News

A study co-authored by UCLA Fielding School of Public Health Nadereh Pourat, professor-in-residence of health policy and management, shows large gaps in access to oral health care for poorest Californians. Low-income residents, even those with insurance, see dentists less often, researchers found.

A new research brief from experts at the UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Initiative, including FSPH faculty David Hayes-Bautista and Arturo Vargas Bustamante, compares the prevalence and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in two large metropolitan areas, Los Angeles County and New York City, and among racial and ethnic minorities.

Researchers from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health has found that pregnant women exposed to high levels of ultrafine particles from jet airplane exhaust are 14% more likely to have a preterm birth than those exposed to lower levels. The researchers examined exposure among women living near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), in an area that includes neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

Researchers from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health found deaths related to COVID-19‒associated conditions do not occur randomly in the state’s population; they occur more in some racial/ethnic (R/E) populations than in others.

Researchers from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and the University of Southern California have found that a high level of exposure to oil and gas “flaring” events — the burning off of excess natural gas at production sites — is associated with a 50% higher risk for preterm birth, compared with women who are not exposed to flaring.

Despite the investments in research and the growing body of empirical literature on a range of preparedness and response capabilities and functions, there has been no national-level, comprehensive review and grading of evidence for public health emergency preparedness and response practices comparable to those utilized in medicine and other public health fields.

Laws prohibiting discrimination are key to ensuring equal economic opportunity, UCLA researchers say.

UCLA researchers found more than a third of all Californians between the ages of 18 and 25 reported smoking cigarettes, vaping or using marijuana in 2018. The researchers, led by UCLA Fielding School of Public Health professor Ninez Ponce, found an alarming 48% of e-cigarette users and 40% of marijuana users are underage.

UCLA researchers recommend expansion of Proposition 63 services to address unmet needs.

A complex research project designed to answer basic questions about how the human measles virus diverged from a related cattle pathogen has revealed the divergence may have occurred as early as the 6th century BCE, a time where cities were growing and interconnecting, through trade, travel, and war, across Eurasia from China to the Mediterranean.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is funding a project to rapidly analyze the spread, evolution of COVID-19; researchers include Dr. Marc Suchard, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, collaborating with top computational scientists at Scripps Research and Johns Hopkins University.