Abt's The Intersect

Qualitative data indicate guaranteed income programs—which provide cash directly to beneficiaries—provide real stability to people in need. But, while we wait for the quantitative data to come in, the jury's still out on how to maximize this approach. What do we still have to learn about cash transfers as a means of empowering people, and can making payments directly to households be a more effective way of providing rent subsidies? Dr. Jill Khadduri and Dr. Hannah Thomas discuss the outstanding questions in the latest episode of The Intersect.

With the Education Sciences Reform Act up for reauthorization, there's an opportunity to revisit how we use data to promote equitable educational policies and approaches. Drs. Karen Gray-Adams and Rebecca McGill Wilkinson discuss building equity into the evaluation process—from community involvement to planning randomized control trials—to ensure we can identify the best way forward for every child.

Pollution. Lead poisoning. Community policing. Imprisonment. The challenges of environmental justice are even bigger than you may realize. Abt's Dr. LaToria Whitehead and Dr. Jennifer Bronson discuss how systemic and structural racism has disproportionately thrust Black families into a brutal cycle linking dangerous environmental conditions, poor health, and involvement in the justice system.

In Ukraine, Russia's invasion has destroyed infrastructure and threatens the economy. In sub-Saharan Africa, the climate crisis is stressing already-fragile health systems. In this podcast, Joan Chahenza and Nadiia Zaritska discuss how the establishment and maintenance of resilient energy systems—be they distributed or part of the grid—can incorporate GEDSI principles while serving vulnerable populations.

With reasons ranging from a lack of affordable housing to rising medical costs, more and more people over the age of 55 are experiencing homelessness. While the national data show the beginning of an alarming trend—with a 73-percent year-over-year increase in chronic homelessness among the elderly—the effects are in full bloom in Washington, DC. Abt's Brooke Abrams talks to Miriam's Kitchen's April Veney and Adam Rocap—who provide supportive services in the capital—about what they're seeing on the ground and how we can provide support and address root causes.

Summer EBT was recently authorized as a federally funded, national nutritional program for school-aged children. It's a difficult program to implement and sustain, but it's vital to the more than 20 million children who rely on it to support their nutrition when school isn't in session. In this podcast, Abt's Rene Nutter talks with Tyra Shackelford, Chickasaw Nation's Sumer EBT administrator, about what it takes for a successful Summer EBT implementation.

Abhorrent racial disparities in America's criminal justice system are well-documented, but less covered is the over-representation of people with disabilities. Drs. Jennifer Bronson and Hassan Enayati discuss how supports from elementary school through the hiring process can help mitigate the links between disability and employment opportunities as social determinants of justice.

Surveillance, resilience, adaptation—these activities happen at local and national levels around the globe. As the climate crisis grows—with interlocking symptoms ranging from extreme weather to higher human exposure to zoonotic diseases—how can we coordinate systems to go beyond human health to planetary health? Amanda Quintana, Adam Schaefer, and James White share their ideas in the latest episode of The Intersect.

Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) provide essential healthcare to people who are uninsured or underinsured, and the support they provide doesn't stop there. In this podcast, Abt's Ann Loeffler and Dr. Kimberly S.G. Chang— Family Physician and Director of Human Trafficking and Health Care Policy at Asian Health Services in Oakland, Calif., discuss the role health centers play in everything from participatory democracy to combatting racism.

To improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, government agencies called for air-tight buildings. To reduce the transmission of COVID and the impact of pollutants emitted in homes by products ranging from stoves to personal care products, scientists and engineers looked for ways to improve air circulation. As harmful particulate matter from wildfires crosses international borders, we're reminded yet again that safeguarding air quality for public health is a balancing act that we can't afford to get wrong. Drs. Tiffany Harris and Jonathan Dorn discuss the challenges—and possible solutions.

To create equity as an output, you need to incorporate equity throughout your project's inputs. Tara Reed and Meghan Henry discuss Abt's systemic approach to dismantling systemic inequities, and how we're putting it to work as we produce HUD's annual report to Congress on homelessness.

To implement equity externally, you have to practice equity internally. Drs. Karen Gray-Adams and Katrina Bledsoe explain why organizations that are ready to evolve should be prepared to embrace discomfort (it's worth it), and discuss how Abt is using education to build equity into the foundations of the policy world moving forward.

