Examining the Impact of Total Sleep Duration on Daily Affect Among Short-Sleeping Adolescents
Researchers randomized 41 short‑sleeping adolescents to a two‑week sleep‑extension protocol (+90 minutes in bed) or to maintain habitual sleep. Actigraphy confirmed the extension increased average nightly sleep from 6.22 hours to 7.00 hours, a large effect (Hedges’ g≈0.87). Both groups showed significant gains in morning positive affect, yet no between‑group differences emerged for morning or evening affect. Secondary analyses revealed longer sleep correlated with lower morning negative affect and, paradoxically, with reduced evening positive affect.
Developing Patient-Reported Outcome Measures of Timely Experience of Diagnosis (PROMOTE-Dx) for Cancer
The research team released PROMOTE‑Dx, a validated patient‑reported outcome measure that captures the timeliness of cancer diagnosis. The instrument was created through extensive survey development, cognitive testing, and psychometric validation. PROMOTE‑Dx is designed for health‑care systems and insurers to monitor...
A Framework for Evaluating Implementation, Impact, and Cost-Effectiveness of Wastewater and Environmental Surveillance
A RAND‑led study introduces a modular logic model for evaluating wastewater and environmental surveillance (WES) programs, built on analysis of 151 evaluations from 2016‑2025. The model aligns with Kellogg Foundation principles and maps inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes to three...
Quality Care Collaboratives for Maternal Health Across U.S. States
A new scoping review will map how state‑based maternal and perinatal quality collaboratives (M/PQCs) implement safety toolkits and bundles across U.S. health systems. The review will include studies published after 2000, drawing from MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, the Maternity and Infant...
Depressive Symptoms Mediate the Relationship Between Dispositional Mindfulness and Dietary Quality on Weekends but Not Weekdays Among Pregnant Individuals with...
A study of 308 pregnant individuals with pre‑pregnancy BMI ≥ 25 found that higher dispositional mindfulness was linked to better dietary quality on weekends, but not on weekdays or overall. Weekend Healthy Eating Index (HEI‑2020) scores were lower than weekday scores, yet...
A Selection of Implementable Actions to Establish an Air Force Workforce Analytics Center of Excellence
The U.S. Air Force’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Personnel, and Services (AF/A1) commissioned RAND to design a Workforce Analytics Center of Excellence to close critical capability gaps in the Air Force Manpower Analysis Agency (AFMAA). RAND identified five...
Modifying Air Force Intelligence Career Development in Response to Targeted Permanent Change of Station Reductions
In May 2025 the Department of War ordered the military to cut permanent change‑of‑station (PCS) moves, prompting a RAND case study of U.S. Air Force intelligence career pathways. The analysis found that intelligence officers traditionally depend on frequent relocations to gain...
Considering U.S. Air Force Culture When Modifying Career Development Pathways for Longer Assignments
In May 2025 the Department of Defense ordered the services to cut permanent change‑of‑station moves and reshape career‑development pathways. A new report examines how U.S. Air Force culture—its policies, processes and unwritten norms—underpins the long‑standing belief that frequent relocations are...
Choosing an Analytic Approach
The RAND‑posted paper offers a systematic framework for choosing analytic methods in state‑policy evaluations, emphasizing how study setting and data availability shape design choices. It outlines key considerations such as control group definition, policy timing, effect heterogeneity, and data structure....
The U.S.-Japan Alliance: Today and Beyond
The RAND Corporation hosted the 12th annual U.S.–Japan Alliance Series on February 17, 2026, in partnership with Japan House Los Angeles and the Japanese Consulate General. The conference examined the alliance’s trajectory after President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sanae...
An Integrated Approach to Waterways Safety Risk Assessment for the U.S. Coast Guard
RAND researchers examined the U.S. Coast Guard’s six waterways safety risk assessment tools and applied a tailored Risk Management Framework (RMF) to gauge their effectiveness. The analysis revealed that while each tool captures valuable hazard data, they operate largely in...
