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.

Scientists set out to map the world’s traditional food environments and their health impacts

Researchers have developed a protocol for a scoping review to map global evidence on the food environments of traditional peoples and communities (TPCs), such as Indigenous groups and quilombolas, to identify knowledge gaps and guide policy.

11 Aug 2025

Patient numbers at NIH hospital have plummeted under Trump, jeopardizing care

The number of people receiving treatment at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center — the renowned research hospital that cares for patients with rare or life-threatening diseases — has tumbled under the second Trump administration, according to government documents and interviews with current and former NIH employees.

7 Aug 2025

Better technology access reduces healthcare gaps for African Americans

Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have found that better access to technology can go a long way toward achieving equity in healthcare for African Americans in the United States.

6 Aug 2025

This physician-scientist is taking on Trump on behalf of disadvantaged communities

As smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted across North America, and western U.S. states girded for their annual fire siege, Neeta Thakur was well into her search for ways to offset the damage of such fumes on people's health, especially among minority and low-income communities.

5 Aug 2025

Brisk walking for just 15 minutes a day cuts death risk in low-income adults, study shows

Fast walking for as little as 15 minutes per day was linked to a nearly 20% reduction in mortality among predominantly Black and low-income American adults. Slow walking showed minimal benefit, but prolonged slow walking reduced the risk of death from ischemic heart disease.

30 Jul 2025

Tribal groups assert sovereignty as feds crack down on gender-affirming care

At the Two Spirit Conference in northern Nevada in June, Native Americans gathered in support of the LGBTQ+ community amid federal and state rollbacks of transgender protections and gender-affirming health care.

30 Jul 2025

California looked to them to close health disparities, then it backpedaled

Fortina Hernández is called "the one who knows it all." For more than two decades, the community health worker has supported hundreds of families throughout southeast Los Angeles by helping them sign up for food assistance, sharing information about affordable health coverage, and managing medications for their chronic illnesses.

28 Jul 2025

Polygenic scores show promise for early obesity prevention

New genetic research reveals polygenic scores can predict obesity risk, offering early prevention insights while raising ethical healthcare access concerns.

23 Jul 2025

A million veterans gave DNA to aid health research. Scientists worry the data will be wasted.

One of the world's biggest genetic databases comprises DNA data donated over the years by more than a million retired military service members. It's part of a project run by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

16 Jul 2025

Doulas, once a luxury, are increasingly covered by Medicaid — even in GOP states

As a postpartum doula, Dawn Oliver does her best work in the middle of the night.

10 Jul 2025

AI reveals hidden bias behind higher amputation rates in minority and rural patients

Why do rural adults and racial and ethnic minorities with vascular disease get major leg amputations more often? A new study out today in Epidemiology uses AI to solve the mystery, finding an unaccounted-for factor that researchers think points to implicit bias in the clinical decision-making process.

10 Jul 2025

Study examines factors influencing delivery of oral health services at Federally Qualified Health Centers

Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) are a crucial component of the dental safety net and provide oral health services to those who might not otherwise have access to needed care, including low-income individuals, the uninsured and Medicaid beneficiaries.

9 Jul 2025

World’s premier cancer institute faces crippling cuts and chaos

The Trump administration's broadsides against scientific research have caused unprecedented upheaval at the National Cancer Institute, the storied federal government research hub that has spearheaded advances against the disease for decades.

9 Jul 2025

‘MAHA Report’ calls for fighting chronic disease, but Trump and Kennedy have yanked funding

‘MAHA report’ calls for fighting chronic disease, but Trump and Kennedy have yanked funding

2 Jul 2025

Removing modest fee boosts access to 3D mammography among underserved groups

A new study by UCLA researchers shows that removing a modest $45 out-of-pocket fee significantly improved access to digital breast tomosynthesis (3D mammography), an advanced breast cancer screening technology.

27 Jun 2025

New brain imaging benchmark may improve Alzheimer's detection in diverse populations

A team of researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC's Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) has identified a new brain imaging benchmark that may improve how researchers classify biologically meaningful changes associated with Alzheimer's disease, especially in Hispanic and non-Hispanic white populations.

26 Jun 2025

Medicaid cuts threaten health care access in rural America

Major cuts to Medicaid funding could have rural communities across the country facing widespread hospital closures and reduced access to health care, says Michael Shepherd, a health policy researcher at the University of Michigan.

25 Jun 2025

Louisiana and Texas test new laws to shield teens from junk food ads on social media

Researchers are studying how new laws in Louisiana and Texas that restrict adolescent social media use and targeted food advertising impact teens’ exposure to junk food marketing. The protocol uses real-time screen recording and surveys to measure the effects on health equity.

24 Jun 2025

‘We need to keep fighting’: HIV activists organize to save lives as Trump guts funding

Cedric Sturdevant woke up with "a bit of depression" but made it to church, as he does every Sunday. In a few days, he would drive from Mississippi to Washington, D.C., to join HIV advocates at an April rally against the Trump administration's actions.