Climate change will affect everyone, so what measures can U.S. communities take now to adapt and thrive? From water-saving landscapes to strategic retreats from hazard-prone areas, experts Colleen Moore and Alexis St. Juliana explore a range of promising responses they've identified and explain why historically vulnerable communities must be part of the solutions.

Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) provide essential healthcare to people who are uninsured or underinsured. Increasingly, FQHCs are answering the call to bolster what have traditionally been public health and social services, and the question of how we support and enhance these resources is becoming more pressing. In this podcast, Abt's Ann Loeffler speaks to Lathran Woodard—the Chief Executive Officer of the South Carolina Primary Health Care Association—about the history of the health center movement, the mission that sets it apart, and the need to support and grow FQHCs and their workforce.

Clean energy is not only essential to combating climate change, it creates proven economic benefits—and opportunities to engage the untapped potential of the world's future workforce. ? Dr. Nicole Goldin and Lindsey Foley discuss the vital role youth can—and must--play in the green economy in the latest episode of The Intersect.

Like everything—and everyone—else, health systems function at the mercy of climate change, which means climate adaptation is vital not only to local resilience, but to health systems strengthening and security. So how can we connect these programmatically? In this episode of The Intersect, Abt's Eric Reading and Kelly Saldana explain the urgent need for climate integration in global development.

A new study by Abt for the Department of Labor shows an apprenticeship program improved wages across the board, but job equity—not just in earnings but in career choices—remains a challenge. From supportive services for participants to the benefits of mentors, Dr. Katrina Bledsoe and study author Karen Gardiner discuss possible solutions.

Social programs designed to promote equity—in housing, jobs, justice, health care, and more—rely on data to identify strategies and measure impact. But what happens when our data collection and analyses are inadvertently sabotaged by bias? Drs. Rucha Londhe and Eric Hedberg share tips and experiences on the latest episode of The Intersect podcast.

As vulnerable populations increasingly derive “more and more and more” of the medical and social service they need from community health centers, the question of how we support and enhance these vital resources becomes more pressing. In this podcast, Abt's Ann Loeffler speaks to Annette Kowal, president and CEO for the Colorado Community Health Network, about the state of the industry, how we got to this point, and how we might move forward.

As the climate crisis unfolds, the impacts will be particularly acute for vulnerable populations who live amid flood zones, heat islands, and rampant pollution, all of which cause disproportionate health issues. Barbara Fields, Frank Alexander, and Paul Anninos discuss the intersections between climate, housing, and equity policies in America, and the community-level approaches we can take to address these social determinants of health.

The signs are there long before children enter the child welfare system, so how can we keep kids safe and families together? In this episode of The Intersect podcast, Abt's Ginger Pryor (former head of child welfare in both L.A. County and the state of Georgia) and Whitney Rostad explain how real solutions to systemic failures can emerge from disaggregated data, community input, and silo-busting collaborations.

We all know climate change is leading to rising temperatures and sea levels, which threaten catastrophic results. But some environmental impacts are less obvious, such as the growing incidence of malaria. In this episode of The Intersect, Drs. Caroline Staub and Matt Kirby discuss how we can use climatological data and technical assistance to combat the spread of this deadly disease.

People in rural areas tend to suffer disproportionately from chronic health challenges while struggling to access the medical support they need. Can we provide those services and support local health providers while managing costs? Dr. Jean O'Connor and Dr. Matt Trombley share their thoughts on this episode of The Intersect.

To address education and housing challenges, you don't need some of the data, you need all of it. Abt's Cara Jackson and Henry Love explain how qualitative data can help researchers better understand the obstacles that families and communities face, enabling all parties to devise solutions together.

Around the world, there's a vital need for healthcare services. At the same time, women are disproportionately excluded from the global economy. These two challenges are connected, and so are their potential solutions. In this episode of The Intersect podcast, Abt's Caroline Quijada and Dr. Nicole Goldin explain how women can find economic opportunities by bolstering the healthcare sector, and why a stronger healthcare sector can enable women to pursue more economic opportunities.

