About

Michel Boudreaux is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management and leads the HOWL lab. He earned his PhD in Health Services Research, Policy, and Administration from the University of Minnesota in 2014. His professional biography highlights his leadership role within the lab and his academic background in health services research, policy, and administration. The information provided focuses on his position and educational credentials without detailing specific research projects or contributions.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Environmental health
• Nursing
• Political Science
• Demography
• Family medicine
• Gerontology
• Economic growth
• Law
• Business
• Gynecology
• Internal medicine
• Psychology

Selected publications

• Disparities in childhood human capital investments in the United States

  Nature Communications · 2026-03-31

  articleOpen access

  We analyze data from 10 nationally representative surveys in the United States (2010-2023) to track public, private, and family time investments in children, all theorized to enhance human capital. Average per-child investments from birth to age 18 total $502,152 (2024 USD), with overall disparities by household income and race/ethnicity of 6% to 15%. Early childhood shows the largest gaps-often over 50%-driven mainly by housing and child care. Investment levels converge substantially around age five due to near-universal public schooling, which serves over 90% of children, compared with far lower access to publicly supported early care (roughly 25%) and housing subsidies (less than 5%). Like early childhood, though, later-childhood investments exhibit differences in the types of services and resources children from different backgrounds receive (e.g., compulsory versus compensatory education, office-based versus emergency health services, whole fruit versus fruit juice). Accounting for parent and family time-focused investments (e.g., informal educational activities, meals) narrows disparities by income and race/ethnicity when valued at a constant wage. Disparities increase 50-100% when valued at caregivers' age- and education-specific wages, likely overstating differences in the quality of family time.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Examining Social Isolation as a Mediator of the Association Between Hearing Impairment and Dementia: Evidence From the National Health and Aging Trends Study

  Digital Repository at the University of Maryland (University of Maryland College Park) · 2026-03-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Examining Social Isolation as a Mediator of the Association Between Hearing Impairment and Dementia: Evidence From the National Health and Aging Trends Study

  The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry Open Science Education and Practice · 2026-01-28

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  <h2>Abstract</h2><h3>Objectives</h3> Previous studies link hearing impairment to greater social isolation and show they both independently increase dementia risk among older adults. Yet, it remains unclear whether social isolation mediates the relationship between hearing impairment and dementia. This study examines the roles of social isolation as a confounder or a mediator on the longitudinal association between hearing impairment and dementia <h3>Measurement</h3> Using longitudinal data from 2011-2022 National Health and Aging Trends Study, we estimated risk of dementia associated with hearing impairment using Cox-proportional hazard models after separately adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, health status characteristics and social isolation. In addition, we employed the four-way decomposition method with parametric regression models to estimate the mediation effects of social isolation on the association of hearing impairment and dementia. <h3>Result</h3> Hearing impairment was associated with a greater than 2-fold increased dementia risk after adjusting for social isolation and other factors. Approximately 5 percent of this risk was positively mediated by social isolation. <h3>Conclusion</h3> Our results suggest that social isolation acts as a limited mediator to the associations of hearing impairment and dementia risk. This suggests that reduced social engagement partially explains, but does not drive, the hearing–dementia link. Interventions addressing both hearing loss and social isolation may jointly help reduce dementia risk in older adults.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Pathways Connecting Housing Assistance to Child Well-Being in Families Experiencing Homelessness

  Journal of Urban Health · 2026-01-20

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Perinatal Resources and Wildfire Smoke

  Medical Care · 2025-05-10 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  BACKGROUND: Pregnant people and infants are vulnerable to wildfire smoke. However, the availability of perinatal resources in communities impacted by smoke is unknown. OBJECTIVE: Describe perinatal resources in counties prone to wildfire smoke. RESEARCH STUDY DESIGN: Smoke data came from the Hazard Mapping System and perinatal resources were gathered from various sources. Choropleth maps described the geographic distribution of smoke. Unadjusted associations and multivariable regressions compared perinatal resource levels by smoke risk. Subgroup analysis of the most rural counties was conducted. SUBJECTS: Counties in the contiguous United States (n=3108) during the 2016-2020 period. MEASURES: Relative smoke risk was defined as the bottom, middle, and top third of the average annual smoke-days distribution. Perinatal resources included driving distance to the nearest maternity care hospital and NICU, the volume and geographic isolation of the nearest maternity care hospital, and county-based measures of OB-GYN and family medicine physicians. RESULTS: Average annual smoke-days ranged from 3.8 (SD=2.0) in low-risk to 15.3 (SD=5.5) in high-risk counties. Compared with low-risk counties, high-risk counties had fewer OB-GYNs per 10,000 births (-32.2, 95% CI: -45.7 to -20.6; P<0.001) and were farther to the nearest maternity hospital (10.1 miles, 95% CI: 8.7-11.5; P<0.001). High-risk counties were also farther to the nearest NICU. Associations were not explained by sociodemographics and were observed in the subset of the most rural counties. CONCLUSIONS: Communities prone to wildfire smoke often lack geographic access to the health care resources needed to treat pregnant people and infants in a timely manner.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Assessing PM_2.5 pollution in the Northeastern United States from the 2023 Canadian wildfire smoke: an episodic study integrating air quality and health impact modeling with emissions and meteorological uncertainty analysis

