Healthcare Policy
Healthcare Policy
Global Healthcare
Reversing Declining Birth Rates: Strategies for Population Growth
By: Avery Sloan and Ashley Ramirez Martinez
Published: Spring 2024
Abstract: 
Countries across the world are having increasingly lower birth rates. Specifically Korea and China are two countries that have seen low birth rates for various reasons, including former or current governmental policies. These lower birth rates have had impacts across other areas of society, including economic, cultural, and overall demographics. Without governmental intervention, this will continue to cause issues for these countries.
When Drug Ads Go Global: Policy Challenges in the Age of Online DTCA
By: Katie Wolter and Audrey Nott
Published: Fall 2025
Abstract: In a rapid age of technology development, direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs is now an interactive global marketing network. The evolution of online drug promotion, which is vastly unregulated and borderless, is posing serious risks to global public health, patient safety, and ethical marketing strategies. When profit-driven pharmaceutical advertising is increasing patient vulnerability, policymakers must ask: what happens when the next prescription is only a click away?
When Marketing Meets Medicine – Fixing Transparency in Pharmaceutical Advertis
ing
By: Leila Naganna and Chelsea Bediako
Published: Fall 2025
Abstract: Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertisements have become more popular and have expanded across millions of homes across the nation. These ads raise concerns about transparency, patient understanding, and the influence of marketing decisions on healthcare. While these ads can increase public awareness, their presentation often minimizes risks and strains the doctor-patient relationship. Existing regulatory rules have not kept up with the pace of modern advertising. This memo evaluates the limitations of current policy framework, the competing interests of pharamaceutical companies, and the constitWhen Marketing Meets Medicineutional constraints that make a full ban legally challenging. It proposes targeted policy solutions including disclosure requirements, strengthened enforcement mechanisms, and more monitoring of digitial advertising. These reforms aim to ensure that DTC marketing informs rather than misleads and restoring trust back into the healthcare system.
Medical Curriculum
Exploring Equity In Medical Curriculum
By: Emma Bach and Savannah Willette
Abstract: The following report aims to understand how inconsistencies in medical curriculum have led to the marginalization of underserved populations. By recognizing the suggestive inconsistencies, the paper will identify how public policy could effectively aid this issue by producing a solution that addresses the report’s three main considerations; quality, representation and access.
Opioid Crisis
Narcan on College Campuses
By: Emma Bach and Savannah Willette
Published: Spring 2024
Abstract: The opioid crisis in the United States has become an urgent public health concern, with escalating addiction rates and fatal overdoses attributed to a range of opioids, including synthetic drugs like fentanyl. From 1991 to 2021, over 650,000 individuals have died from opioid overdoses, highlighting the crisis’s severity and societal impact, which amounts to an annual cost of $78.5 billion. College campuses are particularly vulnerable, with opioid overdoses now the leading cause of death among young adults aged 18-45. Despite stigma, recent governmental initiatives have prompted universities to equip themselves with naloxone, a life-saving medication. Government intervention is crucial in addressing this crisis, requiring collaborative efforts to provide resources, such as counseling and naloxone, and implement preventive measures. A nuanced approach, combining state and university-led initiatives, is recommended to effectively combat the crisis and protect vulnerable populations.
Substance and Opioid Use Disorder Among Formerly Incarcerated Individuals
By: Skye Ziegler
Abstract: Overdoses among individuals with a Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) impact many individuals and their families. The post-incarcerated population is at a 12.7 times greater risk of death in the two weeks following release. A majority of the prison population has a past with substance use or a charge relating to possession. Our country has had a history of treating drug use as a crime that deserves punishment versus a health issue that deserves treatment.
This brief researched the extent of the problem, the best alternatives for the issue, and an analysis of the alternatives to offer a cohesive policy recommendation. It was concluded that the most effective solution to this problem needed to be multi- pronged. There was not one sole alternative that would effectively promote harm reduction and offer long-term support. Hence, of the three suggested alternatives, providing two doses of naloxone, immediate service connection, and expanding medically assisted treatment (MAT), the combination of the required provision of naloxone and immediate service connection was determined the most effective.
Women’s Healthcare
Empowering Women: Policy Solutions for Postpartum Workforce Re-Entry
By: Emma Bach and Camryn Houston
Published: Fall 2023
Abstract: This policy memo analyzes the pressing challenges faced by women returning to the workforce after childbirth, emphasizing the need for government intervention due to lack of employer support and increased discrimination. The postpartum period’s physical, emotional, and logistical complexities lead to 1 in 4 women contemplating leaving their jobs. The proposed government role is seeking to create a healthier workforce, reduce postpartum complications, and alleviate the economic burden associated with insufficient support. Legislative actions must adopt preventative measures, address discrimination, and consider the intersectional needs for women of color.