Public Health

‘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.

Research shows benefits of guaranteed income as launch of Harris County pilot program nears

With applications for the new local guaranteed income program Uplift Harris now closed, the pilot is preparing to launch.

National climate report features Kinder Institute research on Harris County disasters

A new comprehensive federal report documenting the effects of climate change across the country includes Kinder Institute research to bring attention to Harris County’s vulnerabilities.

Urban farmers seeking healthier communities in Houston’s East End and beyond

Finca Tres Robles, an urban farm in Houston’s East End established by the Small Places organization in 2014, is in a state of transition. It initially combined agriculture, community engagement and sustainability. As it moves into its second iteration, it will continue that work with hopes of expanding its reach.

Could parks be a panacea for what ails Houston? Here’s what the research says

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, urban parks and greenspace provided welcome respite and recreation when people had to spend a lot of time indoors. That renewed appreciation for parks confirmed what many researchers have been pointing out for decades: They provide cities huge benefits for public health, the environment and the economy.

Why Houston is taking steps to elevate children’s rights in City Hall

After three years of researching, planning and implementing a commitment to its children, the city of Houston is the first in the U.S. to be recognized as a UNICEF Child Friendly City. With this milestone and the acknowledgement of children’s needs and voices, Houston is actively investing in its future — and it is an investment all cities should undertake.

With community action plan, Settegast takes next step toward lasting change

Following a three-phase, 18-month project, Harris County Public Health has released a community action plan for Settegast, a historically Black neighborhood in northeast Houston with the lowest life expectancy in Harris County, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s U.S. Small-Area Life Expectancy Estimates Project.

With new youth facility, Harris Center takes community-based approach to avoid recidivism

One of the central aspirations of The Harris Center for Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities is to reduce the footprint of criminal justice in the lives of people with mental health concerns. After providing services to over 90,000 individuals in 2022, it recently opened a facility specifically dedicated to juveniles between the ages of 13-17 with the launch of its Youth Diversion Center.

Physical activity is a magic bullet for our health. So what’s holding us back?

Regular physical activity may be the closest thing we have to a “magic bullet” to combat the obesity epidemic and alarmingly high rates of cardiovascular disease. Physical activity offers dramatic benefits for individuals but it also has the potential to knit together the social fabric of our communities, making us healthier physically and mentally. And it is free. So, what’s holding us back? As it turns out, something as easy as a safe walk around the neighborhood is out of reach for too many communities.

Houstonians have put aside concerns about public health as pandemic recedes from view

On May 11, 2021, Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research released the results of the 40th annual Houston Area Survey. Among the findings: 22% of respondents – a far higher share than in any previous survey – rated “public health” as the “biggest problem facing people in the Houston area today.”

Despite more people in the office, the workplace shift is shaking up all of Houston's other 'downtowns'

In Houston, since the pandemic recovery began, office workers have been quick to return to their desks and cubicles, commuting back to their physical offices, even if for just part of the week.

Houston’s restaurants, not oil and gas, offer a strong signal of the city’s economic recovery

Following a tumultuous span of more than two years since the pandemic’s onset in Houston, employment has shown strong signs of recovery, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. In fact, it was on track to grow jobs back to pre-pandemic projections by the end of 2022.