Public Health


Health Policy 101 is a comprehensive guide covering fundamental aspects of U.S. health policy and programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, employer-sponsored insurance, the uninsured population, health care costs and affordability, women's health issues, and health care politics. The Public Health chapter examines how public health is governed and delivered in the United States. It includes explanations of key public health frameworks, services, capabilities and characteristics, how the public health system works in state, local and territorial governments, and public health funding, workforce, and communication challenges in an era of declining trust.

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  • Measles Elimination Status: What It Is and How the U.S. Could Lose It

    Policy Watch

    This policy watch post examines the United States’ measles elimination status, including what it means to eliminate measles, whether the current measles outbreak could threaten the country’s measles elimination status, and what losing that status might mean for measles control.

  • How Does the Federal Government Monitor Vaccine Safety?

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief gives an overview of the main systems used by the federal government to track vaccine safety and adverse events following vaccinations. The brief reviews the history of federal vaccine safety systems, describes the key systems and their strengths and limitations, and also discusses how vaccine safety issues have become the subject of more scrutiny under the Trump administration.

  • The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the United States: The Basics

    Fact Sheet

    This updated fact sheet provides the latest data on the U.S. HIV epidemic, including key trends over time, impact by region and population, and information on the U.S. government's response.

  • KFF Health Misinformation Tracking Poll: Artificial Intelligence and Health Information

    Poll Finding

    KFF's Health Misinformation Tracking Poll finds that while most adults say they have interacted with artificial intelligence (AI), most are not confident that these chatbots provide accurate health information. Most of the public, and half of AI users, are not confident they can tell whether information from AI chatbots is true or false

  • Anti-Vaccine Disinformation Campaign, Sunscreen Myths, and Counterfeit Ozempic on Social Media — The Monitor

    Feature

    This edition focuses on intentionally false or misleading information online and its potential impact on public trust in health care. We share a recent report that exposed a covert U.S. military social media disinformation campaign in the Philippines that may have undermined public confidence in vaccines. We also examine how false claims about sunscreen and non-FDA-approved "miracle cures" may be discouraging people from taking important preventative measures and seeking legitimate medical treatment. Finally, we explore the rise of counterfeit diabetes and weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and the potential impact on trust in the pharmaceutical supply chain.

  • Raw Milk Myths, Vaccine Falsehoods, and Reproductive Health Narratives – The Monitor

    Feature

    This first edition of the Health Misinformation Monitor explores misinformation about raw milk amid bird flu outbreaks on dairy farms, false vaccine narratives that continue to spread, and legal challenges against abortion pill reversal claims. Additionally, a growing number of states have required public schools to show fetal development videos that some have called biased and inaccurate. This Monitor report also provides a snapshot of new KFF misinformation polling on TikTok and discusses the early challenges faced by The World Health Organization’s new AI tool SARAH in providing accurate answers to health questions.

  • Myths About Raw Milk and Vaccines — The Monitor

    Feature

    This volume explores narratives linking vaccines to autism and misleading claims about the benefits of raw milk. It examines how trust and perceived expertise influence misinformation and AI's role in spreading false mental health information.