The Health Divide explores the ways in which persistent disparities and inequities shape health in this country, with a focus on the role played by social factors outside of the doctor’s office. We look at the conditions where people live and work, and the influence of race, class and immigration status. We look at the health care policy landscape and efforts to close the gap between the haves and have nots when it comes to inequitable access and treatment in health care. The Health Divide explores the role of systemic racism and police violence as well as community safety and how such conditions can contribute to toxic stress and illness. Such factors can have an outsize role in determining individual and community well-being, influencing how long we live and the quality of our lives. We highlight great work around these themes in the journalism and policy sphere, and encourage our readers to weigh in with ideas.
A young man had been assaulted the night before while riding his bike in LA. He had no medical insurance and declined care at the scene, fearing deportation more than his pain.
Why do so many able-bodied actors take on roles portraying a person with disabilities?
Thousands of Los Angeles residents have received word that their medical debt has been paid by benefactors, highlighting an ongoing crisis.
A Los Angeles reporter reflects on her own immigration story — and how 1994's Proposition 187 seeped into her family's new life in California.
A special edition of Health Affairs explores the long shadow of violence on health — and how public policy might respond.
Addiction experts are pushing health care professionals to reexamine the way they discuss opioid addiction with patients and change how the establishment trains young doctors.
Researchers offer reporters some tips for avoiding common pitfalls when talking about the effect of socioeconomic status on health.
At first the story of Dajha Richards' death was poised to be another daily about a fatal shooting. But as reporter Molly Sullivan combed through her social media accounts, she found a much deeper story of love and abuse.
“You understand you can’t change a culture on a dime," a CEO of a local health system told me. "You have to transform a culture over time."
The gap between African Americans and whites in controlling hypertension decreased by 58% from 2009 to 2017. Explaining why is trickier.
