Rita Hamad
@ritahamad.bsky.social
Professor, social epidemiologist @hsph.harvard.edu • Social policy + health equity • Director https://hsph.me/sphere • Mama, immigrant • Opinions mine
It's #NationalBreastfeedingMonth! Check out our team's latest paper by recent grad @jiaoweigong.bsky.social examining impacts of 2022 formula crisis on BF & mental health, including disparities among WIC recipients. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @natwicassoc.bsky.social @hsph.harvard.edu
Our faculty affiliate Sara Bleich and her colleagues penned an op-ed in JAMA Forum about the population health risks of data disruption, spotlighting the shutdown of the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS). @ritahamad.bsky.social #PRAMS hsph.harvard.edu/news/opinion...
Opinion: Data disruptions put powerful maternal and child health tool at risk | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
The consequences of disruptions to the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System are falling heaviest on already-vulnerable populations.
hsph.harvard.edu
Powerful commentary @jamahealthforum.com on the tragedy of the loss of CDC PRAMS data (the only US long-term national survey on health around childbirth) and the need for efforts to restore it: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... @hsph.harvard.edu @marchofdimes.org @datarescueproject.org
Excited to share paper led by @hsph.harvard.edu master's student @jiaoweigong.bsky.social that found disparities in the impacts of 2022 infant formula crisis on breastfeeding and mental health esp among WIC participants and Black women. authors.elsevier.com/a/1nNjy6gdZS... @natwicassoc.bsky.social
Very honored that our team working to rescue PRAMS are semi-finalists for @apduorg.bsky.social Data Integrity Award! Please vote for us to help bring publicity to PRAMS -- the only long-term US survey on MCH, which was taken down when Trump RIF'd entire CDC team and it is *still* not back up.
The Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies@harvardpopcenter.bsky.social · last mo.PLEASE VOTE for The ALLPRAMS Collaborative, a semi-finalist for the inaugural APDU Data Integrity Award, for their efforts to protect & restore the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) in the face of unprecedented federal threats. @apduorg.bsky.social www.surveymonkey.com/r/YY6DTB2
Did you submit a comment on Fed Register to oppose proposed OMB rule, which is one of the biggest threats to science by this administration? If not, check out template from @apha.org that makes it very easy to do so: www.votervoice.net/PublicHealth... @iaphs.bsky.social @societyforepi.bsky.social
Oppose OMB's sweeping changes to federal grant-making
The White House Office of Management and Budget has proposed sweeping changes to the federal grant-making process. The federal government, through the agencies of the Department of Health and Human Se...
votervoice.net
Rita Hamad@ritahamad.bsky.social · 2mo agoThis is very serious. If this proposal moves ahead, science funding in the US will move drastically away from being scientifically motivated, and instead toward politically motivated. We need major coordinated action. @popassocamerica.bsky.social @standupforscience.net @societyforepi.bsky.social
Great article of RFK's undermining of maternal health, including coverage of the devastating loss of our only national long-term survey of maternal and child health, PRAMS. @marchofdimes.org @popassocamerica.bsky.social @societyforepi.bsky.social @sherylnyt.bsky.social
Mother Jones@motherjones.com · 2mo agoRFK's answer to the maternal health crisis: Hide the data
Can income support policies help address poverty as a key driver of mental illness? @ritahamad.bsky.social @hsph.harvard.edu journals.lww.com/hrpjournal/f...
journals.lww.com
Important piece @jamanetworkopen.com on causes of excess death in US compared to other high-income countries by @jacob-bor.bsky.social et al. US mortality is much higher, and cardiovascular, substance use, & mental health are big drivers. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... @popassocamerica.bsky.social
Here's a great training from @peerresearch.bsky.social explaining how researchers can provide the most effective public comments! static1.squarespace.com/static/68c72...
