<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>The Journalist&#039;s Resource</title> <atom:link href="https://journalistsresource.org/feed/?cat=-503%2C-504%2C-566%2C-415" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://journalistsresource.org/</link> <description>Informing the news</description> <lastBuildDate>Fri, 14 Feb 2025 15:39:33 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1</generator> <image> <url>https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/cropped-jr-favicon-32x32.png</url> <title>The Journalist&#039;s Resource</title> <link>https://journalistsresource.org/</link> <width>32</width> <height>32</height> </image> <item> <title>A primer for journalists covering immigrant workers in the US</title> <link>https://journalistsresource.org/home/immigrant-workers-primer/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Clark Merrefield]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 10 Feb 2025 18:26:16 +0000</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://journalistsresource.org/?p=80631</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>As the second administration of President Donald Trump seeks to limit authorized and unauthorized immigration, get to know key facts and data sources about immigrant workers. </p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/immigrant-workers-primer/">A primer for journalists covering immigrant workers in the US</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="sharing"><div class="social-icons"><div class="simplesocialbuttons simplesocial-round-icon simplesocialbuttons_inline simplesocialbuttons-align-right simplesocialbuttons-inline-no-animation"> <button class="simplesocial-fb-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Facebook Share" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://journalistsresource.org/home/immigrant-workers-primer/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Facebook </span> </button> <button class="simplesocial-twt-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Twitter Share" data-href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=A+primer+for+journalists+covering+immigrant+workers+in+the+US&url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/immigrant-workers-primer/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Twitter</span> </button> <button rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="simplesocial-linkedin-share" aria-label="LinkedIn Share" data-href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/immigrant-workers-primer/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">LinkedIn</span></button> <button class="simplesocial-reddit-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Reddit Share" data-href="https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/immigrant-workers-primer/&title=A+primer+for+journalists+covering+immigrant+workers+in+the+US" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;" ><span class="simplesocialtxt">Reddit</span> </button> <button onclick="javascript:window.location.href = this.dataset.href;return false;" class="simplesocial-email-share" aria-label="Share through Email" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-href="mailto:?subject=A primer for journalists covering immigrant workers in the US&body=https://journalistsresource.org/home/immigrant-workers-primer/"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Email</span></button> </div> </div></div> <p>Among the more than 50 <a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/data/executive-orders">executive orders</a> President Donald Trump signed during the first three weeks of his second term are at least a dozen aimed at curbing both authorized and unauthorized immigration.</p> <p>These include temporarily suspending refugee arrivals, redefining birthright citizenship, and continuing the construction of a wall on the southern U.S. border, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/what-has-trump-done-trump-executive-orders-f061fbe7f08c08d81509a6af20ef8fc0">according to</a> a rundown of the orders compiled by the Associated Press. Federal courts have delayed some of Trump’s most sweeping executive orders, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/second-us-judge-blocks-trumps-birthright-citizenship-order-2025-02-05/">including the order attempting to restrict birthright citizenship</a>.</p> <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-1 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow"> <p>One reason Trump has said he wants to limit immigration is to improve labor market conditions. </p> <p>For example, at various times since his political rise nearly a decade ago, he has claimed that workers who immigrate illegally <a href="https://www.themarshallproject.org/2024/10/21/fact-check-12000-trump-statements-immigrants#taking_jobs_from_americans">take jobs</a> from U.S. citizens, take outsized advantage of public benefits and are “treated better than our vets.”</p> <p>We’re breaking down recent data and academic research to answer key questions about foreign-born workers, both authorized and unauthorized, and support newsroom coverage of Trump’s policies related to immigrants in the U.S. labor market.</p> <p>Keep reading to find out:</p> </div> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow"> <p class="has-text-align-center has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background">Late last year, the nonprofit criminal justice-focused newsroom The Marshall Project fact checked thousands of Trump’s claims about unauthorized immigrants, including their effects on the U.S. labor market and government spending. <a href="https://www.themarshallproject.org/2024/10/21/fact-check-12000-trump-statements-immigrants">Here’s what they found</a>, including, for example, <a href="https://www.themarshallproject.org/2024/10/21/fact-check-12000-trump-statements-immigrants/financial_burden">that</a> “While it&#8217;s true many undocumented people make use of public benefits, their monetary contribution to the country likely exceeds the cost of the benefits they consume, and they do not receive more benefits than citizens who are veterans.”</p> </div> </div> <p></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="#foreign-born-worker">What is a “foreign-born” worker?</a></li> <li><a href="#how-many">How many foreign-born workers are in the U.S. labor market?</a></li> <li><a href="#what-types">How do foreign-born workers enter the U.S. and what types of work visas are available?</a></li> <li><a href="#what-industries">Which industries would be most affected by a shortage of immigrant workers?</a></li> <li><a href="#unauthorized-affect">Do unauthorized immigrants affect the employment of U.S. citizens?</a></li> </ul> <h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="foreign-born-worker"><strong>What is a “foreign-born” worker?</strong></h3> <p>There are millions of foreign-born workers in the U.S., employed across all industries and representing many socioeconomic groups.</p> <p>According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the federal agency responsible for producing much of the U.S. labor market data that journalists and policy makers use, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cps/definitions.htm#foreignborn">foreign-born workers</a> “reside in the United States but were not U.S. citizens at birth.”</p> <p>This includes people with legal immigration or temporary worker or student status, along with undocumented workers, refugees and naturalized citizens.</p> <p>“Native-born” workers are those born in the U.S. or those born abroad who have at least one U.S. citizen parent. Native-born workers also include those born in an <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Citizenship_status_in_territories_of_the_United_States">outlying area</a> that conveys U.S. citizenship at birth: Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands or the U.S. Virgin Islands.</p> <p>People born in American Samoa are U.S. nationals, meaning they can work and live in the U.S., but they are not citizens and are considered “foreign born” in the BLS data. The BLS data is based on the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_over.htm">Current Population Survey</a>, a monthly survey of 60,000 households conducted by the Census Bureau for BLS.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="how-many"><strong>How many foreign-born workers are there in the U.S.?</strong></h3> <p>About 20% of workers in the U.S. are considered foreign born &#8212; 33 million out of a total labor force of <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1DySA">170 million</a> as of January 2025.</p> <p>That reflects a steady upward trend, with the percentage of foreign-born workers rising more than four <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/percent-change-math-for-journalists/">percentage points</a> since 2007.</p> <div class="wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-2ffa43d2 alignfull uagb-is-root-container"> <iframe src="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/graph-landing.php?g=1DySw&#038;width=670&#038;height=475" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="overflow:hidden; width:670px; height:525px;" allowTransparency="true" loading="lazy"></iframe> </div> <p></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="what-types"><strong>What types of work authorizations does the U.S. government provide?</strong></h3> <p>Non-citizens working legally in the U.S. need a visa administered through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency of the Department of Homeland Security. </p> <p>Employers typically file visa petitions for employees.</p> <p>There are dozens of visa types, but broadly there are <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/travel/international-visitors/visa-waiver-program/requirements-immigrant-and-nonimmigrant-visas">immigrant or non-immigrant visas</a>.</p> <p>Non-immigrant visas are temporary and last anywhere from several weeks to several years, depending on the type of work.</p> <p>Visas can typically be extended, though there is often a cap on the total length of stay, after which the worker has to return for a period to their home country. Small percentages of non-immigrant visa holders overstay their authorized admission periods.</p> <p><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/24_1011_CBP-Entry-Exit-Overstay-Report-FY23-Data.pdf">According to the most recent estimates available</a> from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, there was an overstay rate of 1.45% &#8212; about 565,000 people &#8212; for federal fiscal year 2023, which ran from October 2022 to September 2023.</p> <p><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/R45938.pdf">This October 2024 report</a> from the Congressional Research Service provides the initial duration of stay for the more than 80 types of non-immigrant visas. A few examples:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>A religious worker, such as a minister, can initially stay for up to 30 days with an <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/r-1-nonimmigrant-religious-workers">R-1 visa</a>.</li> <li>A temporary agricultural worker in the U.S. with an <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/h-2a-temporary-agricultural-workers">H-2A</a> visa can initially stay up to one year.</li> <li>A temporary worker in a professional specialty occupation can initially stay up to three years, or up to five years if hired to do research and development at the Department of Defense, with an <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/h-1b-specialty-occupations">H-1B visa</a>.</li> <li>A journalist for a foreign news outlet with an <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/i-representatives-of-foreign-media">I visa</a> can stay for the duration of their employment.</li> </ul> <p>Immigrant visas are for workers planning to stay in the U.S. permanently. These workers become lawful permanent residents, or <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/our-history/stories-from-the-archives/the-colorful-history-of-the-green-card">green card</a> holders. Highly specialized or skilled workers are often those admitted under those visas for employment reasons.</p> <p>From 2014 to 2023, the U.S. granted lawful permanent resident status to about 1 million foreign nationals per year, on average. <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/R42866-permanent.pdf">This November 2024 report</a> from the Congressional Research Service provides an extensive overview of permanent legal immigration.</p> <p>About 77% of foreign-born people living in the U.S. are in the country legally, <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/09/27/key-findings-about-us-immigrants/#h-hwdt">according to a report from the Pew Research Center</a> updated in January 2025. There were about 22.2 million foreign-born people working legally in the U.S. in 2022, compared with about 8.3 million unauthorized workers, according to Pew.</p> <p>The number of unauthorized workers is nearly unchanged since 2007, with their share of the labor force falling from 5.4% that year to 4.8% in 2022, according to Pew. Data on where people attempt to enter the U.S. without legal documentation is available from the <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/nationwide-encounters">U.S. Customs and Border Protection</a>.</p> <p>In 2024, there were 2.9 million encounters, with patrol agents field officers apprehending, expelling or denying entry to people trying to enter or already in the country. Most encounters &#8212; 2.1 million &#8212; occurred at the southwest land border.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What data on unemployment, demographics and earnings are available for foreign-born workers?</strong></h3> <p>Unemployment rates for native-born and foreign-born workers are usually not far off from one another. In January, the unemployment rate for U.S.-born workers was 4.3% compared with 4.6% for foreign-born workers. The rates fluctuate over time, with unemployment rates for native-born workers spiking higher than for those of foreign-born workers during recent recessions.</p> <div class="wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-d44cb774 alignfull uagb-is-root-container"><div class="uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap"> <iframe src="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/graph-landing.php?g=1DyUE&#038;width=670&#038;height=475" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="overflow:hidden; width:670px; height:525px;" allowTransparency="true" loading="lazy"></iframe> </div></div> <p></p> <p>The labor force participation rate is another concept that can be useful to know when reporting on foreign-born workers. Someone is considered to be a labor force participant if they have a job or are unemployed but actively looking for work.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2024/article/why-did-labor-force-nonparticipation-increase-from-1999-to-2022.htm">biggest reason</a> people do not participate in the labor force is that they are retired. Other reasons include school attendance, illness or disability, or responsibilities at home <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1997/12/art3full.pdf#page=5">such as</a> taking care of children or older relatives.</p> <p>The labor force participation rate for foreign-born men was about 76% in January, compared with about 66% for native-born men. Native-born women participate at a rate of about 58%, compared with 56% for foreign-born women.</p> <div class="wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-f688cad1 alignfull uagb-is-root-container"><div class="uagb-container-inner-blocks-wrap"> <iframe src="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/graph-landing.php?g=1DyUT&#038;width=670&#038;height=475" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="overflow:hidden; width:670px; height:525px;" allowTransparency="true" loading="lazy"></iframe> </div></div> <p></p> <p>In 2024, foreign-born, full-time workers <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1DyVO">earned a median of $1,001 per week</a>, compared with $1,190 for native-born full-time workers. </p> <p>The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis&#8217;s <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/">FRED database</a> is a quick and easy way for journalists on deadline to find information about immigrant workers. FRED pulls data from hundreds of thousands of sources, including the <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/categories/12">Current Population Survey</a> and the <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/categories/11">Current Employment Survey</a>.</p> <p>Reach out to government or academic economists who study immigration and workforce issues for help understanding the best data to use for your story.</p> <p>“If you want to know something about what’s happening to recent immigrants specifically, I think the [Current Population Survey] &#8212; if you want to have very recent data &#8212; the CPS is the best data source,” says <a href="https://www.stlouisfed.org/research/economists/bick">Alexander Bick</a>, a senior economic policy advisor with the St. Louis Fed. </p> <p>For slightly older data with a larger sample size, turn to the <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/data.html">American Community Survey</a>, also administered by the Census Bureau, Bick says.</p> <p>“Just be mindful of the limitations and the strengths of different data,” he adds. “And understand it’s complicated.”</p> <p>Learn more about immigration data and the U.S. labor force in these recent analyses by Bick:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>“<a href="https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2025/jan/recent-surge-immigration-impact-measured-productivity-growth">The Recent Surge in Immigration and Its Impact on Measured Productivity Growth</a>”</li> <li>“<a href="https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2025/jan/recent-surge-immigration-impact-on-unemployment">The Recent Surge in Immigration and Its Impact on Unemployment</a>”</li> </ul> <h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="what-industries"><strong>What types of jobs do foreign-born workers have?</strong></h3> <p>In 2023, <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/forbrn.pdf">the most recent year of data available</a> from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, foreign-born workers were more likely than native-born workers to be employed in service jobs, such as food preparation, as well as in building maintenance, construction and transportation. They’re less likely than native-born workers to be employed in management and professional occupations, particularly in fields such as health care or law.</p> <p>One exception is the proportion of foreign-born workers in computer-related occupations, where they hold an edge at 5.8% compared with 3.6% of native-born workers. </p> <p>Here are a few more examples from the BLS data, with the percentage of total foreign-born and native-born workers employed in major occupational categories:</p> <div class="infogram-embed" data-id="85b2ccb9-f92b-493b-ad81-a225c3b37ebe" data-type="interactive" data-title="foreign-born-native-born"></div><script>!function(e,n,i,s){var d="InfogramEmbeds";var o=e.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];if(window[d]&&window[d].initialized)window[d].process&&window[d].process();else if(!e.getElementById(i)){var r=e.createElement(n);r.async=1,r.id=i,r.src=s,o.parentNode.insertBefore(r,o)}}(document,"script","infogram-async","https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js");</script> <p></p> <p>Look at minor occupational categories to understand what&#8217;s driving discrepancies in employment between foreign- and native-born workers within major categories.</p> <p>For example, within “service occupations,” 7.4% of foreign-born workers are in “building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations,” compared with 2.5% of native-born workers. </p> <p>And 6.6% of foreign-born workers are in “food preparation and service related occupations,” compared with 4.7% of native-born workers.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What data is available on unauthorized workers?</strong></h3> <p>It is difficult for academic researchers and government officials to gather data on people who are unauthorized to be in the U.S. because they are often reticent to share information about themselves due to their legal status.</p> <p>Take the Current Population Survey, the monthly survey of 60,000 households conducted by the Census Bureau, as an example. The Bureau of Labor Statistics <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cps/">uses this survey</a> to produce a range of up-to-date information on the economy.</p> <p>“Imagine you have a family member with you that they recently immigrated with uncertainty about their status,” says Bick. “You might be reluctant to report that person. You might not say that this person is currently living with you in that household. You might not even be willing to open the door.”</p> <p>While the Census Bureau collects data on foreign-born people living and working in the U.S., it does not provide data specifically for unauthorized workers.</p> <p>But the Migration Policy Institute, a non-partisan think tank, in collaboration with demographer <a href="https://sociology.la.psu.edu/people/jennifer-van-hook/">Jennifer Van Hook</a> at The Pennsylvania State University, has analyzed Census data to provide estimates of industries in which the largest shares of unauthorized workers are employed, along with other characteristics.</p> <p>Using data covering 2015 to 2019, <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/data/unauthorized-immigrant-population/state/US">MPI estimates</a> 21% of unauthorized workers are employed in construction. Another 16% are in accommodation and food services, 10% in manufacturing and 8% in retail trade, according to the MPI analysis.</p> <p>And 14% worked in a very broad category called “<a href="https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/ind2017.shtml">professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste management services</a>,” which includes tax preparers, architects, landscapers and trash collectors, among others.</p> <p>Van Hook suggests it can be helpful for journalists to provide context by comparing estimates on unauthorized workers by industry with overall shares of employment.</p> <p>For example, <a href="https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2019.S2403?q=Employment%20and%20Labor%20Force%20Status">for the 2015 to 2019 period</a>, there were more than 10 million people working in construction out of a total labor force of 155 million people, meaning about 7% of the labor force held construction jobs. </p> <p>And that means unauthorized workers were about 3 times as likely to work in construction as everyone in the labor force. More from MPI:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="file:///Users/clm607/Documents/Stories/National/2025-01-January/foreign-born-workers/State%20Immigration%20Data%20Profiles">State immigration data profiles</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/data-hub/charts/immigrant-share-us-population-and-civilian-labor-force">Immigrant Share of the U.S. Population and Civilian Labor Force</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/migration-data-hub/us-unemployment-trends-during-pandemic">U.S. Unemployment Trends By Nativity, Gender, Industry Before and During the Pandemic</a>.</li> </ul> <p><a href="https://usa.ipums.org/usa/about.shtml">IPUMS USA</a>, originally the “Integrated Public Use Microdata Series” <a href="https://pop.umn.edu/projects/ipums-usa">housed at the University of Minnesota</a>, harmonizes Census and other survey data back to 1850 and can be a valuable resource for journalists reporting on labor markets and demographic change. </p> <p>While there is no indication that recent labor market data or Census data will not be publicly available in the future, the second Trump administration has <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/researchers-rush-to-preserve-federal-health-databases-before-they-disappear-from-government-websites/">scrubbed health data from government websites</a> &#8212; so it’s important for journalists to know other ways to access government data of all types, such as from IPUMS.</p> <p><a href="https://www.ipums.org/support/contact">Reach out to IPUMS staff with questions</a> on using <a href="https://usa.ipums.org/usa-action/variables/group">the data they make freely available</a>.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="unauthorized-affect"><strong>How do unauthorized workers affect the jobs of native-born people?</strong></h3> <p>While it is difficult for researchers to study undocumented workers because they are difficult to gather data on, there are a few papers on how unauthorized workers, and immigrants in general, may affect the employment of native-born people.</p> <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-2 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow"> <p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.52324/001c.7934">2019 paper in The Review of Regional Studies</a> examined state-level estimates of undocumented populations and native-born employment from 1994 to 2009.</p> <p>Data for metropolitan areas would allow for a clearer understanding of local labor markets, but data doesn’t exist that would allow for local estimates of undocumented populations, the authors note.</p> <p>The authors hypothesized that increases in immigrant populations would increase the supply of low-skill workers, pushing low-skill native-born workers out of the labor force.</p> <p>They identify a small but <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/statistical-significance-research-5-things/">statistically significant</a> relationship between larger foreign-born populations and lower labor force participation for low-skill native-born workers.</p> </div> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow"> <p class="has-text-align-center has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background">A <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2016/article/underemployment-among-hispanics.htm">December 2016 blog post</a> from the Bureau of Labor Statistics describes “low-skill” jobs as those that “typically require less than a month of on-the-job training, no previous work experience, and no more than a high school diploma.” <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-unskilled-labor-perpetuates-stereotypes-about-gender-education-2019-7">Several</a> <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/04/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-low-skill-worker/618674/">journalists</a> in recent years have written that calling this type of work “low-skill” fails to acknowledge the unique and demanding skills required to work, for example, in food service. While economic researchers have historically used it as a shorthand to describe the education and experience levels needed to compete for certain jobs, BLS appears to have moved away from extensively using the phrase. The last known mention of it within a BLS product was <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ors/information-for-survey-participants/pdf/occupational-requirements-survey-collection-manual-third-wave.pdf">this March 2024</a> manual.</p> </div> </div> <p></p> <p>When the authors remove the undocumented population from the data, the results become statistically insignificant, “suggesting that undocumented immigrants play some role in these relationships.”</p> <p>The authors stress that policymakers often lean on anecdotal research that is not rigorous enough to support policy changes. They write:</p> <blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"> <p>&#8220;Due to data paucity, the majority of policymakers leverage often-anecdotal research that is not as rigorously quantitative as the issue requires to support their policies. The present approach contains admitted weaknesses, yet provides objective evidence on a previously understudied immigrant population to begin to answer a complex and polarizing set of set of questions. The fact that undocumented immigrants appear to have at best a minor impact on key native-born labor outcomes is revealing.</p> </blockquote> <p>Journalists should remember that their coverage of the foreign-born workforce, and unauthorized workers in particular, does not have to be framed by politicians. If a political leader claims immigrants are taking Americans’ jobs, for example, it’s worthwhile to note research like the above showing minor effects, along with studies revealing the economic benefits of immigration.</p> <p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2017.09.004">November 2017 study in Regional Science and Urban Economics</a> finds that unauthorized workers contribute in a “substantial” way to the U.S. economy, accounting for about 3% of annual gross domestic product, or $6 trillion over a decadelong period.</p> <p>If all unauthorized workers were suddenly removed from the labor force, “the largest losses in dollars would take place in manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, finance and leisure and hospitality,” the authors write. “Likewise we also find large differences across states that largely reflect the employment shares of unauthorized workers in each state, along with the state&#8217;s industry specialization.”</p> <p>Finally, <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/60165-Immigration.pdf">a July 2024 report</a> from the Congressional Budget Office investigates the effects of immigration on federal revenues, spending and other macroeconomic indicators. Based on immigration trends before 2020, the office would have projected net immigration of about 200,000 people per year, according to the report.</p> <p>Instead, because of recent increases in immigration, the office estimates a net increase of about 8.7 million immigrants from 2021 to 2026, or an average of about 1.5 million per year. </p> <p>The report estimates that from 2024 to 2034, GDP will grow by $8.9 trillion because of new immigration, and $1.2 trillion will be added to the federal revenue.</p> <p>After incorporating spending on things like federal benefits and other factors, the immigration surge is estimated to reduce federal budget deficits by $900 million, according to the CBO.</p> <p>“Individual income taxes and payroll taxes paid by immigrants who are part of the surge are responsible for most of the effects on revenues,” according to the report. “In addition, the surge is projected to boost economic activity and, in turn, tax revenues.”</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Further reading</strong></h3> <p><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/research-brief-delayed-sampling-of-recent-immigrants-in-the-current-population-survey.pdf"><strong>Delayed Sampling of Recent Immigrants in the Current Population Survey</strong></a><br />Christopher Severen. Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, January 2025.</p> <p><a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/721152"><strong>The Labor Market Effects of Immigration Enforcement</strong></a><br />Chloe N. East, et. al. Journal of Labor Economics, October 2023.</p> <p><a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w27778"><strong>Immigration and Entrepreneurship in the United States</strong></a><br />Pierre Azoulay, Benjamin Jones, J. Daniel Kim and Javier Miranda. National Bureau of Economic Research <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/media/working-papers-research-articles/">working paper</a>, September 2020.</p> <p><a href="https://jhr.uwpress.org/content/54/2/267"><strong>The Labor Market Effects of a Refugee Wave</strong></a><br />Giovanni Peri and Vasil Yasenov. The Journal of Human Resources, March 2019.</p> <p><a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.20170765"><strong>Immigration Restrictions as Active Labor Market Policy: Evidence from the Mexican Bracero Exclusion</strong></a><br />Michael A. Clemens, Ethan G. Lewis and Hannah M. Postel. The American Economic Review, June 2018.</p> <p><strong><a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/23550/chapter/1">The Economic and Fiscal Consequences of Immigration</a></strong><br />A report of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, July 2016. <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/resource/23550/RiB-fiscal-immigration.pdf">Report Brief</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w11547"><strong>Is the New Immigration Really So Bad?</strong></a><br />David Card. National Bureau of Economic Research working paper, August 2005.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/immigrant-workers-primer/">A primer for journalists covering immigrant workers in the US</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>As the US government removes health websites and data, here&#8217;s a list of non-government data alternatives and archives</title> <link>https://journalistsresource.org/home/as-the-us-government-removes-health-websites-and-data-heres-a-list-of-non-government-data-alternatives/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Naseem S. Miller]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 03 Feb 2025 22:26:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Health]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Media]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Politics & Government]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Race & Gender]]></category> <category><![CDATA[public health]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://journalistsresource.org/?p=80532</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>We have curated a list of non-government websites with health databases. We'll continue to update this list. </p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/as-the-us-government-removes-health-websites-and-data-heres-a-list-of-non-government-data-alternatives/">As the US government removes health websites and data, here&#8217;s a list of non-government data alternatives and archives</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="sharing"><div class="social-icons"><div class="simplesocialbuttons simplesocial-round-icon simplesocialbuttons_inline simplesocialbuttons-align-right simplesocialbuttons-inline-no-animation"> <button class="simplesocial-fb-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Facebook Share" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://journalistsresource.org/home/as-the-us-government-removes-health-websites-and-data-heres-a-list-of-non-government-data-alternatives/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Facebook </span> </button> <button class="simplesocial-twt-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Twitter Share" data-href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=As+the+US+government+removes+health+websites+and+data%2C+here%E2%80%99s+a+list+of+non-government+data+alternatives+and+archives&url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/as-the-us-government-removes-health-websites-and-data-heres-a-list-of-non-government-data-alternatives/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Twitter</span> </button> <button rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="simplesocial-linkedin-share" aria-label="LinkedIn Share" data-href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/as-the-us-government-removes-health-websites-and-data-heres-a-list-of-non-government-data-alternatives/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">LinkedIn</span></button> <button class="simplesocial-reddit-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Reddit Share" data-href="https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/as-the-us-government-removes-health-websites-and-data-heres-a-list-of-non-government-data-alternatives/&title=As+the+US+government+removes+health+websites+and+data%2C+here%E2%80%99s+a+list+of+non-government+data+alternatives+and+archives" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;" ><span class="simplesocialtxt">Reddit</span> </button> <button onclick="javascript:window.location.href = this.dataset.href;return false;" class="simplesocial-email-share" aria-label="Share through Email" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-href="mailto:?subject=As the US government removes health websites and data%2C here%E2%80%99s a list of non-government data alternatives and archives&body=https://journalistsresource.org/home/as-the-us-government-removes-health-websites-and-data-heres-a-list-of-non-government-data-alternatives/"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Email</span></button> </div> </div></div> <p><em>Last updated Feb. 15, 2025.</em></p> <p>On Friday night, <a href="https://primarycare.hms.harvard.edu/faculty-staff/gordon-schiff">Dr. Gordon Schiff</a>, the quality and safety director at the Harvard Medical School, received an email from a colleague informing him that one of his academic papers published on a federal website was taken down. It included the words “transgender” and &#8220;LGBTQ,&#8221; which are among the words that are being removed quickly from federal websites following the Trump administration&#8217;s orders to stop diversity initiatives, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/01/31/cdc-website-gender-lgbtq-data/">remove references</a> to gender and equity from public health material and withdraw research papers that promote &#8220;gender ideology.&#8221;</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed alignright is-type-wp-embed is-provider-the-journalist-039-s-resource wp-block-embed-the-journalist-039-s-resource wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="t2CJlougyW"><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/researchers-rush-to-preserve-federal-health-databases-before-they-disappear-from-government-websites/">Researchers rush to preserve federal health databases before they disappear from government websites</a></blockquote><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" title="&#8220;Researchers rush to preserve federal health databases before they disappear from government websites&#8221; &#8212; The Journalist&#039;s Resource" src="https://journalistsresource.org/home/researchers-rush-to-preserve-federal-health-databases-before-they-disappear-from-government-websites/embed/#?secret=ZAsb2p19g9#?secret=t2CJlougyW" data-secret="t2CJlougyW" width="600" height="338" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> </div></figure> <p>Schiff&#8217;s paper, “Multiple Missed Opportunities for Suicide Risk Assessment” — <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20241113202106/https:/psnet.ahrq.gov/web-mm/multiple-missed-opportunities-suicide-risk-assessment-emergency-and-primary-care-settings">available on the Wayback Machine</a> — was published in 2022 on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s <a href="https://psnet.ahrq.gov/">Patient Safety Network</a> website. It was a case study with advice and commentary for physicians and it included this sentence: “High-risk groups include male sex, being young, veterans, Indigenous tribes, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (LGBTQ).”</p> <p>“We weren’t even advocating anything here,” says Schiff, who is also the associate director of Brigham and Women’s Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice. “We were just reporting what the risk factors were.”</p> <p>Between Friday and Sunday, nearly 8,000 U.S. government websites were taken down, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/02/upshot/trump-government-websites-missing-pages.html">reported Ethan Singer</a> of The New York Times. ABC News <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DFgU8rqvQrA/">reported on Friday</a> that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has directed its officials to remove content related to climate change from public websites. It’s unclear whether the web pages will come back online, and if so, to what extent they will be modified.</p> <p>Schiff says he&#8217;s aware of 19 other papers and summaries that were removed from AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network.</p> <p>“A wholesale censoring of things that have already been published, a wholesale precluding of the kind of research where the problems are the greatest is chilling and it’s dangerous,” says Schiff, who began his medical residency in 1976 and has been at the Brigham since 2007. “People’s lives are going to be lost.”</p> <p>Schiff encouraged journalists to continue holding public officials accountable.</p> <p>“They need to be exposing abuses like this,” he says. “They need to be not afraid.”</p> <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-3 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow"> <p>While journalists continue to report stories about what&#8217;s happening to federal health data, they also need access to data to report stories about health issues in general.</p> <p>There’s no perfect alternative to the government databases, but some non-governmental organizations have their own datasets, which can be useful to journalists. Several journalism associations have also been downloading government data and making them available to their members. </p> <p>To help journalists with their continued reporting, we have curated a list of non-government websites that have health data, although some use government data to create their reports.</p> <p>We&#8217;ll continue to update this list. If you have a suggestion for a database, please <a href="mailto:naseem_miller@hks.harvard.edu">email us</a>.</p> </div> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow"> <div class="infogram-embed" data-id="9408a818-affb-4179-803f-6ca723d09b6f" data-type="interactive" data-title="Tips for preserving data"></div><script>!function(e,n,i,s){var d="InfogramEmbeds";var o=e.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];if(window[d]&&window[d].initialized)window[d].process&&window[d].process();else if(!e.getElementById(i)){var r=e.createElement(n);r.async=1,r.id=i,r.src=s,o.parentNode.insertBefore(r,o)}}(document,"script","infogram-async","https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js");</script> </div> </div> <p></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Alternative sources of health data</h3> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong><a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/">ProPublica</a></strong>: The nonprofit investigative news organization has several helpful datasets, including the <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/">Nonprofit Explorer</a> allows you to browse millions of annual tax returns filed by tax-exempt organizations, including nonprofit hospitals. <a href="https://www.propublica.org/datastore/dataset/nursing-home-compare-data">Nursing Home Compare and Nursing Home Inspect</a>, which provides the latest CMS data on nursing homes in an easy-to-download format. Its <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nursing-homes/">Nursing Home Inspect</a> website is interactive and searchable by nursing home, state or county. And <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/docdollars/">Dollars for Docs</a> allows users to search for industry payments to doctors, made from August 2013 to December 2018.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong><a href="https://healthjournalism.org/data/">Association of Health Care Journalists’ Health Journalism Data</a></strong>: The page includes several databases including <a href="http://hsopitalinspections.org">hospitalinspections.org</a>, which lists federal hospital inspection reports; hospitalfinances.org, which allows you to find nonprofit hospitals’ finance reports; and <a href="https://healthjournalism.org/resources/state-insurance-guides/">State Insurance Guide</a>, which is created by the Georgetown University’s <a href="https://chir.georgetown.edu/">Center on Health Insurance Reforms</a>, and has information on how insurance works in each state.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://www.kff.org/"><strong>KFF (formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation)</strong></a>: KFF is an independent source for health policy research, polling and news. It produces reports on a range of topics from COVID-19 to HIV/AIDS, Medicaid, Medicare, the Affordable Care Act and useful resources such as <a href="https://www.kff.org/statedata/">State Health Facts</a>.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong><a href="https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/maps-and-interactives/2025/jan/map-how-medicaid-helps-your-state">State Medicaid Fact Sheets</a></strong>: Created by the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund, the Medicaid fact sheets include who and how many people are covered by state Medicaid and CHIP programs; Medicaid’s importance to health care in rural America; how many young people depend on Medicaid for access to behavioral health services; and how many federal Medicaid dollars each state receives.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://www.congressionaldistricthealthdashboard.org/"><strong>Congressional District Health Dashboard</strong></a>: Congressional District Health Dashboard provides measures of health and its drivers at the congressional district level, showing how each district is doing on health outcomes, social and economic factors and other measures. The Dashboard was created at the Department of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine with the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The group also manages the <a href="https://www.cityhealthdashboard.com/"><strong>City Health Dashboard</strong></a>.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://healthcostinstitute.org/"><strong>Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI)</strong></a>: HCCI, an independent nonprofit research organization, provides data on health care spending, use and pricing from private health insurers. It is widely used to analyze trends in healthcare costs and access for commercially insured populations.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/"><strong>PEW Research Center</strong></a>: Pew is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that conducts public opinion polls, demographic research, content analysis and other social science research. It does not take policy positions.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://pcornet.org/"><strong>The National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network</strong></a>: Funded by PCORI, an independent, nonprofit research funding organization, PCORnet, is a national patient-centered clinical research network, providing a health data, research expertise and patient insights.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://www.healthdata.org/"><strong>Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)</strong></a>: Based at the University of Washington, IHME is an independent health research organization, with collaborators around the world. It produces research on a range of topics, including air pollution, alcohol use, COVID-19, maternal health and vaccine coverage.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/"><strong>County Health Rankings &amp; Roadmaps</strong></a>: County Health Rankings &amp; Roadmaps is a program of the University of Washington Population Health Institute. It produces annual data on the <a href="https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/health-data">health of counties</a> across the U.S., taking into account factors like premature death, low birthweight, adult smoking, obesity and sexually transmitted infections.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://www.ruralhealth.us/advocacy/state-rural-health-advocacy/rural-health-data"><strong>Rural Hospital Data</strong></a>: Rural Hospital Data, part of the National Rural Health Association, provides state reports on the impact of federal policies on health care providers and patients. The data shows the annual revenue loss and potential job loss for each care provider based on each policy.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://unos.org/"><strong>The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)</strong></a>: UNOS is a nonprofit organization responsible for maintaining the national transplant waiting list, matching donors to recipients and overseeing organ allocation policies to ensure fairness and efficiency. The organization also provides educational resources for patients and professionals and conducts research.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/data-and-registries/acs-nsqip/"><strong>American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP)</strong></a>: ACS NSQIP collects data on surgical outcomes from hospitals and surgical centers. It’s used to measure and improve the quality of surgical care, focusing on patient safety and reducing complications. The program also has a collection of quality improvement <a href="https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/qi-resources/case-studies/">case studies</a>.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/cancer-programs/national-cancer-database/"><strong>National Cancer Database (NCDB)</strong></a>: The NCDB is a joint initiative of the American College of Surgeons and the American Cancer Society. It contains clinical and outcomes data from more than 1,500 accredited cancer programs, covering approximately 70% of newly diagnosed cancer cases in the U.S.</li> </ul> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Data archiving efforts</h3> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://dataverse.harvard.edu/"><strong>Harvard Dataverse</strong></a>: Harvard Dataverse is a large publicly-available repository of data from researchers at Harvard University and around the world, covering a range of topics from astronomy to engineering to health and medicine.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>The <a href="https://www.datarescueproject.org/"><strong>Data Rescue Project</strong></a> is a collaboration among a group of data organizations, including <a href="https://iassistdata.org/">IASSIST</a>, <a href="https://rdapassociation.org/">RDAP</a>, and members of the <a href="https://datacurationnetwork.org/">Data Curation Network</a>. The project has created a <a href="https://www.datarescueproject.org/data-rescue-tracker/">Data Rescue Tracker</a> to catalogue ongoing public data rescue efforts. </li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>The <a href="https://lil.law.harvard.edu/blog/2025/02/06/announcing-data-gov-archive/"><strong>Harvard Library Innovation Lab Team</strong></a> has released more than 311,000 datasets harvested in 2024 and 2025 on Source Cooperative. </li> <li></li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://screening-tools.com/"><strong>Public Environmental Data Project</strong></a>: Run by a coalition of volunteers from several organizations, including Boston University and the Harvard Climate and Health CAFE Research Coordinating Center, the project has compiled a large list of federal databases and tools, including the CDC&#8217;s Social Vulnerability Index and Environmental Justice Index.