A Review of Coast Guard Waterways Safety Risk Assessment Tools
The U.S. Coast Guard evaluated six waterways safety risk assessment tools using a risk‑management framework, uncovering strengths in hazard identification but notable weaknesses in risk characterization, evaluation, and especially monitoring. The review found considerable overlap and duplication among tools, with...
Civilian Workforce Challenges for the Department of the Air Force Air Operations
The Department of the Air Force (DAF) reports acute recruiting and retention problems for civilian air‑operations roles such as pilots and air‑traffic controllers. A limited talent pool, remote duty stations, a cumbersome General Schedule hiring process, and pay disparities with...
RCTs for Human-AI Evaluation
RAND’s new working paper investigates the use of randomized controlled trials—referred to as human uplift studies—to evaluate artificial‑intelligence systems. Drawing on interviews with 16 AI practitioners, the authors map methodological hurdles that arise throughout the trial lifecycle, from task definition...
Tax Code Analysis Tool 1.0
The Tax Code Analysis Tool (CAT) models the U.S. federal tax code as a graph, linking the text of Title 26 to the entities and concepts it governs. By treating over 1,900 sections as interconnected nodes, CAT can surface cross‑references, map...
Mid-Atlantic Regional Climate Impacts Summary and Outlook
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Climate Impacts Summary and Outlook released its winter 2025‑2026 edition, a quarterly briefing produced by the MARISA partnership and funded by NOAA. It reviews significant weather events from December 2025 to February 2026, compares seasonal temperature and...
Medication Availability for Alcohol Use Disorder in Substance Use Disorder Treatment Facilities
A nationwide study of 3,153 U.S. counties shows that the share of substance‑use‑disorder treatment facilities offering medication for alcohol use disorder (MAUD) rose from 34% in 2017 to 44% in 2021, then plateaued. Rural‑adjacent and rural‑remote counties lagged metropolitan areas...
Proposing New Metrics for Economic Security Policy
The United States is expanding the use of economic instruments—sanctions, export controls, emergency tariffs, investment restrictions, and subsidies—to advance national security objectives. Existing trade policy models, designed for conventional tariffs, fail to capture the workforce impacts of these broader tools...
More Students Use AI for Homework, and More Believe It Harms Critical Thinking
In 2025, AI‑assisted homework usage among U.S. students surged to 62%, driven mainly by middle and high schoolers. At the same time, 67% of respondents now think AI harms critical‑thinking skills, a rise of over ten points in ten months....
Parental Access to Paid Sick Leave
A new analysis of National Health Interview Survey data from 2010 to 2024 shows that family‑level paid sick leave (PSL) access for children has risen sharply, reaching over three‑quarters of all U.S. children by 2024. The study confirms the overall...
Access to Mental Health Treatment Services in Asian Languages
Asian language speakers with limited English proficiency face major barriers to mental‑health care in the United States. A new cross‑sectional study of 3,847 facilities from 2015‑2024 found that only 5.6 % offered services in an Asian language in 2024, down from...
Medicaid Expansion for La Comunidad Latina in North Carolina
The FIEL‑NC project examined Medicaid enrollment among North Carolina’s Latino community after the state’s expansion. Of 44 surveyed community members, 30% successfully enrolled, 36% attempted but were denied, and 34% did not try. Spanish‑speaking, female, and foreign‑born participants showed lower...
State Spending Growth Benchmarks and Hospital Revenue, Hospital Prices, and Premiums
Since 2013, nine U.S. states have introduced health‑care spending growth benchmarks, with eight states actively analyzed in a recent case‑control study covering 2015‑2025. The research compared hospital revenue, price indices, and insurance premiums against entropy‑balanced counterparts in non‑benchmark states. Overall,...
Psilocybin Microdosing in the United States
A nationally representative survey conducted Dec 2023‑Jan 2024 found that 12.1% of U.S. adults have ever used psilocybin, and 26.5% of those users microdosed on their last occasion. Among the 3.1% who used psilocybin in the past year, nearly half (46.9%) reported...
