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Exposure to lead can seriously harm a child’s health, including damage to the brain and nervous system, slowed growth and development, learning and behavior problems, and hearing and speech problems. The effects of lead on the nervous system can cause lower IQ, decreased ability to pay attention, and under performance in school.
In this data note, we use 2019 American Community Survey (ACS) data to examine how demographic characteristics as well as measures of health coverage and other social and economic factors that drive health and health care vary for Asian and NHOPI people overall and by subgroups.
KFF has updated its national analysis of race/ethnicity data of COVID-19 cases and deaths, vaccinations, and treatments as concerns grow over a potential increase in COVID-19 cases during winter and upcoming holiday gatherings and the low take-up of the COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccine among the eligible public. Despite earlier progress narrowing disparities in COVID-19 vaccination, new disparities have emerged in take-up of boosters and treatment. Federal data from earlier this month indicates that, among the…
Response to the victims and communities affected by recent mass shootings has increased national attention to mental health care for Asian and NHOPI people, groups that too often remain overlooked in data and policy discussions related to health disparities. In this analysis, we explore mental illness and low utilization of mental health services among Asian and NHOPI people.
Increasing availability of high-quality comprehensive data disaggregated by race/ethnicity is a prerequisite for efforts to advance health equity, not only related to COVID-19 but in health and health care more broadly.
In 2024, the overall uninsured rate increased for the first time since 2019 as pandemic-era continuous enrollment in Medicaid came to an end, with significant increases among Hispanic, Black, and White people under age 65. These coverage losses were largely driven by the expiration of policies to stabilize and expand access to affordable coverage that were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This analysis examines disparities in access to air condition and their implications. It shows Asian-, Black-, and Hispanic-led households are more likely to report not having an air conditioning unit in their home compared to White households. Lower income households also are more likely than higher-income households to report this and other challenges.
COVID-19 has disproportionately negatively affected the physical and mental health, academic growth, and economic security of children of color. At the same time, the limited data available to date suggest some children of color may be less likely to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, leaving them at elevated risk as the virus continues to spread and as many return to in-person school.
This brief provides an overview of diversity in clinical trials, disparities in access to novel drug therapies and other treatments, and the implications for health and health care.
This analysis examines how people of color fare compared to White people across 64 measures of health, health care, and social determinants of health using the most recent data available from federal surveys and administrative sets as well as the 2023 KFF Survey on Racism, Discrimination, and Health.
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