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://www.ire.org/"><strong>Investigative Reporters &amp; Editors</strong></a>: The nonprofit journalism organization has downloaded more than 120 data sets from the federal websites, as recently as November. Some of those data sets include Adverse Event Reporting System, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Medical Device Reports, Mortality Multiple Cause-of-Death Database, National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), National Practitioner Databank, Nuclear Materials Events Database, OSHA Workplace Safety Data and Social Security Administration Death Master File. IRE members can contact the organization and order the data sets. The organization has been providing data to members since the early 1990s.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Run by health policy data analyst <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/charlesgaba.com">Charles Gaba</a>, ACASignups.net has <a href="https://acasignups.net/25/02/03/links-archived-versions-every-cdcgov-page-available-pre-purge-part-1-15">a list</a> of archived versions of cdc.gov web pages.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>The 19th, an independent nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy, <a href="https://19thnews.org/2025/02/federal-government-data-purge-information-saved/">has preserved government documents</a>, including the CDC&#8217;s maternal mortality data, CDC&#8217;s abortion and contraception data, research studies on teens and guidelines from the National Academies on how to collect data on gender and sexuality.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Here are some of the <a href="https://archive.org/details/20250128-cdc-datasets">CDC datasets uploaded to the Internet Archive before January 28th, 2025</a>.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Archive.org has an &#8220;<strong><a href="https://archive.org/details/EndOfTerm2024WebCrawls">End of Term 2024 Web Crawls</a></strong>&#8221; collection, from which you can download data. </li> </ul> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Additional resources</strong></h3> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Keep track and make use of health <a href="https://data.chhs.ca.gov/">state health department</a> data and websites.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>For health data from a neighboring country, check out <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health.html">Health Canada</a>.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://jessica.substack.com/p/cdc-birth-control-guidelines-pdf">This Substack</a> is keeping track of CDC guidelines that have been removed.</li> <li>The Freedom of the Press Foundation <a href="https://freedom.press/the-classifieds/heres-how-you-can-help-save-government-data/">listed several archiving resources</a> in its February 9, 2025, newsletter. </li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>In this February 7, 2025, article published on <a href="https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/docs-turn-archivesas-federal-health-information-vanishes-2025a100033p">Medscape Medical News</a>, Liz Seegert has a list of CDC archives and datasets, including practice guidelines.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>In this February 5, 2025, article, published on the <a href="https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2025/02/trumps-data-purge-what-to-know-about-federal-infectious-disease-sites/?utm_source=Novi+AMS&amp;utm_campaign=82c1068ac0-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_09_04_COPY_01&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_-7d70c682e1-1143767">Association of Health Care Journalists&#8217; blog</a>, science journalist Tara Haelle lists several resources that have been archiving federal infectious disease data, including <a href="https://www.immunize.org/vaccines/vis/about-vis/">immunize.org</a>, which has archives of CDC&#8217;s Vaccine Information Statements.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>In this January 14, 2025, article, published in <a href="https://www.theopennotebook.com/2025/01/14/using-open-data-to-sharpen-science-stories/">The Open Notebook</a>, freelance writer and assistant professor <a href="https://alicefleerackers.com/">Alice Fleerackers</a> lists several open-source databases to help journalists with their reporting.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://browse.welch.jhmi.edu/public_health/public_health_data_sources">Johns Hopkins University</a> has a collection of public health resources.</li> </ul> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/as-the-us-government-removes-health-websites-and-data-heres-a-list-of-non-government-data-alternatives/">As the US government removes health websites and data, here&#8217;s a list of non-government data alternatives and archives</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Researchers rush to preserve federal health databases before they disappear from government websites</title> <link>https://journalistsresource.org/home/researchers-rush-to-preserve-federal-health-databases-before-they-disappear-from-government-websites/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Naseem S. Miller]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 31 Jan 2025 22:05:22 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Health]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Media]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Politics & Government]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Race & Gender]]></category> <category><![CDATA[public health]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://journalistsresource.org/?p=80514</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>We include several tips that journalists can use to help preserve the data.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/researchers-rush-to-preserve-federal-health-databases-before-they-disappear-from-government-websites/">Researchers rush to preserve federal health databases before they disappear from government websites</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="sharing"><div class="social-icons"><div class="simplesocialbuttons simplesocial-round-icon simplesocialbuttons_inline simplesocialbuttons-align-right simplesocialbuttons-inline-no-animation"> <button class="simplesocial-fb-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Facebook Share" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://journalistsresource.org/home/researchers-rush-to-preserve-federal-health-databases-before-they-disappear-from-government-websites/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Facebook </span> </button> <button class="simplesocial-twt-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Twitter Share" data-href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Researchers+rush+to+preserve+federal+health+databases+before+they+disappear+from+government+websites&url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/researchers-rush-to-preserve-federal-health-databases-before-they-disappear-from-government-websites/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Twitter</span> </button> <button rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="simplesocial-linkedin-share" aria-label="LinkedIn Share" data-href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/researchers-rush-to-preserve-federal-health-databases-before-they-disappear-from-government-websites/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">LinkedIn</span></button> <button class="simplesocial-reddit-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Reddit Share" data-href="https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/researchers-rush-to-preserve-federal-health-databases-before-they-disappear-from-government-websites/&title=Researchers+rush+to+preserve+federal+health+databases+before+they+disappear+from+government+websites" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;" ><span class="simplesocialtxt">Reddit</span> </button> <button onclick="javascript:window.location.href = this.dataset.href;return false;" class="simplesocial-email-share" aria-label="Share through Email" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-href="mailto:?subject=Researchers rush to preserve federal health databases before they disappear from government websites&body=https://journalistsresource.org/home/researchers-rush-to-preserve-federal-health-databases-before-they-disappear-from-government-websites/"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Email</span></button> </div> </div></div> <p>A group of researchers and students at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is gathered today for a data preservation marathon, scraping and downloading data related to health equity from U.S. government agency websites before they disappear. Their goal is to make the downloaded data publicly available through repositories such as the <a href="https://dataverse.harvard.edu/">Harvard Dataverse</a>.</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed alignright is-type-wp-embed is-provider-the-journalist-039-s-resource wp-block-embed-the-journalist-039-s-resource wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="bJt6qRdb2O"><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/as-the-us-government-removes-health-websites-and-data-heres-a-list-of-non-government-data-alternatives/">As the US government removes health websites and data, here&#8217;s a list of non-government data alternatives</a></blockquote><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" title="&#8220;As the US government removes health websites and data, here&#8217;s a list of non-government data alternatives&#8221; &#8212; The Journalist&#039;s Resource" src="https://journalistsresource.org/home/as-the-us-government-removes-health-websites-and-data-heres-a-list-of-non-government-data-alternatives/embed/#?secret=5k73L6ZRBS#?secret=bJt6qRdb2O" data-secret="bJt6qRdb2O" width="600" height="338" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> </div></figure> <p>The new Trump administration has<a href="https://www.statnews.com/2025/01/22/trump-administration-orders-health-communications-pause-cdc-hhs-fda/"> at least temporality halted</a> most communications from the Department of Health and Human Services and has begun <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/government-websites-vanish-trump-constitution-dei-rcna188522">taking down government websites</a>, including many pages that <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/22/dei-web-pages-cms-nih-go-dark-00200123">include DEI initiatives</a>. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention&#8217;s <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/yrbs/index.html">Youth Risk Behavior Survey</a> site, which monitors health behaviors of high-school students, including sexual behavior, mental health and tobacco use, is no longer available.</p> <p>Health researchers worry that more of their trusted federal health databases could disappear in the coming hours and days. It&#8217;s not clear whether the changes are permanent or the websites will once again become available.</p> <p>“In my lifetime, in the United States I don’t know of another situation where researchers have been this concerned about losing access to data that they’ve had access to their whole career,” says <a href="https://jonathangilmour.com/">Jonathan Gilmour</a>, a data scientist at the Chan School who is researching human health impacts of climate change. “It’s dire.”</p> <p>Federal health data and publications help researchers with their studies and shed light on the state of health in the U.S. and potential public health threats. Journalists rely on the resources for their reporting.</p> <p>“It’s really important to understand that we can’t have a full picture of what’s going on in the United States and around the world if we stop making data available,” Gilmour says. “I don’t want to start thinking about or listing the risks if we don’t have this data, because it imperils our way of life.”</p> <p>For the first time in its 70-year history, The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/index.html">Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report</a>, the official journal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was not published last week as part of a communication pause among federal health agencies. One of the studies slated to appear in the publication was about the risk of bird flu infection among veterinarians who treat cattle, <a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/cdc-trump-mmwr-bird-flu-studies-blocked-meddling/">reported Amy Maxman</a> in KFF Health News on January 30. The MMWR, which historically has been published on Thursdays, was not published this week, either. </p> <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-4 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow"> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Data preservation efforts</strong></h2> <p style="border-style:none;border-width:0px">The ad hoc group that organized Friday’s data marathon at Chan School calls itself “The Preserving Public Health Data Collective” and it’s part of a growing effort among researchers and academic institutions across the U.S. to save federal health websites and databases.</p> <p>Researchers are using different tools, including downloading datasets, scraping websites and archiving them with the <a href="https://web.archive.org/">Wayback Machine</a>, which is an initiative of the Internet Archive, a nonprofit digital library of Internet sites. It enables users to see how websites looked in the past.</p> <p>The changes to government websites are happening faster than researchers can keep up with.</p> </div> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow"> <div class="infogram-embed" data-id="9408a818-affb-4179-803f-6ca723d09b6f" data-type="interactive" data-title="Copy: Fluoride reporting tips"></div><script>!function(e,n,i,s){var d="InfogramEmbeds";var o=e.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];if(window[d]&&window[d].initialized)window[d].process&&window[d].process();else if(!e.getElementById(i)){var r=e.createElement(n);r.async=1,r.id=i,r.src=s,o.parentNode.insertBefore(r,o)}}(document,"script","infogram-async","https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js");</script> </div> </div> <p></p> <p>“There’s no way of knowing how much has disappeared so far,” says Gilmour, who’s part of the <a href="https://climatehealthcafe.org/">Climate Change and Health Research Coordinating Center</a>, and is working with dozens of researchers across the country to preserve health and climate data. “So many resources and tools that were environmental-justice related have disappeared in just a week.”</p> <p>But researchers have been successful in preserving some data.</p> <p><a href="https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/tracker/ceqs-climate-economic-justice-screening-tool-removed/">The Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool</a>, which helped identify and invest in at-risk communities, was taken down on January 22.</p> <p>Anticipating that action, Gilmour and a volunteer coalition called the <a href="https://envnewsbits.info/2025/01/29/public-environmental-data-project/">Public Environment Data Project</a> had made a copy of the federal website before it disappeared and they <a href="https://screening-tools.com/climate-economic-justice-screening-tool">uploaded it to their website</a> and made it available to the public.</p> <p>NIH’s <a href="https://www.nih.gov/ending-structural-racism">Ending Structural Racism</a> website was taken down on January 22, but an archived version of the site from January 19 is available via the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20250116093043/https:/www.nih.gov/ending-structural-racism">Wayback Machine</a>. So was the website for <a href="https://orwh.od.nih.gov/womens-health-equity-inclusion">Women’s Health Equity &amp; Inclusion</a> (archive <a href="https://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20241218222921/https:/orwh.od.nih.gov/womens-health-equity-inclusion">available here</a>).</p> <p>Government websites do change as administrations change, but legacy datasets have mostly remained available through the administration. In 2017, the Trump administration deleted almost all mentions of climate change soon after inauguration, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/20/us/politics/trump-white-house-website.html">The New York Times reported</a>. But researchers worry that this time it’s different. </p> <p>“I’m sort of dumbfounded at the pace of and scale of change we’re seeing,” Gilmour says.</p> <p>For the past five presidential terms, a collaborative effort called the <a href="https://eotarchive.org/">End of Term Web Archive</a> has preserved what’s on United States government websites at the end of a presidential administration, using the Wayback Machine. The project is spearheaded by the Common Crawl Foundation, Environmental Data and Governance Initiative, Internet Archive, Stanford University Libraries, and University of North Texas Libraries.</p> <p>“Efforts like the End of Term Archive proved especially important under the last Trump administration when science-based information about environmental issues was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/attacks-on-science/trump-administration-censored-information-climate-change">censored</a>&nbsp;from federal websites,” according to a <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/dminovi/three-efforts-to-preserve-government-data-as-a-new-trump-administration-approaches/">December 2024 post</a> by Darya Minovi, a senior analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a national science advocacy organization based in Cambridge, Mass.</p> <p>A February <a href="https://envirodatagov.org/publication/access-denied-federal-web-governance-under-the-trump-administration/">2021 report</a> by the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative found that the first Trump administration changed or removed information on federal websites about water pollution and climate change about 1,400 times between 2016 and 2020. A February 2021 <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0246450">research article in the journal PLOS One explains several visual techniques to analyze these changes</a>.</p> <p>“Websites have become the primary means by which the U.S. federal government communicates about its operations and presents information for public consumption,” the authors write in the abstract of the study. “In formulating ways to visualize and assess the alteration of websites, our study lays important groundwork for both systematically tracking changes and holding officials more accountable for their web practices. Our techniques enable researchers and watchdog groups alike to operate at the scale necessary to understand the breadth of impact an administration can have on the online face of government.”</p> <p><a href="https://envirodatagov.org/">EDGI</a> was formed in 2016 to document changes to federal environmental data. The organization is <a href="https://envirodatagov.org/why-edgi-is-archiving-public-environmental-data/">continuing to archive datasets</a>, including information on EPA’s justice programs and the race and ethnicity components of the U.S. Census.</p> <p>“When access to public digital information &#8212; including historical information &#8212; is reduced, the ability to effectively contribute to democracy and to make informed decisions is curtailed,” write the authors of a <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0246450">2021 PLOS One article</a>.</p> <p>On Friday, as the Trump administration <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/01/31/nx-s1-5282274/trump-administration-purges-health-websites">continued purging</a> federal health agency websites, the <a href="https://healthjournalism.org/">Association of Health Care Journalists</a> sent a letter to the agency, protesting the removal of the data. </p> <div data-wp-interactive="core/file" class="wp-block-file aligncenter"><object data-wp-bind--hidden="!state.hasPdfPreview" hidden class="wp-block-file__embed" data="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AHCJ-Letter-to-CDC-01.31.25-1-1.pdf" type="application/pdf" style="width:100%;height:810px" aria-label="Embed of AHCJ Letter to CDC."></object><a id="wp-block-file--media-8596a9d0-17b4-4484-b230-e8d160d21059" href="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AHCJ-Letter-to-CDC-01.31.25-1-1.pdf">AHCJ Letter to CDC</a><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AHCJ-Letter-to-CDC-01.31.25-1-1.pdf" class="wp-block-file__button wp-element-button" download aria-describedby="wp-block-file--media-8596a9d0-17b4-4484-b230-e8d160d21059">Download</a></div> <p></p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/researchers-rush-to-preserve-federal-health-databases-before-they-disappear-from-government-websites/">Researchers rush to preserve federal health databases before they disappear from government websites</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>How to read this study: A meta-analysis on the impact of fluoride levels on children’s IQ scores</title> <link>https://journalistsresource.org/home/how-to-read-this-study-a-meta-analysis-fluoride-childrens-iq/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Naseem S. Miller]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 29 Jan 2025 18:12:10 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Health]]></category> <category><![CDATA[public health]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://journalistsresource.org/?p=80464</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>A recent systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that more exposure to fluoride may be linked to lower intelligence scores in children. We share 11 tips on how to read a meta-analysis.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/how-to-read-this-study-a-meta-analysis-fluoride-childrens-iq/">How to read this study: A meta-analysis on the impact of fluoride levels on children’s IQ scores</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="sharing"><div class="social-icons"><div class="simplesocialbuttons simplesocial-round-icon simplesocialbuttons_inline simplesocialbuttons-align-right simplesocialbuttons-inline-no-animation"> <button class="simplesocial-fb-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Facebook Share" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://journalistsresource.org/home/how-to-read-this-study-a-meta-analysis-fluoride-childrens-iq/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Facebook </span> </button> <button class="simplesocial-twt-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Twitter Share" data-href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=How+to+read+this+study%3A+A+meta-analysis+on+the+impact+of+fluoride+levels+on+children%E2%80%99s+IQ+scores&url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/how-to-read-this-study-a-meta-analysis-fluoride-childrens-iq/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Twitter</span> </button> <button rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="simplesocial-linkedin-share" aria-label="LinkedIn Share" data-href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/how-to-read-this-study-a-meta-analysis-fluoride-childrens-iq/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">LinkedIn</span></button> <button class="simplesocial-reddit-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Reddit Share" data-href="https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/how-to-read-this-study-a-meta-analysis-fluoride-childrens-iq/&title=How+to+read+this+study%3A+A+meta-analysis+on+the+impact+of+fluoride+levels+on+children%E2%80%99s+IQ+scores" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;" ><span class="simplesocialtxt">Reddit</span> </button> <button onclick="javascript:window.location.href = this.dataset.href;return false;" class="simplesocial-email-share" aria-label="Share through Email" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-href="mailto:?subject=How to read this study%3A A meta-analysis on the impact of fluoride levels on children%E2%80%99s IQ scores&body=https://journalistsresource.org/home/how-to-read-this-study-a-meta-analysis-fluoride-childrens-iq/"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Email</span></button> </div> </div></div> <p>A recent systematic review and meta-analysis of dozens of studies suggests that more exposure to fluoride may be linked to lower intelligence scores in children, adding to the ongoing debates over water fluoridation.</p> <p>The review, <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2828425">published in JAMA Pediatrics</a> on January 6, analyzes 74 international studies published from 1989 to 2023. It finds that overall, higher levels of fluoride in water or in children’s urine are associated with lower IQ scores in children. </p> <p>We’re highlighting this meta-analysis for two reasons.</p> <p>First, it lands amid heightened scrutiny of water fluoridation, which has been a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/about/index.html">cornerstone strategy</a> to prevent dental cavities in the U.S. since the 1940s. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump’s nominee for the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, who is having his Senate confirmation hearings <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-to-face-senate-confirmation-hearings/">this week</a>, is an opponent of water fluoridation and has <a href="https://x.com/robertkennedyjr/status/1852812012478398923?s=46">called</a> fluoride an “industrial waste,” citing its potential health risks.</p> <p>Opponents, including the&nbsp;<a href="https://fluoridealert.org/">Fluoride Action Network</a>, which lobbies against water fluoridation, argue that emerging evidence, including the effect on IQ, warrants a reevaluation of fluoridation policies, especially for vulnerable populations like pregnant women and young children. </p> <p>A handful of towns and cities across the nation <a href="https://apnews.com/article/fluoride-water-kennedy-cdc-47a0067edb128dbd9b9211a36e674b2c">have already removed</a> or are debating the removal of fluoride from their water systems.</p> <p>But proponents of community water fluoridation, including major medical organizations like the&nbsp; <a href="https://www.ada.org/about/press-releases/community-water-fluoridation-at-optimal-levels-is-safe-and-effective">American Dental Association</a> and the <a href="https://www.aap.org/en/patient-care/oral-health/fluoridation/">American Academy of Pediatrics</a>, continue to emphasize its role in preventing cavities in children, particularly in underserved communities. They also cite a lack of evidence for health harms when fluoride is at the current low levels used in most community water systems in the U.S.</p> <p>Second, the two editorials that accompany the meta-analysis have vastly different and nearly opposite takes on its findings. This is a good reminder for journalists that even meta-analyses, which sit on top of the <a href="https://guides.mclibrary.duke.edu/ebm/studydesign">hierarchy of evidence pyramid</a> and <a href="https://www.theopennotebook.com/2022/11/01/one-size-does-not-fit-all-how-to-make-sense-of-different-kinds-of-scientific-studies/">provide an overview</a> and analysis of scientific topics, can include a lot of nuance.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The study</h2> <p>The majority of the analyzed studies are from China. None were from the U.S. The authors note that they’re unaware of any U.S. studies on the effects of fluoride exposure on children’s IQ, so their findings may not apply to the U.S. population.</p> <p>Still, they conclude that their findings “may inform future comprehensive public health risk-benefit assessment of fluoride.”</p> <p>Among their findings:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Analyzing the results of 59 studies that looked at fluoride in drinking water, and included a total of 20,932 children, showed that children who were exposed to higher fluoride levels had lower IQ scores than children exposed to lower fluoride levels. This average difference was 6.75 IQ points.</li> </ul> <p>The review also breaks down the studies into three groups: those that measure children’s exposure to up to 4 milligrams per liter of fluoride in water or when they had less 4 mg/L of fluoride in their urine; those that measure up to 2 mg/L of fluoride in water or urine; and those that measure up to 1.5 mg/L of fluoride in water or urine.</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>The analysis of 31 studies shows that fluoride levels of up to 4 mg/L and 2 mg/L in drinking water are linked with lower IQ scores in children, with an average drop of about 2.25 IQ points. There was no such statistical association when the water fluoride levels were up to 1.5 mg/L.</li> <li>Meanwhile, the analysis of 20 studies shows that when fluoride levels were up to 4 mg/L, 2 mg/L and 1.5 mg/L as measured in urine, there was a consistent link with lower IQ in children, the review finds. The average IQ point drop here was also about 2.25 points.</li> </ul> <p>The authors also analyzed the results of 13 studies, including 4,475 children, that looked at the individual-level measures of fluoride in urine.</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>The analysis shows that each 1 mg/L increase of fluoride in urine was associated with an average drop of 1.63 IQ points.</li> </ul> <p>None of the studies evaluate the impact of exposure to 0.7 mg/L of fluoride specifically, which is the level U.S. public health officials have recommended <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4547570/">since 2015</a>. </p> <p>As the authors of the meta-analysis point out, citing <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935123000312?via%3Dihub">a 2023</a> and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41370-023-00570-w">a 2024 study</a>, there are regions of the U.S. where water systems and private wells contain natural fluoride levels of 1.5 mg/L or higher. About <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41370-023-00570-w">4.5% of community water systems</a>, serving nearly 3 million U.S. residents, have fluoride levels above 1.5 mg/L.&nbsp;More than <a href="https://www.epa.gov/privatewells">23 million U.S. households</a> rely on private wells for drinking water.</p> <p>Dr. <a href="https://www.reginanuzzo.com/">Regina Nuzzo</a>, a statistician and professor at Gallaudet University, says this paper shows that “when the fluoride level is high, it could affect children’s IQ but when it gets lower, for instance, the 0.7 that we have in the U.S., there’s not as much conclusive evidence that it affects children’s IQ, which is comforting for most people who get water from their taps.”</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">A polarizing topic</h2> <p>There seems to be little middle ground in the fluoride debate, as the two editorials published alongside the meta-analysis in JAMA Pediatrics show.</p> <p>The authors of a supporting editorial, “<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2828429">Time to Reassess Systemic Fluoride Exposure, Again</a>,” write that the meta-analysis is “the largest and includes the most rigorous series of meta-analyses of fluoride ever conducted.”</p> <p>Drs. <a href="https://www.sfu.ca/fhs/about/people/profiles/bruce-lanphear.html">Bruce P. Lanphear</a>, <a href="https://dentistry.ucsf.edu/about/faculty/pamela-den-besten">Pamela Den Besten</a> and <a href="https://health.yorku.ca/health-profiles/?mid=645764">Christine Till</a>, write that the study’s finding “underscores the need to reassess the potential risks of fluoride during early brain development.”</p> <p>They also note that the “absence of a <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/statistical-significance-research-5-things/">statistically significant</a> association of water fluoride up to 1.5 mg/L and children’s IQ scores … does not exonerate fluoride as a potential risk for lower IQ scores at levels found in fluoridated communities.”</p> <p>In an opposing editorial, “<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2828430">Caution Needed in Interpreting the Evidence Base on Fluoride and IQ</a>,” Dr. <a href="https://dentistry.uiowa.edu/directory/steven-levy">Steven M. Levy</a> points out several limitations in the study, including the quality of the selected studies, the choice of studies and lack of discussion about the findings of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37120936/">other recent studies</a> that show no association between low fluoride levels and children’s IQ, and the validity of studies that use urine to measure fluoride exposure.</p> <p>&#8220;Public policy concerning the addition of fluoride to community water systems and recommendations concerning the use of topical fluoride in its many forms should not be affected by the study findings, and the widespread use of fluoride for caries prevention should continue,&#8221; Levy writes. </p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Measuring fluoride levels in urine</h2> <p>Measuring the level of fluoride in urine, or<ins>,</ins> as researchers call it, urinary fluoride, is another point of contention among researchers.</p> <p>Levy writes that “there’s scientific consensus that the urinary sample collection approaches used in almost all included studies… are not valid measures of individuals’ long-term fluoride exposure, since fluoride has a short half-life and there is substantial variation within days and from day to day.”</p> <p>However, several studies to date, including a <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2748634">high-profile 2019 study</a> that finds an association between pregnant women’s exposure to fluoride and children’s IQ &#8212; and co-authored by Lanphear &#8212; have relied on fluoride levels in urine and have defended it as a reliable method.</p> <p>In their JAMA Pediatrics editorial, Lanphear and his co-authors write, “The distinction between water fluoride and urinary fluoride levels is important because regulatory and public health agencies must consider total fluoride intake when assessing risks.”</p> <p>They add that water fluoride concentration doesn’t capture the amount of water ingested or other sources of ingested fluoride (such as toothpaste, <a href="https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/fluoride/#:~:text=Trace amounts of fluoride are found naturally,that collects in their shells and muscles.">some foods</a> and pollution from <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1533102/">burning coal</a>).</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">11 tips for covering a meta-analysis</h2> <p>To help journalists better understand and parse out a meta-analysis, we spoke with <a href="https://www.reginanuzzo.com/">Nuzzo</a>, and <a href="https://www.latimes.com/people/karen-kaplan">Karen Kaplan</a>, a science reporter at the Los Angeles Times, who <a href="https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2025-01-06/what-a-new-study-does-and-doesnt-say-about-fluoride-and-its-link-to-iq">recently reported</a> on this meta-analysis’ findings.</p> <p>The tips are listed in order of complexity.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>1. Look for accompanying editorials.</strong></h4> <p>In this case, the two accompanying editorials provide great context for the main study.</p> <p>“Editorials usually give you a shorthand of what the implications of a study are,” Kaplan says. “And it’s unusual to have more than one editorial with a study, and the fact that they were diametrically opposed was kind of interesting.”</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>2. Assess whether a study’s findings are valuable to your audience.</strong></h4> <p>Kaplan doesn’t often write about meta-analyses, since they typically don’t have new data. But this one was different because it’s about fluoride, which is in the news, and it involves children’s IQ scores.</p> <p>“So, I had a conversation with my editor asking if we are better off not giving this study any press and saying nothing about it, or do we feel like it’s likely that people are going to hear about it because fluoride is in the news,” she says. “And given that people are going to talk about it, we decided that we’d rather give them something responsible to read than just whatever people might say on social media.”</p> <p>She advises journalists to “do the analysis that the average reader isn’t able to do.”</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>3. Look at where the studies were conducted and whether the findings apply to your geographic area.</strong></h4> <p>One of the first things Kaplan noticed when she started paging through the <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2828425">meta-analysis</a> was that none of the analyzed studies were conducted in the U.S.</p> <p>Of the 74 studies included, 45 were conducted in China, 12 in India, four in Iran, four in Mexico, three in Canada, two in Pakistan, and one each in Denmark, New Zealand, Spain and Taiwan.</p> <p>The authors are upfront about that. They note that they’re not aware of any U.S. studies on the effects of fluoride exposure on children’s IQ and that their findings may not apply to the U.S. population, although they write that the findings may inform future public health assessment of fluoride.</p> <p>In her reporting, Kaplan focused on the current recommended water fluoride levels in the U.S., which is 0.7 mg/L. So she started to cross off all the studies that included fluoride levels at 1.5 mg/L and above.</p> <p>“And that didn’t leave me with very much else,” she says.</p> <p>Of the 74 studies, 12 investigate water or urinary fluoride levels below 1.5 mg/L. Seven of those studies included fluoridated water below 1.5 mg/L and found no association with an IQ drop in children. The five studies investigating urinary fluoride levels at up to 1.5 mg/L found a statistically significant association with lower IQ in children.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>4. Look for and interrogate the sources of data.</strong></h4> <p>Levy writes in his editorial that the authors don’t mention the fact that their study is part of a multiyear effort by the U.S. National Toxicology Program to study this topic. NTP is part of the National Institutes of Health. The reviews began in 2015 and culminated in the publication of the “<a href="https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/publications/monographs/mgraph08">NTP Monograph on the State of the Science Concerning Fluoride Exposure and Neurodevelopment and Cognition: A Systematic Review</a>” in August 2024. (A monograph is a detailed written study of a single specialized subject.)</p> <p>This is noteworthy for two reasons.</p> <p>First, the NTP Monograph has received a fair share of criticism from an independent committee at the nonprofit National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. The NASEM committee reviewed the NTP Monograph in two rounds and both times found flaws in its methods. In 2020, the committee <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/25715/chapter/6#44">found deficiencies</a> in the Monograph and suggested further analyses. In 2021, the <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/26030/review-of-the-revised-ntp-monograph-on-the-systematic-review-of-fluoride-exposure-and-neurodevelopmental-and-cognitive-health-effects">NASEM committee wrote</a>, “As documented in this letter report, the committee had difficulty in following various aspects of the reported methods, identified a few worrisome remaining inconsistencies, was not able to find some key data used in the meta-analysis, and had concern about the wording of some conclusions.”</p> <p>Second, a federal district judge cited the Monograph’s findings <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/epa-fluoride-drinking-water-federal-court-ruling/">in his ruling last year</a> that fluoride in community water systems could pose an unreasonable risk to people. He asked the Environmental Protection Agency to take regulatory action in response.</p> <p>In his editorial, Levy writes, “as EPA proceeds with an appeal of the ruling or to implement the court-ordered regulatory action, better understanding of the limitations of the article’s data, analyses, and interpretation are extremely important.”</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>5. Check for the quality of included studies.</strong></h4> <p>“Risk of bias” in research refers to the likelihood of systematic errors or flaws in how a study was designed, conducted or analyzed &#8212; factors that could lead to incorrect results. Researchers use certain calculations to decide a study’s risk of bias. A study that’s considered to have a high risk of bias is considered lower quality and those with low risk of bias are considered better quality.</p> <p>In most meta-analyses, researchers include the studies’ risk of bias.</p> <p>In this meta-analysis, of the 74 studies, 52 were considered to have lower quality and 22 were higher quality, the authors report.</p> <p>In addition to the overall analysis, researchers also conducted analyses based on the studies&#8217; quality.</p> <p>For instance, when all 31 studies on water fluoride were analyzed &#8212; a mix of higher and lower quality studies &#8212; they showed an association with lower IQ scores at up to 4 mg/L, but not at up to 2 mg/L and 1.5 mg/L levels. Meanwhile, the analysis of seven of those water fluoride studies that were rated higher quality, showed an association between lower IQ scores when water fluoride levels were up to 4 mg/L and 2 mg/L, but not at up to 1.5 mg/L.</p> <p>In the analysis of the 20 studies that reported on the levels of fluoride in urine, there was an association between lower IQ scores at all three levels of up to 4 mg/L, 2 mg/L and 1.5 mg/L of fluoride in urine. Further analysis of 10 of those studies that were of higher quality also showed a similar association.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>6. Look at the number of studies in the sub-analyses.</strong></h4> <p>For all 31 studies involving fluoride in water, there was a statistically significant association between water fluoride levels of up to 4 mg/L with lower IQ scores in children (23 studies), but not at up to 2 mg/L (eight studies) and 1.5 mg/L (seven studies).</p> <p>For the seven higher-quality studies involving fluoride in water, this negative association remained at up to 4 mg/L (seven studies), up to 2 mg/L (four studies), but not at up to 1.5 mg/L (three studies).</p> <p>For all 20 studies involving fluoride in urine, there was a statistically significant association with children’s IQ at all three levels.</p> <p>And when this pool was narrowed down to 10 higher-quality studies, the statistically significant association remained. Ten studies had assessed urinary fluoride of up to 4 mg/L, four studies looked at 2 mg/L and four looked at 1.5 mg/L or less.</p> <p>“So I would look at the totality of it,” Nuzzo says.</p> <p>There’s no magic number for what makes up a good number of studies, Nuzzo says. But fewer studies in analysis means fewer people &#8212; the number of children in this case &#8212; which can make it harder to reach statistical significance or draw broad conclusions.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>7. Understand the standardized mean differences and standard deviations.</strong></h4> <p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/cesm.12047">Standardized Mean Differences</a>, which are used throughout the tables and figures in this meta-analysis, are a statistical measure to quantify the difference between two groups. They’re commonly used in meta-analyses to compare the results.</p> <p>SMD is “a way of creating a standard unit,&#8221; Nuzzo says. “It’s a way that we can compare apples to apples, by bringing everything to a common currency.”</p> <p>SMDs are expressed in <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/media/standard-deviation-data-journalists/">standard deviations</a>. A standard deviation of a dataset is a number that indicates how much variation there is within that dataset.</p> <p>For instance, if SMD is zero &#8212; a standard deviation of zero &#8212; it means there’s no difference between the two groups that are being compared.</p> <p>An SMD of 1 means that there’s one standard deviation difference between the two groups, and a -1 means the same thing in the opposite direction.</p> <p>For instance, the calculated SMD for 31 studies on water fluoride is -0.15. That means the drop in children’s IQ is 15% of one standard deviation.</p> <p>Scientists like to work with SMDs because standard deviations follow certain patterns in nature, explains Nuzzo. Also, “you’re not likely to see standardized mean differences more than three,” she says.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>8. Get to know IQ scores so you can explain the numbers.</strong></h4> <p>As Kaplan <a href="https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2025-01-06/what-a-new-study-does-and-doesnt-say-about-fluoride-and-its-link-to-iq">points out in her story</a>, “assessing IQ in children is not a straightforward affair since measurements can be skewed” by a range of factors including socioeconomics, genetics, nutrition and environment.</p> <p>IQ tests were <a href="https://hechingerreport.org/reporters-notebook-even-the-father-of-iq-tests-thought-the-results-werent-written-in-stone/">designed in 1905</a> in France. The <a href="https://psychcentral.com/health/average-iq">average IQ score</a> is between 85 and 115, with a mean and median of 100.</p> <p>“That’s the way they’ve set up the IQ scores because humans have created it and we’re able to force it to be this nice number,” Nuzzo says.</p> <p>An increase or decrease of one <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/media/standard-deviation-data-journalists/">standard deviation</a> in IQ means a 15-point increase or decrease.</p> <p>“If you go up two standard deviations, now you’re up 30 points, which is an IQ of 130, which is where we often talk about the gifted, genius level,” Nuzzo says. “You’d be an outlier.”</p> <p>So, for another example from the study’s findings, a -0.15 drop in IQ is a drop equal to 15% of one standard deviation. One standard deviation is 15 points. If you multiply -0.15 by 15 IQ points, you get a drop of 2.25 IQ points.</p> <p>“So that is telling us that the difference between the mean IQ of kids in high-fluoride regions versus low-fluoride regions is an average of 2.25 IQ points,” Nuzzo says.</p> <p>In their editorial, Lanphear and co-authors also explain this, but in a more technical language.</p> <p>“For standardized IQ tests with a mean (SD) of 100 (15), an SMD of 0.5 is equivalent to 7.5 IQ points; an SMD of -0.19 is a 2.8-1Q point decrement,” they write.</p> <p>More examples: For children exposed to water fluoride levels at up to 4 mg/L, the change in standard deviation was -0.22, or 22% of one standard deviation. That’s equal to a 3.3 drop in IQ points, according to the study.</p> <p>And the IQ difference for children exposed to up to 1.5 mg/L of fluoride as measured in their urine is 1.2 points, the study finds.</p> <p>In another sub-analysis, the authors find that at an individual level, a 1 mg/L increase in urinary fluoride was associated with a decrease in IQ by 1.63 points.</p> <p>Lanphear and co-authors write that a 1.63 drop in IQ may seem very small, but according to studies on other neurotoxins <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.9086183">such as lead</a>, subtle IQ changes can affect people who are in the high and low ranges of the population’s IQ distribution.</p> <p>But also keep in mind that some researchers, including Levy, don’t agree.</p> <p>“Despite the presentation of some evidence of a possible association between IQ and high fluoride levels in the water, there is no evidence of an adverse effect at the lower water fluoride levels commonly used in [community water fluoridation] systems,” Levy writes in his editorial.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>9. Look at the confidence interval (usually noted in parentheses).</strong></h4> <p>A <a href="https://www.nlm.nih.gov/oet/ed/stats/02-950.html">confidence interval</a> shows the range of values that are expected for the study&#8217;s results to fall between if the study were repeated many times.&nbsp;They show the most plausible range of values, Nuzzo explains. The smaller the confidence interval the more reliable the reported number.</p> <p>In academic research, confidence intervals usually appear in parentheses next to a reported number. </p> <p>For instance, the reported confidence interval for the IQ drop of -0.15 in water fluoride studies is between -0.20 and -0.11. The range is negative, which means fluoride doesn’t seem to be helping IQ scores.</p> <p>But, for the batch of three higher-quality studies that looked at IQ scores when water fluoridation was up to 1.5 mg/L, the reported confidence interval ranges from -0.91 to 0.26. (The negative shows a negative impact on IQ and the positive side shows a positive impact on IQ.)</p> <p>“It covers zero and this is a huge range, which just tells me we don’t have enough information really here,” Nuzzo says.</p> <p>Also, when the confidence interval ranges from negative to positive, the <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/statistical-significance-research-5-things/">statistical significance, known as the p-value</a>, becomes greater than 0.05, which means there’s no statistical significance.</p> <p>“Too bad statisticians put confidence intervals in parentheses because it makes them seem like something that you just overlook,” Nuzzo says.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>10. Take a look at the forest plots.</strong></h4> <p>A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/forest-plot#:~:text=A forest plot is a,is represented by a square.">forest plot</a> is a graph where researchers plot and compare the results of multiple individual studies on the same axis. </p> <p>The plots feature a vertical line that lands on a zero on the horizontal (x) axis.</p> <p>Another vertical line, marked by a diamond on the x-axis shows the pooled result of all studies, in the case of this study, it’s the pooled standardized mean difference of -0.45, which falls to the left of zero (average IQ drop of 6.75).</p> <p>The results of individual studies are then plotted and can be compared to the pooled result.</p> <p>In one of the forest plots in this meta-analysis, you can quickly spot one outlier, a 2015 paper by <a href="https://jcdr.net/article_fulltext.asp?issn=0973-709x&amp;year=2015&amp;volume=9&amp;issue=11&amp;page=ZC10&amp;issn=0973-709x&amp;id=6726">Khan et al.</a>, which has an SMD of -5.3.</p> <p>“That’s telling us the IQ difference between high fluoridated water areas and low fluoridated water areas is 80 IQ points,” Nuzzo says. “I’m sorry, no.”</p> <p>Sometimes researchers stack the studies of the forest plot in chronological order, which can help show trends over time.