The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news.
KFF’s policy research provides facts and analysis on a wide range of policy issues and public programs.
KFF designs, conducts and analyzes original public opinion and survey research on Americans’ attitudes, knowledge, and experiences with the health care system to help amplify the public’s voice in major national debates.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the organization’s core operating programs.
In his latest Axios column, Drew Altman shows that parents feel that children have fared better during COVID attending school in-person than virtually in terms of academic performance and their mental health and wellbeing.
This report examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the wellbeing of parents and children. It finds that more than one-third of parents say their child fell behind academically or in their social and emotional development as a result of the pandemic. This report also examines the mental health and wellbeing of parents whose household experienced an employment disruption due to childcare needs and of children who attended school at least partially online.
Four in Ten Parents Say Someone in Their Household Left a Job or Worked Fewer Hours to Care for Their Children, Including Higher Shares of Black, Hispanic, and Lower-income Parents As a result of the pandemic, about four in ten (39%) parents of school-aged children (ages 5-17) say at least one of their children fell…
As students head back to in-person school this fall, a new KFF brief highlights the effects of the ongoing pandemic on the health and well-being of children, including missed routine vaccinations and preventive care, mental health challenges and economic setbacks that can influence health.
As millions of children across the nation prepare to go back to school this fall, many will face challenges due to ongoing health, economic, and social consequences of the pandemic. This brief examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the health and well-being of children, explores recent policy responses, and considers what the findings means for the back-to-school season amidst new challenges due to the recent increase in cases and deaths.
Analysis of characteristics of children under 12 in the U.S. to help inform COVID-19 vaccination efforts when they become eligible.
This brief explores factors contributing to poor mental health and substance use outcomes among children during the pandemic, highlighting groups of children who are particularly at risk and barriers to accessing child and adolescent mental health care.
This brief discusses the role that mothers play in managing children's health care needs and mothers' attitudes and concerns about COVID-19 vaccinations.
Before the FDA expanded the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorization for 12 to 15 year olds this week, the latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor reported that 30 percent of parents of children ages 12 to 15 said they would get their child vaccinated right away.
This brief provides new data from the 2020 KFF Women's Health Survey on how workplace benefits and caring for children’s health care needs differ by gender and among different subpopulations of women.
© 2025 KFF