Center in the News

Preliminary data released today by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research’s California Health Interview Survey found that more than 1 in 12, or 8%, of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults in California experienced a hate incident due to COVID-19. Of those who experienced a hate incident, 84% said they sustained verbal abuse or insults.

Todd Hughes interview with Jason Middleton: Preliminary estimates show mask wearing dropped significantly - more than half of California adults wore masks every time they went out in Feburary/March, but that figure dropped to 1 in 3 in May. Those who never wore a mask was 8% in February/March, and rose to 20% in May. How will this play out in the fall? People are showing more behaviors that put themselves at risk, especially among those who aren't vaccinated. Regarding long COVID (have symptoms for 2 months or longer): nearly 1 in 3 who ever tested positive for COVID experienced long COVID

According to a brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, 45 percent of California youth between the ages of 12 and 17 report having recently struggled with mental health issues, with nearly a third of them experiences serious psychological issues that could interfere with academic and social functions.

In California, 55% of older residents and people with disabilities need help from another person for routine care, such as completing chores, shopping or getting to appointments, according to a recent analysis from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. About 21% need help with personal care, like eating, bathing and getting dressed. Of those who need assistance, 40% reported needing more or not receiving any at all.

Re: AB1400 (xx) According to UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research, 94% of Californians already currently have health insurance and there is a remaining 6% who are uninsured. But, of the uninsured, 54% are eligible for subsidized health insurance and just chose to waive that available coverage option. The next biggest group of uninsured are undocumented immigrants — making up 41% of California’s uninsured population.

“Older adults and adults with disabilities are often stretched thin financially,” said Kathryn Kietzman, director of the center’s Health Equity Program and co-author of the research. “They’ve cut back on spending and even borrowed money but are still struggling to afford housing and food. For many, paying for any amount of caregiving help is out of reach.”

In two new studies, Kietzman and Lei Chen, a graduate student researcher at the Center, analyzed the need for long-term services and support among adults age 65 and older and adults with disabilities and assessed the financial constraints that limit options for such supportive care. The studies used data from the 2019–20 California Long-Term Services and Supports Survey (LTSS), a follow- to UCLA CHPR’s California Health Interview Survey (CHIS).

But studies show that, for immigrant families, the presence of policing, arrests and deportations in their communities does not go hand-in-hand with good physical or mental health. It is destructive to their well-being.

Most epidemiological models have been restricted to infectious diseases, forecasting the spread of illnesses like malaria and COVID. But some researchers believe that it’s time to apply these tools to mental health services too. These scientists aim to create models to predict where issues like severe depression and suicide are most likely to crop up—and which interventions are most effective. By doing this, they hope to correct some of the mental health funding disparity.

“If I’m a lucky American who has employer-based healthcare, and I go to a doctor who every year says, ‘OK, here’s what's on the list of things you need to know and that we need to check on,’ I’m going to have a much better chance of doing the preventive measures, or identifying a risk factor, or treating it early and avoiding worse outcomes,” says Kathryn Kietzman, Ph.D., director of the Health Equity Program at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, in Los Angeles. “But, if someone without healthcare has something like hepatitis B or hypertension, which can go undetected for years, they