Health Equity & Social Justice

"My grief and frustration over JJ’s fate were compounded by all I learned about the effects of toxic stress on a developing brain."

USC professor Alissa V. Richardson on why cellphone videos of vigilante violence and fatal police encounters should be viewed like lynching photographs – with solemn reserve and careful circulation - and how people became so comfortable viewing black people’s dying moments in the first place.

For families preparing to bring newborns into the world, the coronavirus has disrupted prenatal care and birthing plans, sometimes leading to canceled appointments and limited visitors in hospital delivery rooms.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected everyone — but not equally, with low-wage workers and communities of color especially hard hit.

COVID-19 testing varies widely across San Diego senior facilities. The state and county aim to induce widespread testing in senior homes, but advocates say these efforts are moving too slowly and lack teeth.

This story was produced as part of a larger project led by Gabrielle Horton, a participant in the Impact Fund Fellowship. Her project is an audio-first docuseries exploring what it means to be a Black person having a baby in the United States today. ...

A look at how homelessness reporters are approaching the beat during the pandemic.

"Momentum seemed to be building. And then … nothing."

This story was produced as part of a larger project led by Nicole Hayden, a participant in the USC Center for Health Journalism's 2020 California Fellowship, covering homelessness in the Coachella Valley.
Her other stories include:
Palm Springs shelter avoided COVID-19. Homeless say they need more t

The coronavirus pandemic has affected everyone — but not equally. Black, Latino and Native American communities in particular have suffered higher rates of infection and deaths, laying bare deep inequities in the American health care system and the social factors underlying health. Low-income commun