</p> <p>“As a statistician, I look to see how much the results are bouncing around” the zero line, Nuzzo says. Putting aside the 2015 study, “and looking at this, I think the results here are fairly consistent, most of them are small, but they’re slightly to the left of zero,” which points to a negative link between IQ scores and fluoride levels.</p> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>11. Look for other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the topic. </strong></h4> <p>For instance, a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033350623000938?via%3Dihub">meta-analysis of 28 international studies</a>, published in the journal Public Health in April 2023, finds that there&#8217;s no association between exposure to water fluoride levels below 1.5 mg/L and lower IQ scores. However, &#8220;the reported association observed at higher fluoride levels in endemic areas requires further investigation,&#8221; the authors write. </p> <p>Another systematic review and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36639015/">meta-analysis of 33 international studies</a>, published in the journal Environmental Research in January 2023, finds that overall, there are indications that more exposure to fluoride can have a negative impact on children&#8217;s cognitive development, even when fluoride levels are rather low. But, the authors note, that most of the studies have limitations, which raises uncertainties about a cause-and-effect link and the exact threshold of fluoride in water that may have negative effects. </p> <p>As with many studies on fluoridation, the authors call for more, high-quality, long-term research.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/how-to-read-this-study-a-meta-analysis-fluoride-childrens-iq/">How to read this study: A meta-analysis on the impact of fluoride levels on children’s IQ scores</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Covering Trump’s proposed tariffs? Here are 4 things you need to know</title> <link>https://journalistsresource.org/economics/trump-tariffs-webinar/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Clark Merrefield]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 28 Jan 2025 20:35:40 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Economics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Politics & Government]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://journalistsresource.org/?p=80378</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>The Journalist's Resource and Econofact recently hosted a webinar featuring two trade economists and an NPR producer whose reporting teams have covered tariffs. Watch the recording and read key takeaways.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/trump-tariffs-webinar/">Covering Trump’s proposed tariffs? Here are 4 things you need to know</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="sharing"><div class="social-icons"><div class="simplesocialbuttons simplesocial-round-icon simplesocialbuttons_inline simplesocialbuttons-align-right simplesocialbuttons-inline-no-animation"> <button class="simplesocial-fb-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Facebook Share" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://journalistsresource.org/economics/trump-tariffs-webinar/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Facebook </span> </button> <button class="simplesocial-twt-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Twitter Share" data-href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Covering+Trump%E2%80%99s+proposed+tariffs%3F+Here+are+4+things+you+need+to+know&url=https://journalistsresource.org/economics/trump-tariffs-webinar/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Twitter</span> </button> <button rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="simplesocial-linkedin-share" aria-label="LinkedIn Share" data-href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://journalistsresource.org/economics/trump-tariffs-webinar/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">LinkedIn</span></button> <button class="simplesocial-reddit-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Reddit Share" data-href="https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://journalistsresource.org/economics/trump-tariffs-webinar/&title=Covering+Trump%E2%80%99s+proposed+tariffs%3F+Here+are+4+things+you+need+to+know" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;" ><span class="simplesocialtxt">Reddit</span> </button> <button onclick="javascript:window.location.href = this.dataset.href;return false;" class="simplesocial-email-share" aria-label="Share through Email" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-href="mailto:?subject=Covering Trump%E2%80%99s proposed tariffs%3F Here are 4 things you need to know&body=https://journalistsresource.org/economics/trump-tariffs-webinar/"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Email</span></button> </div> </div></div> <p>Across-the-board tariffs, even against major U.S. trading partners, were a central theme of President Donald Trump’s 2024 election campaign. On Jan. 2o, after he was inaugurated for a second term, Trump announced he planned to impose 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1.</p> <p>On Jan. 21, he suggested a 10% tariff on goods from China, though he <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-he-could-reach-trade-deal-with-china-calls-talk-with-xi-friendly-2025-01-24/">told</a> Fox News on Jan. 23 that he would “rather not have to use it.” During his first term, <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/politics-and-government/us-china-trade-war-consumers/">Trump imposed tariffs</a> on certain products, including washing machines, solar panels, aluminum and steel. The Biden administration kept many of those tariffs and increased others, including a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/14/politics/biden-tariffs-chinese-imports/index.html">100% tariff</a> on electric vehicles made in China.</p> <p>Covering tariffs is complicated work. Trump has at various times suggested that the U.S. ought to use tariffs to raise revenue, retaliate against perceived unfair trade conditions and restrict imports in order to support domestic manufacturers.</p> <p>To give journalists a strong foundation for covering tariffs in 2025 and beyond, The Journalist’s Resource co-hosted an hourlong webinar on Jan. 16 with <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/econofact-michael-klein/">Econofact</a>, a nonpartisan, online publication out of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.</p> <p>I co-moderated the panel discussion with <a href="https://as.tufts.edu/economics/people/faculty/michael-klein">Michael Klein</a>, the William L. Clayton Professor of International Economic Affairs at Tufts and founder and executive editor of <a href="https://econofact.org/">Econofact</a>. The panelists were:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://economics.dartmouth.edu/people/douglas-irwin">Douglas Irwin</a>, the John French Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College and author of “<a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/C/bo24475328.html">Clashing over Commerce: A History of U.S. Trade Policy</a>.”</li> <li><a href="https://coxlydia.com/index.html">Lydia Cox</a>, assistant professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has <a href="https://coxlydia.com/research.html">researched</a> the employment and price effects of tariffs.</li> <li><a href="https://www.npr.org/people/471008799/alex-goldmark">Alex Goldmark</a>, executive producer of NPR’s <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/money/">Planet Money</a> and <a href="https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510325/the-indicator-from-planet-money">The Indicator</a>.</li> </ul> <div class="wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-45f5afa4 default uagb-is-root-container"> <div class="wp-block-uagb-container uagb-block-ab8f5858"> <iframe width="560" height="420" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YI-vgjXJOu4?si=XyCm4tk3MhPnL7Ec" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> </div> <p>One big takeaway? Follow the exemptions &#8212; the firms and industries that gain exclusions from tariffs.</p> <p>“Just a call to all journalists: There are going to be so many exemptions to all of this,” Goldmark said. “And I suspect every exemption is a story.”</p> <p>Here are 4 things to know if you’re reporting on tariffs.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>1. Know the history of U.S. tariffs.</strong></h3> <p>Tariffs were a major revenue generator for the federal government from the country’s founding through the Civil War. (The federal income tax as we know it didn’t exist before <a href="https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/16th-amendment">1913</a>.)</p> <p>The second law passed by the first U.S. Congress in 1789 was &nbsp;“<a href="https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/llsl/llsl-c1/llsl-c1.pdf#page=143">An Act for Laying a Duty on Goods, Wares and Merchandises Imported Into the United States</a>,” which imposed tariffs on many imported goods, including a tax on tea from China, India and Europe that ranged from 6 to 12 cents per pound.</p> <p>But since World War II, the federal government has imposed tariffs sparingly.</p> <p>Irwin described the government pursuit of tariffs as historically having one of three motivations:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong>Revenue</strong>. Alexander Hamilton, serving as the first Secretary of the Treasury in 1789, had revenue in mind, Irwin said. Hamilton needed to pay back war debt and fund defense forces. “That’s why Congress passed very quickly a tariff act,” Irwin said.</li> </ul> <p></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong>Restriction. </strong>The second historical reason for tariffs – restriction &#8212; aimed to curtail demand of imports in order to boost goods production in the U.S. Restriction was the dominant motivator for tariffs from the end of the Civil War through the Great Depression, Irwin said.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong>Reciprocity. </strong>Finally, reciprocity is when tariffs are used to negotiate favorable trade terms between countries using a carrot-or-stick approach, Irwin explained.</li> </ul> <p>The stick approach would include threatening countries with retaliatory tariffs for a variety of reasons, such as refusing to renegotiate trade deals.</p> <p>The U.S. has largely used the carrot approach since WWII. As Irwin explained, this is “when the U.S. says, ‘We’ll pursue a policy of reciprocity wherein we will reduce our tariffs on your goods if you reduce your tariffs on our goods.’ And you reach a trade agreement to reduce trade barriers, expand trade, which is presumably mutually beneficial.”</p> <p>Irwin noted that journalists can provide historical context for their coverage of tariffs today by introducing audiences to key players from tariffs past. In addition to Hamilton, there’s U.S. Senator Henry Clay, the Virginian and Kentuckian who helped broker an agreement to reduce cotton tariffs in the early 1830s. Plantation owners in the South <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tariff-of-1828">were worried</a> that Great Britain, one of their main trading partners, would retaliate with their own tariffs. Clay’s brokerage of the deal “helped save the Union,” Irwin said.</p> <p>Then there are <a href="https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/s000644">Reed Smoot</a> and <a href="https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/H000379">Willis Hawley</a>, the federal legislators behind the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which imposed broad tariffs that exacerbated the Great Depression, and led to the period of reciprocity after World War II.</p> <div class="wp-block-columns is-not-stacked-on-mobile is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-5 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:50%"> <p>And there’s William McKinley, the 25^th president, who as a U.S. Representative was a driving force behind the restrictionist <a href="https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1851-1900/The-McKinley-Tariff-of-1890/">Tariff Act of 1890</a>. “President McKinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent,” Trump <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-trump-inauguration-speech-2025/">said</a> during his inaugural address on Jan. 20.</p> </div> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:50%"> <p class="has-text-align-right has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background">For more, read <a href="https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economics/2024/trumps-selective-celebration-president-mckinley"><strong>Why Trump loves William McKinley and what it could mean for the country</strong></a> from the Cincinnati Enquirer </p> </div> </div> <p></p> <p>But many Americans were not enamored with the McKinley tariffs, largely because <a href="https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economics/2024/trumps-selective-celebration-president-mckinley">they raised prices</a>. In 1894, the tariffs were reduced.</p> <p>Trump has pushed tariffs for all three reasons &#8212; revenue, restriction and reciprocity, Irwin said. But “you can’t really achieve all three objectives at the same time,” he said.</p> <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-6 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:50%"> <p>For example, if the goal is to raise revenue, it’s difficult at the same time to restrict imports. If tariffs are imposed at a level that lowers demand for imports, there will be fewer imports and less revenue, Irwin noted.</p> </div> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:50%"> <p class="has-text-align-right has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background">For more, read <strong><a href="https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economics/2024/trumps-selective-celebration-president-mckinley">Trump&#8217;s selective celebration of President McKinley</a></strong> from the Peterson Institute for International Economics </p> </div> </div> <p></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>2. Know who pays for tariffs in the short and long run.</strong></h3> <p>When a tariff is imposed on a good or all goods from a particular country, typically the responsibility of paying the tariff falls to the business doing the importing. Companies in the U.S. pay tariffs when they import goods subject to them.</p> <p>“Trump has suggested that the tariffs are paid by other countries,” Cox said. “But this really isn’t true.”</p> <p></p> <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:50%"> <p>If a 25% tariff is imposed on all goods from Canada, a company importing a pallet of Canadian winter jackets, for example, will pay 25% more for those jackets. If the cost was $1,000 before the tariff, the U.S. company must pay $1,250 after the tariff.</p> </div> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:50%"> <p class="has-text-align-right has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background">For more, read <a href="https://www.statesman.com/story/news/state/2025/01/21/who-pays-tariffs-explainer-president-donald-trump-tax-plan/77772800007/"><strong>What are tariffs and who pays them?</strong></a> from the Austin American-Statesman</p> </div> </div> <p></p> <p> Because businesses typically exist to turn a profit, companies often try to pass on the cost of the tariff to consumers in the form of higher retail prices, Cox explained.</p> <p>“This is pretty straightforward, but it has a lot of complicated ripple effects,” Cox said.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>3. Know the price and employment effects of tariffs.</strong></h3> <p>One effect is that domestic companies can charge more for the same products that importers have to pay tariffs on. If U.S. winter jacket manufacturers see their foreign competitors raise prices due to tariffs, they’re likely to raise prices too.</p> <p>Consumers then face higher winter jacket prices from both domestic and foreign producers, Cox explained. And the tariff is only collected on imported goods, meaning there’s no additional government revenue when domestic producers raise prices. The outcome is overall higher prices for consumers, without extra government revenue from domestic producers.</p> <p>“There’s this idea that by insulating industries from cheaper foreign competition, it’ll make U.S. producers more profitable,” Cox said. “I think there’s an awareness that this may cause some higher prices for consumers, but it has the benefit of potentially saving or creating jobs in protected industries. This is the kind of benefit that policymakers tend to see from imposing tariffs.”</p> <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:50%"> <p>But tariffs levied against countries don’t just affect finished goods coming into the U.S. &#8212; they affect inputs as well. Inputs are the things needed to make something else. Steel, for example, imported to build washing machines or cars in the U.S. Rising input costs can affect domestic producers.</p> </div> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:50%"> <p class="has-text-align-right has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background">For more, read <strong><a href="https://coxlydia.com/papers/cox_steel_tariffs.pdf">The Long-Term Impact of Steel Tariffs on U.S. Manufacturing</a></strong>, a <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/media/working-papers-research-articles/">working paper</a> by Lydia Cox.</p> </div> </div> <p></p> <p>And the same thing happens when tariffs are levied on inputs as when they are levied on finished goods. In the case of a hypothetical tariff on steel, U.S. steel manufacturers are likely to respond by raising their prices, to at least match the new, higher prices of imported steel.</p> <p>There are also what are called “downstream” effects. If input prices rise, production becomes more expensive. To make up for that lost profit, those domestic manufacturers using foreign or domestic inputs are likely to raise prices, Cox said. </p> <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:50%"> <p>They then become less competitive on the international market. While a steel tariff might protect steel producers in the U.S. from foreign competition, the washing machine maker using more expensive steel may raise prices and become less competitive internationally. And companies don’t just raise prices when production costs rise. </p> </div> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow" style="flex-basis:50%"> <p class="has-text-align-right has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background">For more, read <strong><a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/app.20210051&amp;from=f">When Modern Supply Chains Meet Old-Style Protectionism</a></strong>, a peer reviewed paper published in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics</p> </div> </div> <p></p> <p>They can also fire workers. The number of workers in industries that use an input can be far greater than the number of workers in companies that produce the input. For steel, the number of jobs in industries that use steel outnumber the jobs in steel-producing industries by 80-to-1, <a href="https://coxlydia.com/papers/cox_steel_tariffs.pdf">Cox has found</a> in her research.&nbsp;</p> <p>“So, what this means is that, for any single worker that imposing steel tariffs potentially protects, there are 80 workers in industries that are going to be potentially harmed by having higher steel costs,” she said.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>4. Know that there are stories to be told about how businesses ‘contort themselves’ to get around tariffs.</strong></h3> <p>While tariffs may seem, on the surface, to be a bit esoteric, the fact that they are placed on real, tangible items is helpful for reporters. That means stories can be written or produced that follow a product from importation to store shelves.</p> <p>“The thing that is especially convenient for journalists is that every tariff connects to specific products that you can touch,” Goldmark said. “So, you can go and find the thing that is being subject to a tariff.” </p> <p><a href="https://www.npr.org/transcripts/460315751">Planet Money did this in 2015</a> with red-and-white Santa suits, which they used to explore the concept of “tariff engineering.” Because tariffs can be imposed on specific items or categories of items, so-called “festive articles” were not subject to tariffs. Regular clothes, however, did have a tariff and some of the nicer Santa suits were classified as clothing.</p> <p>But put a Velcro closure on the suit, instead of a zipper, and it was more likely to be categorized as a festive article &#8212; not subject to a tariff. It’s one example of how producers might “engineer” their products so that importers can avoid tariffs, and they can boost their sales.</p> <p>Tariff engineering is like tax avoidance. Both are legal and entail working within the system. Trade fraud is more akin to <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/politics-and-government/tax-evasion-primer/">tax evasion</a>. Both entail breaking the law get around paying tariffs or taxes.</p> <p>This past August, Planet Money mixed true crime and tariff policy in “<a href="https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1197961495">The Trade Fraud Detective</a>,” which followed the saga of an executive of a company that produces hoses for power steering in automobiles as he tried to figure out how a foreign competitor was still offering lower prices after 25% tariffs went into place.</p> <p>Following a lengthy investigation, the executive found the competitor appeared to still be manufacturing in China but was passing its product through companies in Thailand to make it seem like the hoses were being made there &#8212; to evade the tariff.</p> <div class="wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-10 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow"> <p>“Businesses will contort themselves to the tariff incentives,” Goldmark said. “And so, you out there doing your stories will have lots of opportunity to go and find that in many different ways, I suspect.” Tariffs, and exemptions from them, can also invite corruption, Klein added.</p> </div> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow"> <p class="has-text-align-right has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background">For more, read <a href="https://jfqa.org/2024/07/30/the-political-economy-of-tariff-exemption-grants/"><strong>The Political Economy of Tariff Exemption Grants</strong></a>, a peer-reviewed paper published in the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis</p> </div> </div> <p></p> <p>“It can be very blatant political corruption where people in Congress or in the administration favor certain groups for certain reasons, and they&#8217;re carve outs,” he said. “So, it becomes a really kind of messy situation that&#8217;s just rife for corruption and creating great economic inefficiencies.”</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background"><strong>Bonus tip</strong>: If audiences are confused about the various aspects of tariff policy &#8212; about who pays them, for example &#8212; reach out to U.S. importers and ask them to explain. Are they the ones paying tariffs? Or are foreign companies paying them? Economists may offer expertise contrary to what the presidential administration is saying, but hearing it from importers, who can show the money for tariffs coming out of their bank accounts, is also powerful, Goldmark says.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Data resources</h3> <p><em>Links to government web pages sometimes change, move or disappear. When working with data, we recommend you download what you need to your local server or computer, if possible.&nbsp;</em><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/organizing-your-research/"><em>Read our tipsheet on organizing your research</em></a><em>.</em></p> <p><a href="https://www.trade.gov/import-tariffs-fees-overview-and-resources"><strong>Import Tariffs Overview and Resources</strong></a>, a compilation of data an information sources, from the U.S. International Trade Administration.</p> <p><a href="https://hts.usitc.gov/"><strong>Harmonized Tariff Schedule</strong></a>, a searchable database of tariffs on all goods imported into the U.S.</p> <p><a href="https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/schedules/b/2025/index.html"><strong>Harmonized System Codes</strong></a>, the numerical codes associated with individual products. Knowing these codes is helpful, and often necessary, for finding information on exclusions and other governmental actions on specific goods or classes of goods.</p> <p><a href="https://ustr.gov/issue-areas/enforcement/section-301-investigations/tariff-actions"><strong>Tariff exemptions on goods from China</strong></a> during the first Trump administration, from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.</p> <p><a href="https://apps.fas.usda.gov/agtarifftracker/Home/Search"><strong>Agricultural Tariff Tracker</strong></a>, a searchable database of agriculture-related tariffs, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.</p> <p><a href="https://www.trade.gov/fta-tariff-tool-search"><strong>FTA Tariff Tool</strong></a>, a searchable database of tariffs on goods to and from countries with which the U.S. has a free trade agreement, from the U.S. International Trade Administration.</p> <p><a href="https://www.regulations.gov/"><strong>Regulations.gov</strong></a>, a clearinghouse for publicly available regulatory materials, including Federal Register notices. Tariff exclusions are published in the Federal Register.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/trump-tariffs-webinar/">Covering Trump’s proposed tariffs? Here are 4 things you need to know</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>The future of the US Department of Education: 8 tips for journalists covering the agency under Trump’s second term</title> <link>https://journalistsresource.org/education/us-department-education-8-tips-for-journalists-covering-trump/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Denise-Marie Ordway]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 23 Jan 2025 13:45:11 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Education]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Politics & Government]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://journalistsresource.org/?p=80344</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>These tips will help you interrogate President Trump's proposal to close the U.S. Department of Education, provide historical context and evaluate the agency's effectiveness.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/education/us-department-education-8-tips-for-journalists-covering-trump/">The future of the US Department of Education: 8 tips for journalists covering the agency under Trump’s second term</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="sharing"><div class="social-icons"><div class="simplesocialbuttons simplesocial-round-icon simplesocialbuttons_inline simplesocialbuttons-align-right simplesocialbuttons-inline-no-animation"> <button class="simplesocial-fb-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Facebook Share" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://journalistsresource.org/education/us-department-education-8-tips-for-journalists-covering-trump/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Facebook </span> </button> <button class="simplesocial-twt-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Twitter Share" data-href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=The+future+of+the+US+Department+of+Education%3A+8+tips+for+journalists+covering+the+agency+under+Trump%E2%80%99s+second+term&url=https://journalistsresource.org/education/us-department-education-8-tips-for-journalists-covering-trump/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Twitter</span> </button> <button rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="simplesocial-linkedin-share" aria-label="LinkedIn Share" data-href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://journalistsresource.org/education/us-department-education-8-tips-for-journalists-covering-trump/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">LinkedIn</span></button> <button class="simplesocial-reddit-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Reddit Share" data-href="https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://journalistsresource.org/education/us-department-education-8-tips-for-journalists-covering-trump/&title=The+future+of+the+US+Department+of+Education%3A+8+tips+for+journalists+covering+the+agency+under+Trump%E2%80%99s+second+term" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;" ><span class="simplesocialtxt">Reddit</span> </button> <button onclick="javascript:window.location.href = this.dataset.href;return false;" class="simplesocial-email-share" aria-label="Share through Email" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-href="mailto:?subject=The future of the US Department of Education%3A 8 tips for journalists covering the agency under Trump%E2%80%99s second term&body=https://journalistsresource.org/education/us-department-education-8-tips-for-journalists-covering-trump/"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Email</span></button> </div> </div></div> <p>The U.S. Department of Education, one of the federal government’s smallest Cabinet-level agencies, operates programs <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/ed-overview/federal-role-in-education">across every level of education</a>. With an annual budget of about $242 billion, it helps fund approximately 98,000 public schools and 32,000 private schools serving kindergarten through grade 12 as well as thousands of colleges, universities, vocational schools and other higher education institutions.</p> <p>During his reelection campaign, President Donald Trump pledged to close the U.S. Department of Education if he returned to the White House. In the months leading to his inauguration on Monday, some Republican state leaders and members of Congress expressed support for his proposal, although it is still unclear how he would implement it.</p> <p>In Oklahoma, for example, Ryan Walters, the state superintendent of public instruction, has <a href="https://sde.ok.gov/press-release/2024-11-11/superintendent-walters-forms-trump-education-advisory-committee">formed a committee</a> to oversee the changes in federal education policy he expects the Trump administration to make.</p> <p>“The education system has needed these reforms for decades,” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHiDpS1DxVg">Walters told FOX23 News Tulsa</a> in November. “We’re going to be the first state ready to go to enact them.”</p> <p>Even if the federal Education Department remains intact, which academic researchers and other experts assert is most likely, there probably will be changes. Trump has said he plans to <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-gears-up-for-assault-on-wokeness-with-education-overhaul/ar-AA1tUrzI?apiversion=v2&amp;noservercache=1&amp;domshim=1&amp;renderwebcomponents=1&amp;wcseo=1&amp;batchservertelemetry=1&amp;noservertelemetry=1">use federal funding as leverage</a> to limit what he considers “left-wing indoctrination” in K-12 schools and higher education institutions.</p> <p>He has made it clear that he opposes so called “diversity programs” as well as school vaccine requirements, teaching <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/education/critical-race-theory-school-racism/">critical race theory</a> in K-12 classrooms and allowing transgender students to participate in sports that align with their gender identity.</p> <p>“The big question isn’t whether the Department of Education is going to go away &#8212; I think the big question is what it’s going to do,” says education historian <a href="https://www.gse.upenn.edu/academics/faculty-directory/zimmerman">Jonathan Zimmerman</a>, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who wrote the books <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/W/bo174397210.html">Whose America? Culture Wars in the Public Schools</a> and <a href="https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12000/amateur-hour?srsltid=AfmBOoqx3gAdC4WGIe2_oyZhbwmBTRIbQS0OPz9NAko582m9767G3gpe">The Amateur Hour: A History of College Teaching in America</a>.</p> <p>We created this tip sheet to help journalists tackle this very complicated issue. Below, we spotlight eight tips to help you better understand the Education Department’s role, put Trump’s plan into historical context, and examine possible consequences for students, families, educators and their communities.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. <strong>Make clear what the U.S. Department of Education does and that most of its funding is spent on programs for adults.</strong></h3> <p>Many people don’t realize the U.S. Department of Education spends most of its budget on education and training for adults, namely college students, students enrolled in career and technical programs, and people with disabilities who need help finding jobs. In fiscal year 2024, the Education Department spent about $161 billion &#8212; 60% of its $268 billion budget &#8212; to fund its office of <a href="https://studentaid.gov">Federal Student Aid</a>, the country’s largest provider of student financial aid.</p> <p>Another $2 billion went to the <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/ed-offices/octae">Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education</a>, which administers a variety of education and training programs for adults, including adults with disabilities and incarcerated individuals. About $4 billion went to the <a href="https://www.usa.gov/agencies/office-of-postsecondary-education">Office of Postsecondary Education</a>, which, among other things, provides grants for colleges controlled by tribal governments and for other <a href="https://sheeo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/MSI-White-Paper.pdf">minority serving institutions</a>. The <a href="https://cmsi.gse.rutgers.edu">Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions</a> maintains <a href="https://cmsi.gse.rutgers.edu/msi-directory">a list of MSIs</a>, which are public and private colleges and universities that serve a large percentage of Black, Hispanic, Asian or Indigenous students.</p> <p>K-12 public schools receive relatively little money from the U.S. Department of Education. In fact, <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_235.10.asp">less than 8%</a> of public school revenue came from federal agencies, including the Education Department, before COVID-19 reached the U.S. in 2020. Since then, the federal government has sent schools a combined <a href="https://pandemicoversight.gov/data-interactive-tools/data-stories/states-received-1895-billion-relief-schools-heres-breakdown">$189.5 billion in emergency aid</a> to help them deal with the wide-ranging impacts of the pandemic.</p> <p>This temporary infusion of money bumped the federal government&#8217;s share of public school funding to <a href="https://usafacts.org/answers/what-percentage-of-public-school-funding-comes-from-the-federal-government/country/united-states/">13.7% </a>during the 2021-22 academic year, the most recent year for which data is available. </p> <p>The U.S. Department of Education’s largest K-12 programs are grant programs, designed to help public schools afford the higher cost of educating certain groups of students. For example, <a href="https://www.ed.gov/grants-and-programs/formula-grants/formula-grants-special-populations/special-education-grants-to-states">special education grants</a> help schools pay for education and services for students with disabilities until they turn 21 years old. The <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=158#:~:text=Title%20I%2C%20Part%20A%20(Title,for%20allocating%20Title%20I%20funds.">Title I program</a>, which gets its name from Title I of the federal law known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, provides financial assistance to schools where at least 40% students come from lower-income families.</p> <p>A key function of the U.S. Department of Education is <a href="https://ocrcas.ed.gov/open-investigations">investigating civi</a><a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/ed-offices/ocr">l rights complaints</a> at K-12 schools, colleges, universities, trade schools and the other institutions it funds. Meanwhile, the agency’s research arm, the Institute of Education Sciences, <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/">collects a variety of education data</a> and publishes regular reports on topics such as K-12 student demographics, high school graduation rates, college costs and college enrollment trends.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. <strong>Note that some federal education programs are funded by other government agencies.</strong></h3> <p>Much of the public probably does not realize that several major education programs are not run by the U.S. Department of Education. For example:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ohs/about/head-start">Head Start</a>, which provides education-related services to preschool children from low-income families, is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.</li> <li>The <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp">National School Lunch Program</a> and the <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/sbp/school-breakfast-program">School Breakfast Program</a> are funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.</li> <li>While the Education Department provides some funding for <a href="https://www.bie.edu/topic-page/bureau-indian-education">K-12 schools controlled by tribal governments</a>, most comes from the Bureau of Indian Education, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Some K-12 schools located on tribal land are operated and funded by the Bureau of Indian Education, which also funds and operates two tribal higher education institutions: the Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas and the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in New Mexico.</li> <li>The <a href="https://www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/#:~:text=GI%20Bill%20benefits%20help%20you,your%20spouse%20or%20dependent%20children.">GI Bill</a>, which helps military veterans and their family members pay for college and other types of education, is funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.</li> <li>The primary federal agencies that <a href="https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb202326#:~:text=Six%20agencies%20provided%20more%20than%2090%%20of,Space%20Administration%2C%20and%20the%20Department%20of%20Agriculture.">provide research funding</a> to colleges and universities are the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Department of Agriculture.</li> </ul> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. <strong>Emphasize that closing the U.S. Department of Education has been a goal of conservative politicians for decades.</strong></h3> <p>Several high-ranking Republicans have sought to eliminate the Education Department since it opened in 1980 under Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Ronald Reagan, who won the presidential election that year, announced his plan to shutter it during <a href="https://www.reaganfoundation.org/reagan-institute/scholarly-initiatives/essay-series-on-presidential-principles-and-beliefs/ronald-reagans-first-state-of-the-union-address-january-26-1982/?srsltid=AfmBOoohnBVGed1S4tfGVyDket6-fHiwA4vjkBRc4r9NyxtT6axi2RsO">his first State of the Union address</a>.</p> <p>“In campaigning for the presidency, Mr. Reagan called for the total elimination of the U.S. Department of Education, severe curtailment of bilingual education, and massive cutbacks in the federal role in education,” education historian <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-clabaugh-0ab5553a/">Gary K. Clabaugh</a> writes in “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/42926508?casa_token=APMYKbhNjg0AAAAA%3A6Z1bh3jJ_edTgh74vVoolhoF0ywZQJ6TYkeM_tQsBI8Ipe1nzUaa14i0ROSctvGxcXY1O-OhJLWHgClIReo-bgUdIJKo8MQ49MJk_86_MWgLgqANJXFZ&amp;seq=1">The Educational Legacy of Ronald Reagan</a>,” published in the academic journal Educational Horizons in 2004.</p> <p>Bob Dole, the Republican presidential nominee in 1996, also advocated for closure, as did Trump and several other Republicans competing for the U.S. presidency in 2024. Former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy <a href="https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/broad-calls-to-ax-education-department-and-take-on-teachers-unions-at-1st-gop-debate/2023/08">have all said they would eliminate the Education Department</a>.</p> <p>Shortly after Trump’s reelection in November, U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota, introduced the “<a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/5384">Returning Education to Our States Act</a>.” The bill seeks to abolish the Department of Education and transfer its programs and responsibilities to other federal agencies. For example, the Department of the Treasury would take over federal financial aid programs and the Department of Health and Human Services would administer the special education program.</p> <p>U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, <a href="https://www.congress.gov/quick-search/legislation?wordsPhrases=%22department+of+Education%22&amp;wordVariants=on&amp;congressGroups%5B0%5D=0&amp;congresses%5B0%5D=all&amp;legislationNumbers=&amp;legislativeAction=100&amp;sponsor=on&amp;representative=M001184&amp;senator=">introduced bills in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023</a> to either terminate or reduce the size of the Education Department.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">4. <strong>Explain what it would take to close the U.S. Department of Education.&nbsp;</strong></h3> <p>Closing the Education Department would require federal legislation and, likely, a supermajority vote in the U.S. Senate. Although senators can pass bills with a simple majority vote, it takes a supermajority vote to halt discussion on a bill so a vote can take place.<br /><br />That means that unless the Senate eliminates its <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/filibuster-explained">filibuster rule</a>, which often has been used to block controversial legislation, three-fifths of senators would have to vote in favor of closing the debate on such a bill to allow a vote. Political observers have said they doubt 60 of the 100 senators would vote in favor of that. Only <a href="https://www.senate.gov/senators/">53 are Republicans</a>.</p> <p>Less than two years ago, the U.S. House of Representatives considered <a href="https://www.congress.gov/amendment/118th-congress/house-amendment/124">a legislative amendment</a> that endorsed moving K-12 education programs out of the Department of Education. <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2023156">It failed</a>, with 60 Republicans and 205 Democrats voting against it.</p> <p>The Education Department generally enjoys bipartisan support, <a href="https://rossier.usc.edu/faculty-research/directory/pedro-noguera">Pedro Noguera</a>, dean of the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California, explained recently <a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2243528/episodes/16158416-are-big-changes-in-store-for-education-after-trump-victory">on a podcast he co-hosts</a> and in <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/education/5066868-get-ready-to-rumble-if-trump-tries-to-eliminate-the-dept-of-education/">an essay he co-wrote</a> for The Hill.</p> <p>“There are a lot of red states, red communities across the country that benefit from the policies and the programs,” Noguera said on the “Sparking Equity” podcast.</p> <p>Education scholar <a href="https://www.aei.org/profile/frederick-m-hess/">Frederick Hess</a> supports closing the department but says it will not happen. Not only do Republicans lack the votes to make the change, they have shown little interest in cutting programs that serve lower-income kids and kids with disabilities, says Hess, an executive editor of&nbsp;the <a href="https://www.educationnext.org/">Education Next</a> journal, which, like The Journalist&#8217;s Resource, is housed at Harvard Kennedy School. <br /><br />Hess is also director of education policy studies at the <a href="https://www.aei.org/">American Enterprise Institute</a>, a conservative-leaning think tank, and the author of several books on education policy, including &#8220;<a href="https://www.tcpress.com/getting-education-right-9780807769461">Getting Education Right: A Conservative Vision for Improving Early Childhood, K–12, and College</a>&#8221; and &#8220;<a href="https://hep.gse.harvard.edu/9781682538104/the-great-school-rethink/">The Great School Rethink</a>.&#8221;</p> <p>&#8220;What really matters for people who want to shrink the federal role or change it is: What are we changing about spending and rules and regulations?&#8221; he says, adding that journalists need to examine how the current rules for spending federal education dollars harm K-12 students. For one, he notes, they create a lot of paperwork for teachers at a time when public schools are struggling to hire and retain teachers, particularly special education teachers. </p> <p>Says Hess: &#8220;There&#8217;s a real opportunity here to look at the role of federal aid and the use of federal funds &#8212; how are they used and are they actually creating budgetary problems rather than solving them?&#8221; </p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">5. <strong>Provide your audiences with a realistic sense of how K-12 and higher education could be affected by an Education Department closure.</strong></h3> <p>Educators, school administrators, policymakers and academic researchers have all speculated on how an Education Department closure could impact federal education funding and programs. Ten journalists from the Hechinger Report, a nonprofit news outlet that focuses on education issues, teamed up recently to examine that question. <a href="https://hechingerreport.org/what-might-happen-if-the-education-department-were-closed/">The resulting article</a> is a must-read for journalists covering this topic.</p> <p>Among its main takeaways: Abolishing the agency would not undo federal laws that established federal funding for K-12 programs that serve some of the nation’s most marginalized students, including students with disabilities and those from lower-income families. “But doling out that money and overseeing it could get messy,” the outlet reports.</p> <p><a href="https://gufaculty360.georgetown.edu/s/contact/00336000014Te29AAC/marguerite-roza">Marguerite Roza</a>, a research professor who studies education finances at Georgetown University, has said funding for K-12 schools probably would not change much.</p> <p>“We&#8217;ve been telling school districts, ‘Don&#8217;t expect massive changes in your federal dollars,’” Roza, who directs Georgetown’s <a href="https://edunomicslab.org/">Edunomics Lab</a>, said in <a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/2422542/episodes/16264039-marguerite-roza-on-declining-birth-rates-closing-schools-and-the-fate-of-education-funding">a Dec. 12 interview</a> on a podcast produced by the right-leaning <a href="https://dfipolicy.org/">Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies</a>.</p> <p>Meanwhile, higher education scholars like <a href="https://cmsi.gse.rutgers.edu/content/marybeth-gasman">Marybeth Gasman</a>, the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in Education at Rutgers University, are concerned about college funding. She’s especially worried about funding aimed at helping marginalized youth get to and through college. Trump and some other conservative lawmakers have expressed disdain for so-called “diversity programs.”</p> <p>A drop in funding could be devastating for <a href="https://www.doi.gov/pmb/eeo/doi-minority-serving-institutions-program">minority serving institutions</a>, which serve close to half of all U.S. college students who are racial or ethnic minorities, says Gasman, who is also executive director of both the <a href="https://cmsi.gse.rutgers.edu">Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions</a> and the <a href="https://proctor.gse.rutgers.edu/">Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity &amp; Justice</a>. </p> <p>For example, 25% of Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ revenue came from the federal Education Department in fiscal year 2022, according to <a href="https://sheeo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/MSI_fudning.pdf">a report released last month</a> by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. At the same time, most students enrolled at HBCUs qualify for Pell grants, a type of financial aid the Education Department offers lower-income students that they do not pay back.</p> <p>Most <a href="https://www.doi.gov/pmb/eeo/doi-minority-serving-institutions-program">minority serving institutions</a>, commonly referred to as MSIs, are designated as Hispanic serving institutions because a large percentage of their students are Hispanic. They get 18% of their revenue directly from the Education Department grants. Many of their students also qualify for Pell grants.</p> <p>“There needs to be more exploration into the ramifications of Trump’s presidency on MSIs,” Gasman says. “If they change loan forgiveness [policies], if they change Pell [grants], if they change aid to MSIs, it will have profound impacts.”</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>6. Evaluate how well the U.S. Department of Education runs its programs.</strong></h3> <p>When President Jimmy Carter signed the <a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/department-education-organization-act-statement-signing-s-210-into-law">Department of Education Organization Act</a>, which created the Education Department, he said he wanted to ensure Americans got <a href="https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/department-education-organization-act-statement-signing-s-210-into-law">a better return on their investment in education</a>. He said the new department would, among other things, save tax dollars and make federal education programs more accountable and responsive.</p> <p>Has the department accomplished those goals? That’s a question journalists should try to answer for their audiences. Here are resources to get you started:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://www.gao.gov/search?keyword=%22department+of+education%22">Investigative reports</a> from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, often referred to as Congress’ watchdog. The office examines the use of public funds and makes recommendations for improvement.</li> <li><a href="https://oig.ed.gov/reports/list">Performance Results Reports</a> and <a href="https://oig.ed.gov/resources/congressional-reports">Congressional Reports</a> compiled by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General. The purpose of that office is to “promote the efficiency, effectiveness, and integrity of the Department’s programs and operations through independent and objective audits, investigations, inspections, and other activities.”