April 2021

By Ali Tadayon, EdSource, April 8, 2021 As students gradually return to classrooms, advocates and lawmakers say it’s more important than ever to provide free meals in schools without burdensome eligibility requirements, just as California has done during the pandemic. The “Free School Meals For All” bill, SB 364 , introduced last month by East Bay Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, would establish a statewide Universal Meal Plan starting in the 2022-2023 school year. It would guarantee free...

By Robin Givhan, The Washington Post, March 30, 2021 MS. GIVHAN: Welcome to Washington Post Live. I’m Robin Givhan, senior critic-at-large, and I write about race, politics, and the arts, and today we’re kicking off a new series, Opportunity in Crisis. Our first program today is about how to build a more just and inclusive society in the aftermath of a year of racial protests over racial injustice as well as the outsized impact of the coronavirus pandemic on communities of color. My first...

By Chantel L. Daines, Dustin Hansen, M. Lelinneth B. Novilla, et al., BMC Public Health, April 5, 2021 Abstract Background The objective of the study was to determine the association between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and positive childhood experiences (PCEs) with family health in adulthood. Prior research indicates that ACEs and PCEs affect individual physical and mental health in adulthood. However, little is known about how ACEs and PCEs affect family health. Families develop...

By Jane Spencer and Christina Jewett, The Guardian and Kaiser Health News, April 8, 2021 Lost on the Frontline is the most complete accounting of U.S. health care worker deaths. The federal government has not comprehensively tracked this data. But calls are mounting for the Biden administration to undertake a count as the KHN/Guardian project comes to a close today. The project, which tracked who died and why, provides a window into the workings — and failings — of the U.S. health system...

The term eating disorders conjures in the minds of many pictures of boy crazy teenagers who want to slim down for a prom dress or something only women have. However, the reality of EDs is much, much more insidious than that. Eating disorders affect millions of people of all ages and 25-40% (depending on the disorder) are men. This article is the first in a series tackling the topic of eating disorders. This piece includes; what EDs are, what causes them, who is affected, and how they are...

By The Imprint Staff Reporters, The Imprint, March 29, 2021 In a study of twins aimed at teasing out answers to an aspect of the classic nature-versus-nurture debate, researchers have found that the child who was more harshly disciplined than the sibling twin was more likely to develop more behavior problems. This was determined by researchers at three prominent universities who studied sibling pairs treated differently by their parents. Among the 1,030 sets of twins studied were 426 pairs...

By Positive News, March 18, 2021 The four-day working week is poised to become a reality for employees at some firms in Spain, after the government there agreed to launch a pilot project for companies that are interested in experimenting with the idea. Details of the trial are still being fleshed out, including how many firms will be involved and how long the trial will last. However, the government is reportedly considering covering the costs that are incurred by participating firms (if...

By Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, April 3, 2021 I n a few months, a small British financial think tank will mark the tenth anniversary of the publication of a landmark research report that helped launch the global fossil-fuel-divestment movement. As that celebration takes place, another seminal report —this one obtained under the Freedom of Information Act from the world’s largest investment house—closes the loop on one of the key arguments of that decade-long fight. It definitively shows...

By Alla Katsnelson, The New York Times, April 7, 2021 New monthly payments in the pandemic relief package have the potential to lift millions of American children out of poverty. Some scientists believe the payments could change children’s lives even more fundamentally — via their brains. It’s well established that growing up in poverty correlates with disparities in educational achievement, health and employment. But an emerging branch of neuroscience asks how poverty affects the developing...

Rich Taylor has discovered how to live 100% stress-free. He has started a movement to help people achieve the same powerful results.

By Caroline G. Heller, Amanda S. Parsons, Earle C. Chambers, et al., American Journal of Preventive Medicine, April 1, 2020 Abstract Introduction: Health systems are increasingly interested in addressing the social determinants of health via social risk screening. The objective of this study is to understand the variability in the number and types of social risks overall and in population subgroups among primary care patients routinely screened in a large urban health system. Methods:...

By Naomi Thomas, CNN Health, April 5, 2021 More than a year into the pandemic, children's lives may be starting to look more normal as an increasing number of people get vaccinated and schools reopen. However, many children in the US are contending with the difficult reality that is irreparable: the loss of a parent from Covid-19. One result of the pandemic may be an ever-growing number of "Covid orphans." A new model estimates that nearly 40,000 children have lost a parent to Covid-19, and...