Longer lives and higher health care costs could threaten Americans’ retirement savings, according to an article in USA Today (June 26, 2006).

Where Did They Go? The Decline of Middle-Income Neighborhoods in Metropolitan America, a new report from the Brookings Institution, analyzes census data and finds that middle-income neighborhoods in metropolitan areas are disappearing faster than middle-income families, suggesting increased disparities between neighborhoods.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation released the 2006 KIDS COUNT Data Book this week. State-level data is available on the Foundation’s Web site.

The report found that fewer teens are having babies, but overall health and poverty indicators for children have not improved since 2000 (CNN.com, June 28, 2006).

The Population Research Institute’s Simple Online Data Archive for Population Studies (SodaPop) has moved to its new Web site at http://sodapop.pop.psu.edu.

You will find that the layout of information on the site has changed; the primary difference being tabbed navigation for general information (home, collections, and explore) and for each dataset page (description, download, and search functions).

The basic functionality of the system—variable searching, online documentation, and data download—is up and running. Over the coming months, the SodaPop team will be actively working on adding enhanced features to the site: help information, technical notes for specific datasets, and special access information for PRI users.

The new site also includes a comprehensive list of data from the PRI Data Archive available to PRI affiliates.

We encourage you to explore the new site and let us know what you think. Should you discover any bugs, have questions, or wish to offer feedback on the site’s design, please contact the SodaPop team.

The Nairobi Standard (June 25, 2006) reports on the Second African Conference on Sexual Health and Rights held in Nairobi last week.

A study published in Health Services Research (article available online ahead of print) found that children in large families—those in households with more siblings or living with adults besides the parents—make fewer doctor visits and take fewer prescriptions than children in smaller families. The effects, attributed by the authors to limited parental resources, were similar to those of being uninsured and worse than those of poverty. (Health Behavior News Service, June 16, 2006)

According to Census Bureau estimates, the US population will reach 300 million sometime this fall, and the majority of the growth will be in the Hispanic population, due to both births and immigration (AP via Centre Daily Times, June 25, 2006).

The following grant announcements are new this week on the Population Research Institute Funding Announcements web page.

Funding for Faculty Investigators

Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning - Administration for Children and Families

Data Resources Program 2006: Funding for the Analysis of Existing Data - National Institute of Justice (NIJ)

Design, Measurement and Statistics in Community Mental Health Research (R01) - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

HSR Impacts Award - AcademyHealth

NIAID International Research in Infectious Diseases (IRID) Program (R01) - National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Funding Opportunities Open To Faculty And Students

Population Politics and Human Rights Essay Competition - Irmgard Coninx Foundation

The National Center for Health Statistics has released two reports containing estimates from the 2005 National Health Interview Survey:

• Health Insurance Coverage: Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, 2005 (PDF)
• Early Release of Selected Estimates Based on Data From the 2005 National Health Interview Survey

Among the major findings, health insurance coverage for children increased, and overall coverage varies from state to state. (NCHS media advisory, June 21, 2006; More than 14 percent lack health insurance in U.S., CNN.com, June 21, 2006)

An AP news story examines the lure of work in Europe for African men, and the problems faced by the families they leave behind (via CNN.com, June 16, 2006).