</li> <li>The <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/annualreports/overview">National Center for Education Statistics</a> provides an assortment of data on various K-12 student groups, including students who participate in Title I, special education and English language acquisition programs. It also provides data on students who participate in federal higher education programs, including the graduation rates of lower-income college students who receive <a href="https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/grants/pell">Pell grants</a>, one type of federal financial aid.</li> <li>The <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/">Congressional Research Service</a>, which assists Congress in researching issues and creating laws and policies, regularly releases reports focusing on Education Department programs.</li> <li>Researchers have studied the effectiveness of the Title I program specifically, although no academic articles have been published in recent years. <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2350037">An analysis</a> from George Mason University’s School of Policy, Government and International Affairs, updated in 2015, looks at the results of national assessments of the Title I program conducted from 1966 to 2013. It finds “little evidence that Title I has contributed significantly to closing achievement gaps nationwide.” A <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/why-federal-spending-on-disadvantaged-students-title-i-doesnt-work/#:~:text=The%20largest%20ESEA%20expenditure%20by,that%20it%20improved%20student%20achievement.">2015 analysis</a> by the Brookings Institution, a centrist think tank, asserts that the Title I program “doesn’t work,” in part because Title 1 “is spread so thin that its budget of $14 billion a year turns out not to be much money.”</li> <li>Some school districts have hired the American Institutes for Research to review their special education programs. A handful of <a href="https://www.air.org/resource/spotlight/special-education-program-reviews">recent reviews</a> are posted on the organization’s website, and others could be obtained directly from school districts through public records requests.</li> <li>Several academic journal articles examine the burden of paperwork associated with federal K-12 education programs. In<a href="https://juniperpublishers.com/gjidd/GJIDD.MS.ID.555811.php"> a paper published in 2023</a>, for example, researchers write that “excessive paperwork” is a main reason special education teachers leave the field.</li> <li>A <a href="https://edsource.org/2024/the-longer-a-student-is-an-english-learner-the-worse-they-do-on-tests-data-shows/714110#:~:text=As%20a%20whole%2C%20students%20classified,at%20Oakland%20Unified%20School%20District.">June 2024 analysis</a> from EdSource, a nonprofit news outlet in California, finds that students who are learning to speak English do worse on California’s state exam the longer they are enrolled in the federal English language acquisition program.</li> <li>Many news outlets have reported on the Education Department’s <a href="https://edworkforce.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=411975">botched rollout of the new FAFSA</a> &#8212; the Free Application for Federal Student Aid &#8212; that students must submit to determine their eligibility for college grants and loans.</li> </ul> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">7. <strong>Find out whether state Education Departments are prepared to take on additional duties if the U.S. Department of Education closes.</strong></h3> <p>Trump and many other influential Republicans want states to oversee their own education programs. But it is unclear which responsibilities would be transferred from the federal Education Department and how changes would be rolled out. What also is unclear is whether individual states are ready and able to take on these new duties.</p> <p>It’s well known that state and local governments struggled with staffing during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in law enforcement, public health and education. Hiring has picked up recently, but some human resource managers have reported an uptick in resignations and retirements, according to <a href="https://research.missionsq.org/content/media/document/2024/4/WorkforceSurveyReport2024.pdf">a 2024 analysis</a> conducted on behalf of the National Association of State Personnel Executives and the Public Sector HR Association. Some of the hiring officials surveyed for that report also said they expect a major wave of retirements during the next few years.</p> <p>Veteran education journalist <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/author/daarel-burnette-ii">Daarel Burnette</a> recommends journalists visit state Education Departments and look into how well they are handling their current workloads.</p> <p>“You can just walk into those buildings and see rows and rows of empty desks &#8212; they look like newsrooms,” says Burnette, a senior editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education and a former assistant managing editor and reporter for Education Week.</p> <p>He notes that state education officials have been widely criticized for their response to the pandemic and the decline of K-12 students’ test scores in the wake of it. Individual legislators and the American Civil Liberties Union have requested investigations into the alleged misuse of schools’ COVID-19 relief funds.</p> <p>The federal Education Department’s Office of the Inspector General <a href="https://www.pandemicoversight.gov/oversight/reports?search_api_fulltext=education&amp;field_publication_date%5Bmin%5D=&amp;field_publication_date%5Bmax%5D=&amp;items_per_page=10&amp;f%5B0%5D=agency_reviewed_investigated_content_title%3ADepartment%20of%20Education">has released several reports</a> investigating individual state’s use of those funds. In December 2024, a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024.12.04-SSCP-FINAL-REPORT-ANS.pdf">released a 557-page report</a> examining the nation’s response to the pandemic, indicating that “[t]he unprecedented scale and lack of transparency in COVID-19 pandemic relief programs exposed vulnerabilities for waste, fraud, and abuse.”</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">8. <strong>Ask education experts about angles and issues you have not yet considered.</strong></h3> <p>Even if the Education Department is not dismantled, close federal scrutiny could easily open the door for other conversations about funding cuts and changes to the agency’s programs and procedures. Journalists should ask education researchers and other experts for help identifying issues the public needs to know about.</p> <p><a href="https://faculty.sites.uci.edu/lauraenriquez/">Laura Enriquez</a>, director of the <a href="https://ucpromise.uci.edu/">University of California Collaborative to Promote Immigrant and Student Equity</a>, urges journalists to look beyond their regular sources and ask about students the news media tend to overlook. For example, while journalists frequently report on how public policies affect unauthorized immigrants, their coverage does not often include children born in the U.S. to parents who are unauthorized immigrants, she says.</p> <p>These individuals can face challenges accessing programs and services that government agencies provide to U.S. citizens. Last year, these students had trouble submitting their FAFSA forms to obtain financial aid for college if their parents did not have social security numbers, says Enriquez, who is also an associate professor of Chicano/Latino studies and director of the <a href="https://www.humanities.uci.edu/CLAB">Center for Liberation, Anti-racism, and Belonging</a> at the University of California, Irvine. </p> <p>“There are so many ways to tinker with aid award formulas and make the process more complicated than it already is for first-generation college students, racial minorities and citizens with undocumented parents,” she says.</p> <p>She urges journalists to routinely ask themselves who is missing from their coverage. She adds: “The question you need to ask of yourself as a reporter is ‘Who else could be impacted through social ties?’ That’s a guiding question I wish more reporters asked of themselves.”</p> <p></p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/education/us-department-education-8-tips-for-journalists-covering-trump/">The future of the US Department of Education: 8 tips for journalists covering the agency under Trump’s second term</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Closing the gap: How a church-hospital intervention on Chicago’s West Side is aiming to reduce hypertension</title> <link>https://journalistsresource.org/home/closing-the-gap-how-a-church-hospital-intervention-on-chicagos-west-side-is-aiming-to-reduce-hypertension/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Josh Neufeld]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 10 Jan 2025 11:29:00 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Health]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Race & Gender]]></category> <category><![CDATA[comics journalism]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://journalistsresource.org/?p=80278</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>A comics journalist explores a study of an intervention aimed at reducing blood pressure among local church parishioners with uncontrolled hypertension. </p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/closing-the-gap-how-a-church-hospital-intervention-on-chicagos-west-side-is-aiming-to-reduce-hypertension/">Closing the gap: How a church-hospital intervention on Chicago’s West Side is aiming to reduce hypertension</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="sharing"><div class="social-icons"><div class="simplesocialbuttons simplesocial-round-icon simplesocialbuttons_inline simplesocialbuttons-align-right 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class="wp-block-uagb-image__figure"><img decoding="async" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/correctedAFN2-2-scaled.jpg ,https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/correctedAFN2-2-scaled.jpg 780w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/correctedAFN2-2-scaled.jpg 360w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 480px) 150px" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/correctedAFN2-2-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="uag-image-80334" width="1781" height="2560" title="correctedAFN2" loading="lazy" role="img"/></figure></div> <div class="wp-block-uagb-image uagb-block-01ebfb7d wp-block-uagb-image--layout-default wp-block-uagb-image--effect-static wp-block-uagb-image--align-none"><figure class="wp-block-uagb-image__figure"><img decoding="async" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN3-2000px-scaled.jpg ,https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN3-2000px-scaled.jpg 780w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN3-2000px-scaled.jpg 360w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 480px) 150px" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN3-2000px-scaled.jpg" alt="Closing the gap 3" class="uag-image-80285" width="1782" height="2560" title="AFN3-2000px" loading="lazy" role="img"/></figure></div> <div class="wp-block-uagb-image uagb-block-6c17840d wp-block-uagb-image--layout-default wp-block-uagb-image--effect-static wp-block-uagb-image--align-none"><figure class="wp-block-uagb-image__figure"><img decoding="async" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN4-2000px-scaled.jpg ,https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN4-2000px-scaled.jpg 780w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN4-2000px-scaled.jpg 360w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 480px) 150px" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN4-2000px-scaled.jpg" alt="Closing the Gap 4" class="uag-image-80286" width="1714" height="2560" title="AFN4-2000px" loading="lazy" role="img"/></figure></div> <div class="wp-block-uagb-image uagb-block-b35c416b wp-block-uagb-image--layout-default wp-block-uagb-image--effect-static wp-block-uagb-image--align-none"><figure class="wp-block-uagb-image__figure"><img decoding="async" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN5-2000px-scaled.jpg ,https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN5-2000px-scaled.jpg 780w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN5-2000px-scaled.jpg 360w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 480px) 150px" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN5-2000px-scaled.jpg" alt="Closing the Gap 5" class="uag-image-80287" width="1785" height="2560" title="AFN5-2000px" loading="lazy" role="img"/></figure></div> <div class="wp-block-uagb-image uagb-block-1f4216c0 wp-block-uagb-image--layout-default wp-block-uagb-image--effect-static wp-block-uagb-image--align-none"><figure class="wp-block-uagb-image__figure"><img decoding="async" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN6-2000px-scaled.jpg ,https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN6-2000px-scaled.jpg 780w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN6-2000px-scaled.jpg 360w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 480px) 150px" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN6-2000px-scaled.jpg" alt="Closing the Gap 6" class="uag-image-80288" width="1753" height="2560" title="AFN6-2000px" loading="lazy" role="img"/></figure></div> <div class="wp-block-uagb-image uagb-block-a1d76c6b wp-block-uagb-image--layout-default wp-block-uagb-image--effect-static wp-block-uagb-image--align-none"><figure class="wp-block-uagb-image__figure"><img decoding="async" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN7-2000px-scaled.jpg ,https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN7-2000px-scaled.jpg 780w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN7-2000px-scaled.jpg 360w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 480px) 150px" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN7-2000px-scaled.jpg" alt="Closing the Gap 7" class="uag-image-80289" width="1788" height="2560" title="AFN7-2000px" loading="lazy" role="img"/></figure></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Editor’s note:</strong></h3> <p>In “Closing the Gap: How a Church-Hospital Partnership is Reducing Hypertension on Chicago’s West Side,” Josh&nbsp;Neufeld&nbsp;uses&nbsp;<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__journalistsresource.org_media_documenting-2Dpandemic-2Dcomics-2Djournalism_&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&amp;r=m7iaRYBdDWOmFRGSoylVpQwx-4B9bgpkWSUm_oohWCo&amp;m=Nmn6E_TNIwq0qZtw45mgF-NDZOTcXH1wCzNEcXQe6_46fnT-TM_ia20nnpCwuWLy&amp;s=QV_1s8tYVAot_Ro4pc3gHiyVKNUymsKbmjRjpOMIYpA&amp;e=">the form of comics journalism</a>&nbsp;to highlight&nbsp;<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__link.springer.com_article_10.1007_s11121-2D023-2D01553-2Dx&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&amp;r=m7iaRYBdDWOmFRGSoylVpQwx-4B9bgpkWSUm_oohWCo&amp;m=Nmn6E_TNIwq0qZtw45mgF-NDZOTcXH1wCzNEcXQe6_46fnT-TM_ia20nnpCwuWLy&amp;s=-Bhpbr1NMYgk2DeCVCldN5vpLmRixnKiAe5XcgwNYus&amp;e=">a recent research article</a>&nbsp;published in the journal Prevention Science.&nbsp;The comic draws on the article itself along with additional sources — including Zoom interviews with&nbsp;<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.rushu.rush.edu_faculty_elizabeth-2Db-2Dlynch-2Dphd&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&amp;r=m7iaRYBdDWOmFRGSoylVpQwx-4B9bgpkWSUm_oohWCo&amp;m=Nmn6E_TNIwq0qZtw45mgF-NDZOTcXH1wCzNEcXQe6_46fnT-TM_ia20nnpCwuWLy&amp;s=p_EE_r2t9YAPKteQCCwNeC5pAUR2m9aPOFr6c29ET5Q&amp;e=">Elizabeth B. Lynch</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.linkedin.com_in_ladawne-2Djenkins-2Da517a9126_&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&amp;r=m7iaRYBdDWOmFRGSoylVpQwx-4B9bgpkWSUm_oohWCo&amp;m=Nmn6E_TNIwq0qZtw45mgF-NDZOTcXH1wCzNEcXQe6_46fnT-TM_ia20nnpCwuWLy&amp;s=9MrsxK3WvoCi4BOF4J-JxIWdajUb-aw-b1Pq-ftjiqo&amp;e=">LaDawne Jenkins</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__onehopenation.org_our-2Dpastor_&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&amp;r=m7iaRYBdDWOmFRGSoylVpQwx-4B9bgpkWSUm_oohWCo&amp;m=Nmn6E_TNIwq0qZtw45mgF-NDZOTcXH1wCzNEcXQe6_46fnT-TM_ia20nnpCwuWLy&amp;s=XqMmDrNVLr954Dek_DdXKYRnQfQAnZ3uBt0WN_rSSMw&amp;e=">Steve Epting Sr.</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rush.edu/news/community-health-worker-highlight-meet-teresa">Teresa&nbsp;Berumen</a>&nbsp;and Anthony Hixson.&nbsp;</p> <p>Those five&nbsp;people are characters in the comic, which&nbsp;describes an innovative community health worker intervention aimed at reducing blood pressure among the congregants of&nbsp;several area churches.&nbsp;</p> <p>Neufeld&nbsp;uses subtle coloring techniques for journalistic clarity. The characters’ speech balloon quotes that are shaded in light pink come directly and exactly from their interviews with&nbsp;Neufeld. The white speech balloons represent indirect quotes – such as when a primary source recalled what another person said during a community health visit. The text in yellow caption boxes represents&nbsp;Neufeld’s own narrative.</p> <p>This piece adds to the growing field of graphic medicine, which uses comics as a tool to tell true stories about health care experiences, as well as to distill and discuss complex medical topics.&nbsp;</p> <p>Neufeld&nbsp;is the creator of several graphic medicine comics, including “<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__journalistsresource.org_home_vaccinated-2Dat-2Dthe-2Dball-2Da-2Dtrue-2Dstory-2Dabout-2Dtrusted-2Dmessengers_&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&amp;r=m7iaRYBdDWOmFRGSoylVpQwx-4B9bgpkWSUm_oohWCo&amp;m=Nmn6E_TNIwq0qZtw45mgF-NDZOTcXH1wCzNEcXQe6_46fnT-TM_ia20nnpCwuWLy&amp;s=fbCqlkDtM8qB8JWcXxaCoTBnQgid1w6ozmhYpNvMHDo&amp;e=" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Vaccinated at the Ball: A True Story about Trusted Messengers</a>,” which won the 2023 GMIC Award for Excellence in Graphic Medicine, Short Form, from the Graphic Medicine International Collective.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Sources:</strong></h3> <p>“<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11121-023-01553-x">Heart 2 Heart: Pilot Study” of a Church-Based Community Health Worker Intervention for African Americans with Hypertension</a>.” Elizabeth B. Lynch, Christy Tangey, Todd Roppar, Laura Zimmerman, Joselyn Williams, LaDawne Jenkins, Steve M. Epting, Elizabeth Avery, Tamara Olinger, Teresa Berumen, Maggie Skoller and Rebecca Wornhoff. Prevention Science, July 2023.</p> <p>“<a href="https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/cdph/CDPH/Healthy%20Chicago/CDPH_BlackHealth7c_DIGITAL.pdf">State of Health for Blacks in Chicago</a>.”&nbsp;Blair Aikens, Dana Harper, Rachelle Paul-Brutus, Donna Scrutchins and Yaa Simpson. Chicago Department of Public Health, June 2021.</p> <p>&#8220;<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10900-019-00715-9">Partnering with Churches to Conduct a Wide‐Scale Health Screening of an Urban Segregated Community</a>.” Elizabeth B. Lynch, Joselyn William, Elizabeth Avery, Melissa M. Crane, Brittney Lange‐Maia, Christy Tangney, LaDawne Jenkins, Sheila A. Dugan, Erin E. Emery‐Tiburcio, and Steve M. Epting. Journal of Community Health, February 2020.&nbsp;</p> <p>&#8220;<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1551714423001362">Rationale and Design of the Heart-to-Heart Study: A Church-based Intervention to Reduce Blood Pressure in African Americans</a>.” Yolanda Cartwright, Christy Tangney, Todd Ruppar, Steve M. Epting, LaDawne Jenkins, Wrenetha Julion, Steve Rothschild, Laura Zimmermann, Elizabeth Avery, Tami Olinger, Sumihiro Suzuki and Elizabeth B. Lynch. Contemporary Clinical Trials, July 2023.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"> Share this piece: </h3> <p>This piece is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives 4.0 International License,</a> which means you’re welcome and encouraged to republish it, provided you credit and/or link back to the original source. For educators, journalists and anyone else who would like to republish it in print, we are providing access to a high-resolution PDF of the comic here: <strong><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AFN-finalcorrected.pdf">Download the PDF here</a></strong>.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/closing-the-gap-how-a-church-hospital-intervention-on-chicagos-west-side-is-aiming-to-reduce-hypertension/">Closing the gap: How a church-hospital intervention on Chicago’s West Side is aiming to reduce hypertension</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>If you report on the US economy, get to know these 8 data sources</title> <link>https://journalistsresource.org/economics/economic-data-sources/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Clark Merrefield]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 06 Jan 2025 18:25:50 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Economics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Federal Reserve]]></category> <category><![CDATA[journalism]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://journalistsresource.org/?p=80259</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>We spotlight free data sources journalists can use to report on economic issues ranging from GDP and inflation to economic inequality, along with topics outside of economics, such as education spending.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/economic-data-sources/">If you report on the US economy, get to know these 8 data sources</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="sharing"><div class="social-icons"><div class="simplesocialbuttons simplesocial-round-icon simplesocialbuttons_inline simplesocialbuttons-align-right simplesocialbuttons-inline-no-animation"> <button class="simplesocial-fb-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Facebook Share" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://journalistsresource.org/economics/economic-data-sources/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Facebook </span> </button> <button class="simplesocial-twt-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Twitter Share" data-href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=If+you+report+on+the+US+economy%2C+get+to+know+these+8+data+sources&url=https://journalistsresource.org/economics/economic-data-sources/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Twitter</span> </button> <button rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="simplesocial-linkedin-share" aria-label="LinkedIn Share" data-href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://journalistsresource.org/economics/economic-data-sources/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">LinkedIn</span></button> <button class="simplesocial-reddit-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Reddit Share" data-href="https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://journalistsresource.org/economics/economic-data-sources/&title=If+you+report+on+the+US+economy%2C+get+to+know+these+8+data+sources" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;" ><span class="simplesocialtxt">Reddit</span> </button> <button onclick="javascript:window.location.href = this.dataset.href;return false;" class="simplesocial-email-share" aria-label="Share through Email" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-href="mailto:?subject=If you report on the US economy%2C get to know these 8 data sources&body=https://journalistsresource.org/economics/economic-data-sources/"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Email</span></button> </div> </div></div> <p>From the Federal Reserve to the Bureau of Economic Analysis to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are a variety of free federal sources journalists can turn to for high-quality data on the U.S. economy.</p> <p>While these will be most relevant to business reporters, economic issues cut across beats, so journalists covering almost any topic may find these useful. Most data featured here is macroeconomic, meaning it indicates the health of the national economy, or segments of it.</p> <p>Below, we spotlight 8 data sources reporters should know and use, including several Federal Reserve regional banks. Many sources offer much more information than can be covered here, so think of this tip sheet as a starting point. We’ll update this list periodically, so be sure to bookmark it and share it with your colleagues. And feel free to <a href="mailto:journalists_resource@hks.harvard.edu">reach out</a> if there’s anything you think should be added.</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed alignright is-type-wp-embed is-provider-the-journalist-039-s-resource wp-block-embed-the-journalist-039-s-resource wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="cLcfzsKCSY"><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/education/19-higher-education-databases-journalists/">If you report on US colleges and universities, get to know these 19 higher education databases</a></blockquote><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" title="&#8220;If you report on US colleges and universities, get to know these 19 higher education databases&#8221; &#8212; The Journalist&#039;s Resource" src="https://journalistsresource.org/education/19-higher-education-databases-journalists/embed/#?secret=sfoTqCVkXp#?secret=cLcfzsKCSY" data-secret="cLcfzsKCSY" width="600" height="338" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> </div></figure> <p><strong>1. <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/">Federal Reserve Economic Data &#8212; FRED</a></strong></p> <p>The U.S. central banking system, the Federal Reserve, is a data-heavy organization. Economists at the bank <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/tag/beige-book/">regularly crunch numbers to inform national decisions</a>, such as setting target interest rates. </p> <p>Meanwhile, economists at the Federal Reserve’s district banks &#8212; <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/federal-reserve-banks-ultimate-guide/">there are 12 across the country</a> &#8212; analyze local and regional data to provide research insights on specialized topics, such as economic inequality.</p> <p>FRED, maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, is a one-stop repository with hundreds of thousands of nationwide datasets. There’s useful information for reporters across beats &#8212; for example, <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/G160291A027NBEA">data on total public education spending nationwide since the late 1950s</a>.</p> <p>One of the most powerful elements of FRED is that you can adjust the data output for more context. </p> <p>For the education spending data, click the “edit graph” button and choose “percent change from a year ago.”</p> <p>You’ll immediately see that while there is much more government spending on education in recent years than decades ago, the percent change in education spending year to year shows a downward trend since the 1980s. You can also download the underlying data and embed and share the generated graphs.</p> <div class="embed-container"><iframe src="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/graph-landing.php?g=1CCuN&#038;width=670&#038;height=475" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="overflow:hidden;" allowTransparency="true" loading="lazy"></iframe></div><script src="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/assets/research/fred-graph-react-508/build/embed.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <p><strong>2. <a href="https://www.bea.gov/">Bureau of Economic Analysis</a></strong></p> <p>The BEA is a primary source for a range of data on the nation’s overall economic health, including <a href="https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gross-domestic-product">gross domestic product</a>, the granddaddy of macroeconomic indicators. Broadly, <a href="https://www.bea.gov/resources/learning-center/what-to-know-gdp">GDP</a> is the value of all goods and services produced in the U.S.</p> <p>You can also find GDP by industry, state, county or metropolitan area <a href="https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp">via BEA</a>. GDP data can tell you which regions and industries are growing or shrinking, and how the growth of the overall U.S. economy compares with <a href="https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDPD@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD">other countries</a>.</p> <p>There is a lot of other data to explore, including on <a href="https://www.bea.gov/data/economic-accounts/international">international investments and trade</a>, <a href="https://www.bea.gov/data/government/receipts-and-expenditures">taxes and spending across all levels of government</a>, <a href="https://www.bea.gov/data/investment-fixed-assets/industry">assets such as machines and software that U.S. companies own</a>, <a href="https://www.bea.gov/data/economic-accounts/national">along with much more national data</a>. Reach out to the <a href="https://www.bea.gov/help/contact-us">BEA press office</a> with questions about how specific datasets are compiled and what they can and can’t tell you.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.bea.gov/data/personal-consumption-expenditures-price-index">Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index</a> is another BEA dataset to know and use. It captures changes in the prices of goods and services &#8212; in other words, it’s a measure of inflation. <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DPCCRV1Q225SBEA">Core PCE</a>, which excludes food and energy prices because those tend to fluctuate more than other categories, is the inflation measure the Federal Reserve uses to inform its decisions about interest rates.</p> <p>Another common measure of inflation often reported in the news media is the Consumer Price Index, produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.</p> <p><strong>3. <a href="https://www.bls.gov/">Bureau of Labor Statistics</a></strong></p> <p>The <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cpi/">Consumer Price Index</a> is the inflation measure that has made headlines in recent years amid rising prices during the 2020s compared with low inflation during the 2010s. </p> <p>CPI is based on the prices consumers pay for a sampling of goods. Check the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm">news releases</a> that accompany <a href="https://www.bls.gov/schedule/news_release/cpi.htm">each monthly publication of CPI</a> to learn what’s driving inflation &#8212; in November 2024, for example, housing accounted for 40% of the increase.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ppi/">Producer Price Index</a> captures prices producers receive for many goods and services &#8212; <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ppi/faqs/questions-and-answers.htm#2">and also accounts for</a> prices producers pay for inputs, among other things. Inputs are things needed to make a good or provide a service. For example, the stainless steel used to make a washing machine is an input. PPI can (<a href="https://www.bls.gov/ppi/methodology-reports/comparing-the-producer-price-index-for-personal-consumption-with-the-us-all-items-cpi-for-all-urban-consumers.htm">though not always</a>) be read as a future indicator of CPI, as <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/author/nancy-marshall-genzer/">Nancy Marshall-Genzer</a> of American Public Media’s Marketplace <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2024/02/20/ppi-producer-price-index-inflation-leading-indicator/">reported in February</a>. If the prices producers pay for inputs rises, they’ll often try to pass those costs onto consumers, which later show up in CPI.</p> <p>Another BLS dataset that gets a lot of media love is the jobs report, formally known as the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm">Employment Situation Summary</a>, which shows how many jobs were added in the past month as well as the overall unemployment rate. There are also <a href="https://www.bls.gov/sae/">state and local unemployment data</a> from the BLS. Note that employment data that is seasonally adjusted to account for regular hiring bumps, such as around the winter holidays, are subject to revision up to five years after they are released.</p> <p>Since the BLS is the federal agency tasked with producing data related to labor and work, it’s no surprise they produce a tremendous amount of economic data. The three datasets mentioned here hardly scratch the surface. Their release calendar is <a href="https://www.bls.gov/schedule/2024/12_sched.htm">here</a>. Use their <a href="https://www.bls.gov/data/tools.htm">data retrieval tools</a> to find what you need.</p> <p>The BLS also produces several <a href="https://www.bls.gov/nls/">national longitudinal surveys</a> that follow the economic outcomes of U.S. adults over time. The <a href="https://psidonline.isr.umich.edu/Studies.aspx">Panel Study of Income Dynamics</a> at the University of Michigan is another long-running panel that illuminates the economic outcomes of Americans over time.</p> <p>While the BLS will have most of the labor market stats you’re looking for, its umbrella agency, the U.S. Department of Labor, is your go-to for <a href="https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/DataDashboard.asp">data on unemployment insurance</a>.</p> <p><strong>4. <a href="https://www.census.gov/">U.S. Census Bureau</a></strong></p> <p>While the Census Bureau is best known for its every-ten-years count of the U.S. population, it also regularly conducts surveys and produces data.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ces.html">Center for Economic Studies</a> at the Census Bureau produces several publicly available datasets that journalists can use to provide context on the nation’s overall economic health. One of them is <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds.html">Business Dynamic Statistics</a>, with recent and historical data on business startups and shutdowns, along with job creation and other measures.</p> <p>Other potentially useful information from the CES include data on <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ces/data/public-use-data/race-and-economic-opportunity-data-tables.html">race and economic opportunity</a>, <a href="https://lehd.ces.census.gov/data/veo_experimental.html">employment of U.S. Army veterans post-discharge</a> and <a href="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ces/data/public-use-data/opportunity-atlas-data-tables.html">how early childhood factors such as parental income affect earnings later in life</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.ipums.org/projects/ipums-usa">Integrated Public Use Microdata Series</a> out of the University of Minnesota standardizes Census Bureau data, allowing for comparisons of economic and social trends over time.</p> <p><strong>5. <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/data.htm">The Federal Reserve</a></strong></p> <p>In addition to data produced or maintained by Federal Reserve regional banks, the central Federal Reserve is another data source to know. And while the Census Bureau often focuses on economics through the lens of demographics, think of data from the Federal Reserve as being much more numbers-driven.</p> <p>One such dataset is the <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/h8/current/default.htm">assets and liabilities of U.S. commercial banks</a>, a quarterly tally across banks of things that add to balance sheets, such as loans, and things that subtract from balance sheets, such as deposits. You can see some interesting trends in this data, such as deposits increasing threefold during the first year of the COVID pandemic as widespread retail and restaurant shutdowns <a href="https://www.frbsf.org/research-and-insights/blog/sf-fed-blog/2024/05/03/pandemic-savings-are-gone-whats-next-for-us-consumers/">pushed money into savings</a>. Another is the <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/">financial accounts of the U.S.</a>, which offers aggregate figures on assets, liabilities and net worth of households and nonprofit organizations back to the early 1950s.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/default.htm">consumer credit data series</a> is also one to watch. Information is released quarterly and includes the types of outstanding credit &#8212; such as car loans and credit cards &#8212; along with major credit holders &#8212; such as banks, educational institutions and credit unions.</p> <p><strong>6. <a href="https://www.philadelphiafed.org/consumer-finance/about-the-consumer-finance-institute">Consumer Finance Institute</a></strong></p> <p>GDP is powered by consumer spending so it’s no wonder the <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/federal-reserve-banks-ultimate-guide/">Federal Reserve regional banks</a> put a lot of effort producing data on consumer habits.</p> <p>Researchers at the Consumer Finance Institute, a signature initiative of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, produce a variety of economic reports and working papers and can help journalists answer questions about how Americans spend, save and finance <a href="https://www.philadelphiafed.org/consumer-finance/mortgage-markets">home purchases</a>, <a href="https://www.philadelphiafed.org/consumer-finance/education-finance">education</a> and <a href="https://www.philadelphiafed.org/consumer-finance/consumer-credit">other types of credit</a>.</p> <p><strong>7. <a href="https://www.atlantafed.org/research/inflationproject/stickyprice">Sticky-Price Consumer Price Index</a></strong></p> <p>Another Federal Reserve regional bank data product, sticky-price CPI is produced by the Atlanta Fed. “Sticky” prices are prices that do not rapidly change. Goods that have sticky prices change price slowly in response to economic conditions, such as an increase or decrease in demand, or changes in input prices. Put another way, sticky prices are less volatile than flexible prices, which sellers can adjust relatively quickly in response to market changes.</p> <p><a href="https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/">Vehicle fuel</a> is an example of a good with a price that is flexible, or more volatile, and can change rapidly. Economists <a href="https://www.atlantafed.org/-/media/documents/research/inflationproject/stickyprice/sticky-price-cpi-supplemental-reading.pdf">have found</a> restaurant food, education and public transportation are examples of goods with sticky prices &#8212; they don’t change quickly.</p> <p>Technology changes can sometimes turn formerly sticky prices into flexible ones. The widespread adoption of the internet in the 2000s, for example, <a href="http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/paradigm/spring2000/articles/wylie-internet_and_prices.html">afforded some sellers</a> the ability to change their prices with a keystroke. Many retailers used to sell goods through printed catalogs sent to consumers’ homes. Changing prices in catalogs was expensive, given the high costs of printing and shipping. The internet (mostly) killed the catalog, allowing many sellers to reach consumers directly &#8212; and to change prices at will.</p> <p>“Importantly, the sticky-price measure seems to contain a component of inflation expectations, and that component may be useful when trying to discern where inflation is heading,” according to a <a href="https://www.atlantafed.org/-/media/documents/research/inflationproject/stickyprice/sticky-price-cpi-supplemental-reading.pdf">2010 Economic Commentary</a> from Federal Reserve economists. That’s because sellers of sticky-price goods want to factor in inflation expectations well ahead of time, since it’s relatively difficult for them to adjust prices.</p> <p>So, sticky price data is something journalists should understand and keep an eye on as a potential inflation indicator.</p> <p>Also note that higher-income households tend to consume more sticky-price goods, according to an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmoneco.2018.12.001">April 2020 paper</a> in the Journal of Monetary Economics, while lower-income households tend to consume goods with more price volatility.</p> <p><strong>8. <a href="https://www.clevelandfed.org/center-for-inflation-research">Center for Inflation Research</a></strong></p> <p>Digging deep into inflation trends? Check out the <a href="https://www.clevelandfed.org/center-for-inflation-research/inflation-economic-commentaries">reports</a> and <a href="https://www.clevelandfed.org/center-for-inflation-research#inflation-indicators-and-data">data</a> from the Center for Inflation Research from the Cleveland Fed. The <a href="https://www.clevelandfed.org/indicators-and-data/survey-of-firms-inflation-expectations">Survey of Firms’ Inflation Expectation</a>s is a glimpse into what executives at manufacturing and service sector firms think about where inflation is headed in the coming year.</p> <p>There’s also <a href="https://www.clevelandfed.org/indicators-and-data/median-pce-inflation">median PCE</a> and <a href="https://www.clevelandfed.org/indicators-and-data/median-cpi">median CPI</a>, in which analysts remove outliers from those measures. By removing outliers, the idea is to “provide a better signal of the underlying inflation trend,” <a href="https://www.clevelandfed.org/indicators-and-data/median-pce-inflation">according to</a> the Cleveland Fed.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/economic-data-sources/">If you report on the US economy, get to know these 8 data sources</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>4 ways The Journalist’s Resource informed journalism in 2024</title> <link>https://journalistsresource.org/home/4-ways-the-journalists-resource-informed-journalism-in-2024/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Carmen Nobel]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 20 Dec 2024 17:42:03 +0000</pubDate> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://journalistsresource.org/?p=80185</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>As we look ahead to 2025, we’re pausing to reflect on some of the standout efforts that defined our work in 2024.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/4-ways-the-journalists-resource-informed-journalism-in-2024/">4 ways The Journalist’s Resource informed journalism in 2024</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="sharing"><div class="social-icons"><div class="simplesocialbuttons simplesocial-round-icon simplesocialbuttons_inline simplesocialbuttons-align-right simplesocialbuttons-inline-no-animation"> <button class="simplesocial-fb-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Facebook Share" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://journalistsresource.org/home/4-ways-the-journalists-resource-informed-journalism-in-2024/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Facebook </span> </button> <button class="simplesocial-twt-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Twitter Share" data-href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=4+ways+The+Journalist%E2%80%99s+Resource+informed+journalism+in+2024&url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/4-ways-the-journalists-resource-informed-journalism-in-2024/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Twitter</span> </button> <button rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="simplesocial-linkedin-share" aria-label="LinkedIn Share" data-href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/4-ways-the-journalists-resource-informed-journalism-in-2024/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">LinkedIn</span></button> <button class="simplesocial-reddit-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Reddit Share" data-href="https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/4-ways-the-journalists-resource-informed-journalism-in-2024/&title=4+ways+The+Journalist%E2%80%99s+Resource+informed+journalism+in+2024" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;" ><span class="simplesocialtxt">Reddit</span> </button> <button onclick="javascript:window.location.href = this.dataset.href;return false;" class="simplesocial-email-share" aria-label="Share through Email" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-href="mailto:?subject=4 ways The Journalist%E2%80%99s Resource informed journalism in 2024&body=https://journalistsresource.org/home/4-ways-the-journalists-resource-informed-journalism-in-2024/"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Email</span></button> </div> </div></div> <p></p> <p>The Journalist’s Resource bridges the gap between academia and journalism, informing the news by empowering journalists to use academic research&nbsp;throughout every step of the reporting and editing process.</p> <p>Now in our second decade, we have become a crucial source of information and material for thousands of journalists all over the world. Here are a few of the ways our small editorial team bolstered journalism in 2024.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. <strong>We published resources to help journalists cover the 2024 US election.</strong></h3> <p>Throughout the year, journalists all over the United States were hard at work covering the 2024 general election, helping voters make informed choices from local school boards to the national presidency.</p> <p>The Journalist’s Resource team was hard at work, too, creating resources to help you cover the news in the lead-up to Election Day and beyond.</p> <p>Our <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/resources-to-help-journalists-cover-the-2024-us-election/">2024 election collection</a> comprised 25 tip sheets, research roundups, explainers and webinar recordings that informed news coverage of opinion polls, voting issues, election administration, ballot measures, election results and more.</p> <p>Highlights included:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/barriers-to-voting-for-people-with-disabilities-an-explainer-and-research-roundup/">An explainer and research roundup about barriers to voting for people with disabilities</a></strong>: Voters with disabilities face a range of barriers, and research shows compliance with disability access laws at polling sites is under-enforced.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/media/judges-election-guide/">How — and why — to create a guide to local and state judicial elections</a></strong>: Public elections for judges are often marked by low turnout and low information about the candidates. This piece looked at out how and why three newsrooms created guides to help voters understand judicial races — and included eight tips to help other newsrooms create their own judicial election guides.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/education/school-board-elections-research/"><strong>A research roundup about school board elections in the US</strong></a>: To help journalists contextualize coverage of school board elections, we spotlighted research on who votes in these elections, the role of teachers’ unions, and how new school board members can influence school segregation, funding and test scores<em>.</em></li> </ul> <p></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. <strong>We teamed up on webinars to help journalists cover a broad range of public policy topics.</strong></h3> <p>Our webinars, produced in collaboration with some stellar organizations, drew hundreds of attendees from all over the world. (To all of you who tuned in, thank you for your truly excellent Zoom chat insights and questions.)</p> <p>These live events, recorded and published on our website for later viewing, included:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/sports-venue-financing-webinar-tips/">A rollicking conversation on the public financing of professional sports stadiums</a></strong>, exploring the implications for local economies. It was co-hosted with <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/econofact-michael-klein/">Econofact</a>, a nonpartisan, online publication out of The Fletcher School at Tufts University.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/carbon-offsets-4-things-journalists-need-to-understand/"><strong>A lesson on the ins and outs of carbon offsets.</strong></a> This one was co-hosted with a journalist and scientist from <a href="https://carbonplan.org/">CarbonPlan</a>, a nonprofit that analyzes the efficacy and integrity of climate solutions. They showed us how to use <a href="https://carbonplan.org/research/offsets-db">their interactive repository of carbon offset data</a>.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/criminal-justice/felony-disenfranchisement-marshall-project/"><strong>A webinar about covering felony disenfranchisement,</strong></a> held the week before Election Day, which we co-hosted with <a href="https://www.themarshallproject.org/">The Marshall Project</a>, a nonprofit newsroom that covers the U.S. criminal justice system. The panelists discussed topline findings from the third round of the newsroom’s political survey of more than 54,000 incarcerated people, across the nation. &nbsp;</li> </ul> <p></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. <strong>We helped journalists cover stories about public health.</strong></h3> <p>In a time when many public health issues are highly politicized and polarized, it has never been more important to help journalists understand and cover public health and medical research.</p> <p>The health-focused pieces we published in 2024 included:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/4-ways-the-journalists-resource-informed-journalism-in-2024/?preview_id=80185&amp;preview_nonce=2e35adaa7d&amp;preview=true&amp;_thumbnail_id=80195#:~:text=The%20answers%20to%2015%20questions%20about%20fluoride%20in%20drinking%20water.">The answers to 15 questions about fluoride in drinking water</a>.</strong> We scoured decades of published academic research to address questions about water fluoridation, including what it is, who makes decisions about it, and how safe and effective it is.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/education/childhood-vaccination-schools-policies-research/"><strong>A primer and research roundup about school requirements for routine childhood vaccinations</strong></a>. We examined research to help journalists report on strategies to increase childhood vaccinations as the political divide in Americans&#8217; attitudes toward vaccines widens.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/4-ways-the-journalists-resource-informed-journalism-in-2024/?preview_id=80185&amp;preview_nonce=2e35adaa7d&amp;preview=true&amp;_thumbnail_id=80195#:~:text=A%20primer%20and%20research%20roundup%20about%20how%20migrants%2C%20asylum%20seekers%20and%20refugees%20seek%20health%20care%20in%20the%20United%20States."><strong>A primer and research roundup about how migrants, asylum seekers and refugees seek health care in the U.S.</strong></a> Immigration is a hot political topic. In a pivotal election year, we knew it was important for journalists to help news consumers better understand the specific health challenges that immigrants and refugees encounter in the U.S.