Race and Health

Latest KFF Health News Stories

The Nation’s Health Secretary Has This Doctor on Call

KFF Health News Original

Carolina Reyes, a physician who specializes in high-risk pregnancies, says providers and health systems have a role in tackling systemic racism. She’s also married to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

As US Life Expectancy Falls, Experts Cite the Health Impacts of Incarceration

KFF Health News Original

In a nation with one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, imprisonment speeds the aging process, research shows. Some experts complain the federal government isn’t collecting or releasing data that could identify disease patterns and prevent deaths.

How One Patient’s Textured Hair Nearly Kept Her From a Needed EEG

KFF Health News Original

An EEG can help diagnose conditions like epilepsy, sleep disorders, and brain tumors. But a design flaw and outdated Eurocentric practices make the test less effective on thicker, denser, and curly hair types, potentially excluding or deterring some people from getting screened.

Programa forma médicos multiculturales, pero no siempre ejercen en áreas vulnerables

KFF Health News Original

Investigadores han descubierto que el programa ha logrado diversificar la inscripción, pero no hay suficiente seguimiento a largo plazo para saber si estos graduados ejercen en las regiones donde más se necesitan.

A California Physician Training Program Adds Diversity, but Where Do Graduates End Up?

KFF Health News Original

Researchers found that, while a University of California medical training program has diversified the system’s pool of medical students, there’s not enough long-term data to know whether graduates return to practice where they’re needed most.

Fresh Produce Is an Increasingly Popular Prescription for Chronically Ill Patients

KFF Health News Original

Fresh produce prescription programs are getting a boost in Montana as a way of helping people with chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure. The approach may be a model for other rural states to promote healthy eating in food deserts.

Estados Unidos sigue siendo uno de los países con más partos prematuros. ¿Se puede solucionar?

KFF Health News Original

Aproximadamente uno de cada 10 nacimientos vivos en 2021 ocurrió antes de las 37 semanas de gestación, según un informe de March of Dimes publicado en 2022. En comparación, investigaciones recientes citan tasas de nacimientos prematuros del 7,4% en Inglaterra y Gales, del 6% en Francia y del 5,8% en Suecia.

The US Remains a Grim Leader in Preterm Births. Why? And Can We Fix It?

KFF Health News Original

American women are more likely to deliver their babies prematurely than women in most developed countries. It’s a distinction that coincides with high rates of maternal and infant death, billions of dollars in costs, and even lifelong disabilities for the children who survive.

Estrés pandémico, pandillas y miedo impulsaron un aumento de tiroteos adolescentes

KFF Health News Original

Investigaciones muestran que los adolescentes expuestos a la violencia armada tienen el doble de probabilidades que otros de cometer un delito violento grave dentro de los dos años luego del trauma, lo que perpetúa un ciclo difícil de romper.

Feds Move to Rein In Prior Authorization, a System That Harms and Frustrates Patients

KFF Health News Original

The federal government wants to change the way health insurers use prior authorization — the requirement that patients get permission before undergoing treatment. Designed to prevent doctors from deploying expensive, ineffectual procedures, prior authorization has become a confusing maze that denies or delays care, burdens physicians with paperwork, and perpetuates racial disparities. New rules may not be enough to solve the problems.

Pacientes negros visten elegante y hablan distinto para evitar prejuicios cuando van al médico

KFF Health News Original

Estos comportamientos se recogen en una encuesta con 3,325 participantes como parte de un estudio cuyo objetivo fue llamar la atención sobre el esfuerzo que deben realizar los pacientes negros para obtener una atención médica de calidad.

Guns Are the Biggest Public Health Threat Kids Face. Why Aren’t They Getting the Message?

KFF Health News Original

Today’s public service announcements on gun safety feel somewhat sanitized. It’s time to act with the same kind of visceral public campaign that helped de-glorify smoking. Would filmmakers commit to making action movies without guns, just as filmmakers stopped making smoking glamorous in films?

Trabajadores comunitarios persuaden a inmigrantes mayores de tener cobertura de salud

KFF Health News Original

Hasta octubre, el mes más reciente para el que hay disponibles datos, más de 300,000 adultos mayores inmigrantes que no tienen residencia legal se habían inscrito en el Medi-Cal completo, un 30% más que la proyección original del estado.

Community Workers Fan Out to Persuade Immigrant Seniors to Get Covered

KFF Health News Original

California has enrolled into Medi-Cal more than 300,000 older immigrant adults lacking legal residency since May, but the state doesn’t know how many more might be eligible. Community workers are now searching for them.

States Seek Crackdown on Toxic Ingredients in Cosmetics to Close Gaps in Federal Oversight

KFF Health News Original

Washington state regulators found formaldehyde, lead, and arsenic in lipstick, powder foundations, skin lotions, and hair products marketed to and popular with women of color. Now legislators there are seeking to ban the products and, like at least a dozen other states, make up for lax federal rules.

When Gun Violence Ends Young Lives, These Men Prepare the Graves

KFF Health News Original

Just outside St. Louis, a cemetery for children sits on a hill. A wooden, weather-worn sign welcomes mourners to “Baby Land.” The gravediggers who made the special spot work quietly in the shadows.