Research Library

Baker Institute Rice faculty scholar Luz M. Garcini and co-authors analyze existing research on the compounded stressors and health risks faced by undocumented Latino older adults in the United States. Using a Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) lens, they examine the environments, conditions, and social structures that influence health risks, and provide policy and advocacy recommendations to address the issues.

When patients leaving the hospital cannot understand discharge instructions, this can lead to safety issues, poorer health outcomes, and additional hospital visits — adding to overall health care costs. Nonresident fellow and pediatrician Dr. Sheela Gavvala outlines the issues for non-native English speakers and suggests improvements.

The work of Katalin Karikó, 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine recipient, laid a foundation for the development of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines that saved close to 20 million lives worldwide. But her discoveries almost did not happen, writes Alicia L. Johnson, a civic science postdoctoral associate at the Baker Institute Center for Health and Biosciences. Karikó’s story highlights the vital importance of supporting women in STEM.

The creation of a new industry of brain capital technologies could stimulate major economic activity, create jobs, and contribute to technological advances for the U.S. and its allies, write Harris Eyre, Rachel Meidl and co-authors.

Six years after Hurricane Harvey deluged the Texas Gulf Coast, how exposed are Houston and Harris County to flooding risk? Jim Blackburn and Jennifer Borski examine key challenges and changes needed going forward.

“Green brain capital” places a central emphasis on the brain to deliver a healthy environment, and likewise on a green environment to safeguard brain health. The authors look at the existing literature and explain how this concept can help us build a sustainable future.

This report explores the motives underlying Mexico’s contradictory climate change policies. Given the fossil fuel-centered actions of the López Obrador administration, the author argues that Mexico’s recent clean energy turn is merely an attempt to lower tensions with the U.S. — not a true commitment to combatting climate change.

The Biden administration’s new industrial policy initiatives aim to help the U.S. compete with China, battle climate change and provide middle class jobs. Will these policies work or fade away like previous efforts?

This brief demonstrates that the stories and voices of people on the move should be noticed and reflected, and that people on the move should have a leading say regarding the contexts and conditions that affect them, as well as how they are represented.

Migration can expose women and girls to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in countries of transit and destination. SGBV has several repercussions on the physical, psychosocial, and economic well-being of those who experience it. In addition, migrant women can also experience significant sexual and reproductive health (SRH) problems due to inadequate access to care, harsh circumstances during their migratory journey, stigma, lack of information on support services, and lack of coordination between civil society and institutional structures.