</li> </ul> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>4. We helped journalists avoid mistakes when covering stories about research. </strong></h3> <p>Our “Know Your Research” section includes tip sheets and explainers to help journalists understand academic research methods; find and recognize high-quality research; investigate scientific misconduct and research errors; and avoid missteps when reporting on new studies and public opinion polls.</p> <p>The pieces we published in 2024 included:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/10-ways-researchers-journalists-avoid-errors/">10 ways researchers can help journalists avoid errors when reporting on academic studies</a>. </strong>This tip sheet outlines some of the many ways researchers can help the news media cover research accurately, starting with the journalists who interview them about their own work.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/politics-and-government/nationally-representative-sample-research-clinical-trial/">5 things journalists need to know about nationally representative samples.</a> </strong>Knowing what a nationally representative sample is — and isn&#8217;t — will help journalists avoid errors in covering clinical trials, opinion polls and other research.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/question-order-bias-effect-survey-poll/">5 tips to help journalists spot question-order bias when covering survey and poll results</a></strong>. The sequence in which researchers ask questions can elicit different responses, a phenomenon experts refer to as question order effect or question order bias.</li> </ul> <p>Thank you to all the journalists who kept audiences informed throughout this exciting, exhausting year. The Journalist’s Resource team looks forward to supporting and collaborating with you in 2025. </p> <p></p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/4-ways-the-journalists-resource-informed-journalism-in-2024/">4 ways The Journalist’s Resource informed journalism in 2024</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Here are the answers to 15 common questions about fluoride in drinking water</title> <link>https://journalistsresource.org/home/here-are-the-answers-to-15-common-questions-about-fluoride-in-drinking-water/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Naseem S. Miller]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 21:14:29 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Economics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Health]]></category> <category><![CDATA[public health]]></category> <category><![CDATA[water]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://journalistsresource.org/?p=80102</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>We scoured decades of published academic research to address questions about water fluoridation, including what it is, who makes decisions about it, and how safe and effective it is. </p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/here-are-the-answers-to-15-common-questions-about-fluoride-in-drinking-water/">Here are the answers to 15 common questions about fluoride in drinking water</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="sharing"><div class="social-icons"><div class="simplesocialbuttons simplesocial-round-icon simplesocialbuttons_inline simplesocialbuttons-align-right simplesocialbuttons-inline-no-animation"> <button class="simplesocial-fb-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Facebook Share" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://journalistsresource.org/home/here-are-the-answers-to-15-common-questions-about-fluoride-in-drinking-water/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Facebook </span> </button> <button class="simplesocial-twt-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Twitter Share" data-href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Here+are+the+answers+to+15+common+questions+about+fluoride+in+drinking+water&url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/here-are-the-answers-to-15-common-questions-about-fluoride-in-drinking-water/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Twitter</span> </button> <button rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="simplesocial-linkedin-share" aria-label="LinkedIn Share" data-href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/here-are-the-answers-to-15-common-questions-about-fluoride-in-drinking-water/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">LinkedIn</span></button> <button class="simplesocial-reddit-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Reddit Share" data-href="https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/here-are-the-answers-to-15-common-questions-about-fluoride-in-drinking-water/&title=Here+are+the+answers+to+15+common+questions+about+fluoride+in+drinking+water" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;" ><span class="simplesocialtxt">Reddit</span> </button> <button onclick="javascript:window.location.href = this.dataset.href;return false;" class="simplesocial-email-share" aria-label="Share through Email" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-href="mailto:?subject=Here are the answers to 15 common questions about fluoride in drinking water&body=https://journalistsresource.org/home/here-are-the-answers-to-15-common-questions-about-fluoride-in-drinking-water/"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Email</span></button> </div> </div></div> <p>A decades-old debate about fluoride has gained new momentum since early November, when Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump’s nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, <a href="https://x.com/robertkennedyjr/status/1852812012478398923?s=46">called it</a> an “industrial waste,” and said the administration would advise water systems across the country to remove it once Trump takes office.</p> <p>Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo followed suit, <a href="https://www.floridahealth.gov/newsroom/2024/11/20241122-fluoridation-guidance.pr.html">issuing an advisory</a> for Florida communities to stop fluoridating their water supplies, citing controversial studies that link fluoride with a range of conditions, even though research findings about these associations are far from conclusive as we explain in this research-based piece.</p> <p>Since then towns and cities <a href="https://apnews.com/article/fluoride-water-kennedy-cdc-47a0067edb128dbd9b9211a36e674b2c">across the nation</a>, and at least <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-west-island-fluoride-1.7390428">one in Canada</a>, are considering the removal of fluoride from their waters. </p> <p>Meanwhile, advocacy groups like the <a href="https://fluoridealert.org/">Fluoride Action Network</a>, which lobbies against water fluoridation, have had some success with their efforts.&nbsp;In September, a federal judge in California <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6201332/445/food-water-watch-inc-v-environmental-protection-agency/">ordered</a> the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen the regulations for fluoride in drinking water, siding with advocacy groups that had raised concerns about the effects of the mineral on children&#8217;s health.</p> <p>But many public health officials say that years of research show that low levels of fluoride are safe and help prevent dental cavities, particularly in children.</p> <p>Major health organizations recommend water fluoridation as a way to prevent dental cavities and find it safe. The <a href="https://www.ada.org/about/press-releases/community-water-fluoridation-at-optimal-levels-is-safe-and-effective">American Dental Association</a> has reaffirmed its staunch support of water fluoridation. So has the <a href="https://southfloridahospitalnews.com/fcaap-supports-community-water-fluoridation/">Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics</a>. The <a href="https://www.iadr.org/science-policy/position-statement-community-water-fluoridation">International Association for Dental Research</a> also supports water fluoridation and finds it safe, as does the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/oral-health/data-research/facts-stats/fast-facts-community-water-fluoridation.html">U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>.</p> <p>“The U.S. Public Health Service; the United Kingdom&#8217;s National Institute for Health Research, Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, at the University of York; and the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia have all conducted scientific reviews by expert panels and concluded that community water fluoridation is a safe and effective way to promote good oral health and prevent decay,” according to a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/about/statement-on-the-evidence-supporting-the-safety-and-effectiveness-of-community-water-fluoridation.html">May 2024 CDC Scientific Statement on Community Water Fluoridation</a>.</p> <p>To be sure, the prevalence of dental cavities has decreased in recent decades, thanks to the widespread use of fluoride toothpaste and fluoride mouthwash since the 1970s. As a result, the benefits of water fluoridation may be less pronounced than they were when the programs were implemented in 1945.</p> <p>But despite arguments to remove fluoride from community water supplies, studies also haven’t found that low levels of fluoride in water are harmful, or that the practice of water fluoridation should be stopped.</p> <p>To help inform news stories and conversations about this topic, we scoured dozens of research studies and articles and organized them as answers to 15 commonly asked questions. </p> <p>We&#8217;re including hyperlinks to the journal articles we cite. Some of the journals may be behind a paywall, so be sure to check out our <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/media/academic-research-free-journalists/">2023 tip sheet</a> on how to access academic research for free.</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-4-background-color has-background">This piece is a companion to a <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/fluoride-research-roundup/">research roundup</a>.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>1. What is fluoride?</strong></h2> <p>Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral found in soil and water, generally in low concentrations. It is a compound of fluorine, one of the elements on the <a href="https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/element/Fluorine">periodic table</a>.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>2. How does fluoride work on teeth?</strong></h2> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="339" height="354" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/cavities-v-caries.png" alt="" class="wp-image-80111" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/cavities-v-caries.png 339w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/cavities-v-caries-287x300.png 287w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 339px) 100vw, 339px" /></figure> <p>The outer layer of the tooth is called the enamel. It is made up of mineral crystals, including calcium and phosphate.</p> <p>Fluoride prevents tooth decay <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/192485">in three ways</a>: It prevents the loss of minerals from tooth enamel; it improves remineralization, a natural process in which minerals like calcium and phosphate are added back into the tooth enamel with the help of saliva; and it prevents bacterial activity, such as metabolism of bacteria and acid production, in dental plaque. (Dental plaque is a soft, sticky, colorless film of bacteria and other microorganisms that forms on the surfaces of teeth, gums and mouth tissue.)</p> <p>“The science is simple: Fluoride&nbsp;strengthens tooth enamel, the protective outer layer of teeth, by promoting remineralization,” writes Dr. Amal Noureldin, clinical professor of cariology at Texas A&amp;M University, in a <a href="https://theconversation.com/water-fluoridation-helps-prevent-tooth-decay-how-growing-opposition-threatens-a-70-year-old-health-practice-230504">December 2024 article</a> in The Conversation. “It also makes teeth more resistant to the acids produced by bacteria in the mouth. This helps prevent cavities, a&nbsp;problem that remains widespread even in modern societies.”</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>3. What is water fluoridation?</strong></h2> <p>Almost all water contains some fluoride naturally, but the amount is typically too low to prevent cavities.</p> <p>Community water fluoridation is the process of adjusting the amount of fluoride in drinking water to the recommended national level of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/about/index.html">0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water</a>, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s equivalent to about three drops of water in a 55-gallon barrel, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/about/index.html">CDC says</a>.</p> <p>In 1999, the CDC named fluoridation of drinking water as one of <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00056796.htm">10 great public health interventions of the 20th century</a>, because of the dramatic decline in dental cavities since the process was implemented in 1945.</p> <p>Increasing the proportion of people whose water systems have the recommended amount of fluoride is one of the health policy objectives of <a href="https://odphp.health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/health-policy/increase-proportion-people-whose-water-systems-have-recommended-amount-fluoride-oh-11">Healthy People 2030</a>. Healthy People is a federal initiative that provides 10-year public health goals.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>4. What’s the typical fluoride intake in the U.S.?</strong></h2> <p>Among children aged 6 months to 14 years, drinking water accounts for 40% to 70% of total fluoride intake, according to a <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4547570">2015 federal study</a> published in the journal Public Health Reports. For adults, drinking water provides 60% of total fluoride intake. Accidentally swallowing toothpaste accounts for about 20% of total fluoride intake in very young children 1 to 3 years old. Other major contributors to total daily fluoride intake are commercial beverages and solid foods.</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed alignright is-type-wp-embed is-provider-the-journalist-039-s-resource wp-block-embed-the-journalist-039-s-resource"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="bcajCYgCem"><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/fluoride-research-roundup/">Fluoride in water: A research roundup and reporting tip sheet</a></blockquote><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" title="&#8220;Fluoride in water: A research roundup and reporting tip sheet&#8221; &#8212; The Journalist&#039;s Resource" src="https://journalistsresource.org/home/fluoride-research-roundup/embed/#?secret=AaTvfttBco#?secret=bcajCYgCem" data-secret="bcajCYgCem" width="600" height="338" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> </div></figure> <p>Most kinds of toothpaste sold in the U.S. contain fluoride in the form of sodium fluoride or monofluorophosphate, at about 1,100 to 1,100 mg/L, or 1.3 mg in a quarter teaspoon, <a href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Fluoride-HealthProfessional/#:~:text=Most%20toothpaste%20sold%20in%20the,mg%20for%20adults%20%5B3%5D.">according to</a> the NIH&#8217;s Office of Dietary Supplements. </p> <p>Fluoridated water keeps a low level of fluoride (0.7 mg/L) in the mouth all day. Fluoride toothpaste provides a much higher concentration at important times of day such as bedtime, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/faq/index.html#:~:text=Fluoridated%20water%20keeps%20a%20low,of%20bacteria%20that%20cause%20cavities.">according to the CDC</a>. The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/oral-health/prevention/about-fluoride.html">agency recommends</a> small amounts of fluoride toothpaste for children younger than 6 and advises parents to talk to their doctor or dentist.</p> <p>Other <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/oral-health/prevention/about-fluoride.html#:~:text=Types%20of%20fluoride%20products">types of fluoride products</a> include mouthwash, varnish, gel and supplements. Gels used by dentists are typically applied one to four times a year and <a href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Fluoride-HealthProfessional/#:~:text=Most%20toothpaste%20sold%20in%20the,mg%20for%20adults%20%5B3%5D.">can lead to ingestions</a> of 1.3 to 31.2 mg of fluoride each time.</p> <p>The National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements has a <a href="https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Fluoride-HealthProfessional/#en77">fact sheet for recommended fluoride intake</a> by age. The American Dental Association reviews <a href="https://www.ada.org/resources/ada-library/oral-health-topics/fluoride-topical-and-systemic-supplements">topical and systemic fluoride</a> supplements on its website.</p> <p>It’s difficult to assess people’s dietary fluoride intake globally because fluoride concentrations in water vary across regions and countries, as noted in a <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010856.pub3">2024 Cochrane review</a>.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>5. What is the history of water fluoridation in the U.S.?</strong></h2> <p>Dr. Frederick S. McKay, a dentist in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4841a1.htm">the first</a> person to link fluoride in public water with fewer cavities in 1901. He had noticed an unusual permanent dark stain, or “mottled enamel,” on many of his patients’ teeth. He also noticed that these patients seemed less susceptible to tooth decay.</p> <p>In 1931, the Dental Hygiene Unit at the National Institutes of Health was established and the primary responsibility of its director, Dr. H. Trendley Dean, was to investigate the association between fluoride and “mottled enamel.” Dean replaced the term “mottled enamel” with “<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/oral-health/about/about-dental-fluorosis.html">fluorosis</a>,” a term that continues to be used today.</p> <p>In 1942, after extensive observational surveys, Dean created the Fluorosis Index to classify the condition, ranging from very mild to severe, depending on how much of the tooth was covered by the stains and the color of the stains.</p> <p>Dean also compared the prevalence of fluorosis with the prevalence of dental cavities among children in 26 states and noticed that children with fluorosis had fewer cavities. Indeed, children who lived in cities with more fluoride in community water supplies had fewer dental cavities.</p> <p>The next step was to determine what level of fluoride in the water supply was optimal so that enough fluoride could be added to community water supplies to help prevent cavities.</p> <p>In 1945, several cities in Michigan, New York, Illinois, and Ontario, Canada, began testing the effect of negligible levels of fluoride in community water supply. The amount ranged from 1 to 1.2 milligrams per liter. Grand Rapids, Michigan, was the first city in the world to implement water fluoridation.</p> <p>The <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/192485">study of this initial fluoridation went on for 15 years</a>, showing that dental cavities were reduced by 50% to 70% among children who lived in communities with fluoridated water.</p> <p>In 1962, federal health officials in the U.S. <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/192485">created the optimum range</a> of fluoride concentration in the water supply, from 0.7 to 1.2 mg/L, with the lower concentration recommended for warmer climates, where water consumption is higher, and higher concentration for colder climates.</p> <p>In 2015, the U.S. Public Health Service &#8212; a collection of agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services &#8212; <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4547570/?report=classic">updated the recommendation</a>, setting 0.7 mg/L as the optimal fluoride concentration in community water supplies.</p> <p>Here’s the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/timeline-for-community-water-fluoridation/index.html">CDC’s visual timeline</a> of water fluoridation in the U.S.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>6. Who makes decisions about water fluoridation?</strong></h2> <p>A community water system supplies water to the same population year-round and serves at least 25 people at their homes or at least 15 homes, such as mobile homes and subdivisions, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/php/statistics/2020-water-fluoridation-statistics.html">according to the CDC</a>.</p> <p>Community water fluoridation is not enforced at the federal level. The decision of whether and how much to fluoridate public drinking water is made by state and local officials.</p> <p>The federal government has set two different levels for fluoride in the water. One is the maximum allowable amount to prevent toxicity, and the other is the optimal level, to help prevent dental cavities. </p> <p>The <a href="https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/sites/static/files/2015-10/documents/2011_fluoride_questionsanswers.pdf">Environmental Protection Agency regulates</a> drinking water contaminants, including fluoride, which can occur naturally at toxic levels. In 1986, the agency set the maximum allowable amount of fluoride in drinking water at 4 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water.</p> <p>Community water systems that exceed the 4 mg/L level <a href="https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/sites/static/files/2015-10/documents/2011_fluoride_questionsanswers.pdf">must notify</a> people who are served by that system as soon as possible, but no later than 30 days after the <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/violations-water-safety-notification/">violation</a>.</p> <p>EPA also has a non-enforceable secondary standard for fluoride of 2.0 mg/L, which is recommended to protect children against tooth discoloration or pitting.</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed alignright is-type-wp-embed is-provider-the-journalist-039-s-resource wp-block-embed-the-journalist-039-s-resource"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="eEj7uGrWzC"><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/violations-water-safety-notification/">When water safety violations arise, quick public notification can help prevent millions of dollars in costs</a></blockquote><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" title="&#8220;When water safety violations arise, quick public notification can help prevent millions of dollars in costs&#8221; &#8212; The Journalist&#039;s Resource" src="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/violations-water-safety-notification/embed/#?secret=4ZmPd8Lzcw#?secret=eEj7uGrWzC" data-secret="eEj7uGrWzC" width="600" height="338" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> </div></figure> <p>Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends optimal water fluoridation levels to help prevent dental cavities. This level is 0.7 mg/L.</p> <p>The recommended level of 0.7 mg/L is not an enforceable standard.</p> <p>State and local governments decide whether to implement water fluoridation. <a href="https://www.networkforphl.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/State-Laws-and-Regulations-Addressing-Fluoridation-in-Water.pdf">Some states</a> have laws that require public water systems of a certain size to provide fluoridated water, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/about/index.html">according to the CDC</a>.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/about/what-cdc-is-doing.html">CDC provides</a> funding to support infrastructure in states for water fluoridation, monitoring and quality of fluoridation and to develop resources for training and public awareness. The agency also provides technical assistance to state fluoridation programs.</p> <p>A Nov. 13, 2024, <a href="https://www.kff.org/other/issue-brief/water-fluoridation-in-the-u-s-the-federal-role-in-policy-and-practice/">KFF piece delves deeper</a> into the federal role in water fluoridation. The Washington Post has created an <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/interactive/2024/fluoride-water-mandates/">interactive map</a> of states that mandate fluoride in drinking water. </p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>7. What about private wells?</strong></h2> <p>Private wells are not regulated by the federal government or most state governments. More than 23 million households in the U.S. rely on private wells as a source of drinking water, according to the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/privatewells">Environmental Protection Agency</a>.</p> <p>A <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/cir1332">2009 study</a> of well water by the U.S. Geological Survey finds that one in five wells had contaminants at concentrations above the benchmarks for drinking water.</p> <p>Here’s an <a href="https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/be9006c30a2148f595693066441fb8eb/page/Map/">interactive map</a> of private wells in the U.S.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>8. How effective is water fluoridation?</strong></h2> <p>Years of research have found that water fluoridation prevents dental cavities.</p> <p>In the decades following the implementation of water fluoridation, the reduction of cavities in children was significant. However, recent studies show that the effect of water fluoridation has lessened since the mid-1970s with the widespread use of fluoride toothpaste and fluoridated mouthwash.</p> <p>An <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010856.pub3/full">October 2024 review</a> of 157 studies, published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, finds that water fluoridation leads to only a slight improvement &#8212; 3 to 4 <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/percent-change-math-for-journalists/">percentation points</a> &#8212; in the proportion of children without cavities. Another large study in England, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38191778/">published in January 2024</a>, also finds &#8220;very small positive health effects&#8221; to water fluoridation. </p> <p>In comparison, older studies show a greater benefit.</p> <p>A <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010856.pub2/full">2015 Cochrane review</a> of 155 studies finds water fluoridation reduced the average number of decayed, missing, or filled children’s primary teeth by 35%. It reduced the average number of decayed, missing or filled permanent teeth by 26%. </p> <p>A <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6169031/">2018 study</a>, published in the Journal of Dental Research finds that children who lived in counties where 75% or more of the water supplies were fluoridated had 39% fewer cavities in their baby teeth than those who lived in less fluoridated communities. Older children had 12% fewer cavities in their permanent teeth.</p> <p>A <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00220345900690s141">1990 study</a> published in the Journal of Dental Research, which looked at trends between 1979 and 1987, finds that children’s dental cavities decreased by 36% over the same period. And by 1987, about half of the children didn’t have any cavities in their permanent teeth.</p> <p>The study <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00220345900690s141">also finds</a> that children who had always been exposed to fluoridated community water had 18% fewer cavities than those who had never lived in fluoridated communities.</p> <p>Water fluoridation has also been associated with a 20% to 40% reduction of enamel cavities in adults, according to a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1752-7325.1989.tb02086.x">1989 review</a> published in the Journal of Public Health Dentistry.</p> <p>A <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17452559/">2007 meta-analysis</a> of 20 studies finds water fluoridation was linked with a 27% reduction in dental cavities among adults.</p> <p>It’s important to note the studies don’t draw a cause-and-effect conclusion between the reduction in cavities and water fluoridation. However, they emphasize that water fluoridation has played a role in the decline.</p> <p>“At present, there are many unanswered questions regarding the reasons for the continued downward trends in dental caries in U.S. children, but there can be little doubt that for this decline to be maintained, fluoride-based prevention must be continued,” write the authors of the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00220345900690s141">1990 study</a>.</p> <p>In 2015, on the 70th anniversary of U.S. community water fluoridation, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy wrote in the journal <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4547574/">Public Health Reports</a>, “Community water fluoridation is one of the most practical, cost-effective, equitable, and safe measures communities can take to prevent tooth decay and improve oral health.”</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>9. How many people have access to fluoridated water?</strong></h2> <p>By 1969, 44% of the U.S. population was receiving fluoridated water or about 88,475,684 people.</p> <p>By 1985, this percentage increased to 55%, or 130,172,334 people. By 2000, this percentage was 57%, or 161,924,080 people, according to a <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4547570/?report=classic">2015 study</a> published in the journal Public Health Reports.</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed alignright is-type-wp-embed is-provider-the-journalist-039-s-resource wp-block-embed-the-journalist-039-s-resource"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="s2u4e9KaXn"><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/health/fluoride-water-united-states-research-review-misinformation/">Fluoride in water in the United States and public health misinformation: Research review</a></blockquote><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" title="&#8220;Fluoride in water in the United States and public health misinformation: Research review&#8221; &#8212; The Journalist&#039;s Resource" src="https://journalistsresource.org/health/fluoride-water-united-states-research-review-misinformation/embed/#?secret=GSaDr8RJLv#?secret=s2u4e9KaXn" data-secret="s2u4e9KaXn" width="600" height="338" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> </div></figure> <p>According to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/php/statistics/2022-water-fluoridation-statistics.html">latest available data</a> from the CDC, in 2022, more than 209 million people, or 72.3% of the U.S. population served by public water supplies, had access to water with fluoride levels that prevent tooth decay.</p> <p>The CDC’s <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/php/statistics/2022-water-fluoridation-statistics.html">Water Fluoridation Statistics</a> page also breaks down the numbers by state. You can find <a href="https://stacks.cdc.gov/gsearch?terms=fluoridation+statistics&amp;collection=">historical fluoridation statistics here</a>.</p> <p>Although the proportion of the U.S. population drinking fluoridated water increased rapidly between 1945 and the 1970s, the rate has slowed down since.</p> <p>The authors of a <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/192485">1999 article</a> in the CDC’s Morbidity &amp; Mortality Weekly Report attribute the trend to several factors. The public, some scientists and policymakers no longer view dental cavities as a public health problem or don’t believe that fluoridation is necessary or effective.</p> <p>Also, as evident today, nearly 25 years since the MMWR article was published, adopting water fluoridation can require a political process, which can make implementing public health measures difficult.</p> <p>Other factors include unsubstantiated claims about adverse health effects of fluoridation, and cost, especially in small communities with limited budgets, according to the 1999 study.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>10. How much fluoride is in my community’s water?</strong></h2> <p>The CDC’s&nbsp;<a href="https://nccd.cdc.gov/DOH_MWF/Default/Default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">My Water’s Fluoride</a>&nbsp;is a great source of information to find out whether a community water system in the U.S. is fluorinated. It also includes information about community fluoride levels. In cases where that information is not provided, you can check with your local government.</p> <p>The site also includes <a href="https://nccd.cdc.gov/DOH_MWF/Reports/Default.aspx">State Fluoridation Reports</a>, which include average fluoride levels by month.</p> <p>A <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41370-023-00570-w#Sec9">2023 study</a>, published in the Journal of Exposure Science &amp; Environmental Epidemiology, finds that between 2006 and 2011 about 4.5% of community water systems in the U.S. had an average fluoride concentration exceeding 1.5 mg/L, while 15.4% had levels higher than 0.7 mg/L. These trends were especially true for water systems that served semi-urban Hispanic communities and communities in the Southwest U.S., researchers find.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>11. Is water fluoridation cost-effective?</strong></h2> <p>Water fluoridation can save individuals and communities money by preventing tooth decay, older studies have shown.</p> <p>For communities of 1,000 or more people, the return on investment is $20 for every dollar spent on water fluoridation, according to a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27920310/">2016 study</a> published in the journal Health Affairs. The return on investment increases and the community size increases, the study finds.</p> <p>A <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16263039/">2005 study</a> of community water fluoridation programs in Colorado, including 172 public water systems that served 1,000 people or more, finds that one year of exposure to fluoridated water resulted in average savings of $60 per person.</p> <p>A <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4547570/#sec23">2015 federal study</a> finds that the annual per-person cost varied by the size of the water system ranging from $0.50 in communities of $20,000 to $3.70 for communities of 5,000, updated to 2010 dollars using the Consumer Price Index &#8212; only a fraction of the cost of one dental filling.</p> <p>Tooth decay is one of the most common chronic diseases among children in the U.S. About a quarter of children living below the federal poverty level have untreated tooth decay, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/about/statement-on-the-evidence-supporting-the-safety-and-effectiveness-of-community-water-fluoridation.html">according to the CDC</a>.</p> <p>Nearly half of children between ages two and 19 had untreated or treated dental cavities in one or more of their primary or permanent teeth, according to the CDC’s <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/dental.htm">National Center for Health Statistics</a>.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>12. How does fluoridation help address health disparities?</strong></h2> <p>Children living in families with low incomes were twice as likely to have decay in their primary teeth compared with children in families with high incomes, according to the CDC’s <a href="https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/research/oralhealthinamerica">Oral Health in America</a> report, published in 2021. In addition, Black and Mexican-American children are more likely to have tooth decay compared with their white counterparts, <a href="https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/research/data-statistics/dental-caries/children">according to the report</a>.</p> <p>Some studies suggest the potential for water fluoridation to reduce inequalities, while more recent studies have found the impact to be <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010856.pub3/full">inconclusive</a>.</p> <p>A <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10342695/">1999 study</a> on 5-year-old children in England, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, finds that water fluoridation not only reduced dental cavities but also lessened social inequalities in dental health.</p> <p>A February <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/6/2020">2020 study</a> of 2,075 adolescents in North Carolina, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, finds no effect of community water fluoridation on racial disparities. However, researchers find that in communities that had no water fluoridation, the parents’ education made a difference. Children whose parents had lower education levels had a higher risk of dental cavities.</p> <p>A <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jphd.12261">2017 study</a>, published in the Journal of Public Health Dentistry, finds that income-based disparities in dental cavities among U.S. children and adolescents remained largely unchanged between 1988 and 2014, reflecting the limited impact of public health initiatives targeting these inequalities.</p> <p>In addition to the lack of research on the impact of fluoridation on dental disparities, “there have been other note-worthy changes during the period that may have exacerbated disparities in dental caries, such as the increased prevalence of obesity, greater consumption of bottled water and increasing public mistrust in the safety of tap water,” the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jphd.12261">authors write</a>.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>13. What happens when fluoride is removed from the water supply?</strong></h2> <p>Only a few studies have explored the after-effects of fluoride removal, and they show an increase in the number of cavities among children once water fluoridation stops. Meanwhile, there is no definitive data from Oregon, which is the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/11/20/rfk-fluoride-drinking-water-oregon/">third-least-fluoridated state </a>in the U.S.</p> <p>Calgary, Canada, which took out fluoride from the city water in 2011, is putting it back in, following a <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9542152/#:~:text=Results,%2C%20n%20%3D%202600%20in%20Edmonton">rise in dental cavities</a> among children, <a href="https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/this-city-took-flouride-out-of-the-water-now-its-putting-it-back-in-6gsgk63hf?region=global">reported The Sunday Times</a> in early December.</p> <p>In Juneau, Alaska’s capital city, which removed fluoride in 2007, the prevalence of dental cavity procedures increased, according to a <a href="https://bmcoralhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12903-018-0684-2">2018 study</a> published in BMC Oral Health. For instance, children younger than 7 who lived in areas without fluoridated water needed about 34% more dental procedures than children in areas with fluoridated water. That’s the difference of 2.68 dental procedures versus 2.01 procedures.</p> <p>A <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1752-7325.1989.tb02086.x">1989 review</a> of research, published in the Journal of Public Health Dentistry, aims to find out whether water fluoridation is still effective or necessary given the continued decline of dental cavities in children.</p> <p>The review highlights the case of Antigo, Wisconsin, which began water fluoridation in 1949 and stopped in 1960, only to start again in 1965.</p> <p>The prevalence of cavities “increased remarkably (about 100 percent) between 1960 and 1966,” according to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1752-7325.1989.tb02086.x">the review.</a> “Similarly, in Wick, Scotland, which started water fluoridation in 1969 but stopped it in 1979, the caries prevalence in 5- to 6-year-old children increased by 27 percent between 1979 and 1984, despite a national decline in caries and increased availability of” dental products like toothpaste with fluoride.</p> <p>“The data reviewed here and elsewhere (5,872) document both the past and present effectiveness of water fluoridation in consistently lowering the level of caries prevalence,” the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/j.1752-7325.1989.tb02086.x">review concludes</a>.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010856.pub3/full">October 2024 study</a> finds that the benefits of fluoridated water may be smaller than it was before the widespread use of fluoride toothpaste. At the same time, there’s not enough evidence to decide what happens if communities stop fluoridating their water supply or how it could affect disparities. The review found no reliable studies on whether fluoridation had an impact on adult dental cavities.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>14. What happens if you consume too much fluoride?</strong></h2> <p>Excessive fluoride intake <a href="https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/chemical-safety-and-health/health-impacts/chemicals/inadequate-or-excess-fluoride">typically occurs</a> through drinking groundwater that has high levels of fluoride, and when high-fluoride water is used in cooking or irrigation of crops.</p> <p>Excessive fluoride intake has been associated with <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/oral-health/about/about-dental-fluorosis.html">dental fluorosis</a>, which leaves white streaks or spots on teeth in its mild form. In severe form, dental fluorosis can cause brown or gray discoloration of teeth.</p> <p>It can also lead to a bone disease called <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/veterinary-science-and-veterinary-medicine/skeletal-fluorosis">skeletal fluorosis</a>. Consuming high levels of fluoride can lead to its accumulation in bones over time, changing the structure and density of the bones.</p> <p>Excessive levels of fluoride have also been associated with lower IQ in children in some studies, although this association <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033350623000938?via%3Dihub">warrants additional research</a>.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010856.pub2/full">odds of developing dental fluorosis</a> with a water fluoride concentration of 0.7 mg/L is about 12%. Those odds increase by 2.9% as fluoride levels increase by 1 mg/L. The odds of developing dental fluorosis is 72% when the water fluoride concentration is 4 mg/L.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>15. Is fluoride in water safe?</strong></h2> <p>Since the 1950s, opponents of water fluoridation have shared unsubstantiated claims linking it with an increased risk for cancer, Down syndrome, heart disease, bone loss, low IQ, Alzheimer’s disease, and allergic reactions, among others.</p> <p>There’s yet to be <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/192485">any credible evidence</a> to support an association between fluoridation and these conditions.</p> <p>The main documented risk of community water fluoridation is <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/oral-health/about/about-dental-fluorosis.html">dental fluorosis</a>, a cosmetic change in dental enamel, mostly in the form of visible white markings on teeth.</p> <p>As Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist and the author of the popular Substack <a href="https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/the-fluoride-debate">Your Local Epidemiologist</a>, puts it: “The dose makes the poison.”</p> <p>“Very high levels of fluoride can be dangerous,” <a href="https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/the-fluoride-debate">she writes</a>. “Fluoride toxicity first impacts the skeletal bones, beginning at an exposure of&nbsp;5 mg/kg&nbsp;of body weight per day. If we do the math, the average child (40 kg) must drink 286&nbsp;<em>liters</em>&nbsp;of fluoridated water daily to reach toxicity. At that point, they would die from water overconsumption.”</p> <p>Here’s what research says about the link between fluoride and various conditions:</p> <p><strong>Thyroid function</strong>: <a href="https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/the-fluoride-debate">Jetelina points</a> to a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001393512302563X">meta-analysis of 27 studies</a>, published in the journal Environmental Research, that finds thyroid hormone levels began to increase when water fluoride levels were about 3.5 times higher than the 0.7 mg/L that’s added to water systems.</p> <p><strong>Children’s IQ</strong>: Exposure to high levels of fluoride over a long period of time <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22820538/">has been linked</a> to lower IQ scores in children, according to research mostly conducted outside the U.S.</p> <p>A systematic review and meta-analysis of 74 studies, published in <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2828425">January 2025 in JAMA</a>, finds a drop in children&#8217;s IQ points as exposure to fluoride increases. The authors write that &#8220;There were limited data and uncertainty in the dose-response association between fluoride exposure and children’s IQ when fluoride exposure was estimated by drinking water alone at concentrations less than 1.5 mg/L.&#8221; They call for additional research. All studies included in the systematic review were conducted outside the U.S.</p> <p>An August 2024 <a href="https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/whatwestudy/assessments/noncancer/completed/fluoride">systematic review</a> of published scientific literature from non-U.S. countries, including Canada, China, India, Iran, Pakistan and Mexico, finds that higher levels of fluoride exposure, including water containing more than 1.5 milligram of fluoride per liter of water, are associated with lower IQ in children. The 1.5 mg/L is more than twice the optimal 0.7 mg/L standard in the U.S.</p> <p>A report by the U.S. HHS’ <a href="https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/whatwestudy/assessments/noncancer/completed/fluoride">National Toxicology Program</a> notes there wasn’t enough data to show if the 0.7 mg/L level of fluoride has a negative effect on children’s IQ.</p> <p>“An association indicates a connection between fluoride and lower IQ; it does not prove a cause and effect,” according to <a href="https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/whatwestudy/assessments/noncancer/completed/fluoride">the report</a>. “Many substances are healthy and beneficial when taken in small doses but may cause harm at high doses.&nbsp;More research is needed to better understand if there are health risks associated with low fluoride exposures.”</p> <p>A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033350623000938?via%3Dihub">2023 meta-analysis</a> published in the journal Public Health finds that community water fluoridation at the current recommended levels does not negatively impact children’s IQ. However, further research is needed to better understand fluoride’s effects in areas with high exposure levels and to address methodological weaknesses in existing studies, according to the authors.</p> <p>A <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00220345221119431">2022 long-term study</a> of 15,793 Australian schoolchildren, published in the Journal of Dental Research, finds that fluoridated water doesn’t affect the emotional and behavioral development of the children. The study was conducted between 2012 and 2014 at baseline. Its follow-up was from 2019 to 2020.</p> <p>A 2019 <a href="https://www.proquest.com/docview/2307712462?pq-origsite=gscholar&amp;fromopenview=true&amp;sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals">study of 161 children</a> in Mexico between May and December 2017 also finds no evidence that fluoridated water affects children’s IQ.</p> <p>But a California judge <a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6201332/445/food-water-watch-inc-v-environmental-protection-agency/">ruled in September</a> that the current optimal level of fluoride in drinking water &#8212; 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water &#8212; “poses an unreasonable risk of reduced IQ in children.”</p> <p>“Unless EPA appeals the ruling, it must initiate a rule-making to further evaluate the risk,” according to an <a href="https://www.eenews.net/articles/pipe-dream-rfk-jr-s-fluoride-push-could-take-years/">E&amp;E News</a> by POLITICO article written by Miranda Willson on Nov. 18. The article adds that a nationwide push to get rid of fluoride through EPA policies would probably take more than four years.</p> <p>In response to the California district court ruling, the American Dental Association <a href="https://www.ada.org/about/press-releases/community-water-fluoridation-at-optimal-levels-is-safe-and-effective">issued a statement</a>, noting that the ruling “provides no scientific basis for the ADA to change its endorsement of community water fluoridation as safe and beneficial to oral health.”</p> <p>The association also <a href="https://www.ada.org/about/press-releases/community-water-fluoridation-at-optimal-levels-is-safe-and-effective">urged</a> its members and the public “to be cautious of ‘pseudo-scientific information.’ This information is not always based on research conducted according to impartial and evidence-based scientific methodology; and the conclusions drawn from research are not always scientifically justifiable or without bias.”</p> <p><strong>Pregnant women</strong>: A study published in <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2818858?guestAccessKey=7cdc6a8e-b267-4016-9996-6190fbf490d5">May 2024</a> in JAMA Network Open, has linked the consumption of fluoride by pregnant moms to neurological conditions in their children by age 3 or 4. Another study in Canada, <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2748634">published in 2019</a>, also shows an association; however, that study has <a href="https://pubpeer.com/publications/8F7DB4940408BD54FAB284B29943D6">received criticism</a> for its methodology.</p> <p>Dr. Christine Till, the author of the 2019 study, is among the researchers who maintain that there&#8217;s enough evidence to suggest that pregnant women should try to limit their fluoride intake, according to a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/well/fluoride-water-health-pregnancy-children.html">recent article</a> in The New York Times.</p> <p>Meanwhile, a <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10229380/#abs0010">scoping review of 95 studies</a> published in February 2023 in the journal Advances in Nutrition, which looks at the relationship between iodine and fluoride in pregnancy and maternal thyroid function and a child’s neurodevelopment, draws no specific conclusion and recommends more research to develop future recommendations for iodine intake and fluoride exposure for pregnant women.