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌@chanda.blacksky.app · 2mo agoIn this newsletter I outline important actions to take. 1. Submit a comment opposing the rule change. 2. Contact state legislators to ensure states are engaged with the impact at the state and local level. 3. Contact members of Congress. 4. Spread awareness. This rundown is a great source:
NEW: A lot of bad has happened to American science over the last year but nothing comes even close to what’s about to happen if we don’t speak out in opposition to the OMB rule changes and I hope @aaas-socsci.bsky.social @apsphysics.bsky.social and others will launch public campaigns about this. 🧪🔭⚛️
It's the End of American Science As We Know It
We have 45 days to express our opposition to catastrophic changes.
news.chanda.science
Excellent new @brookings.edu analysis on the economic fallout from ICE in Trump 2.0 www.brookings.edu/articles/ice...
Shock, awe, and economic fallout | Brookings
Escobari, Seyal, and Beach find the 2025 ICE enforcement surge cost 668,000 jobs across U.S. cities, including jobs held by American-born workers.
brookings.edu
This is very serious. If this proposal moves ahead, science funding in the US will move drastically away from being scientifically motivated, and instead toward politically motivated. We need major coordinated action. @popassocamerica.bsky.social @standupforscience.net @societyforepi.bsky.social
Adrianna McIntyre@adrianna.bsky.social · 2mo ago“[E]ven in a world that is on fire every day this is truly a five-alarm fire.”
If you want to give $$ to support prenatal & infant health, what would be the best time in pregnancy? @dkarasek.bsky.social examines this question using natural experiment related to timing of anti-poverty benefits: authors.elsevier.com/c/1n60~2gOwG... @mdrc-news.bsky.social @ohsunews.bsky.social 1/
We're excited to announce that @courtneyallen.bsky.social and Caroline Kravitz will be joining the Harvard Pop Center community as Bell Postdoctoral Fellows this fall! popcenter.harvard.edu/blog/2026/05...
A dye-free Froot Loop is still a Froot Loop. Banning food dyes may clean up labels, but it won’t change what people eat without bigger shifts in behavior, access, and policy. https://bit.ly/4ds3HcE
Why Banning Food Dyes Won’t Fix What's Wrong With The American Diet
Most Americans support banning food dyes—but what drives diet quality is behavior, marketing and access. Removing dyes won’t fix what’s wrong with how we eat.
bit.ly
For #mentalhealth awareness month, @harvard.edu Review of Psychiatry has an issue on social determinants of psychopathology, including my commentary on anti-poverty policies as potential population-level interventions: journals.lww.com/hrpjournal/f... @hsph.harvard.edu
@ritahamad.bsky.social describes the potentially heartbreaking consequences for women and their babies when datasets and other federal resources like surveys are deleted or altered, and the federal departments that manage those resources are gutted... www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
The Trump administration is deleting government data. From infant deaths to hunger, here are 5 ways it’s hurting Americans
This information was used to understand the problems Americans face. The consequences of its erasure, experts warn, could affect generations to come
theguardian.com
Poverty is a key driver of health; our latest article reviews the growing literature on economic policies as an upstream solution. However, several policies have insufficient evidence, and data barriers remain: www.annualreviews.org/content/jour... @hsph.harvard.edu @irpwisc.bsky.social
Poverty is a key driver of health; our latest article reviews the growing literature on economic policies as an upstream solution. However, several policies have insufficient evidence, and data barriers remain: www.annualreviews.org/content/jour... @hsph.harvard.edu @irpwisc.bsky.social
Our director, @ritahamad.bsky.social and @emilydore.bsky.social are authors on this paper profiled in this news piece… hsph.harvard.edu/news/poor-bi...
