When does the impact of conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs on infant health outcomes set in? Recent literature has emphasized the need for assessing the long-term, intergenerational influence of conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs on educational, health, and labor outcomes. However, less is known on the dynamic evolution of short-term outcomes, like an infant's health, within a particular locality that received a CCT–insights that are also practical and relevant for policymakers. Exploiting the program roll out variation of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), the largest social safety net CCT program in the Philippines, I estimate the causal, dynamic impacts of 4Ps on under-five, under-one, and one to under-five mortality rates across localities in the Philippines. Leveraging the retrospective nature of birth-level data from the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), I employ a fixed effects counterfactual estimator (FEct). I find a modest reduction in infant mortality rates after four to six birth cohorts, relative to the first cohort who received 4Ps within a locality. This reduction is significant for under-one mortality, but not for one to under-five mortality. This signifies that CCT programs like 4Ps have a noteworthy effect on the most critical first twelve months of life, but these impacts only set in after a few birth cohorts.

While there is research on the effect of urban factors on general health, there is currently no research on the correlation between specific urban factors and COVID-19 prevalence. The research question for this abstract explores how access to greenspace and access to food relate to COVID-19 prevalence rates across different urban communities in LA County. Our main source to distribute data among the corresponding communities comes from the US Census Tract. For the data on urban factors and COVID-19 prevalence, we have utilized the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, EPA Data, USC Neighborhood Data for Social Change (NDSC), and UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge. This abstract defines greenspace variables through “percent greenspace coverage,” the Environmental Burden Index, and includes public transit information, as well. Public transit variables include the Accessibility Index and the percentage of population accessible by transit. Food access indicators include grocery store proximity and households on the SNAP program. The results have shown a correlation between decreased access to greenspaces and nutrition sources and increased prevalence of COVID-19. Our future directions include investigating potential correlations between urban factors and Long COVID-19 rates. We believe that elucidating the association between greenspace and nutrition and COVID-19 prevalence will be of use in urban design and provide greater insights into future preventive epidemiology.

The difficulties veterans encounter when adjusting to civilian life after serving in the military are examined in this study, with an emphasis on their mental health, social integration, and the availability of support services. Veterans frequently experience emotional and cognitive challenges as a result of feeling disconnected from both civilian communities and their military counterparts. Only 40% of veterans say they would like to seek mental health treatment, even if they are aware of their need. This is primarily because of stigma, mistrust of the resources that are accessible, and bad experiences in the past. Instead of depending only on conventional, drug-based therapies, this study posits that veterans will gain from a broader range of mental health resources, community involvement opportunities, and advocacy outreach. The project will use a qualitative cross-sectional methodology to examine veterans' social identities, mental health issues, and reintegration difficulties by analyzing data from focus groups and questionnaires. To better understand how veterans manage their dual identities and the effects of stigma on their reintegration process, the research will employ theories like trauma theory, PTSD theory, and social identity theory. The results will help create more efficient support networks, enhancing veterans' mental health and easing their adjustment to civilian life.