During the COVID-19 pandemic, policies either mitigated or exacerbated inequities in child health. Existing research has focused on evaluating the effects of federal and state COVID-19-related policies; however, understanding the role of local county policies is also critical to informing current and future policymaking to support child nutrition and health. This study will link data from the NIH-funded US COVID-19 County Policy (UCCP) Database with national survey data to 1) assess how county policies affected child nutrition and health; and 2) conduct subgroup analyses to assess how policies affected disparities in outcomes among vulnerable subgroups of children.
Start Date: June 2023
ID #: 283-5110
Principal Investigator: Rita Hamad, MD, PhD
Co-Principal Investigator: Hilary Seligman, MD, MAS
Organization: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Funding Round: ARPA2
Age Groups: Adolescents (grades 9 to 12), Elementary-age children (grades K to 5), Pregnant women, infants and toddlers (ages 0 to 2), Preschool-age children (ages 3 to 5), Young adolescents (grades 6 to 8)
Keywords: COVID-19, Equity and disparities, Food insecurity, Healthy weight, Housing, Law/policy, Poverty & economic well-being, Supportive family policies
Resource Type: Grant Summary
State: National
Focus Area: Nutrition Policy & Programs
Related Research
September 2025
Food Insecurity-Related Stigma Among Adults in the United States: A Scoping Review
This review aimed to characterize individual- and structural-level stigma associated with government (ie, SNAP, WIC) and emergency food program (ie, food banks, pantries, cupboards, soup kitchens) utilization in the US. 5 databases (PubMed, PsychINFO, Web of Science, CINAHL, Sociological Abstracts) were searched in June 2024. The review included peer-reviewed articles (January 2004 – June 2024), MoreAugust 2025
Lived Experiences of Families Navigating Safety Net Expansions and Retractions During the Pandemic: A Qualitative Study
This study aimed to understand the experiences of families with low income in California with pandemic safety net support expansions and retractions, including barriers to program access. Using open-ended questions, we explored the self-reported experiences of pandemic-era safety net expansions and expirations between January and June 2023 among a group of caregivers of young children MoreAugust 2025