Good health and safe environments are important to everyone. Increasingly, federal, state, and local partners are seeking ways to improve health for all people, no matter where they live, who they are, or how much they earn. In this podcast miniseries, Abt staff sit down with health leaders from Massachusetts, Minnesota, and the Pueblo de San Ildefonso to discuss ideas on health equity, including challenges, new improvements, and next steps for their respective programs and communities. In this episode, Abt's Kaylene Ritter talks with Raymond Martinez, Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico's Pueblo De San Ildefonso.

Good health and safe environments are important to everyone. Increasingly, federal, state, and local partners are seeking ways to improve health for all people, no matter where they live, who they are, or how much they earn. In this podcast miniseries, Abt staff sit down with health leaders from Massachusetts, Minnesota, and the Pueblo de San Ildefonso to discuss ideas on health equity, including challenges, new improvements, and next steps for their respective programs and communities. In this episode, Abt's Sara Galantowicz talks to Erin Flicker of Minnesota's Department of Human Services.

All people are entitled to good health and safe environments. Increasingly federal, state, and local partners are seeking ways to improve health access and outcomes for everyone, no matter where they live, who they are, or how much they earn. In this podcast miniseries, Abt staff sit down with health leaders from Massachusetts, Minnesota, and the Pueblo de San Ildefonso to discuss their ideas on health equity, including challenges, innovative approaches, and next steps for their respective programs and communities. In this episode, Abt's Kaitlin Sheedy talks to MassHealth's Gary Sing.

Poverty. Violence. Environmental disasters. The stress from living with these challenges can have physiological impacts on those who must endure them. In this episode of The Intersect, Abt's Lisanne Brown and Karen Carney discuss how we can use data to identify the communities that most need support to mitigate the allostatic load created by these stressors.

The rising heat around the globe is not only deadly in its own right, it creates additional health threats to humans, including increases in diseases spread by animals and toxins released by algae. Abt's Claire Lay and Adam Schaefer discuss the many challenges presented by heat on land, sea, and air, and how the One Health approach can help.

In this Sound Evidence podcast, Abt Researchers Laura Edwards and Meredith Wesley delve step-by-step into the details of how we are implementing the CDC-funded RECOVER Study of SARS-CoV-2 incidence in healthcare personnel, first responders, and other essential frontline workers and migrated the work to analyzing vaccine effectiveness.

The social determinants of health are interactive and multi-faceted, but often the experts who address them are siloed—as are their data. How do we share the data that can tell us the full story about the people who rely on—and receive—support? Chris Tappan and Lori Hunter discuss data systems, collaboration between agencies, and the vital importance of equitable services in this latest episode of The Intersect.

The addiction workforce faces many challenges, from limited capacity to meet the growing demand for treatment services to inadequate financial and professional incentives to enter and remain in the workforce. As a result of these challenges, individuals with substance use disorder experience disparities in care compared to those with a physical ailment. In this third and final episode of the Charting the Way podcast miniseries, Abt's Leigh Fischer and Mt. Sinai's Tim Brennan discuss opportunities to advance the field of addiction medicine, integrate approaches across physical and behavioral health, and unify the workforce to better prevent and address substance use disorders.

For many people, especially those with mental illness or substance use problems, or who are living in underserved racially or ethnically diverse communities, it’s difficult to receive the behavioral health support they need. In the second episode of the Charting the Way podcast miniseries, Lisanne Brown of Abt and Keris Myrick of S2i at the JED Foundation talk about the vital role peers and people with lived experience can play as we address America’s need for more behavioral health workers.

Behavioral Health challenges—notably substance use and mental health—are more prevalent than ever, but the workforce needed to provide support is shrinking, even as the need for equitable services grows. How did we get here? How can we turn the tide? And how can we incorporate social justice into those efforts? We’ll address all of these questions in the Charting the Way podcast miniseries. In this first episode, Abt’s Sarah Steverman and NACBHDDo’s Ron Manderscheid take a look at the nation’s critical behavioral health workforce needs and discuss strategies for closing the gaps.

Environmental justice. Maternal and child health. Two health crises that are related yet rarely addressed together. Abt’s David Cooley and Lawrence Reichle explain how data, technology, and creativity can be applied as force multipliers to address both challenges collaboratively in the latest episode of The Intersect podcast.

Homelessness. COVID-19. Both are crises in their own rights, but Abt’s recent work with HUD and CDC highlights the benefits of addressing homelessness and public health as related challenges. Natalie Matthews and Terri Mota connect the dots and discuss how we can do more moving forward in the new episode of The Intersect.

