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.

View the Chapter →


Filter

41 - 50 of 257 Results

  • 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.

  • What the Data Show: Firearms Violence

    Feature

    The U.S. has by far the highest homicide by firearm rate among similarly large and wealthy countries, including among children and teens.

  • 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.

  • KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust: January 2025

    Feature

    As Senate hearings begin for President Trump’s health nominees, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the latest KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust shows a decline in public trust for government health agencies like the CDC, FDA, and local public health officials. The poll reveals growing skepticism about vaccines and school vaccine requirements, especially among Republicans and parents, while misinformation about vaccine safety persists. Despite low concern about the H5N1 bird flu, the U.S. public is divided on how prepared they believe the government is for future health crises or pandemic.

  • Where Americans Saw Information About Tax and Budget Legislation on Social Media, and False Measles Narratives Target Immigrants — The Monitor

    Feature

    This volume shares findings from KFF’s latest poll on how the public encountered information about the recently passed tax and budget legislation; misleading narratives blaming undocumented immigrants for the current measles outbreak; misrepresentations of vaccine safety systems; claims that climate change isn’t real following deadly Texas flooding; and confusion around statins for preventing heart disease.

  • KFF Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust: COVID-19 Vaccine Update

    Feature

    As federal vaccine policy changes, this poll finds that most adults do not expect to get a COVID-19 vaccine this fall , and many parents are confused and uncertain about whether the vaccine is recommended for healthy children this year. About one in five adults nationally say the changes to vaccine policy are making people safer, while more than a third say they are making people less safe.

  • Kaiser Health Policy News Index: April 2015

    Feature

    The health policy stories included in this month’s Kaiser Health Policy News Index were followed closely by about 4 in 10 Americans. Of the stories asked about this month, the one that garnered the most attention was coverage of the white police officer charged with the murder of an unarmed black man in South Carolina. Over half report closely following other stories, including the Germanwings plane crash in the French Alps, a new religious freedom law in Indiana that allows business owners to refuse service to gay customers, negotiations over Iran’s Nuclear Program, and a terrorist attack by Islamic militants at a university in Kenya. The only non-health story to receive less attention than the health stories this month was coverage of the Congressional Republican budget proposals, followed closely by just over a third of the public.

  • Kaiser Health Policy News Index: March 2015

    Feature

    The public paid more attention to news coverage of the measles outbreak in the U.S. and the resulting debate on whether vaccinations should be required for all kids than any other news story included in this month's Kaiser Health Policy News Index. Nearly half correctly identified that the number of confirmed measles cases in the U.S. since the outbreak began late last year is closer to 100, and most say they are not too or not at all worried about the measles outbreak.