In August, Kristen Choi, a UCLA assistant professor of public health and of nursing, thought about how important it would be to participate in the testing of one of the new COVID-19 vaccines. So she stepped out of her usual role of conducting research and volunteered to become a study subject.

UCLA researchers have found that during its first year, the coronavirus has ravaged Latino families and communities in California and other states far more seriously than it has non-Latino populations, with a consequent impact on the U.S. economy.

Latinos make up 39.3% of California’s population (15.5 million people), yet they constitute a far larger percentage (48.5%) of all COVID-19‒related deaths in the state. In contrast, non-Hispanic whites make up 36.6% of California’s population (14.5 million people), but have accounted for only 30.4% of all the state’s COVID-19 deaths.

More than 1 in 4 adults in California report having poor oral health, but that figure rises to roughly 1 in 2 for the state’s lowest-income residents and drops to 1 in 5 for those with the highest incomes, according to a UCLA policy brief that looks at the role economic, social and environmental factors play in oral health.

A team that includes UCLA Fielding School of Public Health researchers has found American children whose educations have been disrupted by the pandemic, even as little as 2-4 months, may face shortened life spans.

To help slow the spread of COVID-19 and save lives, UCLA public health and urban planning experts have developed a predictive model that pinpoints which populations in which neighborhoods of Los Angeles County are most at risk of becoming infected.

The researchers hope the new model, which can be applied to other counties and jurisdictions as well, will assist decision makers, public health officials and scientists in effectively and equitably implementing vaccine distribution, testing, closures and reopenings, and other virus-mitigation measures.

A new policy brief by the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health's UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, led by 

A team jointly led by UCLA Fielding School of Public Health researchers has found the United States fall well behind other countries in life expectancy, while spending the most money on healthcare – nearly twice as much per capita – as other wealthy countries.

On Friday, April 21, nearly 200 UCLA Fielding School of Public Health community members gathered for two events hosted by the school in celebration of its 60th anniversary.

An international study led by UCLA Fielding School of Public Health researchers has determined that the United States is far from the most effective healthcare provider for those 50 and older among 23 countries, ranging from Austria to the United States.