Reality Checking a Major National R&D Investment in AI Trustworthiness, Safety, and Security
A new RAND report examines a proposed $10 billion U.S. government investment aimed at AI trustworthiness, safety, and security. Using break‑even analysis, the authors assess potential benefits, costs, and trade‑offs without relying on disputed catastrophe probabilities. The study finds that, across...
China’s Aging Population and the Implications for China’s Security
China’s population contracted in 2022 for the first time since the 1960s, and its fertility rate remains among the world’s lowest. Projections show a loss of roughly 250 million people by 2050, turning the country’s age structure upside‑down. The working‑age cohort...
Implications of the Trump Retirement Accounts Proposal
President Trump’s proposed Trump Retirement Accounts (TRA) would offer a federal match up to $1,000 per worker, aiming to extend retirement savings to the 63 million Americans without employer plans. RAND modeling shows the program is deficit‑neutral after 23‑31 years if account...
Neglected Burden of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea
A new BMJ‑published study quantifies obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) prevalence at 22.8% in the United States and 19.5% in the United Kingdom. Using self‑reported breathing pauses and daytime sleepiness, the authors estimate annual workplace productivity losses of $180.2 billion in the...
The Best Screening Test Is the One That Gets Followed Up On
Recent RAND‑posted research underscores that colorectal cancer screening’s value hinges on effective follow‑up. While initiatives like the “80% by 2018” campaign lifted adult screening rates from roughly 65 % to 70 %, the target remained unmet. Emerging blood‑based tests promise higher participation,...
Intimate Partner Violence and Its Association with Symptoms of Depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among HIV-Negative Cisgender Sexual Minority Men...
The RAND‑sponsored study examined 500 HIV‑negative cisgender sexual minority men (SMM) across the United States and found that 40% experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) in the past six months. IPV was positively associated with higher scores on depression (PHQ‑8) and...
Policy Actors’ Perspectives on Improving Federal Grants to Promote the Implementation Success of Evidence-Based Behavioral Health Practices
The study convened federal and state policy actors in four focus groups to examine how federal discretionary grants can better support the large‑scale implementation of evidence‑based behavioral health practices, using the Adolescent Community Reinforcement Approach (A‑CRA) as a case study....
How Closed-Ended Survey Questions and Narrative Comments Interact in Characterizing Caregivers’ Overall Assessment of Hospice Care
The study evaluated 3,811 open‑ended comments from the CAHPS Hospice Survey administered to caregivers of patients who died between March and August 2021 across 56 U.S. hospices. While 78% of caregivers provided comments, only a quarter were deemed actionable and...
The Changing Landscape of School-Based Health Centers and Other School-Based Clinics in California, 2011-2023
Between 2011 and 2023 California saw a marked expansion of school‑based health centers (SBHCs) from 124 to 186 sites and a five‑fold rise in other school‑based clinics (OSBCs) to 104, with many adding mental‑health services. The study links clinic presence...
Strategic Cooperation on AI
The March 10 2026 report outlines a framework for strategic cooperation on artificial intelligence, identifying three overarching objectives: improving understanding of AI capabilities and risks, fostering reliable development while curbing proliferation, and mitigating AI‑related harms. It proposes four core functions—research, standard‑setting, monitoring,...
Cost–Benefit Analysis for Synthetic Nucleic Acid Screening in the European Union
RAND Europe, commissioned by Sentinel Bio, delivered a EU‑wide cost‑benefit analysis of synthetic nucleic acid synthesis screening. The study compares three policy options—voluntary guidance, EU‑funding conditionality, and mandatory regulation—over a ten‑year horizon. Results show all options generate net societal benefits,...
Infinite Potential—Insights From the Cyber Surprise Scenario
RAND’s “Day After AGI” exercises on the Infinite Potential platform examined a Cyber Surprise scenario in which China rapidly deploys a powerful cyber‑AI capability that outpaces U.S. defenses. Six runs with analysts and former officials revealed a strong preference for...
Analytic Capabilities to Support Logistics Analyses
RAND’s Project AIR FORCE released a 16‑page publication outlining eight analytic tools for logistics analysis. The tools cover requirements determination, storage and pre‑positioning, transportation, and operational impact assessment. Developed over a 75‑year collaboration, they inform U.S. Air Force investment and...
