Population Health News Round-Up: May 2025

Health Equity and Disparities

PBS’s NOVA looks at Black health disparities: “Critical Condition: Health in Black America” looks at health disparities in America, pseudoscience, false beliefs, and how discrimination can damage human cells. (PBS, video premiering April 30, 2025. Available to watch online.)

Mental health disparities among LGBTQ populations: Sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations are more likely to be diagnosed with mental health conditions, including bipolar disorder, depression, and PTSD. (Consultant 360 citing a JAMA Network Open article from January 29, 2025)

Environmental & Climate Health and Justice

Funding for Indigenous environmental health is slashed: Federal funding for energy projects, solar upgrades, and other projects earmarked for Native American tribes has been slashed. (Grist, May 1, 2025)

Hundreds of environmental justice grants are canceled: “The Environmental Protection Agency plans to cancel a total of 781 grants issued under President Joe Biden.” (Washington Post, April 29, 2025)

Built Environments, Spaces, and Places

Food apartheid in Seattle is complex: In the Seattle area, access to grocery stores and to healthy food is not equal. But the disparity goes beyond simple access: it’s also about affordability and convenience. (The Seattle Times, April 21, 2025)

The built environment can help people with dementia: Public transit, pedestrian-oriented design, and sidewalk suitability affect how mobile people with dementia can be. (Frontiers in Public Health, accepted May 19, 2025)

In Detroit, the Black Community Food Sovereignty Network aims for more than nutrition–their work is a “sacred remembrance” too.  (via Facebook, May 14, 2025)

Policy and Programs

Medicaid expansion and opioid overdose: No association was found between Medicaid expansion and the misuse of prescription opioids or benzos. (Boston University School of Public Health, March 12, 2025)

In Washington State, a new law aims for mental health parity: Under House Bill 1432, insurers will be prevented from denying essential care, and it will be easier for providers to accept insurance. (Wenatchee World, February 26, 2025)

Book Spotlights

Systemic: How Racism Is Making Us Ill, by Layal Liverpool. Racism is woven into the structure of medicine and science, and can create biological changes in our bodies. (Bloomsbury Circus, 2024)

FLATLINING DEI: How Political Agendas Threaten Patient Equity, by Tim Brendle. The war on DEI puts patients at risk. What can we do? (Quaternary Healthcare Consultancy, 2025, On Amazon)