Job Complexity and Cognition: Associate Professor Emma Aguila and a colleague found that mentally demanding work enhances late-life cognitive performance, especially for lower-educated, informal-sector workers. Read in The Gerontologist
Measuring Green Spaces: Associate Professor Geoff Boeing and colleagues combined open-source mapping and satellite data to accurately calculate indicators of large public urban green space availability and accessibility. Read in Geographical Analysis
Urban Street Networks: Boeing and a colleague analyzed 9,000 urban street networks and proposed a simple two-step generative model that successfully reproduces the universal structural properties observed in real cities. Read in Physical Review Letters
Mystery Shopper Survey: Provost Professor Wändi Bruine de Bruin and colleagues used a mystery shopper survey to show that general practitioners in the UK commonly refuse registration to people without Photo ID or proof of address, violating national guidelines and undermining access to healthcare for immigrants and other vulnerable patients. Read more in BMJ Open
Malpractice Risk and Decision-Making: Associate Professor Alice Chen and colleagues found that when North Carolina implemented caps on medical malpractice damages, physicians reduced cesarean deliveries and other intensive procedures, ultimately lowering annual healthcare spending by about $4.6 million. Read in Journal of Policy Analysis and Management
Real Estate Private Equity Performance: Summarizing recent research, Professor Spencer Couts discusses how interpreting reported returns is more complex in private markets, which managerial characteristics matter, and how retail-focused vehicles are evolving. Read in Journal of Portfolio Management. Read in Journal of Portfolio Management
Hospital Consolidation: Professor Paul Ginsburg and colleagues found that employer demand for broad, stable provider networks and a lack of employer support for insurers when negotiating with large health systems undermined insurers’ ability to negotiate lower prices. Read in Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law
Cyber Attacks and the Dark Web: In response to more sophisticated cyberattacks on healthcare organizations, Associate Professor Genevieve Kanter and colleagues outlined strategies to prevent breaches and provide guidance to health care providers for effective post-attack recovery. Read in Missouri Medicine
Value-Based Drug Prices: Schaeffer Center Predoctoral Researcher Drishti Baid, Professor Darius Lakdawalla, Schaeffer Center Research Scientist Karen Mulligan and colleagues found that the nondiscriminatory generalized risk-adjusted cost-effectiveness (GRACE) framework increases value-based prices for more severe diseases but decreases them for less severe ones, resulting in budget-neutral adjustments relative to traditional cost effectiveness analyses. Read more in JAMA Network
Communication in Public Safety: Assistant Professor Danyao Li and a colleague found that the choice of messenger—whether a Civilian Review Board or a Public Information Officer—does not influence citizens’ willingness to cooperate with law enforcement, but personal characteristics remain key drivers of attitudes and engagement. Read in Journal of Behavioral and Public Administration
Cost of Cancer Treatments: Associate Professor John Romley and colleagues showed that first-line therapies for anaplastic lymphoma kinase positive lung cancer are costly, have variable treatment duration, and often lead to high discontinuation rates. Read in Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy
Effectiveness of 211 Call Center: Romley and colleagues found that children who received early childhood care coordination through Los Angeles County’s 2-1-1 system were more likely to be referred to and enrolled in development services than children receiving usual care. Read in Pediatrics
Neighborhood Redevelopment and Obesity: Schaeffer Center Research Scientist Victoria Shier and colleagues found that residents who move into newly redeveloped areas saw small but meaningful reductions in abdominal obesity and barriers to healthy eating, suggesting that neighborhood improvements can reduce abdominal obesity among low-income communities. Read more in Obesity
Diagnosing Dementia: Schaeffer Center Research Scientist Sidra Haye, Professor Julie Zissimopoulos and colleagues found that, even when seeing the same primary care physician, Medicare Advantage beneficiaries are diagnosed with dementia at slightly lower rates and are less likely to see dementia specialists than similar beneficiaries in traditional Medicare. Read in Alzheimer's & Dementia
Review of Dementia Registries: Zissimopoulos and colleagues examined 21 population-based dementia registries across Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. While these registries provide vital data, missing information on healthcare use, caregiving data, and geographic coverage limit their ability to fully support real-world evidence generation. Read in Alzheimer's & Dementia
