Public Health

Texas’ urban counties invest billions in medical safety nets. Their suburban neighbors don’t.

In Harris County, residents with modest or no health insurance have a strong medical safety net. The county’s hospital district, Harris Health System, operates two trauma centers, 16 community health centers and several specialty care locations — all of which provide services at little to no cost.

In Harris County’s most food-insecure area, a nonprofit leader offers a recipe for tackling hunger

When northern Harris County residents ask Northwest Assistance Ministries for help with their basic needs, one request emerges the most: food.

Food Insecurity in Houston and Harris County

This snapshot takes a closer look at the scope of food insecurity among households in Houston and Harris County.

Fort Bend County Community Health Assessment

This report describes the current state of health and other community needs in Fort Bend County.

How researching with mothers — not just about them — can produce better solutions

Houston faces significant maternal health challenges, but the best solutions often come from the people dealing with them every day.

Paths [Senderos]

This project aims to adapt the existing Paths [Senderos] program to assist individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities cope with grief.

Paths to Wellness

The Path to Wellness initiative is focused on improving maternal health outcomes in the Greater Houston area.

Cuts to SNAP would impact hundreds of thousands of Houston households

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the nation’s most significant anti-hunger program, could soon see a $230 billion funding reduction if current federal priorities move forward. This move could impact millions of Texans, including hundreds of thousands of Houston-area families.

2024 Storm Impacts in Houston and Harris County: A Descriptive Overview

This brief provides an overview of the cumulative impact extreme weather had on Houston and Harris County residents from late April to early July.

Harris County contends with shortage of mental health workers despite landmark state investment

One of the barriers to accessing mental health care in Harris County and across Texas is a workforce shortage in the field.

How Houston's only public recovery high school is creating new paths for student success

Of all youth in Harris County, high schoolers had the highest rate of substance-involved health care facility visits and deaths from 2018-22, according to a new report.

‘We have to move faster’: Grappling with Harris County’s maternal health crisis

Maternal death rates in Harris County, particularly among Black and Hispanic women, have been among the highest in the country since 2016, according to a report released earlier this year by Harris County Public Health.

Mental Health and Well-Being of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Residents in the Houston Area

This series of briefs provides a demographic snapshot of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals in the Houston area and looks at how the Covid-19 pandemic impacted their mental health and well-being. The series also explores mental health care service use and barriers to utilization.

From battling pandemics to serving the uninsured, why Houston’s health care leadership is more important than ever before

Dr. Marc Boom, president and CEO of Houston Methodist, helped lead Houston through the COVID-19 pandemic by prioritizing the public’s accessibility to the COVID-19 vaccine, and he was the first hospital system CEO to introduce an employee COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Harris County appears to be losing more trees than it is planting. New datasets explore which neighborhoods lost the most.

New datasets on the Kinder Institute’s Urban Data Platform (UDP) make it possible to understand how tree canopy coverage has changed in the past decade across the Houston region. In short: We appear to be losing trees faster than we are planting them.