What Accounts For Health Disparities? Findings From the Houston Surveys (2001-2013)

Scenes of doctor checkup, kids playing basketball, Houston skyline, etc

Drawing on more than a decade worth of survey data, this report breaks down health disparities in the Houston area.

This report seeks to identify the forces that account for health disparities in the Houston region. It makes use of questions asked in the past 13 years of the annual “Kinder Institute Houston Area Survey” (KIHAS), buttressed by findings from the third of the institute’s three focused surveys, known as the SHEA studies (“Surveys of Health, Education, and the Arts”). The SHEA studies were supported by a grant from Houston Endowment Inc.

This report begins with an effort to identify empirically the most important structural forces (such as age, education, income, and ethnicity) that demonstrably underlie and help to account for the wide disparities in the health and well-being of Harris County residents. The report then explores the bases for individual differences in area residents’ access to quality health care and assesses the importance of the relationship between health insurance coverage and self-reported health status. Finally, the report explores the health effects of environmental pollution and of the social characteristics of neighborhoods.

RELATED RESEARCH
Sevens of young kids in the classroom, learning, on a computer, walking with backpacks, etc
The Houston Education Survey: Public Perceptions in a Critical Time
Nov. 23, 2013

This report presents some of the most important findings from the Houston Education Survey, the second of three focused surveys that are together called the “SHEA” studies (“Surveys of Health, Education, and the Arts”).

EDUCATION
RELATED RESEARCH
Scenes around Houston that speak to its arts and culture, cowboy boots, theater sign, chili peppers
Public Perceptions in Remarkable Times: Tracking Change Through 24 Years of Houston Surveys
Mar. 1, 2005

Drawing on more than 20 years of survey data, this report seeks to tell the story of Houston and its communities.

DEMOGRAPHICS | ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT | EDUCATION
RELATED RESEARCH
Scenes of art venues and public art around Houston
The Houston Arts Survey: Participation, Perceptions and Prospects
Sep. 1, 2012

This report uses survey data to answer this question: How do Harris County residents experience the arts in their lives?

PLACEMAKING
Body
Body
Body
Mailing Address

6100 Main St. MS-208
Houston, TX 77005-1892

kinder@rice.edu
713-348-4132 

Subscribe to our e-newsletter

Physical Address

Rice University
Kraft Hall
6100 Main Street, Suite 305
Houston, TX 77005-1892

Featured Sponsor

Support the Kinder Institute