How can we rely on data to help address racial equality when it’s inherently biased by centuries of inequity? In this episode of The Intersect, Abt’s Laura Peck and Jason Brinkley look under the hood at AI, machine learning, and more to better understand how data analysis can address these conflicts rather than exacerbate them.

On a day-to-day basis, vulnerable populations suffer from inequities in health, wealth, and education. These same people are then disproportionately impacted by catastrophes ranging from hurricanes to COVID-19, which only serve to underline the great and urgent need for equity across race, gender, and income. In this episode of The Intersect, Madeline Colety and Lorine Giangola discuss how Abt’s housing and resilience work is helping clients promote equity.

As COVID-19 cases spike and the U.S. and other countries brace for flu season, Abt’s Danielle Hunt and James White take a look around the globe to see how we’re preparing. Learn about the groundwork we’ve laid and what it means for future pandemic responses in the latest episode of The Intersect podcast.

In the third and final episode of Keeping America Fed, Abt’s Maria Boyle talks to Lorrene Ritchie, director of the Nutrition Policy Institute, about the long-term impacts of COVID-19 on nutrition in the United States. Learn how we can seize this moment to expand school lunch programs, bolster food security for families, and use data and analysis to determine a better way forward beyond the corona virus.

Racial inequities are pervasive throughout the social determinants of health. Abt’s Diane Paulsell and Chloe Greene discuss how data, analysis, technical assistance, and input from those who live with these systemic inequities can inform the programs and policies needed to turn the tide. Learn more in this episode of The Intersect podcast. For more on this topic, listen to episode 15: Racial Bias, Data Science, and the Justice System.

As the school year starts, many kids are still home practicing distance learning. In this episode of The Intersect podcast, we discuss the disparities in COVID-19’s impacts on low-income families and the early education sector. From education to health to economics, education expert Amy Checkoway and infectious disease expert Leigh Mathias assess the challenges and suggest steps to better outcomes.

Food security is a daily challenge for millions of Americans, but the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated a myriad of issues for those same people and the stakeholders who work with them. Keep America Fed is a podcast miniseries through which we’ll look at those issues, and how they’re being addressed locally and at the state and federal level. In this episode, Geri Hench, director of Nutrition Policy at FRAC, and Abt Senior Associates Maria Boyle talk about the successes and shortcoming of national programs, and the data that can help us close the gaps.

From pretrial detention to sentencing to community supervision, data can inform and guide how our justice system works but, for better and for worse, that data doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Holly Swan and Sharmini Radakrishnan discuss the approaches we can take—and the expertise we’ll need—to eliminate racial bias in the justice system.

Food security is a daily challenge for millions of Americans, but the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated a myriad of issues for those same people and the stakeholders who work with them. Keeping America Fed is a podcast miniseries through which we’ll look at those issues, and how they’re being addressed locally and at the state and federal levels. In this episode, Deputy Director of Neighbors in Need Lisa Smith and Abt Senior Associate Maria Boyle talk about identifying and implementing solutions locally.

The impacts of flooding are increasing: damages are growing costlier and climate change is expected to exacerbate the risks and effects. How can we reduce costs—and save lives? In the latest episode of The Intersect podcast, Russ Jones and Mark Lorie explain how novel use of GIS data and analysis can help efforts to respond to—and plan for—floods.

With all the progress we’ve made against HIV, how do we maintain momentum during COVID? And how can we leverage successful HIV strategies to battle the coronavirus? From contact tracing to service delivery, Cathy Thompson and Jane Fox compare notes on their work with HIV in the U.S. and around the globe.

Data collection. Analysis. Communication. Collaboration. As the coronavirus response continues to unfold, what’s working in the U.S. and around the world, and what’s next? U.S. health expert Ann Loeffler and international health expert Bob Fryatt compare notes and look ahead in this episode of The Intersect podcast.

As COVID-19 overburdens hospitals and healthcare workers, health services researcher and clinician Nicole Keane and digital expert Gabriel Krieshok discuss how telehealth can get us through this crisis and beyond.

Opioids. Employment. The relationship between the two is complex. Abt experts Karin Martinson and Amy Berninger discuss the co-dependencies, and the efforts to develop programs that both promote recovery from substance use disorders and improve economic well-being.