</p> <p><strong>Chronic kidney disease</strong>: A <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ndt/article/22/10/2763/1833116">2007 review</a>, published in the journal Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, finds no association between water fluoridation and chronic kidney disease.</p> <p>“The poor evidence quality and deficient methodological rigor of the identified studies means that no definitive conclusions regarding the association between consumption of optimally fluoridated community water and CKD can be made,” the authors write.</p> <p><strong>Cancer</strong>: The <a href="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/chemicals/water-fluoridation-and-cancer-risk.html">American Cancer Society provides</a> a comprehensive review of research on the link between fluoride and cancer, which together show “that there is no strong evidence of a link between water fluoridation and cancer,” according to the organization. “However, several of the reviews noted that further studies are needed to help clarify the possible link.”</p> <p>A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S8756328224003090?via%3Dihub#bb0255">systematic review of 14 studies</a>, published in the journal Bone in November 2024, finds no clear link between fluoride and primary bone cancers. The authors note that most of the studies, however, were low quality and there’s a need for more robust studies.</p> <p>A <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC27492/">2000 systematic review</a> of 214 studies, published in the BMJ, also found no clear evidence of potential negative effects of water fluoridation, aside from dental fluorosis.</p> <p>“As always, the dose makes the poison, and the benefits of adding the small, recommended amount of fluoride to public water supplies have been shown to far outweigh any risks at the community level,” writes <a href="https://publichealth.uic.edu/profiles/wallace-katrine/">Dr. Katrine Wallace</a>, an epidemiologist and adjunct assistant professor at the University of Illinois Chicago, in a <a href="https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/second-opinions/113233">MedPage Today opinion piece</a>. “The challenge ahead will be quieting the disinformation and encouraging continued use of a proven public health measure.”</p> <p><em>Correction: An earlier version of this piece included incorrect numbers summarizing the 2024 Cochrane review. We regret the error and have corrected our mistake, thanks to an email from an astute reader.</em></p> <p></p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/here-are-the-answers-to-15-common-questions-about-fluoride-in-drinking-water/">Here are the answers to 15 common questions about fluoride in drinking water</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Fluoride in water: A research roundup and reporting tip sheet</title> <link>https://journalistsresource.org/home/fluoride-research-roundup/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Naseem S. Miller]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2024 21:13:45 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Economics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Health]]></category> <category><![CDATA[public health]]></category> <category><![CDATA[water]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://journalistsresource.org/?p=80099</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>To help journalists with their reporting, we read through dozens of published research papers and unpacked several recent studies about fluoride in water.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/fluoride-research-roundup/">Fluoride in water: A research roundup and reporting tip sheet</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="sharing"><div class="social-icons"><div class="simplesocialbuttons simplesocial-round-icon simplesocialbuttons_inline simplesocialbuttons-align-right simplesocialbuttons-inline-no-animation"> <button class="simplesocial-fb-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Facebook Share" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://journalistsresource.org/home/fluoride-research-roundup/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Facebook </span> </button> <button class="simplesocial-twt-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Twitter Share" data-href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Fluoride+in+water%3A+A+research+roundup+and+reporting+tip+sheet&url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/fluoride-research-roundup/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Twitter</span> </button> <button rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="simplesocial-linkedin-share" aria-label="LinkedIn Share" data-href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/fluoride-research-roundup/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">LinkedIn</span></button> <button class="simplesocial-reddit-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Reddit Share" data-href="https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/fluoride-research-roundup/&title=Fluoride+in+water%3A+A+research+roundup+and+reporting+tip+sheet" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;" ><span class="simplesocialtxt">Reddit</span> </button> <button onclick="javascript:window.location.href = this.dataset.href;return false;" class="simplesocial-email-share" aria-label="Share through Email" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-href="mailto:?subject=Fluoride in water%3A A research roundup and reporting tip sheet&body=https://journalistsresource.org/home/fluoride-research-roundup/"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Email</span></button> </div> </div></div> <p>Several U.S. <a href="https://www.wkow.com/news/top-stories/monroe-common-council-considers-removing-fluoride-from-water-supply/article_7334ef68-90c4-11ef-ae6f-3369b75feb04.html">communities</a> are debating whether to remove fluoride from their water supplies in the wake of comments by President-elect Trump’s Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who <a href="https://x.com/robertkennedyjr/status/1852812012478398923?s=46">called the mineral</a> an “industrial waste,&#8221; looking to remove it from water systems across the nation once Trump takes office.</p> <p>Local journalists who may find themselves covering this topic will likely hear arguments from both sides. A good question to ask to inform your reporting is, “What does the research say?”</p> <p>To be sure, there are still unanswered questions about water fluoridation in modern times and many researchers have called for better studies. At the same time, there’s little evidence that fluoride is harmful at low levels.</p> <p>We have unpacked five recent studies, including systematic reviews, followed by a list of additional research.</p> <p>Before selecting these studies, we read through dozens of published research papers, which paint a complex and evolving picture of the water fluoridation debate. Here are some of the main takeaways from recent studies:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>The prevalence of dental cavities has decreased in recent decades, thanks to the widespread use of fluoride toothpaste and mouthwash, so the benefit of water fluoridation may be less pronounced today than it was in years after the programs were implemented in 1945.</li> <li>Evidence for the benefits of water fluoridation is largely based on older studies, many of which were conducted before the widespread use of fluoride toothpaste. But this doesn’t mean that fluoride is harmful or should be removed from water supplies, researchers note. The per-person cost of fluoridating a water system is a fraction of the cost of one dental filling.</li> <li>Water fluoridation leads to reductions in dental cavities, especially in children, both in baby and permanent teeth, research finds, especially in earlier studies. But evidence for adults is limited.</li> <li>The main negative effect of fluoride in water is <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/oral-health/about/about-dental-fluorosis.html">dental fluorosis</a>, where white streaks appear on teeth.</li> <li>Some studies show an association between fluoride and harmful health effects, but most of those studies are conducted in areas of the world with exceptionally high fluoride levels, which is not relevant to the U.S., where the fluoride levels in community water supplies are generally low.</li> <li>Long-term exposure to very high levels of fluoride can lead to adverse health effects, including noticeable discoloration and pitting of teeth, and skeletal fluorosis, a condition that affects bones and joints. Some studies have also shown an association between high fluoride levels with lower IQ in children.</li> <li>Water fluoridation may reduce dental health disparities, especially for children in lower-income households, although more recent studies have been inconclusive.</li> <li>The studies consistently identify the consumption of sugary foods and drinks as a leading cause of dental cavities. They highlight how frequent and excessive sugar intake creates an environment in the mouth that favors the growth of bacteria responsible for tooth decay.</li> <li>There is a need for more, high-quality research on the cost-effectiveness of water fluoridation and the limitations of previous research to produce more robust evidence for policymakers.</li> </ul> <p>This is a companion piece to <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/here-are-the-answers-to-15-common-questions-about-fluoride-in-drinking-water/">15 common questions about fluoride in drinking water</a>. </p> <p>Some of the journals may be behind a paywall, so be sure to check out our <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/media/academic-research-free-journalists/">2023 tip sheet</a> on how to access academic research for free.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Research Roundup</strong></h2> <p><a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010856.pub3/full"><strong>Water Fluoridation For the Prevention of Dental Caries</strong></a><br />Zipporah Iheozor-Ejiofor, et al. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, October 2024.</p> <p><strong>The study</strong>: This paper reviews 157 studies from 1946 to 2023, to evaluate the effectiveness of water fluoridation in preventing dental cavities in people of all ages. To be included, the studies’ baseline of fluoridation levels had to be comparable and the studies had to report at least two time points to assess the impact of fluoridation.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image alignright size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="339" height="354" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/cavities-v-caries-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-80143" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/cavities-v-caries-1.png 339w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/cavities-v-caries-1-287x300.png 287w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 339px) 100vw, 339px" /></figure> <p><strong>The findings</strong>:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>The few studies conducted after 1975 show that water fluoridation was associated with a 4 <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/percent-change-math-for-journalists/">percentage point</a> improvement in the proportion of children without cavities in primary teeth and a 3 percentage point improvement in permanent teeth compared to non-fluoridated areas. (Note that the data is not presented in terms of reduction in cavities.)</li> <li>At 0.7 mg/L, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/about/index.html">optimal fluoride level</a> in the water, about 12% of people in the included studies showed dental fluorosis.</li> <li>There is not enough information to determine if water fluoridation reduces socioeconomic disparities in tooth decay.</li> <li>There’s not enough information to understand how stopping water fluoridation affects tooth decay levels.</li> <li>No studies on the effectiveness of fluoridation for preventing adult cavities made the researchers’ inclusion criteria.</li> </ul> <p><strong>The takeaway</strong>: More studies evaluating the effectiveness of water fluoridation for the prevention of cavities are needed, the authors note. </p> <p>&#8220;The implementation or cessation of community water fluoridation requires careful consideration of the current evidence alongside the broader context of a population&#8217;s oral health, oral health behaviors, diet and consumption of tap water, movement or migration, and the availability and uptake of other caries prevention strategies,&#8221; they write. &#8220;In addition, factors such as acceptability, cost-effectiveness and the feasibility of the implementation and monitoring of a community water fluoridation program should be taken into account.&#8221;</p> <p><a href="https://awwa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/aws2.70007"><strong>2015 United States Public Health Service Optimal Fluoride Level Adherence and Operation Among Adjusting Water Systems in 40 States: 2016–2021</strong></a><br />Theresa j. Boehmer, et al. AWWA Water Science, October 2024.</p> <p><strong>The study</strong>: This study evaluates how well U.S. water systems adhere to the 2015 U.S. Public Health Service <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4547570">recommendation</a> for optimal fluoride levels in drinking water of 0.7 mg/L. Using data from the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/oral-health-data-systems/about/index.html">Water Fluoridation Reporting System</a>, the study examines adherence, data quality and the precision of fluoride level maintenance across 40 states, from 2016 to 2021. The U.S. Public Health Service is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.</p> <p><strong>The findings</strong>:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Most water systems operated near the USPHS target of 0.7 mg/L, with a mean monthly fluoride level of 0.71 mg/L.</li> <li>About 76% of fluoride readings fell within ±0.1 mg/L of the target.</li> <li>Larger water systems serving over 200,000 people showed less fluctuation, with average fluoride levels closer to the target and with fewer deviations. Smaller systems serving 25 to 3,300 people had greater variability, with 29.8% of readings exceeding the upper limit of 0.8 mg/L.</li> <li>About 16% of reported readings were below the recommended 0.6 mg/L, potentially compromising dental health benefits.</li> </ul> <p><strong>The takeaway</strong>: “These findings demonstrate that adjusting water systems are operating consistently and at a greater accuracy,” the authors write. “Water fluoridation recommendations are reviewed as additional research becomes available, particularly on minimum therapeutic dose, balance of benefits and potential harms, user acceptance and satisfaction, and cost-effectiveness.”</p> <p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38191778/"><strong>How Effective and Cost-Effective is Water Fluoridation for Adults and Adolescents? The LOTUS 10-Year Retrospective Cohort Study</strong></a><br />Deborah Moore, et al. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, August 2024.</p> <p><strong>The study</strong>: The LOTUS study investigates the effectiveness and financial costs of community water fluoridation in preventing dental treatments and improving oral health among adults and adolescents 12 years and older in England. The research spans 2010 to 2020 and examines outcomes like fillings and extractions; decayed, missing or filled teeth; and treatment costs.</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed alignright is-type-wp-embed is-provider-the-journalist-039-s-resource wp-block-embed-the-journalist-039-s-resource"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="sgZW7syKAC"><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/here-are-the-answers-to-15-common-questions-about-fluoride-in-drinking-water/">Here are the answers to 15 common questions about fluoride in drinking water</a></blockquote><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" title="&#8220;Here are the answers to 15 common questions about fluoride in drinking water&#8221; &#8212; The Journalist&#039;s Resource" src="https://journalistsresource.org/home/here-are-the-answers-to-15-common-questions-about-fluoride-in-drinking-water/embed/#?secret=F4Sac3yPFI#?secret=sgZW7syKAC" data-secret="sgZW7syKAC" width="600" height="338" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> </div></figure> <p><strong>The findings</strong>:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Invasive dental treatments were 3% lower in the optimally fluoridated group (0.7 mg/L) compared with the non-optimally fluoridated group.</li> <li>Decayed, missing or filled teeth were 2% lower in the fluoridated group.</li> <li>The National Health Service dental treatment costs were 5.5% lower for fluoridated individuals. (NHS is the publicly funded health care system of the U.K.)</li> <li>Reductions in dental treatments varied minimally across socioeconomic groups, with no meaningful impact on reducing health inequalities.</li> </ul> <p><strong>The takeaway</strong>: “Receipt of optimal water fluoridation 2010–2020 resulted in very small positive health effects which may not be meaningful for individuals,” the authors write. “Our results support the hypothesis that water fluoridation appears to be producing less dramatic impacts on oral health in contemporary UK populations than in historical studies.”</p> <p>They add: “The discovery of water fluoridation made an unparalleled contribution to oral health in the 20th century. In the 21st century, greater impact may be achieved by advocating for upstream, policy-level action to address the commercial determinants of health and create supportive food environments.”</p> <p><strong>Related commentary: </strong><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41432-024-01032-4"><strong>Investigating the Effectiveness of Water Fluoridation</strong></a><br />Darshini Ramasubbu, Jonathan Lewney and Brett Duane. Dental Public Health, July 2024.</p> <p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7222a1.htm"><strong>Community Water Fluoridation Levels To Promote Effectiveness and Safety in Oral Health &#8212; United States, 2016 – 2021</strong></a><br />Theresa J. Boehmer, Srdjan Lesaja, Lorena Espinoza and Chandresh N. Ladva. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, June 2023.</p> <p><strong>The study</strong>: This study examines trends in community water fluoridation levels across the U.S. from 2016 to 2021. It evaluates how fluoridation levels align with federal recommendations of 0.7 mg/L to prevent cavities while ensuring safety.</p> <p><strong>The findings</strong>:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>More than 70% of the U.S. population served by public water systems had access to optimally fluoridated water during this period. A total of 4,080 community water systems safely fluoridated water 99.99% of the time with levels below the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/drinking-water-regulations-and-contaminants">secondary safety standard</a> of 2.0 mg/L, a level set by the Environmental Protection Agency to protect public health. Meanwhile, suboptimal water systems in which fluoride concentrations are below 0.6 mg/L are ineffective in supporting the oral health of their communities.</li> <li>Fluoridation levels varied by state and region, with some states achieving significantly higher rates than others.</li> <li>Many communities maintained fluoride concentrations consistent with the federal recommendation of 0.7 mg/L for balancing effectiveness and safety in preventing tooth decay.</li> </ul> <p><strong>The takeaway</strong>: Community water fluoridation remains a widely adopted and effective public health strategy for preventing tooth decay.</p> <p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36469652/"><strong>Evaluation of Water Fluoridation Scheme in Cumbria: the CATFISH Prospective Longitudinal Cohort Study</strong></a><br />Michaela Goodwin, et al. Public Health Research, Nov. 2022.</p> <p><strong>The study</strong>: This study evaluates the impact of reintroducing water fluoridation in Cumbria, England, on children’s dental health, and its cost-effectiveness. Researchers followed two cohorts: Children born between 2014 and 2015, who were exposed to fluoridated water from birth until age 5. And children who were 5 years old in 2013 and 2014 and were followed until they were 11 years old.</p> <p>The children were either in a control group or an intervention group. The control group included children who lived in East Cumbria and did not receive fluoridated water. The intervention group included children who lived in West Cumbria and received fluoridated water through their water treatment plants.</p> <p><strong>The findings</strong>:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Among the birth cohort, 17.4% of children in fluoridated areas had tooth decay compared with 21.4% in non-fluoridated areas, indicating a modest benefit.</li> <li>For the older cohort, decay rates were slightly lower in fluoridated areas &#8212; 19.1% vs. 21.9%.</li> <li>Fluoridation is likely cost-effective because it decreases the need for expensive dental treatments.</li> <li>There were no significant differences in the effect of fluoridation observed across socioeconomic groups.</li> </ul> <p><strong>The takeaway</strong>: “We suggest that, where prevalence is low, consideration should be given to targeted approaches that may be as or more effective, as this may attract less criticism from those who believe that [water fluoridation] is an inappropriate intervention,” the authors write. “Such targeted approaches may include modification of known risk factors, such as sugar consumption, rather than relying on the biopharmaceutical effect of fluoride alone.”</p> <p>They add: “The ‘silver bullet’ approach that was effective in the 1950s is failing to address dental caries in the most deprived populations and, hence, a hybrid approach with behavioral elements should be considered.”</p> <div class="infogram-embed" data-id="b9bfabc9-7095-470b-a679-aa3d1c983adc" data-type="interactive" data-title="Fluoride reporting tips"></div><script>!function(e,n,i,s){var d="InfogramEmbeds";var o=e.getElementsByTagName(n)[0];if(window[d]&&window[d].initialized)window[d].process&&window[d].process();else if(!e.getElementById(i)){var r=e.createElement(n);r.async=1,r.id=i,r.src=s,o.parentNode.insertBefore(r,o)}}(document,"script","infogram-async","https://e.infogram.com/js/dist/embed-loader-min.js");</script> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Additional reading</h2> <p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12011-024-04422-y"><strong>A Systematic Review of Fluoride Contamination in Water Resources of Iran from 2016 to 2023: Spatial Distribution and Probabilistic Risk Assessment</strong></a><br />Danial Nayeri, Hadis Elyasi, Ali Jafari and Mohammad Rezvani Ghalhari. Biological Trace Element Research, October 2024.</p> <p><a href="https://bmcoralhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12903-024-04472-7"><strong>Association Between Fluoride Intake From Drinking Water and Severity of Dental Fluorosis in Northern and Western Mexico: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis</strong></a><br />José Gamarra, et al. BMC Oral Health, June 2024.</p> <p><a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10564662/"><strong>Oral Health of Women and Children: Progress, Challenges, and Priorities</strong></a><br />Jayanth Kumar, James J. Crall and Katrina Holt. Maternal and Child Health Journal, July 2023.</p> <p><strong><a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6195894/">The Fluoride Debate: The Pros and Cons of Fluoridation</a></strong><br />Antoine Aoun, Farah Darwiche, Sibelle Al Hayek and Jacqueline Doumit. Preventive Nutrition and Food Science, September 2018. </p> <p><strong><a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4504307">Debater Water Fluoridation Before Dr. Strangelove</a></strong><br />Catherine Carstairs. American Journal of Public Health, August 2015.</p> <p><a href="https://www.thecommunityguide.org/findings/dental-caries-cavities-community-water-fluoridation.html"><strong>Dental Caries (Cavities): Community Water Fluoridation. Systematic Review</strong></a><br />The Community Preventive Services Task Force, April 2013.</p> <p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17452559/"><strong>Effectiveness of Fluoride in Preventing Caries in Adults</strong></a><br />S. O. Griffin, E. Regnier, P. M. Griffin and V. Huntley. Journal of Dental Research, May 2007.</p> <p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1752-7325.1997.tb02964.x"><strong>Dental Caries and Dental Fluorosis at Varying Water Fluoride Concentrations</strong></a><br />Keith E. Heller, Stephen A. Eklund, Brian A. Burt. Journal of Public Health Dentistry, April 2007.</p> <p><a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC27492/"><strong>Systematic Review of Water Fluoridation</strong></a><br />Marian S. McDonagh, et al. The BMJ, October 2000.</p> <p><a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/192485"><strong>Achievements in Public Health, 1900-1999: Fluoridation of Drinking Water to Prevent Dental Caries</strong></a><br />MMWR, October 1999.</p> <p><em>Correction: An earlier version of this piece included incorrect numbers summarizing the 2024 Cochrane review. We regret the error and have corrected our mistake, thanks to an email from an astute reader.</em></p> <p></p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/fluoride-research-roundup/">Fluoride in water: A research roundup and reporting tip sheet</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Story ideas from the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book: December 2024</title> <link>https://journalistsresource.org/economics/beige-book-story-ideas-december-2024/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Clark Merrefield]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 11 Dec 2024 16:47:57 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Economics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Media]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Beige Book]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Federal Reserve]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://journalistsresource.org/?p=80085</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Our periodic rundown of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book is full of story ideas for reporters across beats. We reveal story pitches from the most recent release, including holiday decorator woes in the Midwest and grocery store staffing travails in Montana. </p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/beige-book-story-ideas-december-2024/">Story ideas from the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book: December 2024</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="sharing"><div class="social-icons"><div class="simplesocialbuttons simplesocial-round-icon simplesocialbuttons_inline simplesocialbuttons-align-right simplesocialbuttons-inline-no-animation"> <button class="simplesocial-fb-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Facebook Share" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://journalistsresource.org/economics/beige-book-story-ideas-december-2024/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Facebook </span> </button> <button class="simplesocial-twt-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Twitter Share" data-href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Story+ideas+from+the+Federal+Reserve%E2%80%99s+Beige+Book%3A+December+2024&url=https://journalistsresource.org/economics/beige-book-story-ideas-december-2024/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Twitter</span> </button> <button rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="simplesocial-linkedin-share" aria-label="LinkedIn Share" data-href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://journalistsresource.org/economics/beige-book-story-ideas-december-2024/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">LinkedIn</span></button> <button class="simplesocial-reddit-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Reddit Share" data-href="https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://journalistsresource.org/economics/beige-book-story-ideas-december-2024/&title=Story+ideas+from+the+Federal+Reserve%E2%80%99s+Beige+Book%3A+December+2024" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;" ><span class="simplesocialtxt">Reddit</span> </button> <button onclick="javascript:window.location.href = this.dataset.href;return false;" class="simplesocial-email-share" aria-label="Share through Email" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-href="mailto:?subject=Story ideas from the Federal Reserve%E2%80%99s Beige Book%3A December 2024&body=https://journalistsresource.org/economics/beige-book-story-ideas-december-2024/"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Email</span></button> </div> </div></div> <p>The U.S. central banking system, the Federal Reserve, is a <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/data.htm">data-heavy organization</a>. Economists at the bank regularly crunch numbers to inform national decisions, such as setting&nbsp;<a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/interest-rates-securities-recession/">target interest rates</a>. Meanwhile, economists at the Federal Reserve’s district banks &#8212;&nbsp;<a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/federal-reserve-banks-ultimate-guide/">there are 12</a>&nbsp;across the country &#8212; analyze local and regional data to provide research insights on specialized topics, such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.minneapolisfed.org/institute/publications">economic inequality</a>.</p> <p>The Federal Reserve’s <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/beige-book-default.htm">Beige Book</a> offers a high-level, anecdotal glimpse of current economic sentiment in each of the central bank’s 12 regions. For journalists, it can serve as an extensive tip sheet with insights on local, regional and national story angles.</p> <p>The Beige Book is valuable for journalists reporting on economic issues, because national and regional economic conditions can change rapidly. The edition published in December offers story ideas for reporters covering business as well as those covering agriculture, transportation, housing and more.</p> <div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile"><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1018" height="322" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/beigebookcover.png" alt="beige book" class="wp-image-68637 size-full" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/beigebookcover.png 1018w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/beigebookcover-300x95.png 300w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/beigebookcover-768x243.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1018px) 100vw, 1018px" /></figure><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p class="has-large-font-size">The Beige Book was first publicly published <a href="https://www.bankrate.com/banking/federal-reserve/what-is-fed-beige-book/">in the 1980s</a> with a beige cover. Find the archives <a href="https://www.minneapolisfed.org/region-and-community/regional-economic-indicators/beige-book-archive">here</a>.</p> </div></div> <p>The book is compiled from reports from Federal Reserve district directors along with interviews and surveys of business owners, community groups and economists.</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed alignright is-type-wp-embed is-provider-the-journalist-039-s-resource wp-block-embed-the-journalist-039-s-resource"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="rCXh5u910v"><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/federal-reserve-banks-ultimate-guide/">Regional Federal Reserve banks: The ultimate guide</a></blockquote><iframe loading="lazy" class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" title="&#8220;Regional Federal Reserve banks: The ultimate guide&#8221; &#8212; The Journalist&#039;s Resource" src="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/federal-reserve-banks-ultimate-guide/embed/#?secret=PAFBaJSIEZ#?secret=rCXh5u910v" data-secret="rCXh5u910v" width="600" height="338" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe> </div></figure> <p>The authors of the book refer to individuals surveyed as “contacts,” and they are quoted anonymously. There’s no particular number of contacts needed to produce the Beige Book, but each release is based on insights from <a href="https://www.stlouisfed.org/open-vault/2022/jun/federal-reserve-beige-book-gives-data-color">hundreds of contacts</a> culled from surveys and wide-ranging conversations among “a diverse set of sources that can provide accurate and objective information about a broad range of economic activities,” according to the book.</p> <p>Economists and analysts at district banks seek to cultivate contacts who can give a broad economic view &#8212; think the head of a trade group who regularly talks with many company owners &#8212; along with contacts representing a variety of industries and company sizes.</p> <p><a href="https://files.stlouisfed.org/files/htdocs/publications/economic-synopses/2022/06/03/does-the-beige-book-reflect-u-s-employment-and-inflation-trends.pdf">Research</a> from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis suggests the anecdotes in the Beige Book accurately reflect what’s happening with employment and inflation the U.S. economy. After performing a simple textual analysis of every Beige Book from 2000 to April 2022, those authors find, for example, that mentions of rising prices tend to closely track with official inflation data.</p> <p>“Of course, the Beige Book &#8212; with its emphasis on qualitative and anecdotal information &#8212; is written with the belief that those anecdotes provide a deeper understanding of the economy, which simple word counts cannot capture,” write St. Louis Fed senior economist <a href="https://research.stlouisfed.org/econ/gascon/sel/">Charles Gascon</a> and research associate Devin Warner in their June 2022 analysis.</p> <p>The Beige Book <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/BeigeBook_20241204.pdf">published on Dec. 4</a> includes information gathered during October and November. Across districts, prices rose “only at a modest pace” while profit margins for firms were down due to rising input prices &#8212; those are costs for the materials and labor needed to make goods.</p> <p>One interesting national trend is a slowdown in home furnishing sales, related to homeowners being less willing to put their homes on the market considering the relatively high interest rates they’d have to incur to buy again. Keep reading for quick summaries and ideas for story pitches from the latest Beige Book release.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>District 1, </strong><a href="https://www.bostonfed.org/"><strong>Boston</strong></a><strong><u></u></strong></h3> <p><em>Calling all managers</em></p> <p>A warm and dry fall “crimped” cold-weather clothing and snowmobile sales in District 1, while overall economic activity was slightly down from the previous reporting period.</p> <p>While retailers were “concerned about recent weakness in sales” they remained “optimistic that more seasonable weather would contribute to firmer sales for the holiday season.”</p> <p>There was low demand for office leases in Boston, but a small increase in high-tech firms interested in office space there. Real estate investors were looking toward multifamily housing, but cities and towns are pushing back against new multifamily construction. Interest rates for commercial real estate were up, along with “concerns of a possible resurgence in inflation in construction costs” from one contact.</p> <p><strong>Story idea: </strong>Demand for labor held steady in District 1, but restaurateurs in particular were pleased to see an increase in job applicants &#8212; while lamenting a lack of qualified applicants for managerial roles. This suggests people are interested in working in restaurants but perhaps less interested in staying in the industry long enough to gain managerial experience. Or it could suggest that most restaurant managers are happy in their current roles and not looking for new opportunities. <a href="https://www.themassrest.org/contact-us.html">Jessica Muradian</a> of the Massachusetts Restaurant Association could be a good first contact for help figuring out whether the managerial labor shortage is worth covering for your audiences.</p> <p><a href="https://www.bostonfed.org/in-the-region.aspx">Boston Federal Reserve Regional Data</a></p> <div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile"><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p class="has-large-font-size">District 1 covers Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and most of Connecticut.</p> </div><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="360" height="514" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_01-A-Boston-CROPPED.png" alt="beige book" class="wp-image-66569 size-full" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_01-A-Boston-CROPPED.png 360w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_01-A-Boston-CROPPED-210x300.png 210w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px" /></figure></div> <p></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>District 2, </strong><a href="https://www.newyorkfed.org/"><strong>New York</strong></a></h3> <p><em>Social determinants of health</em></p> <p>Labor supply outpaced demand in District 2, with special difficulty among manufacturing firms looking for skilled workers. While worker demand “continued to soften slightly,” the uncertain outcome of the presidential election “had led to a pause in decision making, though contacts anticipated hiring would pick up again.”</p> <p>Tourism in New York City was strong during the fall, with hotels filling up “at or above pre-pandemic levels.” But sales in restaurant and theater industries were tepid, “with hybrid work arrangements contributing to reduced attendance by suburban visitors.”</p> <p>Credit costs slowed real estate construction across District 2, with one upstate New York contact noting that high costs, such as for labor and lumber, were holding back new home builds.</p> <p><strong>Story idea: </strong>Last year, the federal government <a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/federal-policy-guidance/downloads/smd23001.pdf/">introduced</a> guidance allowing states <a href="https://www.medicaid.gov/sites/default/files/2023-11/cib11162023.pdf">more flexibility</a> to use Medicaid dollars toward addressing social determinants of health. <a href="https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-authorities-and-options-to-address-social-determinants-of-health-sdoh/">According to KFF</a>, a nonprofit nonpartisan health policy research organization, the social determinants of health “include factors like economic stability, education, neighborhood and physical environment, employment, and social support networks, as well as access to health care.” Those federal dollars are now reaching social service providers to incorporate things like mental health and addiction services into their overall services. If you cover health-related nonprofits in District 2, it would be a good time to see whether and how they are using this Medicaid money.</p> <p><a href="https://www.newyorkfed.org/regional-economy">New York Federal Reserve Regional Data</a></p> <div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile"><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p class="has-large-font-size">District 2 covers New York, western Connecticut, northern New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.</p> </div><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="395" height="470" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_02-B-NewYork-CROPPED.png" alt="beige book" class="wp-image-66574 size-full" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_02-B-NewYork-CROPPED.png 395w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_02-B-NewYork-CROPPED-252x300.png 252w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 395px) 100vw, 395px" /></figure></div> <p></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>District 3, </strong><a href="https://www.philadelphiafed.org"><strong>Philadelphia</strong></a></h3> <p><em>A tale of two housing markets</em></p> <p>Prices for goods and services rose slightly in District 3, while manufacturers expect to keep raising prices over the next six months &#8212; and “a significant number of firms expressed the concern that tariffs would drive prices higher.”</p> <p>Manufacturers expect growth in new orders and shipments over the next six months, though capital expenditure plans did not change. Capital expenditures are investments in physical property, such as equipment and buildings. When firms invest in capital expenditures it’s a signal that they expect demand to be strong in the long term.</p> <p>Retailers other than auto sellers marked no change in sales. Auto dealers have turned to incentives to spur sales, but still “vehicles are accumulating on lots &#8212; raising dealers’ floor plan costs and further cutting into profits.”</p> <p><strong>Story idea: </strong>With mortgage rates still high compared with recent years, there aren’t many existing single-family homes on the market &#8212; and accepted bids are often above the asking price. Conversely, the many new multifamily apartment buildings built in recent years are easing housing challenges for renters in District 3 and is “fostering competition for renters with an increase in signing incentives.” So: A lack of supply leads to higher prices for home buyers, while more supply leads to lower prices for renters. These real-world examples could be used in an explainer on the market dynamics of housing, to improve audience understanding of the economic forces that shape where and how people live.</p> <p><a href="https://www.philadelphiafed.org/regional-economy">Philadelphia Federal Reserve Regional Data</a></p> <div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile"><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p class="has-large-font-size">District 3 covers most of Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware.</p> </div><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="398" height="340" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_03-C-Philadelphia-CROPPED.png" alt="beige book" class="wp-image-66588 size-full" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_03-C-Philadelphia-CROPPED.png 398w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_03-C-Philadelphia-CROPPED-300x256.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 398px) 100vw, 398px" /></figure></div> <p></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>District 4, </strong><a href="https://www.clevelandfed.org/"><strong>Cleveland</strong></a></h3> <p><em>Childcare staffing crunch</em></p> <p>Some manufacturers reported margin compression led them to reduce workforce by cutting hours or not rehiring after people quit. <a href="https://extension.umn.edu/dairy-milking-cows/margin-compression-affects-dairy-producers">Margin compression</a> refers to input prices &#8212; those are costs, such as employee wages, needed to make a good &#8212; rising faster than sale prices.</p> <p>But, overall, firms in District 4 expect to hire a bit more in the next few months, with particular sectors preparing to ramp up: “Business services contacts indicated that they were hiring for growth, and auto dealers added mechanics to meet increased demand for vehicle repair work.”</p> <p>District 4 consumers, as in other parts of the country, are becoming quite sensitive to price increases, with one manufacturer offering, “I’m not sure the U.S. consumer can handle more pricing at this point.” Yet across sectors, firms reported higher prices with an eye toward better profit margins. This included a law firm that saw no pushback from clients after raising fees, and construction and manufacturing firms that have increased prices because of rising raw material and labor costs.</p> <p><strong>Story idea: </strong>The price of daycare could be rising in District 4, with one provider reporting difficulties finding qualified employees and expecting to raise fees by up to 40% to make up for falling enrollment. Another contact in the industry “explained that fewer childcare providers in rural communities contributed to lower workforce participation for women.” Start by reaching out to the <a href="https://www.oaccp.org/">Ohio Association of Child Care Providers</a> for insights into staffing challenges and to develop sources in the industry.</p> <p><a href="https://www.clevelandfed.org/en/region/regional-analysis">Cleveland Federal Reserve Regional Data</a></p> <div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile"><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p class="has-large-font-size">District 4 covers Ohio, eastern Kentucky, western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia.</p> </div><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="352" height="433" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_04-D-Cleveland-CROPPED.png" alt="beige book" class="wp-image-66589 size-full" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_04-D-Cleveland-CROPPED.png 352w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_04-D-Cleveland-CROPPED-244x300.png 244w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 352px) 100vw, 352px" /></figure></div> <p></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>District 5, </strong><a href="https://www.richmondfed.org/"><strong>Richmond</strong></a></h3> <p><em>Getting creative for faster zoning</em></p> <p>Leisure travel and overall consumer spending were down where Hurricane Helen hit in September &#8212; parts of South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia in District 5 &#8212; but spending on repair services and hotel stays were up, spurred by out-of-town workers brought in to make repairs. One food manufacturer “lost five production days, infrastructure, and livestock due to the hurricane and estimated six-to-nine months to become fully operational.”</p> <p>Manufacturers overall in the district were less able to pass along rising input costs, such as from wages, “and therefore profit margins were declining.” Firms were also concerned about supply chain disruptions from the <a href="https://www.wavy.com/news/local-news/cargo-operations-halt-at-port-of-virginia-as-strike-begins/">early October strike</a> at the Port of Virginia, though it <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/04/business/port-strike-ends-whats-next/index.html">lasted only three days</a>. The strike did not substantially impact port operations, but “carriers have diverted some cargo routes to the West Coast” with contract negotiations expected to pick up again <a href="https://virginiabusiness.com/ports-strike-ends-as-tentative-agreement-reached/">in January</a>.</p> <p><strong>Story idea: </strong>Real estate agents observed that residential construction projects were continuing, with several agents reporting developers “getting creative with designs and density to speed up the local government zoning processes.” How are developers “getting creative” to obtain building permits? Explore data from and reach out to government agencies, such as the <a href="https://www.rva.gov/planning-development-review/zoning-administration">Richmond Zoning Administration</a>, and trade associations, such as the <a href="https://www.hbav.com/">Home Builders Association of Virginia</a>, to begin digging into this question.</p> <p><a href="https://www.richmondfed.org/research/data_analysis">Richmond Federal Reserve Regional Data</a></p> <div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile"><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p class="has-large-font-size">District 5 covers Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, most of West Virginia and the District of Columbia.</p> </div><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="462" height="492" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_05-E-Richmond-CROPPED.png" alt="beige book" class="wp-image-66590 size-full" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_05-E-Richmond-CROPPED.png 462w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_05-E-Richmond-CROPPED-282x300.png 282w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 462px) 100vw, 462px" /></figure></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>District 6, </strong><a href="https://www.frbatlanta.org/"><strong>Atlanta</strong></a></h3> <p><em>Energy infrastructure</em></p> <p>There’s a glut of entry-level employees looking for work in District 6, along with “increased interest among retirees in finding work to supplement incomes.” Employers, in turn, are “confident” they will be able to hire the workers they need.</p> <p>Retail sales were up, but less expensive value brands were increasingly popular among consumers, with consumers at all incomes recoiling from higher prices. That said, “customers were more willing to spend if the price was right” and many firms “were increasingly optimistic for a solid 2025” with retailers increasing their inventories.</p> <p><strong>Story idea: </strong>Renewable energy and electricity demand in District 6 is “very strong and growing,” but it’s unclear whether existing infrastructure can keep up, with utilities reporting that growing national demand for electricity means “significant grid modernization” is necessary. So, can existing energy infrastructure keep up with demand? What happens to the regional economy if it can’t? It’s an important story to cover, considering several cities in District 6 are <a href="https://realestate.usnews.com/places/rankings/fastest-growing-places">among the fastest growing</a> in the country.</p> <p><a href="https://www.atlantafed.org/economy-matters/regional-economics">Atlanta Federal Reserve Regional Data</a></p> <div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile"><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p class="has-large-font-size">District 6 covers Alabama, Florida, Georgia, eastern Tennessee, southern Louisiana and southern Mississippi.</p> </div><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="704" height="552" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_06-F-Atlanta-CROPPED-2.png" alt="beige book" class="wp-image-66608 size-full" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_06-F-Atlanta-CROPPED-2.png 704w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_06-F-Atlanta-CROPPED-2-300x235.