Health Disparities News and Research

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Health disparities (also called healthcare inequality in some countries) refer to gaps in the quality of health and health care across racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and socioeconomic groups.

Losing ACA protections for pre-existing conditions could increase health disparities

If Affordable Care Act protections for pre-existing condition coverage are no longer available, the coronavirus pandemic would leave many Americans - a disproportionate number of whom are people of color - without health insurance, a new Oregon Health & Science University study indicates.

24 Feb 2021

Study reports a positive link between social vulnerability and COVID-19 incidence

An LSU Health New Orleans School of Public Health study reports a positive association between social vulnerability and COVID-19 incidence at the census tract level and recommends that more resources be allocated to socially vulnerable populations to reduce the incidence of COVID-19.

23 Feb 2021

Polygenic hazard score improves prediction of prostate cancer risk in multi-ethnic populations

Building upon previous research, an international team led by scientists at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, has validated a more inclusive and comprehensive genetic tool for predicting age of onset of aggressive prostate cancer, a disease that killed more than 33,000 American men in 2020.

23 Feb 2021

Experts advocate for increased diversity in vaccine clinical trials

A team of scientific experts from across the U.S. and Puerto Rico are advocating for increased diversity in vaccine trials after publishing a new report that highlights a decade's worth of disparities.

20 Feb 2021

Colorado school-based initiative aims to help disadvantaged kids with asthma breathe better

The National Institute of Health's National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute is supporting an estimated 3-year, $2.7 million award to the University of Colorado Denver through its Disparities Elimination through Coordinated Interventions to Prevent and Control Heart and Lung Disease Risk) initiative to address health disparities in diverse Colorado communities.

17 Feb 2021

Reparations before COVID-19 pandemic could have reduced infections, deaths in the U.S.

Civil rights activists have long called for monetary reparations to the Black descendants of Africans enslaved in the United States as a financial, moral, and ethical form of restitution for the injustices of slavery.

12 Feb 2021

Addressing the health impacts of structural racism in racial and ethnic disparities research

Structural racism is a public health crisis in the U.S. and worldwide. The scientific publishing community can improve our understanding and address the significant health impacts of structural racism in racial and ethnic disparities research.

11 Feb 2021

Low-income middle-aged African-American women with hypertension commonly suffer from depression

Low-income middle-aged African-American women with high blood pressure very commonly suffer from depression and should be better screened for this serious mental health condition, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

11 Feb 2021

Farmworker camps to urban tent cities: Tailoring vaccine info to where it’s most needed

Kim Wagenaar has been preparing to bring covid-19 vaccines to western North Carolina for months.

10 Feb 2021

Analysis finds racial and ethnic disparities in the odds of testing positive for COVID-19

An analysis of Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California early in the COVID-19 pandemic found racial and ethnic disparities in the likelihood of testing positive for the coronavirus, but no significant disparities in mortality among those who were hospitalized.

8 Feb 2021

Study finds increased substance use, mental health issues in people with obesity during the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a detrimental impact on substance use, mental health, and weight-related health behaviors among people with obesity, according to a new study by researchers at UT Southwestern and the UTHealth School of Public Health.

8 Feb 2021

Orthodox Jewish in UK disproportionately impacted by COVID-19

Researchers have conducted a study showing an extremely high prevalence of severe acute respiratory coronavirus disease 2 (SARS-CoV-2) within a strictly Orthodox Jewish community in the UK.

7 Feb 2021

Pharmacologist lays out a plan to improve the equity of drug development

In a new perspective piece published in the Feb. 5 issue of Science, pharmacologist Namandje Bumpus, Ph.D. -- who recently became the first African American woman to head a Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine department, and is the only African American woman leading a pharmacology department in the country -- outlines the molecular origins for differences in how well certain drugs work among distinct populations.

4 Feb 2021

Researchers assess impact of family migration on infant well-being

While the number of immigrants from Arab countries to the United States has steadily increased over the past several years, family and child health research on this population remains scarce.

4 Feb 2021

Study reveals a deep digital health divide within the older population

The COVID-19 pandemic is a great example of the importance of access to the Internet and to digital health information.

3 Feb 2021

Clinical trials of new treatments for COVID-19 often do not include vulnerable populations

Studies examining the effectiveness of treatments for COVID-19 often do not include the very populations hardest hit by the disease, according to a new review by University of Chicago Medicine researchers.

3 Feb 2021

Gene mutations may explain the poorer outcomes in Hispanic and Latino children with leukemia

A combination of genetic mutations may explain the higher incidence of and poorer outcomes from pediatric leukemia in Hispanic and Latino children, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

2 Feb 2021

Young, Black patients at higher risk of death in the first year after a heart transplant

Young, Black adults are more than twice as likely to die in the first year after a heart transplant when compared to same-age, non-Black heart transplant recipients, according to new research published today in Circulation: Heart Failure, an American Heart Association journal.

2 Feb 2021

Study: COVID-19 mortality racial disparities associated with social factors

COVID-19 mortality racial disparities in the U.S. are associated with social factors like income, education and internet access, according to a Rutgers study.

31 Jan 2021

Survey: More than a third of Americans either unlikely or unsure to get a COVID-19 vaccine

News reports indicate COVID-19 vaccines are not getting out soon enough nor in adequate supplies to most regions, but there may be a larger underlying problem than shortages. A University of California, Davis, study found that more than a third of people nationwide are either unlikely or at least hesitant to get a COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them.

30 Jan 2021