Poor birth outcomes increase with poverty | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Inequities in birth outcomes are staying consistent—if not widening—between economic groups, according to a new Harvard Chan School study.
hsph.harvard.edu
Low-income mothers had persistently worse birth outcomes from 2012 to 2022, with widening disparities in low birth weight, indicating a continued need for supportive policies. ja.ma/46vlUDp
Latest paper @jamapediatrics.com led by SPHERE postdoc @emilydore.bsky.social finds longstanding disparities in infant health by poverty status using national data, e.g., for preterm birth and low birthweight. www.doi.org/10.1001/jama... @ameracadpeds.bsky.social @harvardpopcenter.bsky.social 1/
For anyone interested in demography methods, applications are now open for the @berkeleypopcenter.bsky.social workshop. populationsciences.berkeley.edu/population-c... I attended as a student once upon a time. It is a fabulous experience! @harvardpopcenter.bsky.social @popassocamerica.bsky.social
Annual Workshop on Formal Demography - Population Sciences
The 12th Annual Workshop on Formal Demography will be held in person at UC Berkeley from June 1 – 5, 2026, with funding from Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Develop...
populationsciences.berkeley.edu
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our webinar, The Day Federal Data Went Dark: A Year of Monitoring and Action. We are grateful to be in a community with so many amazing organizations. You can watch the recording to learn about more than a dozen efforts to monitor and safeguard federal data.
The Day Federal Data Went Dark: A Year of Monitoring and Action
January 31, 2025, is infamous as the day thousands of federal datasets and webpages went dark. While many of these resources have since been restored–often after being scrubbed of references to gender, DEI, and climate–they continue to face significant risks. In the webinar, we mark the one-year anniversary of this takedown to discuss the current state of federal data and recognize the immense amount of work that has been done to defend these public resources. Leaders from the data community will share insights on monitoring tools they have developed and the actions being taken to safeguard essential federal data. This webinar is cohosted by dataindex.us and the Association of Public Data Users. 0:00 Introduction 2:53 EssentialData.US x Federation of American Scientists 6:51 American Statistical Association 10:31 CDC Data Project 14:17 Friends of BLS 17:50 Public Environmental Data Partners 21:24 The Leadership Conference Education Fund 26:26 Movement Advancement Project 30:37 Population Association of America 35:05 Democracy 2025 40:42 Data Rescue Project 44:16 Population Reference Bureau 47:14 Association of Public Data Users 50:10 dataindex.us 55:19 Conclusion
tinyurl.com
Honored to be new director @harvardpopcenter.bsky.social, following in Lisa Berkman's footsteps. I'm excited to inherit a brilliant & dedicated staff + network of research & community affiliates. Looking forward to advancing our mission of improving wellbeing of global populations! @hsph.harvard.edu
The Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies@harvardpopcenter.bsky.social · 6mo agoRita Hamad, MD, PhD, a leading social epidemiologist, has been appointed the next director of the Harvard Pop Center. Read about this leadership transition in today’s Harvard Gazette. @ritahamad.bsky.social @apc.org @hsph.harvard.edu @harvard.edu hsph.me/hcpds_new_di...
How many STEM Ph.D.s were lost from the U.S. federal government last year? My colleagues @mghersher.bsky.social and @policyhound.bsky.social dug into a recent data release to find the answer. A @science.org exclusive. www.science.org/content/arti...
Paid family leave improves the health of US families. Read our new research brief on #PaidLeave: hsph.harvard.edu/wp-content/u... @ritahamad.bsky.social The US remains one of only six countries in the world without national PFL - we can do better. @paidleaveforall.bsky.social
🚨Postdoc alert! @harvardpopcenter.bsky.social is now accepting applications for 2026-2028 Bell Fellowship! Apply by March 3: popcenter.harvard.edu/postdoctoral... @popassocamerica.bsky.social @iaphs.bsky.social @societyforepi.bsky.social @ashecon.bsky.social @asanews.bsky.social
Postdoctoral Fellowships – Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies
A Harvard University cross-school, interfaculty initiative administered by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
popcenter.harvard.edu
Some important points from new study: if you describe specific safety net programs (eg SNAP, unemployment insurance) instead of generic "welfare programs," people are more likely to tolerate slightly higher fraud to ensure access. There is always this trade-off; framing matters. @donmoyn.bsky.social
Don Moynihan@donmoyn.bsky.social · 7mo agoPeople are willing to accept a fraud access tradeoff. More specifically, the accepted allowing about 1 case of fraud to ensure access for 5 eligible claimants. For every ineligible person who might wrongly receive benefits, Americans are willing to ensure five eligible people get help.
