Health Affairs In 2021: Editor’s Picks

Two separate studies by UCLA CHPR researchers have been recognized among the top 10 articles in 2021 by the scientific journal Health Affairs:

The Effect Of The Affordable Care Act On Cancer Detection Among The Near-Elderly by Fabian Duarte, Srikanth Kadiyala, Gerald F. Kominski, and Antonia Riveros

Fabian Duarte and coauthors use an interesting “difference in discontinuities” approach to show that the increase in insurance coverage among adults ages 60–64 due to the Affordable Care Act greatly increased rates of cancer detection for this population. Fifty-nine additional incidents of cancer were detected per 100,000 people, and 68 percent of these were early- and middle-stage cancers—and thus more likely treatable.

Trust In Governments And Health Workers Low Globally, Influencing Attitudes Toward Health Information, Vaccines by Corrina Moucheraud, Huiying Guo, and James Macinko

Corrina Moucheraud and coauthors assess people’s trust in governments and health workers, as well as how trust is associated with attitudes toward vaccines. According to survey data that predate the COVID-19 pandemic, about one-quarter of survey respondents from 144 countries say that they trust their government a lot, and fewer than half trust doctors and nurses a lot. Positive vaccine attitudes are much more common among those who express trust in government.