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health disparities
Tourists walk around the base of the Washington Monument as smoke from wildfires in Canada casts a haze of the U.S. Capitol on the National Mall in June of this year. Air pollution alerts were issued across the United States due to the fires. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption
Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick believes offering medical explanations in clear, everyday language from trusted messengers can help shrink health disparities. Her video company, Grapevine Health, is built on that idea — and some health insurers are buying in. Ryan Levi/Tradeoffs hide caption
Bithaniya Fieseha, a high school senior, graduates from the Youth Public Health Ambassador program run by Virginia's Fairfax County Health Department. Will Schermerhorn/Fairfax County Health Department hide caption
Short on community health workers, a county trains teens as youth ambassadors
A pediatrician examines a newborn baby in her clinic in Chicago on Tuesday in 2019. In a new policy statement released Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics says it is putting all its guidance under the microscope to eliminate "race-based" medicine and resulting health disparities. Amr Alfiky/AP hide caption
Members of the Black Equity Coalition, a grassroots team of researchers and advocates, meet regularly to discuss how they can use data to uncover life-threatening disparities between white and Black Pittsburgh. Clockwise, from top left are Kellie Ware, Karen Abrams, Tiffany Gary-Webb, Mark Lewis and Fred Brown. Martha Rial hide caption
Usha Lee McFarling from STAT reports that an increase in funding and attention to health disparity research means some researchers of color who've long been in the field are being pushed aside. PeopleImages/Getty Images hide caption
White scholars can complicate research into health disparities
A Planet Fitness employee cleans equipment before a gym's reopening in March in Inglewood, Calif., after being closed due to COVID-19. Reduced access to recreation likely has contributed to weight gain during the pandemic. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A teenager receives the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in New Jersey on Monday, April 19, 2021. Seth Wenig/AP hide caption
Last year, in her first year of medical school at Harvard, Pooja Chandrashekar recruited 175 multilingual health profession students from around the U.S. to create simple and accurate fact sheets about COVID-19 in 40 languages. Michele Abercrombie for NPR hide caption
Interpreter Ana Maria Rios-Velez demonstrates the screening app at the front entrance of Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. It has a multilingual function to better communicate with non-English speaking patients and staff. Jesse Costa/WBUR hide caption
Dr. Hansel Tookes made sure his first dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami on Dec. 15. was televised, as a way to combat hesitancy. Eva Marie Uzcategui/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
More Black And Latinx Americans Are Embracing COVID-19 Vaccination
A Hasidic man and medical workers cross paths near the Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., in November. When public health messaging comes from community leaders, it's much more likely to be adopted, research on diverse groups finds. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
The industrial complex in Carthage where many Latinx residents work is a half-mile walk from the town square. Terra Fondriest for The Washington Post via Getty Images hide caption
Lt. Travis Stokes, a firefighter in Richmond, Va., is helping to lead an effort to distribute protective equipment to residents of low-income and minority neighborhoods. Sarah McCammon/NPR hide caption
In Minority Neighborhoods, Knocking On Doors To Stop The Spread Of The Coronavirus
Virginia State Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, is joined by Del. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, (far left), and other members of the state's Legislative Black Caucus in November 2019. On Wednesday, the VLBC sent a letter to Gov. Ralph Northam opposing his plans to start reopening the state on May 15. Steve Helber/AP hide caption
A hospital patient in Stamford, Conn., who has COVID-19 symptoms gets his temperature checked. Severe infections with the novel coronavirus have been unusually high among African Americans and Latinos in many hospitals. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption
Beyoncé with Blue Ivy Carter in New York City in 2014. Alo Ceballos/GC Images hide caption
Chef Tunde Wey uses food as a tool for social justice. His company, BabyZoos, aims to use profits from the sale of applesauce to hospitals to fund ventures that create more economic opportunities for African Americans in an effort to close racial wealth — and health — gaps. L. Kasimu Harris for NPR hide caption
Brittany Williams, a doctoral candidate at the University of Georgia, started taking Truvada when she began dating a man living with HIV. Even though the relationship ended, she continues to take it. Lynsey Weatherspoon for NPR hide caption
Sarah Spiegel, a third-year student at New York Medical College, pushed for more education on LGBT health issues for students. Mengwen Cao for NPR hide caption
Talitha Saunders and AJ Ikamoto tidy their ambulance at the end of a recent shift. The two work as emergency medical responders in Oregon with American Medical Response in Portland. Leaders there are working to prevent any race-based disparities in treatment. Kristian Foden-Vencil/Oregon Public Broadcasting hide caption