood pressure. A new study of 16,770 U.S. women found that those who faced hiring, promotion, or firing discrimination had a 14% higher hypertension risk—even after accounting for other health factors. 📖
Pregnant people on Medicaid are far less likely to be vaccinated than those with private insurance. New research finds COVID-19 vaccination rates of 11.8% vs. 43%—with similar gaps for flu and pertussis—pointing to structural barriers that go beyond vaccine availability.🔗
Some women, especially those with less education, may never feel economically stable enough to have children, CPC Director Karen Guzzo says.
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/u...
Read this NEW paper in Population & Development Review
➡️ "Population Changes and Emerging Challenges to Global Primary Education Provision"
By Emily Hannum (PSC Research Associate), Jeonghyeok Kim, & Fan Wang (PSC Research Affiliate)
https://doi.org/10.1111/padr.70059
How parents behave—and how they're doing mentally—shapes young children's self-control and attention. New research links harsh parenting and maternal depression to lower attention and inhibitory control—suggesting both are key targets for early childhood interventions.🔗
Wanting kids and planning to have them aren't the same. New research finds a growing share of Americans who want children don't intend to have them—a gap that grows with age, is larger for women, and may help explain why fertility keeps declining despite stable desires.🔗
194 rural hospitals have closed since 2005. What does that mean for nearby nursing home residents ? New research finds they were hospitalized less after closure—raising concern that longer travel distances may mean some aren't getting care when they need it.🔗
Who does America's care work—and has that changed?
New research tracking 50 years finds:
➡️ The gender gap in care work nearly halved
➡️ More care is going to older adults
➡️ The paid care boom hasn't replaced family care
➡️ Non-White women remain overrepresented in paid care jobs
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New study co-authored by CPC Fellow Caroline Thompson explores the relationship between survival and how quickly patients are diagnosed with ovarian cancer. "Diagnostic delays may actually matter," Thompson says.
www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Julie Maslowsky et al: Medication abortion pills would meet the safety and efficacy criteria for the FDA to make them available over the counter. @jama.com www.npr.org/2026/04/06/n...
Nearly 1 in 2 rural working-age adults screened positive for loneliness. New research finds the type of gathering place matters—and so does what you do there. Coffee shops, barbershops, and houses of worship were linked to lower loneliness, but only when people talked.📖
Where do adolescents with maltreatment histories spend their time? New research links child welfare records with GPS data to find out—and finds they're significantly more likely to pass through places with visible signs of neglect, public drug activity, and physical decay.🔗
Nearly 1 in 5 women were uncertain when they wanted a child—and that uncertainty was associated with lower odds of using any contraceptive method. New data find that birth-timing intentions, not just whether a woman wants a child, are a predictor of method choice.🔗
Coresiding with adult children — not just young kids — is linked to shorter sleep for midlife mothers. So is living with grandchildren. New data from 3,300 women find the sleep costs of intergenerational coresidence extend well beyond the infant years. 👉️
Housing insecurity in young adulthood doesn't just hurt in the moment. A new study tracking adults over 15 years finds lasting increases in depressive symptoms—and, for women, measurable physiological wear and tear. 📖
Some pregnant patients seeking permanent contraception were told to think about it more. Others learned about a required 30-day waiting period only during delivery, too late to have the procedure as planned. A new study finds 1 in 5 did not feel supported by their clinical team.📖
A new study points to an underexplored culprit in congenital hearing loss: metals in air pollution. Maternal exposure during pregnancy was associated with higher rates of newborn hearing screening failure—suggesting air quality as a potential target for prevention.🔗
Who parents turn to for support may be linked to their children's health. A new study finds that more supportive relationships in a parent's network were associated with more sleep, less screen time, and lower BMI in young African American children.🔗
The high cost of childcare in the U.S. is pushing more couples to postpone having kids. CPC Director Karen Guzzo says economic uncertainty and worry about the future are key factors when choosing to delay having children.
www.newsobserver.com/news/busines...
Getting to a provider repeatedly can be a barrier for women in rural areas. New research finds that women in rural Appalachian Ohio are more likely to use permanent contraception than women elsewhere in the state—and researchers suggest limited access may be one reason why.🔗
Medicaid cuts could push ~1 million vulnerable older adults out of their homes and into nursing homes — which cost nearly twice as much as home-based care. New research, summarized by @PRB.org, breaks down who's most at risk. Read more 👉 buff.ly/imxR3vx
🏥Nearly 1 in 5 postpartum patients seeking permanent contraception reported feeling dismissed, receiving incomplete counseling, or being discouraged—often by clinicians concerned about future regret. New research captures what patients experienced in the postpartum period.🔗
In Poster Session 1: Demography, Public Policy and Legal Institutions/ Neighborhoods, Communities and Urbanization/Spatial and Environmental Demography Date: Thursday, May 7, 8:30 - 10 a.m. Location: Rooms 220-227 Impacts of climate change on birth outcomes: combined and individual effects of drought and air pollution May 6-9, 2026 | #PAA2026 Emily Treleaven Population Studies Center Lily Borak Adrienne Epstein Nadia Diamond-Smith
A study of the impacts of climate change on birth outcomes using Chitwan Valley Family Study data suggests there are distinct prenatal critical periods when effects of drought and air pollution affect pregnancies. Emily Treleaven et al at 🎡 #PAA2026. UM SRC https://myumi.ch/797zQ
In Session: Family Caregiving Friday, May 8, 9:30 - 10:45 a.m. Room 232 Who Should Care for an Older Adult in Need? Expectations by Relationship and the Presence of Dementia Sarah Patterson, Kelsi Caywood, Esther Friedman, Vicki Freedman
🎡 A team of UM SRC and UM Population Studies Center researchers investigated caregiving expectations and how they vary by relationship, respondent characteristics, and with the presence of dementia. Sarah Patterson Esther Friedman, Vicki A. Freedman, and PSC trainee Kelsi Caywood.
New national data show LGBTQ+ youth — especially transgender youth — experience far greater rates of abuse and household adversity than their peers, underscoring the need to address childhood trauma as part of any strategy to reduce LGBTQ+ health disparities. 📖
Rural adults face higher suicide rates, fewer mental health resources, and fewer public spaces to connect. New research links talking with others in parks, libraries, and coffee shops to better mental health, underscoring the need for investment in rural community spaces.
🍼 A new baby changes everything — including the pressure on a family's resources. New research on families with newborns finds that weak social support and residing in a less cohesive neighborhood are each linked to higher odds of food insecurity, independent of income. 🔗
Fall prevention for people with dementia could also protect caregivers. New research finds that caregiver burden from falls varies significantly depending on whether they live with their loved one—pointing to the need for tailored interventions. 👉️ buff.ly/yM4L2jd