  Environmental Research Letters · 2025-10-08

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Abstract Between June 6 and 8, 2023, wildfires in Quebec, Canada generated massive smoke plumes that traveled long distances and deteriorated air quality across the Northeastern United States (US). Surface daily PM 2.5 observations exceeded 100 µ g m −3 , affecting major cities such as New York City and Philadelphia, while many areas lacked PM 2.5 monitors, making it difficult to assess local air quality conditions. To address this gap, we developed a WRF-CMAQ-BenMAP modeling system to provide rapid, spatially continuous estimates of wildfire-attributable PM 2.5 concentrations and associated health impacts, particularly benefiting regions lacking air quality monitoring. CMAQ simulations driven by two wildfire emissions datasets and two meteorological drivers showed good agreement with PM 2.5 observations, with linear regression results of R 2 ∼0.6 and slope ∼0.9. We further quantified uncertainties introduced by varying emissions and meteorological drivers and found the choice of wildfire emissions dataset alone can alter PM 2.5 simulations by up to 40 µ g m −3 (∼40%). Short-term health impacts were evaluated using the BenMAP model. Validation against asthma-associated emergency department (ED) visits in New York State confirmed the framework’s ability to replicate real-world outcomes, with ED visits increased up to ∼40%. The modeling results identified counties most severely affected by wildfire plumes, the majority of which lack regulatory air quality monitors. Our approach highlights the value of integrated modeling for identifying vulnerable populations and delivering timely health burden estimates, regardless of local monitoring availability.

  PublisherDOI

• Changes in contraceptive method use, access, and experiences of care during a statewide contraceptive initiative

  Contraception · 2025-01-16 · 4 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Non-health care costs associated with neonatal intensive care unit visitation

  Health Affairs Scholar · 2025-02-28 · 2 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Impact of 1940s exposure to redlining on mortality and self-rated health later in life among older adults

  medRxiv · 2025-06-30

  preprintOpen access

  Background: Historical redlining policies enacted in the 1930s and 1940s that restricted investment in Black neighborhoods shaped neighborhood conditions that may contribute to inequities in health and mortality among older adults today. Areas "redlined" by the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) in the 1930s against Black neighborhoods are associated with worse present-day area-level health outcomes. We examined whether early, personal exposure to redlining close to when the maps were drawn is associated with individual-level mortality hazard (survival time ratio) and self-rated health in older adults. Methods: We used mapped 1940 census enumeration districts to assign 1930s HOLC redlining categories (green A ("best"), blue B ("still desirable"), yellow C ("definitely declining"), and red D ("hazardous")) to Health and Retirement Study participants based on 1940 census residence. We applied survey weights and ran a survival analysis with a parametric normal distribution maximum likelihood estimation to account for survivorship bias, and logistic regression on self-rated health, and included analyses stratified by race. Results: 1940 HOLC-categorized yellow C (0.62 times the survival time, 95% CI: 0.41, 0.92) and red D (red: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.40, 0.87) exposures were significantly associated with reduced survival time compared to green A in both unadjusted and adjusted models. In stratified analyses, both Black and white residents of redlined areas had worse survival time ratios compared to green A, though the magnitude of effect was larger for Black residents than for white residents. Yellow C (Odds Ratio: 1.94, 95% CI: 1.16, 3.23) and red D (2.34, 95% CI: 1.37, 3.98) areas were also associated with increased odds of worse self-rated health compared to green A areas. Discussion: Living in redlined areas in the 1940s is associated with worse mortality survival for both Black and white older adults and with decreased self-rated health in older adults between 1992 and 2018. These findings extend beyond broader prior research demonstrating present-day area-level associations of redlining with worse health and are consistent with prior research on individual-level exposure to redlining. Associations with worse mortality in both Black and white residents (with stronger effects in Black residents) are consistent with theory and research demonstrating that structural racism degrades health for all communities.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Using internet-assisted geocoding of 1940 census addresses to reconstruct enumeration districts for use with redlining and longitudinal health datasets

  PLOS Global Public Health · 2025-01-15 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  Many historical administrative documents, such as the 1940 census, have been digitized and thus could be merged with geographic data. Merged data could reveal social determinants of health, health and social policy milieu, life course events, and selection effects otherwise masked in longitudinal datasets. However, most exact boundaries of 1940 census enumeration districts have not yet been georeferenced. These exact boundaries could aid in analysis of redlining and other geographic and social contextual factors important for health outcomes today. Our objective is to locate and map a large set of 1940 enumeration districts. We use online resources and algorithmic solutions to locate and georeference unknown 1940 enumeration districts. We geocode addresses using the OpenCage API and construct "virtual" enumeration districts by using a convex hull algorithm on those geocoded addresses. We also merge in Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) redlining maps from the 1930s to demonstrate how 1940 enumeration districts could be used in future work to examine the association between historic redlining and current health. We geocode 7,228,656 1940 census addresses from the largest 191 US cities in 1940 that contained 84% of the 1940 US urban population from the Geographic Reference File and construct 34,472 virtual enumeration districts in areas that had HOLC redlining maps. 18,340 virtual enumeration districts were previously unmapped, covering cities containing an additional 40% of the 1940 US urban population. Where virtual enumeration districts match with previously mapped districts, 96.8% of paired districts share HOLC redlining categorization. Researchers can use algorithmic methods to quickly process, geocode, merge, and analyze large scale repositories of historical documents that provide important data on social determinants of health. These 1940 enumeration district maps could be used with studies such as the Health and Retirement Study, Panel Study for Income Dynamics, and Wisconsin Longitudinal Study.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R36HS021690

  NIH · $43k · 2014

Frequent coauthors

• Katie Gifford

  University of Delaware

  13 shared

• Rebecca McColl

  University of Delaware

  12 shared

• Mary Joan McDuffie

  University of Delaware

  12 shared

• Lynn A. Blewett

  University of Minnesota

  12 shared

• Erin Knight

  West Chester University

  11 shared

• Tae Hyun Kim

  Yonsei University

  9 shared

• Brett Fried

  University of Minnesota

  7 shared

• Andrew Fenelon

  Twin Cities Orthopedics

  7 shared

Labs

• HOWLPI