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 704px) 100vw, 704px" /></figure></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>District 7, </strong><a href="https://www.chicagofed.org/"><strong>Chicago</strong></a></h3> <p><em>Best tomatoes ever</em></p> <p>Cost of living pushed wages up for some District 7 retail workers, though “there were reports of forgone cost of living adjustments in manufacturing and lower holiday bonuses for workers in trucking.” But overall employment was up a tick from the previous reporting period, and many firms expected much of the same through 2025.</p> <p>As in other districts, District 7 consumers were sensitive to price increases, with one grocery store contact reporting “consumers were now shopping around for basic items such as canned goods,” while discount stores saw better sales.</p> <p>With the potential for higher tariffs under a second Trump administration, many retailers were aiming to stock up their inventory. One contact at a firm that sells computers reported higher sales recently, “as business clients pulled ahead replacement plans to avoid expected higher prices for imported electronics.”</p> <p><strong>Story idea: </strong>Though low prices for corn and soybeans has been hurting agricultural income, the quality of many crops in District 7 was high during the past growing season &#8212; tomatoes in particular “resulting in a ‘best ever’ crop according to industry contacts.” What makes for the “best ever” tomato crop in the district? What’s different in how those tomatoes look and taste? Have consumers noticed? The <a href="https://www.specialtygrowers.org/">Illinois Specialty Growers Association</a> could be a good first contact. (Tomatoes are specialty crops, <a href="https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/scbgp/specialty-crop">according to</a> the U.S. Department of Agriculture.)</p> <p><a href="https://chicagofed.org/cfsec">Chicago Federal Reserve Regional Data</a></p> <div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile"><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p class="has-large-font-size">District 7 includes Iowa, most of Indiana, northern Illinois, southern and central Michigan and southern Wisconsin.</p> </div><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="514" height="357" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_07-G-Chicago-CROPPED.png" alt="beige book" class="wp-image-66592 size-full" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_07-G-Chicago-CROPPED.png 514w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_07-G-Chicago-CROPPED-300x208.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 514px) 100vw, 514px" /></figure></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>District 8, </strong><a href="https://www.stlouisfed.org/"><strong>St. Louis</strong></a></h3> <p><em>‘Tis the season</em></p> <p>Spending fell across industries and income brackets in District 8. One oil change business reported consumers favoring basic motor oil over more expensive synthetics. Auto sales in Missouri were down, but in Arkansas auto dealers enjoyed a flood of purchases after the presidential election. Sales for lower-ticket retail items were down “as consumers seem to be more cautious and less willing to spend discretionary funds.”</p> <p>Prices for single-family homes in the district remained elevated along with interest rates, with “slightly higher” inventories than last year. A realtor in Kentucky noted “houses are still priced too high and will need to come down to generate more movement in the market.”</p> <p>Farmers were worried in the medium term about whether federal legislators would pass a new <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/tag/farm-bill-2023/">farm bill</a> and, in the shorter term, about crop yields, as soybean crop quality was degraded after heavy rains.</p> <p><strong>Story idea: </strong>Apparently the most festive house on the cul-de-sac doesn’t decorate itself: “A holiday decorator noted that their wealthy clients were opting to decorate without using their services and were not purchasing new décor, as they usually do.” Reach out to <a href="https://stlouischristmasdecor.com/">professional holiday decorators</a> for help understanding the market and for an interesting story about a high-end service many people have never heard of. Also feature the voices of on-the-ground employees, who are likely far less wealthy than their clients.</p> <p><a href="https://www.stlouisfed.org/research/regional-economy">St. Louis Federal Reserve Regional Data</a></p> <div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile"><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p class="has-large-font-size">District 8 includes Arkansas, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, western Kentucky, northern Mississippi, central and eastern Missouri and western Tennessee.</p> </div><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="497" height="390" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_08-H-StLouis-CROPPED.png" alt="beige book" class="wp-image-66593 size-full" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_08-H-StLouis-CROPPED.png 497w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_08-H-StLouis-CROPPED-300x235.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 497px) 100vw, 497px" /></figure></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>District 9, </strong><a href="https://www.minneapolisfed.org/"><strong>Minneapolis</strong></a></h3> <p><em>Have vacancy, will travel</em></p> <p>In suburban Minnesota, a contact from a bakery reported workers were willing to quit if they didn’t get wages they wanted. While workers were not in high demand among manufacturing firms &#8212; with agricultural equipment producers particularly dinged by low demand &#8212; financial services and health care firms were generally looking to hire. &nbsp;</p> <p>Some parts of the district saw increases in air passengers of 10% or more, while hotel stays were also sought, especially in Montana, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Chocolate makers were looking forward to Christmas, while snow removal companies were “hoping for one covered in white.”</p> <p>The agriculture sector in the district was “weak” with many farms reporting lower incomes in the third quarter of 2024 compared with last year, “as productive harvests were not sufficient to offset low commodity prices and elevated operating costs.”</p> <p><strong>Story idea: </strong>Hiring was challenging for rural businesses, with one grocery store owner in Montana going so far as to leave the state “to hire immigrant workers with the promise of providing housing.” Is this something you’ve heard of happening in your rural coverage area? It would be good to find out. If so, an anecdote like this could serve as a compelling narrative anchor for a wider look at regional effects of federal immigration policy. The <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/media/trac-syracuse-data/">Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse</a> from Syracuse University is always a good source of immigration data.</p> <p><a href="https://www.minneapolisfed.org/region-and-community">Minneapolis Federal Reserve Regional Data</a></p> <div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile"><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p class="has-large-font-size">District 9 includes Minnesota, Montana, the Dakotas, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and northern Wisconsin.</p> </div><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="405" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_09-I-Minneapolis-CROPPED-1024x405.png" alt="" class="wp-image-66594 size-full" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_09-I-Minneapolis-CROPPED-1024x405.png 1024w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_09-I-Minneapolis-CROPPED-300x119.png 300w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_09-I-Minneapolis-CROPPED-768x304.png 768w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_09-I-Minneapolis-CROPPED.png 1134w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>District 10, </strong><a href="https://www.kansascityfed.org/"><strong>Kansas City</strong></a></h3> <p><em>Job hoppers</em></p> <p>There wasn’t much new hiring across industries in District 10, with “nearly all businesses” relaying that “worker turnover was abnormally low.” Workers at firms in professional services (think lawyers and accountants) and at technology firms saw quicker pay growth, but across sectors “most contacts indicated they do not plan to raise wages substantially over the next year.”</p> <p>Other than in Oklahoma, corn and soybean crop production outpaced the five-year average, though “pockets of drought also hindered crop production in certain areas” and farms in general were worried about their finances in 2025 due to high interest rates.</p> <p><strong>Story idea: </strong>Job hopping &#8212; quickly moving from one job to the next &#8212; is one way that workers can quickly increase their pay. Despite overall low turnover in District 10, “workers in [low-wage] jobs were still finding wage gains from job hopping.” Who is job hopping? Why and how long have they been job hopping? Use social media groups to find job hoppers, though keep in mind they might request anonymity or may not want to talk about their current workplaces. Experts at the <a href="https://mitsloan.mit.edu/institute-work-and-employment-research/about-iwer">Massachusetts Institute of Technology Institute for Work and Employment Research</a> can discuss academic research on job hopping among low-wage workers.</p> <p><a href="http://www.kansascityfed.org/research/regional-research">Kansas City Federal Reserve Regional Data</a></p> <div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile"><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p class="has-large-font-size">District 10 includes Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, western Missouri and northern New Mexico.</p> </div><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="619" height="529" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_10-J-KansasCity-CROPPED-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-66626 size-full" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_10-J-KansasCity-CROPPED-2.png 619w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_10-J-KansasCity-CROPPED-2-300x256.png 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 619px) 100vw, 619px" /></figure></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>District 11, </strong><a href="https://www.dallasfed.org/"><strong>Dallas</strong></a></h3> <p><em>Executive order fallout</em></p> <p>Business air travel increased in District 11, “up notably from last year with more people traveling for work,” but still lagging pre-pandemic volume. Overall, airlines were in high demand with some industry contacts reporting “record revenues.” Retailers, meanwhile, were optimistic about 2025, “though some expressed concern over potential tariffs and how retaliatory tariffs could hamper their international sales.”</p> <p>Residential and commercial real estate loan delinquencies ticked up. Still, lenders were looking forward to “a significant improvement in loan demand and business activity six months from now,” despite loan volumes falling in November.</p> <p>Oil and gas producers were concerned prices might not be high as predicted in 2025, potentially leading to less capital spending. But industry contacts also “expressed optimism” that a <a href="https://www.ogj.com/general-interest/government/article/55138183/doe-pause-on-us-lng-export-permits-remains-despite-new-fortress-authorization">federal pause</a> on exporting liquefied natural gas to other countries would be “lifted soon” leading to “more natural gas infrastructure and LNG export investment over the next several years.”</p> <p><strong>Story idea: </strong>Social service nonprofits have “noted an increase in demand for social services by immigrants,” with one contact reporting that Texas Executive Order GA-46, which Gov. Greg Abbott <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/press/EO-GA-46_HHSC_Alienage_Data_IMAGE_08-08-2024.pdf">signed in August</a> and <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/texas-begin-gathering-noncitizen-treatment-data-from-hospitals-statewide">went into effect in November</a>, “has prompted fear in the immigrant community and that some families are not seeking the medical care they need because of it, even if they are in the U.S. legally.” The order directs hospitals that receive public funding to collect citizenship information from patients &#8212; but the issue of publicly funded health care for migrants is much bigger than a single executive order. Read our <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/how-migrants-asylum-seekers-and-refugees-seek-health-care-in-the-us-a-primer-and-research-roundup/">primer published in July</a> on the topic to get up to speed and for a wealth of resources that will inform your reporting.</p> <p><a href="https://www.dallasfed.org/research/texas">Dallas Federal Reserve Regional Data</a></p> <div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile"><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p class="has-large-font-size">District 11 includes Texas, northern Louisiana and southern New Mexico.</p> </div><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="801" height="571" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_11-K-Dallas-CROPPED.png" alt="" class="wp-image-66596 size-full" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_11-K-Dallas-CROPPED.png 801w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_11-K-Dallas-CROPPED-300x214.png 300w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_11-K-Dallas-CROPPED-768x547.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 801px) 100vw, 801px" /></figure></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>District 12, </strong><a href="https://www.frbsf.org/"><strong>San Francisco</strong></a></h3> <p><em>Sour grapes for California wine sales</em></p> <p>Some firms reduced coverage of <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/health/employee-assistance-programs-mental-health/">mental health services</a> for their workers, blaming rising insurance costs. Demand was also “elevated” for organizations providing mental health services and food assistance, while nonprofits focused on sustainable growth and financial literacy reported an uptick in public sector funding. Broadly, contacts across District 12 reported affordable housing shortages were linked to “increases in housing insecurity and homelessness.”</p> <p>Rents fell in some District 12 markets as multifamily housing projects were completed, while “large homebuilders began preparing for a pickup in new construction starts in anticipation of lower financing costs over the coming months.” The supply of single-family homes, however, couldn’t keep up with demand.</p> <p><strong>Story idea: </strong>Sales of California wine have been “dampened by lower demand from Asian markets.” For industry sales data, reach out to the <a href="https://wineinstitute.org/our-industry/statistics/california-us-wine-sales/">Wine Institute</a> and to analysts from <a href="https://www.gfawine.com/">Gomberg Frederickson</a> to understand the share of sales to Asia that make up the California wine market &#8212; and why demand might be dropping from those countries in particular. The answers could provide nuance and insight into a broader wine industry downturn, which Esther Mobley, the San Francisco Chronicle’s senior wine critic, <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/wine/article/california-wine-industry-downturn-18711236.php">reported in May</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.frbsf.org/research-and-insights/data-and-indicators/">San Francisco Federal Reserve Regional Data</a></p> <div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile"><div class="wp-block-media-text__content"> <p class="has-large-font-size">District 12 includes Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.</p> </div><figure class="wp-block-media-text__media"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="439" height="541" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_12-L-SanFrancisco-CROPPED.png" alt="" class="wp-image-66597 size-full" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_12-L-SanFrancisco-CROPPED.png 439w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/district_12-L-SanFrancisco-CROPPED-243x300.png 243w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 439px) 100vw, 439px" /></figure></div> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/economics/beige-book-story-ideas-december-2024/">Story ideas from the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book: December 2024</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>If you report on US colleges and universities, get to know these 19 higher education databases</title> <link>https://journalistsresource.org/education/19-higher-education-databases-journalists/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Denise-Marie Ordway]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 09 Dec 2024 19:12:28 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Education]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Health]]></category> <category><![CDATA[higher education]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://journalistsresource.org/?p=80073</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>We spotlight free databases journalists can use to report on higher education issues ranging from the changing demographics of U.S. college students to graduation rates, campus crime, faculty salaries and student health. </p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/education/19-higher-education-databases-journalists/">If you report on US colleges and universities, get to know these 19 higher education databases</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="sharing"><div class="social-icons"><div class="simplesocialbuttons simplesocial-round-icon simplesocialbuttons_inline simplesocialbuttons-align-right simplesocialbuttons-inline-no-animation"> <button class="simplesocial-fb-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Facebook Share" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://journalistsresource.org/education/19-higher-education-databases-journalists/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Facebook </span> </button> <button class="simplesocial-twt-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Twitter Share" data-href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=If+you+report+on+US+colleges+and+universities%2C+get+to+know+these+19+higher+education+databases&url=https://journalistsresource.org/education/19-higher-education-databases-journalists/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Twitter</span> </button> <button rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="simplesocial-linkedin-share" aria-label="LinkedIn Share" data-href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://journalistsresource.org/education/19-higher-education-databases-journalists/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">LinkedIn</span></button> <button class="simplesocial-reddit-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Reddit Share" data-href="https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://journalistsresource.org/education/19-higher-education-databases-journalists/&title=If+you+report+on+US+colleges+and+universities%2C+get+to+know+these+19+higher+education+databases" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;" ><span class="simplesocialtxt">Reddit</span> </button> <button onclick="javascript:window.location.href = this.dataset.href;return false;" class="simplesocial-email-share" aria-label="Share through Email" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-href="mailto:?subject=If you report on US colleges and universities%2C get to know these 19 higher education databases&body=https://journalistsresource.org/education/19-higher-education-databases-journalists/"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Email</span></button> </div> </div></div> <p>No matter what issue you’re covering on the higher education beat, your story will be stronger if you ground it in high-quality data. Fortunately for journalists, government agencies and academic researchers have gathered data on an array of topics and made it available online for free. You just need to know where to find it.</p> <p>That’s why we created this tip sheet. It spotlights 19 higher education databases we think you ought to know about. This list is not meant to be exhaustive. We included databases that will help journalists report on some of the most common and pressing higher education issues.</p> <p>Note that most of these databases are the projects of federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and National Science Foundation. We’ll update this list periodically. Please bookmark it and share it with colleagues because it’s sure to come in handy.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/"><strong>College Navigator</strong></a></h3> <p>This searchable database, created by the National Center for Education Statistics, provides basic information on nearly 7,000 U.S. colleges and universities. Use it to look up information about an institution’s admission rate, tuition, undergraduate enrollment, academic programs, athletic programs and other characteristics. You can also compare institutions.</p> <p>The National Center for Education Statistics, commonly referred to as NCES, is part of the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/datalab"><strong>DataLab</strong></a></h3> <p>Journalists can use this online platform, another NCES project, to find detailed information on various topics across K-12 education and higher education. Sift through decades of data that the NCES has collected on college costs, student demographics, student debt, faculty demographics, faculty salaries, student graduation and dropout rates, and other subjects.</p> <p>DataLab’s <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/datalab/table/library">Tables Library</a> contains more than 8,000 data tables published by the NCES. Journalists who are comfortable working with data can use the platform’s <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/datalab/start">PowerStats</a> tool to create data visualizations and run linear and logistic regressions.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. <a href="https://data.gov/"><strong>Data.gov</strong></a></h3> <p>You’ll find thousands of government data sets and data-heavy reports here &#8212; the federal government’s open data site. You can search for education data by location and government agency as well as by topic category and dataset format.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">4. <a href="https://ope.ed.gov/campussafety/#/"><strong>Campus Security Data Analysis Cutting Tool</strong></a></h3> <p>Use this higher education database, maintained by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education, to find information on crime at U.S. colleges and universities that receive federal funding. You can look at three years of statistics for a single school or generate reports to examine trends across schools.</p> <p>Crimes that institutions report annually to the federal government include murder, aggravated assault, rape, hate crimes, domestic violence, motor vehicle theft and violations of state or local liquor laws. Schools also must report arrests as well as any disciplinary action taken against students accused of certain crimes.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">5. <a href="https://nsldsfap.ed.gov/cdr-searchable-database/school/search"><strong>Official Cohort Default Rate Search</strong></a></h3> <p>For student loan default rates, check out this higher education database, which is maintained by Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education. You can search default rates by state, city, institution, institution type and degree program.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">6. <a href="https://ocrcas.ed.gov/open-investigations"><strong>U.S. Office for Civil Rights pending cases database</strong></a></h3> <p>This is a national database of K-12 schools, colleges and universities that are being investigated by the federal Office for Civil Rights, a division of the U.S. Department of Education that investigates discrimination complaints. Here you can find information on investigations of alleged <a href="https://www.justice.gov/crt/title-ix">Title IX</a> and <a href="https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/civil-rights-laws/civil-rights-act-of-1964/education-and-title-vi">Title VI</a> violations. Title IX is a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination at K-12 schools, colleges and universities that receive federal financial assistance. Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">7. <a href="https://healthymindsnetwork.org/"><strong>Healthy Minds Study</strong></a></h3> <p>This research database houses data collected as part of the Healthy Minds Study, an annual survey that asks college students about their mental health and their school environment, including campus safety, peer support and mental health services. More than 850,000 people at <a href="https://healthymindsnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Participating-Institutions_through-2023-24.pdf">more than 600 colleges and universities</a> have completed the survey since its launch in 2007.<br /><br />The principal investigators of the Healthy Minds Study are researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles, University of Michigan, Wayne State University and Boston University.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">8. <a href="https://circle.tufts.edu/about"><strong>CIRCLE</strong></a></h3> <p>Tufts University’s Center for Information &amp; Research on Civic Learning and Engagement &#8212; commonly known as CIRCLE &#8212; has created several online data tools journalists can use to obtain data for stories about young voters and civic engagement on college campuses. For example, its <a href="https://youthdata.circle.tufts.edu/">Youth Voting and Civic Engagement in America</a> data tool allows journalists to examine the voting habits of young adults by state, county or congressional district.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">9. <a href="https://retractionwatch.com/"><strong>Retraction Watch</strong></a></h3> <p>If you’re looking into allegations of research fraud or misconduct, Retraction Watch can help. It maintains a <a href="https://retractiondatabase.org/RetractionSearch.aspx?&amp;AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1">database of retracted scientific papers</a> that reporters can use to search for retractions connected to a specific researcher, university or research organization. There’s also a <a href="https://retractionwatch.com/retraction-watch-database-user-guide/">user guide</a>. Retraction Watch’s parent organization is the nonprofit Center for Scientific Integrity.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">10. <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/"><strong>Nonprofit Explorer</strong></a></h3> <p>Use this database, created by ProPublica, to look up tax returns and <a href="https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-990">Form 990</a> filings for almost 2 million tax-exempt organizations, including non-profit colleges and universities. Form 990 filings contain information on an organization’s annual revenue, sources of revenue, expenses, and the names and salaries of its top executives.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">11. <a href="https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/"><strong>Community College Research Center</strong></a></h3> <p>The Community College Research Center’s website offers a variety of interactive platforms that allow journalists to explore data on U.S. community colleges and their students. For example, one focuses on <a href="https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/easyblog/aftershocks-how-pandemic-affected-community-college-finances.html">community college finances</a> during the pandemic. Another focuses on <a href="https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/easyblog/how-many-students-are-taking-dual-enrollment-courses-in-high-school-new-national-state-and-college-level-data.html">dual enrollment programs</a>, which allow high school students to enroll at local colleges to earn college credits. The Community College Research Center is located at Columbia University.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">12. <a href="https://www.msidata.org/"><strong>Minority-Serving Institutions Data Project</strong></a></h3> <p>This project provides data on minority-serving institutions, or MSIs. Some of these colleges and universities were founded specifically to serve racial minorities &#8212; for example, historically Black colleges and universities only served Black students for decades. Many MSIs are historically white institutions where enrollment has grown more racially and ethnically diverse over time.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">13. <a href="https://www.aamc.org/"><strong>Association of American Medical Colleges</strong></a></h3> <p>The “<a href="https://www.aamc.org/data-reports">Data &amp; Reports</a>” section of the Association of American Medical Colleges’ website offers a variety of reports and datasets on medical school funding, applicants, students, faculty and tuition. It also provides information on topics such as research lab productivity and medical students’ experiences with sexual harassment.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">14. <a href="https://www.americanbar.org/"><strong>American Bar Association</strong></a></h3> <p>The American Bar Association provides reports and spreadsheets featuring data on U.S. law schools, law school enrollment and law students’ bar passage rates in the “<a href="https://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/">Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar</a>” of its website. It also provides reports on trends related to tuition, student and faculty demographics and student-faculty ratios.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">15. <a href="https://about.collegeboard.org/"><strong>College Board</strong></a></h3> <p>Go to the College Board’s website for data and reports on the <a href="https://reports.collegeboard.org/sat-suite-program-results/data-archive">SAT college-entrance exam</a> as well as the <a href="https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/about-ap/ap-data-research">Advanced Placement program</a>, which provides college-level curricula and exams for use at high schools worldwide. The College Board, a nonprofit organization that administers both, collects and makes public a variety of data on AP exam scores, SAT scores, students who take the AP exam, students who take the SAT and how both programs have grown over time.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">16. <a href="https://www.va.gov/education/gi-bill-comparison-tool/?search=name&amp;name=harvard%20university&amp;excludeVettec=true&amp;excludedSchoolTypes%5B%5D=PUBLIC&amp;excludedSchoolTypes%5B%5D=FOR%20PROFIT&amp;excludedSchoolTypes%5B%5D=PRIVATE&amp;excludedSchoolTypes%5B%5D=FOREIGN&amp;excludedSchoolTypes%5B%5D=FLIGHT&amp;excludedSchoolTypes%5B%5D=CORRESPONDENCE&amp;excludedSchoolTypes%5B%5D=HIGH%20SCHOOL"><strong>GI Bill Comparison Tool</strong></a></h3> <p>Journalists can use this U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs database to compare the GI Bill benefits offered at individual trade schools, higher education institutions and employers across the U.S. The <a href="https://www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/#:~:text=GI%20Bill%20benefits%20help%20you,your%20spouse%20or%20dependent%20children.">GI Bill</a> helps U.S. military veterans and their family members pay for college or for personal expenses while training for a job.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">17. <a href="https://ncses.nsf.gov/surveys/higher-education-research-development/2023#data"><strong>Higher Education Research and Development Survey</strong></a></h3> <p>Each year, the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics conducts a census of colleges and universities that spend at least $150,000 on research and development. The center, part of the National Science Foundation, publishes data tables and reports on the results of its Higher Education Research and Development Survey. Journalists can use them to find information on how much money institutions have spent doing research in different fields, their sources of research funding and how much schools spent on researcher salaries versus equipment, software and other expenses.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">18. <a href="https://edworkingpapers.com/"><strong>EdWorkingPapers</strong></a></h3> <p>EdWorkingPapers is a searchable database of <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/media/working-papers-research-articles/">academic working papers</a> on a variety of K-12 education and higher education topics. Anyone can read these papers for free thanks to this joint project of Brown University’s <a href="https://annenberg.brown.edu/">Annenberg Institute for School Reform</a> and Stanford University’s <a href="https://scale.stanford.edu/about">Systems Change Advancing Learning and Equity</a> initiative.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">19. <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?"><strong>Education Resources Information Center</strong></a></h3> <p>Commonly referred to as ERIC, the Education Resources Information Center is a searchable database of education research and information found in academic journals, books and government reports. While it’s free to use ERIC, which is sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education, journalists <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/media/academic-journals-journalists-free-access/">might need subscriptions</a> to access many journal articles and book chapters.</p> <p></p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/education/19-higher-education-databases-journalists/">If you report on US colleges and universities, get to know these 19 higher education databases</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Pharmacy benefit managers: What journalists need to know about the prescription drug middleman industry</title> <link>https://journalistsresource.org/home/pharmacy-benefit-managers-what-journalists-need-to-know-about-the-prescription-drug-middleman-industry/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Kerry Dooley Young]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 06 Dec 2024 17:22:18 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Economics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Health]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Politics & Government]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://journalistsresource.org/?p=80020</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Read on to learn how pharmacy benefit managers influence drug prices in the U.S., and how academic studies can help you gain a deeper understanding of the concerns about PBMs. PLUS: 4 tips for localizing and covering stories about PBMs.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/pharmacy-benefit-managers-what-journalists-need-to-know-about-the-prescription-drug-middleman-industry/">Pharmacy benefit managers: What journalists need to know about the prescription drug middleman industry</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="sharing"><div class="social-icons"><div class="simplesocialbuttons simplesocial-round-icon simplesocialbuttons_inline simplesocialbuttons-align-right simplesocialbuttons-inline-no-animation"> <button class="simplesocial-fb-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Facebook Share" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://journalistsresource.org/home/pharmacy-benefit-managers-what-journalists-need-to-know-about-the-prescription-drug-middleman-industry/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Facebook </span> </button> <button class="simplesocial-twt-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Twitter Share" data-href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Pharmacy+benefit+managers%3A+What+journalists+need+to+know+about+the+prescription+drug+middleman+industry&url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/pharmacy-benefit-managers-what-journalists-need-to-know-about-the-prescription-drug-middleman-industry/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Twitter</span> </button> <button rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="simplesocial-linkedin-share" aria-label="LinkedIn Share" data-href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/pharmacy-benefit-managers-what-journalists-need-to-know-about-the-prescription-drug-middleman-industry/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">LinkedIn</span></button> <button class="simplesocial-reddit-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Reddit Share" data-href="https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/pharmacy-benefit-managers-what-journalists-need-to-know-about-the-prescription-drug-middleman-industry/&title=Pharmacy+benefit+managers%3A+What+journalists+need+to+know+about+the+prescription+drug+middleman+industry" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;" ><span class="simplesocialtxt">Reddit</span> </button> <button onclick="javascript:window.location.href = this.dataset.href;return false;" class="simplesocial-email-share" aria-label="Share through Email" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-href="mailto:?subject=Pharmacy benefit managers%3A What journalists need to know about the prescription drug middleman industry&body=https://journalistsresource.org/home/pharmacy-benefit-managers-what-journalists-need-to-know-about-the-prescription-drug-middleman-industry/"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Email</span></button> </div> </div></div> <p>It may sound counterintuitive, but firms that were created to negotiate better deals for consumers on medicines instead have sometimes driven up the costs of prescriptions &#8212; while also putting the survival of community pharmacies at risk.</p> <p>These firms are called pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs.</p> <p>Large employers and health insurance companies pay PBMs to act as middlemen. PBMs are supposed to leverage their purchasing power with pharmaceutical companies to get discounts and rebates, with the goal of controlling prescription drug costs for patients.</p> <p>To do this, PBMs use strategies including:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong>Creating and managing formularies</strong>, which are lists of prescription medications that a health insurance plan covers. In cases where there are similar medicines on the market to treat a disease or condition, PBMs and insurers can use the threat of excluding a company’s drug from a formulary to drive discounts. For example, the multinational pharmaceutical company Merck offered bundled discounts on certain asthma and diabetes medicines to ensure that certain products remained on formularies, <a href="https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Merck%20Responses.pdf">the company told the Senate Finance Committee in 2019.</a></li> <li><strong>Encouraging use of mail order for routine prescriptions.</strong> These are the same strategies that many other large purchasers of medicines, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, use. The VA uses its mail-order pharmacy to provide about 80% of prescriptions used by its patients outside of hospitals.</li> </ul> <p>What’s drawing widespread criticism and concern about PBMs are the strategies they employ to maximize the profit they can make as middlemen, as well as their dominance in the marketplace.&nbsp;</p> <p>Consumers can benefit from lower <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/politics-and-government/prescription-drug-prices-policy-debate/">prices of medicines</a>. But PBMs themselves can benefit more than consumers do in cases where drugmakers start their negotiations with a high initial offer, or list price. PBMs then, eventually, whittle down the actual payment, often by getting pharmaceutical companies to give back some of the money through payments known as rebates. It’s unclear how much of the rebated funds flow back to health plans this way and how much is kept by the PBMs.</p> <p>PBMs contend the complex negotiations between list price and actual price help both insurers and consumers. These savings gained through negotiations lower the cost of monthly premiums.</p> <p>But the rebate approach leaves many patients facing sticker shock from out-of-pocket costs at the pharmacy due to the high list prices, with some people then not being able to afford their medicines even though they have health insurance. List prices are not just numbers used in negotiations.&nbsp;</p> <div data-aos= "slide-right" data-aos-duration="400" data-aos-delay="0" data-aos-easing="ease" data-aos-once="true" class="wp-block-uagb-info-box uagb-block-ed9d9251 uagb-infobox__content-wrap uagb-infobox-icon-above-title uagb-infobox-image-valign-top"><div class="uagb-ifb-content"><div class="uagb-ifb-icon-wrap"><svg xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 576 512"><path d="M143.1 320V248.3C143.1 233 151.2 218.7 163.5 209.6L436.6 8.398C444 2.943 452.1 0 462.2 0C473.6 0 484.5 4.539 492.6 12.62L547.4 67.38C555.5 75.46 559.1 86.42 559.1 97.84C559.1 107 557.1 115.1 551.6 123.4L350.4 396.5C341.3 408.8 326.1 416 311.7 416H239.1L214.6 441.4C202.1 453.9 181.9 453.9 169.4 441.4L118.6 390.6C106.1 378.1 106.1 357.9 118.6 345.4L143.1 320zM489.4 99.92L460.1 70.59L245 229L330.1 314.1L489.4 99.92zM23.03 466.3L86.06 403.3L156.7 473.9L125.7 504.1C121.2 509.5 115.1 512 108.7 512H40C26.75 512 16 501.3 16 488V483.3C16 476.1 18.53 470.8 23.03 466.3V466.3z"></path></svg></div><div class="uagb-ifb-title-wrap"><h5 class="uagb-ifb-title"><a href="#PBM-reporting-tips"><em>Click here for tips on how to localize stories about drugs costs and pharmacy deserts.</em></a><br /></h5></div></div></div> <p>Many patients must pay part or all of these list prices at the pharmacy, even if the PBMs <em>later </em>whittle the actual spending on medicines through negotiations. That means some of the people most in need of medicine get less help from having insurance, according to the Federal Trade Commission, which argues that PBMs are rigging the pharmaceutical supply chain system in their favor.</p> <p>“This turns the normal insurance model on its head with the sick subsidizing the healthy rather than the other way around,” the FTC said <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/d9437_caremark_rx_zinc_health_services_et_al_part_3_complaint_public_redacted.pdf">in an administrative complaint filed in September</a>.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The FTC sues the PBMs</strong></h3> <p>Following an investigation of PBMs that started in 2022, the FTC sued three giant PBMs &#8212; CVS Caremark, Cigna Group’s Express Scripts and UnitedHealth’s Optum Rx. Those three companies administer about 80% of all drug prescriptions in the U.S., according to the lawsuit.</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-4-background-color has-background"><strong>Take note:</strong> While the FTC <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/insulin-manufacturing-statement.pdf">refers to this as a lawsuit</a>, it’s important to note that an administrative complaint is a special kind of one. In these cases, the FTC files <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/adjudicative-proceedings">a complaint </a>to kick off its own administrative process instead of taking the case to a federal court.<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/office-administrative-law-judges"> D. Michael Chappell</a>, the FTC’s chief administrative law judge, has been handling the cases against the PBMs. His decisions and motions filed by the PBMs and by the FTC are posted online on<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/221-0114-caremark-rx-zinc-health-services-et-al-matter-insulin"> the agency’s website</a>.</p> <p>The FTC argues that PBMs have created a “intricate and opaque pharmaceutical distribution chain,” allowing them inordinate control of insulin sales and pricing. By threatening to exclude some companies’ products from formularies, they were able to demand larger rebates, leading to the higher list prices.</p> <p>“Pharmacists from West Virginia to Texas have written to the FTC, expressing concern that PBMs’ business practices are creating risk for their patients while squeezing independent pharmacies that have served their communities for decades,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/public-statements/khan-bedoya-slaughter-statement-on-pharmacy-benefit-managers-report">in a July statement</a>.</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-4-background-color has-background"><strong>Keep track:</strong> Journalists can keep up with legal motions related to the case on <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/221-0114-caremark-rx-zinc-health-services-et-al-matter-insulin">the FTC’s web page tracking this matter.</a> This includes documents related to the PBMs’ response to the FTC’s administrative complaint.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The PBMs fight back</strong></h3> <p>The PBMs are fighting back. In November, Express Scripts, Caremark and OptumRx sued the FTC, <a href="https://pdfserver.amlaw.com/legalradar/pm-55886995_complaint.pdf">filing a complaint in a federal district court</a>. The complaint challenges the legal basis for the FTC’s actions and argues that those actions are unconstitutional.</p> <p>Specifically, the PBM’s complaint takes issue with the FTC’s legal process – using the aforementioned in-house administrative process rather than filing a case in a federal court.</p> <p>&#8220;This sweeping attempt to reshape an entire industry via law enforcement would never pass muster in a U.S. District Court,” the PBM’s complaint reads. “It is therefore unsurprising that the Commission brought this action in its own captive tribunal, where the Commission decides the allegations and the claims, sets the rules, does the fact-finding, chooses what the law is, and determines the outcome.”</p> <p>The complaint also says the FTC is seeking to “upend present-day drug rebate contracts, forcing PBMs to revamp their entire contracting framework and countless contracts.”</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>An increase in pharmacy deserts</strong></h3> <p>The number of retail pharmacies owned by giant CVS Health, which owns a PBM, grew by 28% to more than 9,700 locations from 2013 to 2022, said the FTC <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/public-statements/khan-bedoya-slaughter-statement-on-pharmacy-benefit-managers-report">in a July publication.</a> During this time, the number of other retail pharmacies, including independent pharmacies,&nbsp; declined by 7% to 51,400 locations, with a 10% drop in rural areas.</p> <p>The pressure exerted by increasingly powerful PBMs has been linked to the increase in pharmacy “deserts,” or places where residents may not have a retail pharmacy <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2822776">within 10 miles of their homes.</a></p> <p>&nbsp;In the July statement, the FTC outlined challenges to smaller pharmacies. Many smaller independent drug stores use their own middlemen, called pharmacy services administrative organizations, in negotiations with PBMs. Still, the smaller businesses often must operate in the dark, uncertain about how much they will eventually be paid , according to the FTC.</p> <p>“Pharmacies therefore are often missing a critical variable for basic operational business planning and for making informed choices about which PBMs, which networks, and which drug claims would pay the best—or sustainable—rates,” the FTC statement says. “In other words, pharmacies are commonly reimbursed based on an algorithm with numerous opaque, shifting price inputs.”</p> <p>Consumer advocates such as <a href="https://publicinterestnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Consumer-and-Patient-Advocacy-FTC-Comments-on-Study-of-PBMs-May-25-2022.pdf">Public Interest Research Group</a> (PIRG) and health care lobbying groups such as the<a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/new-ama-analysis-consolidation-pbm-markets"> American Medical Association</a> and <a href="https://www.aha.org/news/headline/2022-05-24-aha-urges-ftc-investigate-certain-pharmacy-benefit-manager-practices">American Hospital Association</a> also have called for greater oversight and stricter controls of PBMs.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Bipartisan support for more transparency</strong></h3> <p>This is a rare health policy issue that has solid bipartisan support.</p> <p>For example, in<a href="https://www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2024/docs/MulreadyPCMA_AmicusBrief.pdf"> an amicus brief filed earlier this year,</a> the attorneys general of 31 states joined to ask the Supreme Court to address conflicting federal court rulings on PBM cases. At issue is a ruling in which the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held that federal laws preempt Oklahoma laws and thus block state regulation of PBMs. In this case, Oklahoma sought to put in place requirements intended to compel PBMs to work with more pharmacies.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>This lower court ruling appears to conflict with <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/18-540_m64o.pdf">a 2020 Supreme Court ruling</a> on PBMs, noted the bipartisan group, which included attorneys general from states with Democratic governors, like California, and Republican ones, like Florida.</p> <p>The attorneys general are united in seeking a clear path to allow state regulators to address what they call the PBMs’ “self-serving protections that have reduced reimbursement rates to pharmacies, maximized rebates to PBMs, and imposed various confidentiality requirements to hide PBMs’ business practices.”<br /><br />“PBMs have thrived behind the scenes, exploiting the lack of transparency that they designed into the system,” the bipartisan group of attorneys general write in their amicus brief.</p> <p>Pending PBM legislation in Congress also has bipartisan support.</p> <p>As of early December, the Protecting Patients Against PBM Abuses Act (H.R.2880) has the backing of 27 Republicans and 18 Democrats. This bill would switch PBM reimbursement to flat dollar service fees for sales made through the Medicare Part D pharmacy program, which covers medicines used by people aged 65 and older.</p> <p>In the Senate, at least <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/127/cosponsors?s=2&amp;r=1&amp;q=%7B%22search%22%3A%22Pharmacy+Benefit+Manager+Transparency+Act+of+2023%22%7D">10 Republicans and five Democrats</a> are backing the Pharmacy Benefit Manager Transparency Act of 2023 (S.127). The bill seeks to prevent PBMs from charging health plans and employers more for prescription drugs than what they reimburse to the pharmacy.