A New Age of Nations: Power and Advantage in the AI Era
RAND Policy Lab’s Michael Mazarr and Matan Chorev argue that national advantage in the AI era is not determined solely by mastering the technology stack. Their March 5, 2026 webinar stresses that people, governance structures, and the ability to seize opportunities are...
The Defense Contract Management Agency's Resource Workload Model Ecosystem
The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) evaluated its Integrated Resource Workload Model (IRWM), a tool launched in 2014 to translate contract‑management demand into staffing needs. The assessment found the model follows best‑practice manpower analysis but suffers from procedural gaps, data‑quality...
Tactical Will to Fight Assessment Guide
The Defense Analysis Community has released a Tactical Will to Fight (W2F) Assessment Guide, a structured analytic tool aimed at improving tactical‑level evaluations of adversary, partner, or friendly force morale. The package includes a PDF guide, an Excel workbook, and...
The People's Liberation Army's Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence Highlighting Integration as Key to "Intelligentization" Goals
China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has placed artificial intelligence integration at the core of its “intelligentization” drive, a strategic priority set by President Xi Jinping. The PLA seeks to boost its kill chain, cross‑domain information sharing, multi‑agent collaboration, and data...
Understanding China’s National Security Decisionmaking
In October 2020 Chinese officials feared a U.S. military move could spark a war to sway the U.S. presidential election, a concern later shown to be baseless but prompting high‑level U.S. reassurances. The episode illustrates how misperceptions can destabilize bilateral relations...
Assessing the Practical Feasibility of the Clader-Jacobs-Sprouse Quantum Algorithm for Calculating Radar Cross Sections
The 2013 Clader‑Jacobs‑Sprouse (CJS) quantum algorithm promises an exponential speedup for electromagnetic scattering problems, including radar cross‑section (RCS) calculations. A new study compares its end‑to‑end complexity with the best classical finite‑element method and finds the theoretical advantage offset by massive...
Pursuing Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration in Gaza
On October 7 2023 Hamas militants launched a brutal assault on Israel, igniting a two‑year war that left more than 70,000 casualties in Gaza. A cease‑fire on October 10 2025 inaugurated the first phase of President Donald Trump’s 20‑point peace blueprint. The plan’s second...
The Geopolitics of AGI
RAND’s Geopolitics of AGI initiative released a webinar on February 19, 2026, examining how advanced artificial intelligence, including potential artificial general intelligence, could reshape global politics and security. Speakers Jim Mitre and Joel Predd outlined the strategic implications of an...
Europe’s Next War
The war in Ukraine has dominated transatlantic policy for four years, prompting massive U.S. and European aid to Kyiv and severe sanctions on Moscow. Even if a cease‑fire is reached, the article warns that Russia will continue rearming while Europe...
Managing Systemic Supply Chain Risk to the U.S. Economy From Trade Concentration and Geopolitical Conflict
The RAND report examines systemic supply‑chain risks facing the U.S. economy stemming from trade concentration and geopolitical conflict. It highlights how reliance on a narrow set of foreign suppliers can magnify disruption impacts. The analysis calls for coordinated public‑private strategies...
Russia in the High North
Russia’s strategic calculus in the High North is being reshaped by NATO’s expansion and the ongoing war in Ukraine. While the Arctic remains a hub for nuclear assets, resource extraction and contested sea routes, Moscow has redirected conventional forces to...
Export Controls on Artificial Intelligence and Uncrewed Aircraft Systems
The report examines how the United States and China are racing to dominate artificial intelligence (AI) and uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), highlighting a widening technology gap in the U.S. defense industrial base. It finds that current export‑control regimes—EAR, ITAR, and...
Developing a Risk-Scoring Tool for Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Biological Design
Researchers at RAND released a risk‑scoring framework to evaluate AI‑enabled biological design threats. The tool separates biological modification impact across five functions—host range, replication, immune evasion, environmental stability, and transmission—and an actor capability dimension that gauges technical skill and AI...
