Publications from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine provide objective and straightforward advice to decision makers and the public. This site includes Health and Medicine Division (HMD) publications released after 1998. A complete list of HMD’s publications from its establishment in 1970 to the present is available as a PDF.

• 
  Advancing Health Equity for Native American Youth ... Released: July 08, 2016

  More than 2 million Americans below age 24 self-identify as being of American Indian or Alaska Native descent. Many of the serious behavioral, emotional, and physical health concerns facing young people today are especially prevalent with Native youth (e.g., depression, violence, and substance abuse). Arrayed against these health problems are vital cultural strengths on which Native Americans can draw.
• 
  Health Risks of Indoor Exposure to Particulate Matter ... Released: July 06, 2016

  The health effects of outdoor exposure to particulate matter (PM) are the subject of both research attention and regulatory action. Although much less studied to date, indoor exposure to PM—which can result from particles infiltrating from the outdoors and from various indoor sources including candles, cooking, and smoking—is gaining attention as a potential source of adverse health effects. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently commissioned the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to hold a workshop examining what is known about indoor exposure to PM, examining sources of particles, their interaction with other elements of the indoor environment, exposure levels indoors, potential health concerns, ways to limit exposure, vulnerable populations, and means of communicating exposure risks and strategies to reduce exposures.
• 
  The Role of Business in Multisector Obesity Solutions ... Released: June 29, 2016

  n April 12, 2016, the Roundtable on Obesity Solutions convened a 1-day workshop in Washington, DC, to examine the role of the business sector in obesity solutions. The goal of the workshop was threefold: (1) explore why companies should be involved in obesity solutions and how to encourage them to do so; (2) identify reasons why businesses might be interested in being involved in obesity solutions; (3) identify ways in which business can be engaged in obesity solutions.
• 
  The Nation's Medical Countermeasure Stockpile ... Released: June 28, 2016

  The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine established a standing committee of experts to help inform decision making by CDC DSNS, including experts in state and local public health, medical countermeasure (MCM) production, warehouse and product distribution, logistics management, pharmaceutical supply chain modeling, emergency medical services, emergency medicine, risk communications, and FDA regulatory issues.
• 
  Investing in Young Children for Peaceful Societies: Individual ... Released: June 23, 2016

  With the worst human refugee crisis since World War II as the backdrop, from March 16 to March 18, 2016, the Forum on Investing in Young Children Globally, in partnership with UNICEF and the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID), held a workshop in Amman, Jordan, to explore topics related to investing in young children for peaceful societ­ies toward individual and structural transformation.
• 
  Assessing Prevalence and Trends in Obesity: Navigating the ... Released: June 21, 2016

  Accurate and meaningful estimates of prevalence and trends are fundamental to describing and understanding the scope of obesity. Policy makers, program planners, and other stakeholders search for and use reports relevant to their population(s) of interest to inform decision making. Interpreting and appropriately applying information derived from such reports, however, is challenging because of variations in methodologies and presentation that exist in the literature. In the report, Assessing Prevalence and Trends in Obesity: Navigating the Evidence, the committee offers a description of the landscape of the literature, a framework for assessing and interpreting published reports, and recommendations for improving future data collection efforts and filling data gaps.
• 
  Exploring Shared Value in Global Health and Safety ... Released: June 20, 2016

  A 2-day public workshop, held by the PPP Forum, explored the evolution of private sector in engagement in global health, and illuminated its impacts and potential impacts on global health stakeholders and the field broadly. The workshop examined this evolution and impacts through the perspectives of companies as well as other implementers of global health initiatives, such as nonprofit organizations, foundations, and development agencies.
• 
  Reaching and Investing in Children at the Margins: Workshop ... Released: June 20, 2016

  To examine the science, economics, and politics of investing in the health, education, nutrition, and social protection of children at the margins, the Forum on Investing in Young Children Globally (iYCG Forum) held a workshop in Prague, Czech Republic, on November 3–4, 2015, titled, “Reaching and Investing in Children at the Margins.”
• 
  A National Trauma Care System: Integrating Military and ... Released: June 17, 2016

  A National Trauma Care System: Integrating Military and Civilian Trauma Systems to Achieve Zero Preventable Deaths After Injury, presents a vision for a national trauma care system driven by the clear and bold aim of zero preventable deaths after injury and minimal trauma-related disability to benefit those the nation sends into harm’s way in combat as well as every American.
• 
  Relevance of Health Literacy to Precision Medicine ... Released: June 08, 2016

  On March 2, 2016, the Roundtable on Health Literacy of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine convened a workshop to examine the relevance of health literacy to precision medicine, a growing field that takes into account individuals’ differences in genes, environments, and lifestyles. The workshop explored the intersection of health literacy and precision medicine through a number of topics, but its impetus was the Precision Medicine Initiative.