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Domination by three giants</strong></h3> <p>The FTC and other PBM critics contend remarkable consolidation in the industry has given outsized clout to just three firms, each affiliated with a major health insurer.</p> <p>Three PBMs handled almost four of every five U.S. prescription drug claims in 2023, according to the FTC. The FTC said the bulk of the market breaks down like this:&nbsp;<br /></p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong>CVS Caremark</strong>, with 34% of the PBM market. It is owned and operated by CVS Health, which also owns the health insurer Aetna along with a major chain of retail pharmacies.</li> <li><strong>Express Scripts</strong>, with 23% of the PBM market. It is part of the Cigna Group, which sells health insurance plans.</li> <li><strong>OptumRx</strong>, with 22% of the PBM market. It is part of UnitedHealth Group, which also sells health insurance plans.</li> </ul> <p></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>PBMs emerge, consolidate</strong></h3> <p>The earliest version of pharmacy benefit managers started in the 1960s in the United States, with firms such as PAID Prescriptions acting as intermediaries between the pharmacists and insurers.</p> <p>In the early 1990s, several drugmakers acquired PBMs, which they later sold to larger PBMs or to health care conglomerates that included PBMs.</p> <p>In 2017, the Department of Justice successfully blocked two major mergers involving health insurers: Aetna-Humana and Anthem-Cigna, explain Joseph Mattingly II of the University of Utah, David A. Hyman of Georgetown University and Ge Bai of Johns Hopkins University. They detail this rise of the industry in a 2023 article in JAMA Health Forum, titled “<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2811344">Pharmacy Benefit Managers: History, Business Practices, Economics, and Policy.</a>”</p> <p>Federal regulations thus rebuffed bids for major horizontal consolidation, the phrase used to describe acquisitions that combine two companies in the same field.</p> <p>But a year later, regulators allowed large vertical acquisitions, defined as transactions where companies acquire businesses that expand their product and service offerings in new ways. In 2018, pharmacy giant CVS Health acquired insurer Aetna, and insurer Cigna merged with PBM giant Express Scripts.</p> <p>Broader concerns about PBM business practices, prompted the FTC to open<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/06/ftc-launches-inquiry-prescription-drug-middlemen-industry"> a sweeping inquiry</a> into the PBM industry in 2022.</p> <p>The FTC intended to produce a full report on the industry, setting the stage for further action. Instead, the FTC in July 2024 released<a href="https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/07/ftc-releases-interim-staff-report-prescription-drug-middlemen"> an interim report,</a> noting that several PBMs had not completed the required submissions and thus hindered the commission in its work. Still, there was enough evidence that the FTC voted in September to file an administrative complaint against PBMs focused on insulin.</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Employers on the hook</strong></h3> <p>Another legal case of interest is the recent <a href="https://litigationtracker.law.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/lewandowski-v-johnson-and-johnson_2.5.24_Complaint.pdf">lawsuit filed by a former employee of Johnson &amp; Johnson</a>, Ann Lewandowski, in New Jersey in February.</p> <p>She contends that a 1974 federal law, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), should compel companies to ensure reasonable prescription drug prices under their health benefit plans. Her complaint cites as evidence of harm the case of a 90-pill prescription for the generic drug teriflunomide, used to treat multiple sclerosis.</p> <p>The drug can be purchased without insurance at retail and online pharmacies for prices ranging from $28.40 to $77.41. Using Johnson &amp; Johnson’s insurance coverage, reflecting PBM policies, the same prescription would cost “$10,239.69 &#8212; not a typo,” the lawsuit says.</p> <p>“No prudent fiduciary would agree to make its plan and beneficiaries pay a price that is two-hundred-and-fifty times higher than the price available to any individual who just walks into a pharmacy and pays out-of-pocket,” <a href="https://litigationtracker.law.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/lewandowski-v-johnson-and-johnson_2.5.24_Complaint.pdf">the complaint says</a>.</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Research Roundup</strong></h3> <p>PBMs are a big topic of interest among health policy researchers. The following academic papers can help journalists gain a deeper understanding of the issues at play in the debate about PBMs.</p> <p><a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/implications-i-rutledge-v-pcma-i-state-health-care-cost-regulation"><strong>The Implications Of Rutledge v. PCMA For State Health Care Cost Regulation</strong></a><br />Erin C. Fuse Brown and Elizabeth Y. McCuskey. Health Affairs blog, December 2020.</p> <p>Rutledge v. PCMA was a 2020 case in which a trade organization for PBMs sued the attorney general of Arkansas – and eventually lost. In this Health Affairs article blog, the authors, a health policy professor and a law school professor, explain why this case was such a significant win for states seeking to regulate PBMs.</p> <p>Enacted by Congress in 1974, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act can preempt state laws that relate to employee benefits, including health benefits. This is an extraordinarily broad mandate that “has bedeviled courts and preempted scores of state health care regulations,” the authors write. ERISA is intended to set minimum standards for most voluntarily established retirement and health plans in private industry. But courts “have made a mess of ERISA jurisprudence,” owing in part to the statute’s “inscrutable language” preempting laws that relate to benefits, the authors write.</p> <p>In 2015, Arkansas passed a law that effectively requires PBMs to reimburse pharmacies at a price equal to or higher than the pharmacy’s cost for purchasing drugs to sell to customers. It also permits Arkansas pharmacies to refuse to sell a drug if the reimbursement rate is lower than its acquisition cost. The trade group for PBMs, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, sued, contending that ERISA preempted this Arkansas law.</p> <p>The case reached the Supreme Court, which ruled 8-0 in favor of Arkansas. In this case, the Supreme Court concluded ERISA does not preempt some state rate regulations. It found cost-control regulation to be beyond ERISA’s scope.</p> <p><strong>The authors write:</strong> “Most immediately, Rutledge puts PBM regulations passed by more than 45 states on much firmer footing. These laws do different things, but they are all aimed at reining in prescription drug costs.”<strong></strong></p> <p><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31219507/"><strong>Pharmacy Benefit Manager Reform: Lessons from Ohio</strong></a><br />Trevor J Royce, Sheetal Kircher and Rena M Conti. JAMA, July 2019.</p> <p>This paper recaps how Ohio became a leader in efforts to regulate PBMs.</p> <p>Ohio in 2018 directed the insurers that manage its Medicaid program to revise their approach to paying PBMs, effective January 2019. This followed the release of a wide-sweeping audit that appears to have been the first comprehensive review of PBM practices by a government agency in any state or nationwide, the authors write.</p> <p>These plans were directed to instead adopt a transparent “pass-through” pricing model whereby the Medicaid health plans would pay PBMs the exact amount paid to the pharmacy for the prescription drug, a dispensing fee and, in lieu of spread-based revenue, an administrative fee, the authors write.</p> <p>This shift addressed concerns about “spread pricing,” where Ohio Medicaid paid high prices for drugs for which local pharmacies received low reimbursement, with a PBM pocketing the difference. For example, the price paid in 2017 to pharmacies for a 30-day supply of the generic leukemia medication imatinib mesylate was $3,859 with the cost to Ohio Medicaid of $7,201, a difference of $3,342.</p> <p>Ohio state officials and lawmakers also looked at ways to stop PBMs from imposing gag clauses on pharmacists before bipartisan federal legislation passed on this issue.</p> <p><strong>The authors write:</strong> “States have long been fertile testing grounds for health policy innovation and, as has been seen with states’ efforts toward expanding insurance coverage, may act as leaders in improving patient access and affordability to prescription drugs. Ohio has pioneered regulatory efforts to increase PBM accountability, eliminate spread pricing in favor of more transparent pass-through pricing, and reduce the use of pharmacy gag clauses.”</p> <p><a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2785932"><strong>Estimation of the Share of Net Expenditures on Insulin Captured by US Manufacturers, Wholesalers, Pharmacy Benefit Managers, Pharmacies, and Health Plans From 2014 to 2018</strong></a><br />Karen Van Nuys, Rocio Ribero, Martha Ryan and Neeraj Sood. JAMA Health Forum,November 2021.</p> <p>In response to news stories and lawmakers’ inquiries into high insulin prices, the authors examine the flow of funds through the insulin distribution system.<s></s></p> <p>They use data from the 2014 to 2018 regarding list and estimate net prices from the consulting firm SSR Health for 32 insulin products. They also consider information drawn from a commercial pharmacy claims database and mean acquisition costs and reimbursements from the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services, as well as data on spreads and rebates from state Medicaid and drug transparency reports.</p> <p>They find that the mean list prices of 32 insulin products increased by 40.1%, from $19.60 to $27.45, between 2014 and 2018, while mean net prices earned by manufacturers decreased by 30.8%, from $10.53 to $7.29. The authors estimate that the share of insulin expenditures retained by PBMs increased by 154.6%, from $5.64 to $14.36.</p> <p>Federal officials and companies have taken several steps in recent years to curb consumers’ out-of-pocket costs for insulin, with a shift that allows many insured patients to pay $35 per month for a necessary supply of the drug. These include a cap for costs for people on Medicare. But this approach leaves unaddressed the rising behind-the-scenes cost of insulin, which adds to rising total health costs.</p> <p><strong>The authors write:</strong> “While limiting beneficiaries’ [out of pocket] costs may provide immediate financial relief to insulin users, it does not fundamentally resolve the problem of increasing insulin costs, and such proposals could create more pressure on premiums to increase. Instead, we recommend a solution that addresses the root cause of increasing insulin costs, particularly addressing the roles played by distribution system intermediaries.”</p> <p><a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w31536"><strong>Disadvantaging Rivals: Vertical Integration in the Pharmaceutical Market</strong></a><br />Charles Gray, Abby E. Alpert and Neeraj Sood. NBER working paper, August 2023.</p> <p>The authors of this working paper describe it as the first major study of the consequences of vertical integration between insurers and PBMs.</p> <p>They focus on how the market changed following the 2015 acquisition of the last significant stand-alone PBM, Catamaran, by UnitedHealth, which already owned the giant Optum PBM. To conduct their research, the authors used datasets from the Medicare Part D plan for the year 2010 to 2018. They also used data from the consulting group Decision Resources Group.</p> <p>Prior to UnitedHealth’s acquisition of Catamaran, between 2010 and 2014, the premium trends for health plans not affiliated with PBMs, or non-vertically integrated plans, were not statistically distinguishable from vertically integrated plans, or ones that are part of the same companies as PBMs.</p> <p>The study finds that insurers that shifted to a rival’s vertically integrated PBM after using Catamaran experienced a premium increase of 22%, or approximately $12 a month, relative to a control group of vertically integrated plans, meaning health plans that were part of an organization that owns a PBM. For insurers already using a rival’s vertically integrated PBM in 2015, there was a 53% increase, or about $29.</p> <p>This apparent benefit of switching to a vertically integrated PBM was perhaps due to economies of scale that could reduce costs, the authors write. Upon further investigation, they find the plans most directly affected by Catamaran’s exit from the market had a smaller premium increase, a counterintuitive result.</p> <p>Since plans that previously used Catamaran tended to be larger insurers, the premium effects of the merger for these plans could be lower compared with the merger’s impact for smaller insurers. Smaller former Catamaran customers had a premium increase averaging closer to $40, supporting this thesis, the researchers find.</p> <p>The authors also note that the loss of Catamaran may have prompted its former customers to do more diligent research in looking for new PBMs. Businesses will sometimes stick with their current PBMs instead of shopping around for new deals, as customer inertia in this field is known to keep health plans allied with PBMs. PBMs may have offered better deal terms to these health plans to attract new clients and then gradually increase cost over time as insurers become more inattentive, a strategy known as “invest-then-harvest” strategy, they write.</p> <p><strong>The authors write:</strong> “… regulators should carefully weigh the potential benefits of vertical integration with the potential for foreclosure. &#8230;A vertical merger can also reduce costs by improving the operational efficiency of the joint firm. However, regulators should also consider how increasing vertical integration caused by rising concentration of these firms, or even the removal of a non-integrated competitor, could increase the incentive for foreclosure which may offset potential efficiencies gained from the merger.”</p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a><strong>Additional resources</strong></h3> <h5 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Tools for tracking health care industry lawsuits</strong></h5> <p>Georgetown’s <a href="https://litigationtracker.law.georgetown.edu/">Health Care Litigation Tracker</a> is following the <a href="https://litigationtracker.law.georgetown.edu/litigation/lewandowski-v-johnson-and-johnson">Lewandowski v. Johnson and Johnson </a>lawsuit and similar cases. This open-access website provides clear short descriptions of cases, providing helpful introductions for the public to complex legal issues.</p> <p>The well-respected SCOTUS blog is <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/mulready-v-pharmaceutical-care-management-association/">tracking the Mulready v. PCMA case.</a></p> <h5 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Where to track congressional interest in PBMs</strong></h5> <p>The House Oversight and Accountability Committee has shown a deep interest in the operations of PBMs, holding a series of hearings and producing the report, <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/PBM-Report-FINAL-with-Redactions.pdf">The Role of Pharmacy Benefit Managers in Prescription Drug Markets</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; .</p> <p>At a <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/the-role-of-pharmacy-benefit-managers-in-prescription-drug-markets-part-iii-transparency-and-accountability/">July hearing</a>, the committee called executives of the three largest PBMs to appear as witnesses. In testimony, the PBM executives maintained that they worked to lower drug prices, seeking to rebuff criticism of their role in fueling pharmaceutical price increases. They also maintained they support independent pharmacies.</p> <p>Rep. James Comer (R-KY), the chair of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, in September took the unusual step of sending letters seeking correction in testimony from all three witnesses at the June hearing: David Joyner, president of CVS Caremark; Adam Kautzner, president of Express Scripts and Patrick Conway, chief executive officer of UnitedHealth’s Optum Rx.</p> <p>In these letters, Comer reminded the executives that they had testified under oath. The companies sent responses through their law firms, sticking by their testimony. In response, law firms representing the companies replied and maintained that no corrections were needed.</p> <p>Other key congressional reports and hearings on PBMs include:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Bringing Transparency and Accountability to Pharmacy Benefit Managers. <a href="https://www.commerce.senate.gov/2023/2/bringing-transparency-and-accountability-to-pharmacy-benefit-managers#:~:text=U.S.%20Senator%20Maria%20Cantwell%20(D,2023%2C%20at%2010%20a.m.%20ET.">February 16, 2023.</a></li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. Pharmacy Benefit Managers and the Prescription Drug Supply Chain: Impact on Patients and Taxpayers. <a href="https://www.finance.senate.gov/hearings/pharmacy-benefit-managers-and-the-prescription-drug-supply-chain-impact-on-patients-and-taxpayers">March 30, 2023.</a><br /></li> </ul> <h5 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Tools for tracking pharmacy issues</strong></h5> <p>The Associated Press created a tool for <a href="https://apnews.com/article/pharmacy-closure-drugstore-cvs-walgreens-rite-aid-91967f18c0c059415b98fcf67ad0f84e">checking for pharmacy deserts</a> in the U.S.</p> <p>The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCAPA has a <a href="https://ncpa.org/pbm-reform">webpage that tracks efforts to change laws on PBMs.</a></p> <p>The NCPA also this year released results of its survey of about 10,000 independent pharmacy owners and managers in February, getting about 815 responses. Of these respondents, <a href="https://ncpa.org/newsroom/news-releases/2024/02/27/local-pharmacies-brink-new-survey-reveals">32% said they are considering closing</a> their business within this calendar year, NCPA said.</p> <h5 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Tools for tracking state-level legislative actions</strong></h5> <p>The <a href="https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/special-reports/2018/09/16/side-effects-series-on-prescription/9705346007/">Columbus Dispatch’s reporting </a>on PBMs helped spur Ohio officials to action on the changes it made to its Medicaid plans, a step that served as an inspiration to other states.</p> <p>The Association of Health Care Journalists hosted <a href="https://healthjournalism.org/event/understanding-the-pharmacy-benefit-manager-shell-game/">a 2022 webinar </a>with Darrell Rowland, the former Columbus Dispatch journalist, about this reporting.</p> <p>The National Academy for State Health Policy has a<a href="https://nashp.org/state-tracker/state-pharmacy-benefit-manager-legislation/"> web page where it tracks PBM legislation.</a></p> <h5 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Industry groups to know</strong></h5> <p>The<a href="https://www.pcmanet.org/"> Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA)</a> is the trade group for PBMs.</p> <p>America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a trade group that represents health insurers, has <a href="https://www.ahip.org/resources/pbms-impact-on-employer-provided-coverage-contract-benefit-design">a web page about the benefits of PBMs.</a></p> <p>Groups that have taken an interest in greater regulation of PBMs include:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/press-releases/new-ama-analysis-consolidation-pbm-markets">American Medical Association</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.nacds.org/about/mission/">National Association of Chain Drug Stores</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.pbgh.org/urging-congress-to-pass-pbm-and-health-care-reform-legislation-2/">Purchaser Business Group on Health (PBGH)</a></li> </ul> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p></p> <h3 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-background" id="PBM-reporting-tips" style="background:radial-gradient(rgb(238,238,238) 34%,rgb(169,184,195) 100%);margin-top:0;margin-right:0;margin-bottom:0;margin-left:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);font-style:normal;font-weight:800">Tip sheet:&nbsp; <strong>4</strong> <strong>things journalists covering PBMs should do</strong></h3> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-right:0;margin-bottom:0;margin-left:0"><strong>1. Reach out to independent pharmacies.</strong></p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">Journalists working on stories about PBMs should reach out to independent pharmacies in their coverage areas, says Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter (R-GA), one of the experts on PBMs among members of Congress. He brings to his legislative work his experience from four decades working as a pharmacist, including owning Carter’s Pharmacy, Inc.</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-right:0;margin-bottom:0;margin-left:0">They should ask the owners of these businesses how much (or how little) they get paid by PBMs when they dispense drugs, Carter says. He also suggests journalists ask about the financial decisions PBMs reach through a process called adjudication, in which a pharmacy sends a patient’s claim electronically to a PBM, the PBM evaluates the claim, and then the PBM sends a response back to the pharmacy. Pharmacists can provide examples of the amounts they get from adjudicated claims of different medicines, Carter says.</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">“When my computer calls their computer and it calls back and says, &#8216;This is how much we&#8217;re going to pay you. This is how much you&#8217;re to charge the patient copay,”” Carter says, “all that information is right there via computer.”</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">Journalists can ask the independent pharmacies to provide examples of cases to show how low reimbursement is affecting them.</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">“The pharmacist will be glad to show them. ‘I sent this claim to the insurance company. This is how much they&#8217;re going to pay me. This is how much I paid for it. So I&#8217;m going to lose $3 on this drug right here,’ or `I&#8217;m only going to make 15 cents on this one’,” Carter says.</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">Journalists can remind audiences of the counseling pharmacists provide to patients. The staff of independent pharmacies sometimes can help patients avoid complications by emphasizing the need to take medicines correctly, such as making sure in some cases to accompany them with food or milk.</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">2. <strong>When reporting on pharmacy deserts, note that many factors are at play in pharmacy closings.&nbsp;</strong></p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">Be careful not to imply that PBMs are solely responsible for the trend of pharmacy closures. Like other small businesses, these firms also face rising rent and labor costs, along with competition with online retailers, as journalists Reed Abelson and Rebecca Robbins explain in their Oct. 19, 2024 story in the New York Times, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/19/business/drugstores-closing-pbm-pharmacy.html">The Powerful Companies Driving Local Drugstores Out of Business.</a></p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">“People have grown more comfortable getting everything from laundry detergent to medications delivered through the mail, sapping pharmacies of long-running revenue streams,” they write.</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">3<strong>.</strong> <strong>Ask questions about whether any given policy change proposal would lower drug costs for patients.</strong></p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">Although regulatory and legislative proposals are often promoted as measures meant to protect patients, these proposals are often driven by pharmacies and other interested parties aiming to weaken PBMs to advance their own interests, Ge Bai of Johns Hopkins University told The Journalist&#8217;s Resource in an e-mail exchange.</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">&nbsp;&#8220;It’s essential for journalists to help the public understand whether a regulation would ultimately benefit patients,&#8221; she wrote.</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">Bai explores this question in a 2023 special communication article in JAMA Health Forum, titled <a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2811344">Pharmacy Benefit Managers: History, Business Practices, Economics, and Policy</a>.</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">Some researchers contend that stripping PBMs of their ability to profit through rebates would raise and not lower medical costs.</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">For example, Casey Mulligan, who served as chief economist for the Council of Economic Advisers in the first Trump administration, has said taking away rebates as a path to PBM profit would be a boon for drug manufacturers and retail pharmacy companies.</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">In a<a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w31667"> 2023 NBER working paper</a>, Mulligan looked at what might happen if PBMs would receive fixed payments, regardless of the number of discounts they obtained from manufacturers and pharmacies. “Absent the financial incentives, plans would pay more to manufacturers and to pharmacies because plans would receive less manufacturer rebates and pharmacy discounts,” he writes.</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">Mulligan estimates the potential costs if PBM’s “pay for performance” compensation for Medicare were shifted to approaches claims to be tied to the list price of a drug. He writes that annual federal spending on Medicare Part D premiums would increase $3 billion to $10 billion if PBMs were blocked from making profits on the rebates and discounts they negotiate.</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">Mulligan notes the PBM trade group, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, compensated him for conducting this research on publicly available data, but did not have control of his findings.&nbsp;</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-right:0;margin-bottom:0;margin-left:0">In a&nbsp;<a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__paragoninstitute.org_private-2Dhealth_health-2Dcare-2Dfor-2Da-2Dlame-2Dduck_&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&amp;r=m7iaRYBdDWOmFRGSoylVpQwx-4B9bgpkWSUm_oohWCo&amp;m=Z94q7p0VUsb8QfuRp0ApOxwwWk3OxOtE3BGRQlwcd-NZJUwXkQzFzpPa21ARtFJf&amp;s=OZjd8bN2jDvCuv0qINrMKHD2a_LY6nZpDk9aDoNXohM&amp;e=" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">November set of recommendations for Congress,</a>&nbsp;Jackson Hammond, senior policy analyst at the Paragon Health Institute, a conservative nonprofit think tank, urges against delinking PBM compensation from rebates.&nbsp;</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">&#8220;Rebates are a negotiating tool that is widely used in our economy, and PBMs typically take only a small percentage of them, usually between 1 percent and 5 percent,&#8221; Hammond writes. &#8220;Taxpayers risk higher drug prices if PBMs lose incentives to negotiate the best prices for their client plan sponsors.&#8221;</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">Paragon&#8217;s president is Brian Blase, who was a special assistant to the president for economic policy at the White House’s National Economic Council (NEC) from 2017-2019, where he worked on health policies.</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">4. <strong>Check what your state and federal representatives have done and are doing &#8212; and how well it&#8217;s working.</strong></p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">The <a href="https://nashp.org/state-tracker/state-pharmacy-benefit-manager-legislation/">National Academy for State Health Policy</a> is a good place to begin checking what local officials have done to address concerns about PBMs.</p> <p class="has-ast-global-color-6-background-color has-background" style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0">You can also see if members of Congress representing your audience have signed onto bills using Congress.gov and <a href="https://www.congress.gov/search?q=%7B%22congress%22%3A%5B%22118%22%5D%2C%22source%22%3A%5B%22legislation%22%5D%2C%22search%22%3A%22%5C%22pharmacy+benefit+manager%5C%22%22%7D">checking for “pharmacy benefit manager” legislation</a>. In addition, you can check what actions your state attorney general has taken.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/pharmacy-benefit-managers-what-journalists-need-to-know-about-the-prescription-drug-middleman-industry/">Pharmacy benefit managers: What journalists need to know about the prescription drug middleman industry</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>9 local story ideas from the 2024 Lancet Countdown report on climate change and health</title> <link>https://journalistsresource.org/home/2024-lancet-countdown-report/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Naseem S. Miller]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 03 Dec 2024 20:39:15 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Health]]></category> <category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://journalistsresource.org/?p=79993</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Climate change is often framed as a global crisis, but its impacts are local. Journalists can inform their audiences by localizing climate change stories, making abstract climate data more tangible.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/2024-lancet-countdown-report/">9 local story ideas from the 2024 Lancet Countdown report on climate change and health</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="sharing"><div class="social-icons"><div class="simplesocialbuttons simplesocial-round-icon simplesocialbuttons_inline simplesocialbuttons-align-right simplesocialbuttons-inline-no-animation"> <button class="simplesocial-fb-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Facebook Share" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://journalistsresource.org/home/2024-lancet-countdown-report/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Facebook </span> </button> <button class="simplesocial-twt-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Twitter Share" data-href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=9+local+story+ideas+from+the+2024+Lancet+Countdown+report+on+climate+change+and+health&url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/2024-lancet-countdown-report/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Twitter</span> </button> <button rel="nofollow" target="_blank" class="simplesocial-linkedin-share" aria-label="LinkedIn Share" data-href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/2024-lancet-countdown-report/" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;"><span class="simplesocialtxt">LinkedIn</span></button> <button class="simplesocial-reddit-share" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" aria-label="Reddit Share" data-href="https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://journalistsresource.org/home/2024-lancet-countdown-report/&title=9+local+story+ideas+from+the+2024+Lancet+Countdown+report+on+climate+change+and+health" onclick="javascript:window.open(this.dataset.href, '', 'menubar=no,toolbar=no,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,height=600,width=600');return false;" ><span class="simplesocialtxt">Reddit</span> </button> <button onclick="javascript:window.location.href = this.dataset.href;return false;" class="simplesocial-email-share" aria-label="Share through Email" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" data-href="mailto:?subject=9 local story ideas from the 2024 Lancet Countdown report on climate change and health&body=https://journalistsresource.org/home/2024-lancet-countdown-report/"><span class="simplesocialtxt">Email</span></button> </div> </div></div> <p>Health threats from climate change are reaching record-breaking levels, affecting people in every country, according to the eighth annual <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/countdown-health-climate">Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change report</a>, which provides an up-to-date assessment of the links between health and climate change.</p> <p>Ten of the report’s 15 health indicators, including heat-related mortality, infectious disease transmission, food and water security, and air pollution exposure, reached new records. </p> <p>The report, which represents the work of 122 leading experts, including scientists and policymakers from 57 academic institutions and UN agencies globally,&nbsp;calls for the trillions of dollars that governments and companies spend on fossil fuels to instead be used for a rapid and fair transition to a <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/carbon-offsets-4-things-journalists-need-to-understand/">net zero</a> greenhouse gas economy.</p> <p>In 2023, which was <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/environment/warming-2023/">the hottest year on record</a>, global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions reached an all-time high, 1.1% above 2022.</p> <p>“With climate change breaking dangerous new records and emissions persistently rising, preventing the most catastrophic consequences on human development, health, and survival now requires the support and will of all actors in society,” the authors write. “However, data suggest that engagement with health and climate change could be declining across key sectors.”</p> <p>The future of efforts to combat climate change in the U.S. remains unclear. In August, the Biden administration released the first-of-its-kind <a href="https://cpo.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/National_Heat_Strategy-2024-2030.pdf">National Heat Strategy</a>, a comprehensive plan for addressing the increasing risks of extreme heat in the U.S. between 2024 and 2030. But, President-elect Donald Trump <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/what-to-expect-from-the-new-trump-administration-on-climate-and-environmental-policy">has said</a> that he wants to get rid of federal efforts and regulations that aim to cut carbon emissions and the use of fossil fuels.</p> <p>Journalists can play a key role in informing and engaging their audiences about the impact of climate change on health, although there has been a slight drop in newspaper stories that make this connection, according to the Lancet report.</p> <p>In 2023, 24% of English, Chinese, German, Portuguese and Spanish newspaper articles on climate change mentioned health, a 10% decline from 2022, according to the report.</p> <p>Separately, a November 2024 study published in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/17524032.2024.2426560?needAccess=true">Environmental Communication</a> finds that coverage in Spanish-language newspapers “resembles coverage in mainstream English-language media, and does not localize the issue for their audiences, which suggests a significant information gap for millions of immigrants.”</p> <p>To help journalists localize coverage of the international Lancet report, we first highlight its major findings and then list 9 local story ideas.</p> <p>The report is funded by <a href="https://wellcome.org/">Wellcome</a>, a London-based charitable foundation, and developed in close collaboration with the World Health Organization. It was published in late October ahead of the 29th&nbsp;UN Conference of the Parties (COP), which brought together representatives from nearly every country to address global climate change. The report primarily covers data and developments from 2023 and 2024.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="797" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Lancet-infographic-Dengue-1024x797.png" alt="" class="wp-image-79995" style="width:895px;height:auto" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Lancet-infographic-Dengue-1024x797.png 1024w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Lancet-infographic-Dengue-300x234.png 300w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Lancet-infographic-Dengue-768x598.png 768w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Lancet-infographic-Dengue-1536x1196.png 1536w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Lancet-infographic-Dengue.png 1824w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>(Courtesy of Lancet Countdown)</em></figcaption></figure> <h1 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Key takeaways</strong></h1> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong>Climate change continues to drive record-breaking health threats</strong>, including heat-related mortality, sleep loss due to rising nighttime temperatures and the expanding geographical range of infectious diseases such as dengue, malaria and West Nile virus. An all-time high of more than 5 million <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/dengue-research-roundup/">dengue</a> cases were reported in more than 80 countries in 2023.</li> <li><strong>The average annual economic losses from weather-related extreme events increased</strong> by 23% between 2010 and 2023, to $227 billion, a value that exceeds the GDP of about 60% of national economies. Climate change can lead to a loss in productivity, especially in outdoor industries such as construction, mining and agriculture; it can destroy infrastructure and disrupt supply chains; it can reduce agricultural yields; it can increase heat-related illnesses; and overall undermine economic stability and growth.</li> <li><strong>Food and water insecurity are on the rise</strong>. More than 151 million people faced moderate to severe food insecurity in 2022, and nearly half the global land area experienced at least one month of extreme drought in 2023.</li> <li><strong>Greenhouse gas emissions from the </strong><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/health-care-sector-climate-change-greenhouse-gas-research/"><strong>health care industry</strong></a><strong> have increased by 36% since 2016</strong>, &#8220;making health systems increasingly unprepared to operate in a net zero emissions future.&#8221; In 2021, greenhouse gas emissions from the health care sector were 9.5% higher than in 2020.</li> <li><strong>Only 35% of countries reported having early warning systems for heat-related illness</strong>. The ministries of health in many countries lack public health surveillance systems that integrate weather information, which can help with early warning and response in case of extreme weather events. A key barrier for many was a lack of financial resources.</li> <li><strong>Dependence on fossil fuels is prolonging the climate change crisis</strong>. Energy-related CO2 emissions hit an all-time high in 2023, while oil and gas companies are expanding fossil fuel production despite the goals of the <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement">Paris Agreement</a>, which was adopted in 2015, establishing a global framework to combat climate change.</li> <li><strong>Climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts are insufficient</strong>, with only 27% of <a href="https://www.greenclimate.fund/">Green Climate Fund</a> adaptation projects explicitly targeting health benefits. Investment in renewable energy in vulnerable countries remains low. The Green Climate Fund was established in 2010 to help developing countries address climate change.</li> <li><strong>Between 2016 and 2022, the world lost almost 450 million acres of forest cover</strong>, equal to 5% of global tree cover. <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/tree-health-equity/">Poor tree cover</a> and inadequate forest conservation worsen climate change and increase the risk of forest fires, animal-borne diseases and allergies.</li> </ul> <p>The report offers some glimmers of hope.</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><strong>Deaths from fossil fuel-derived air pollution fell</strong> almost 7% from 2.25 million in 2016 to 2.09 million in 2021. More than half of this decline was due to efforts to reduce pollution from coal burning, demonstrating the life-saving potential of coal phase-out.</li> <li><strong>The share of electricity generated from clean energy reached 10.5%</strong> in 2021, almost twice that of 2016.</li> <li><strong>Global investment in clean energy grew 10% in 2023</strong> to $1.9 trillion, exceeding fossil fuel investment by 73%.</li> <li><strong>Employment in renewable energy companies reached a record high</strong> of 13.7 million employees in 2022, a 35.6% increase since 2016.</li> <li><strong>The number of scientific publications on health and climate change grew by 7.4% between 2022 and 2023,</strong> although the research findings aren’t consistently translated into policies.</li> <li><strong>Wikipedia article views on the health effects of climate change have increased by 40%</strong> since 2022, suggesting a growing public interest. Also, despite the slight drop in recent news articles, media coverage of the issue has grown over time. In 2016, there were 5,447 articles discussing health and climate change, whereas in 2023, the number had increased by 132%, to 12,658.</li> </ul> <h1 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>9 local story ideas</strong></h1> <p>Climate change is often framed as a global crisis, but its impacts are local, and this is where journalists play a critical role. By localizing climate change stories, journalists can connect abstract climate data with tangible, everyday issues &#8212; such as increased hospital admissions during heatwaves, disruptions in agriculture, or heightened risks of diseases like dengue and malaria &#8212; and inform their audiences. </p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>1. Impact of heatwaves on vulnerable communities</strong></h2> <p>As heatwaves intensify, vulnerable populations, including older adults and infants, are experiencing unprecedented health risks. In 2023 alone, these groups faced a record high of 13.8 days of extreme heat per person. Globally in 2023, heat-related deaths in those over age 65 increased by a record-breaking 167% above deaths in the 1990s, substantially above the 65% increase that would&nbsp;have been expected&nbsp;had temperatures not changed.</p> <p>Reach out to government offices and advocacy organizations and find out how your local community is adapting to extreme heat, and explore the role of urban planning, health interventions and community awareness to mitigate health risks.</p> <p>For example, this story, published in <a href="https://www.dailycardinal.com/article/2024/11/the-walls-sweat-extreme-heat-in-wisconsin-prison-systems-prompts-calls-for-major-regulation">The Daily Cardinal</a> in November 2024, sheds light on extreme heat in the Wisconsin prison system. This September 2024 story in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interactive/2024/hurricanes-power-outages-heat-wave-risk/">The Washington Post</a> investigates how prepared cities are to handle major disasters.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>2. Local labor and productivity loss due to heat stress</strong></h2> <p>With 512 billion potential work hours lost globally in 2023 due to heat exposure, according to the Lancet report, workers in agriculture and construction are among the hardest hit.</p> <p>Explore the local impact on outdoor laborers, including their economic challenges, innovative cooling solutions aimed at protecting their health and productivity, and related laws. And report on related bills. For instance, a <a href="https://news.wfsu.org/wfsu-local-news/2024-07-12/as-floridas-heat-law-kicks-in-feds-eye-worker-heat-protections">Florida law</a> that went into effect in July 2024 bars local governments from requiring businesses to provide heat protection for workers.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>3. Rising nighttime temperatures and sleep quality</strong></h2> <p>Rising night-time temperatures are robbing people of vital sleep, with global sleep loss due to heat reaching 6% in 2023.</p> <p>Investigate how this issue impacts mental and physical health, and what affordable cooling innovations or community programs could help local residents adapt.</p> <p>This story, published in June 2024 in <a href="https://planetdetroit.org/2024/06/detroit-heat-wave-nights-hotter/">Planet Detroit</a>, explains the findings of a study on how climate change is making nights hotter in metro Detroit.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>4. Indigenous knowledge and climate resilience</strong></h2> <p>Indigenous communities offer vital knowledge to combat climate change. From sustainable farming practices to disaster preparedness rooted in ancestral wisdom, examine how local Indigenous groups are contributing to climate resilience.</p> <p>For example, some Indigenous peoples in the Amazon mostly drink a fermented casava beverage, which generally contains less coliform bacteria than water directly collected from the environment, according to the Lancet report. “This practice could be a culturally appropriate adaptation measure to reduced water availability as climate impacts worsen,” the authors write.</p> <p>Check out the <a href="https://apnews.com/climate-and-environment/indigenous-peoples-adapting-to-and-combatting-climate-change">Associated Press series</a> on indigenous peoples and climate.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>5. Climate-driven food insecurity in local communities</strong></h2> <p>Climate change has exacerbated food insecurity, with 151 million more people experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity in 2022 than in 1981-2010.</p> <p>Investigate how local farmers are adapting to droughts and heatwaves and the role of urban farming, food banks and policy support in ensuring food security.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.sacurrent.com/news/climate-change-increasing-food-insecurity-in-san-antonio-other-places-hhs-official-warns-35536192">San Antonio Current</a> reported in September that climate change can increase food insecurity in the city, according to federal health officials.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>6. The mental health toll of climate disasters</strong></h2> <p>Whether it’s lack of sleep due to hot nights or extreme weather events, like wildfires that displace families, climate change can take a mental health toll on people.</p> <p>Find out whether local mental health services are coping with the growing demand from individuals affected by floods, wildfires, or prolonged heatwaves and highlight the personal stories of resilience and recovery.</p> <p>The nonprofit newsroom <a href="https://calmatters.org/health/mental-health/2023/10/climate-change-california-youth-mental-health/">CalMatters reported</a> in October 2023 about Californians who had turned to activism after feeling hopelessness and despair due to climate change.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>7. Health risks from sand and dust storms</strong></h2> <p>The increased frequency of sand and dust storms has raised the risk of exposure to tiny particles by 31% globally. Look at how local communities are addressing respiratory health challenges, with insights from healthcare professionals and individuals directly impacted by worsening air quality.</p> <p>This March 2024 story in the <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/03/22/chicago-air-pollution/">Chicago Tribune</a>, explains Chicago’s air pollution ranking in a global report.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>8. Drought and water scarcity</strong></h2> <p>Extreme drought affected nearly half the global land area in 2023, creating severe water scarcity challenges.</p> <p>Explore local water management solutions, from rainwater harvesting to community education programs, and the intersection of these efforts with climate adaptation policies.</p> <p>A September 2024 story in <a href="https://www.whro.org/environment/2024-09-25/youngkin-oks-rules-on-harvesting-rainwater-which-a-newport-news-auto-shop-owner-helped-draft#close-modal">WHRO</a> highlights new regulations for rainwater reuse in Virginia.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>9. Preparing local health systems for climate shocks</strong></h2> <p>With only 35% of countries having heat-related illness warning systems, many health systems remain underprepared for climate-related health emergencies.</p> <p>Find out the readiness of local health care infrastructure, ongoing gaps, and innovative pilot programs to bolster climate resilience in hospitals and clinics.</p> <p>An October 2024 story in <a href="https://www.wbur.org/radioboston/2024/10/25/massachusetts-extreme-weather-climate-change-hurricane-helene-hospital-healthcare-readiness">WBUR</a> investigates whether the Massachusetts hospital system is prepared to deal with extreme weather caused by climate change.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="870" height="1024" src="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-29-at-4.01.08 PM-870x1024.png" alt="" class="wp-image-79994" srcset="https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-29-at-4.01.08 PM-870x1024.png 870w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-29-at-4.01.08 PM-255x300.png 255w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-29-at-4.01.08 PM-768x904.png 768w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-29-at-4.01.08 PM-1305x1536.png 1305w, https://journalistsresource.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screenshot-2024-11-29-at-4.01.08 PM.png 1354w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>(Courtesy of Lancet Countdown)</em></figcaption></figure> <h1 class="wp-block-heading">Previous reports</h1> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/lancet-climate-countdown-2023/">6 story ideas in the 2023 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change report</a></li> <li><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/health/lancet-climate-countdown-2022/">The 2022 Lancet climate change and health report: Dire warnings and glimmers of hope</a></li> <li><a href="https://journalistsresource.org/health/7-tips-for-finding-local-stories-in-the-lancets-new-health-and-climate-change-report/">7 tips for finding local stories in The Lancet’s 2021 health and climate change report</a></li> </ul> <p></p> <p>The post <a href="https://journalistsresource.org/home/2024-lancet-countdown-report/">9 local story ideas from the 2024 Lancet Countdown report on climate change and health</a> appeared first on <a href="https://journalistsresource.org">The Journalist&#039;s Resource</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> </channel> </rss>