Researchers from the Arnold Healthy Kids Initiative and Research Center for Child Well-Being have continued publishing results from their three-year study examining the health effects of providing free summer camp for children from low-income households. In a paper that appeared in JAMA Pediatrics, the team previously showed that free summer programming reduced BMI gains. Specifically, children who attended the free camp decreased their BMI while children who experienced a typical summer saw increases.

New research from the Department of Environmental Health Sciences explores how common sunscreen ingredients behave under light exposure. Led by associate professor Eric Vejerano, the team tested seven commercially available sunscreens (including four mineral-based formulas) and found that every sample produced persistent free radicals (PFRs) when exposed to artificial light. The study,  published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters, provides new insight into sunscreen photochemistry and may help guide future evaluations of product performance and safety.

New research led by environmental health sciences assistant professor Laura Langan has provided further support for the effectiveness of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). Langan and her team compared two of the most common approaches to WBE for monitoring the spread of an active measle outbreak in Texas: reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (more widely available) and RT digital PCR.

USC researchers continue to uncover new insights from a five-year project launched by health services policy and management associate professor Peiyin Hung and health promotion, education, and behavior professor Xiaoming Li to investigate maternal care and outcomes, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, their team received a $200,000 supplement to the initial $3 million National Institutes of Health U01 grant to further explore postpartum trends related to the intersection of residence location and race/ethnicity.

A recent study led by Ph.D. in Epidemiology candidate Marion Granger Howard and published in JAMA Pediatrics (the highest-ranked journal in the field) compared the health outcomes of planned hospital births vs planned community births (i.e., births that were intended to take place at home or at a birthing center). The researchers found that individuals who planned community births and actually delivered in those settings experienced lower risks of adverse health outcomes. However, those who planned community births at the onset of labor but then transferred to a hospital had increased odds of medical interventions and negative outcomes.

Rural and maternal health expert Peiyin Hung has published new research on maternal health outcomes based on the hospital locations where rural South Carolinians give birth. Published in JAMA Network Open, the health services policy and management (HSPM) associate professor and her co-authors* found that 47% of rural mothers are opting to deliver in urban hospitals over local facilities. These rural residents had higher risks of severe maternal morbidity and mortality.

Findings provide insights into how corporate ownership affects local TV, the most trusted source of news in the United States.

Scientists at HSE University have discovered that in preeclampsia—one of the most severe complications of pregnancy—the placenta remodels its lipid metabolism, reducing its own cholesterol synthesis while increasing cholesterol transfer to the foetus. This compensatory mechanism helps sustain foetal nutrition but accelerates placental deterioration and may lead to preterm birth. The study findings have been published in Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences.

A company’s ability to be technologically unique is an asset — but it can also be a costly, isolating characteristic. A new study published in Strategic Management Journal provides empirical evidence of this paradox, offering documentation of technologically unique pay-offs, as well as the double penalty of being a contrarian company.