An increasing number of low-income, working-age Californians say they're struggling to access nutritious and affordable food, according to a study released Wednesday by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

Health equity is when everyone has access to the highest level of health possible, regardless of factors such as socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, geography, or gender. ... The panelists—Dr. Ninez Ponce, Mark Savage, and Dr. Brittany Brown-Podgorski—discussed progress the Biden-Harris Administration has made to deliver on promises to advance racial and ethnic equity by improving data collection, dissemination, and utilization.

Ninez Ponce, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, joined leaders from the government, health, business and other sectors at a White House forum on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders hosted by the White House on May 3.

The study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research found that about 1 in 7 veterans with a firearm at home in California had thought about suicide.

Unsafe firearm storage is common among California veterans with a history of suicidal ideation, according to a study published today by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

The study, based on responses to the 2021 California Health Interview Survey, reveals that 1 in 10 adults in the state, or approximately 3 million people, faced difficulties in paying for housing this year. Renters, in particular, were more vulnerable, with 18.6% reporting struggles to pay their landlords, compared to only 5% of homeowners who faced similar difficulties. Housing instability was also an issue for 4.4% of California adults.

Dr. Michael Rodriguez and Dr. Ninez Ponce of the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA joined Midday Edition on Tuesday to talk about gun violence as a public health issue. Rodriguez has a good quote "there are more safety policies and regulations around teddy bears than there are for guns and keeping them safe in the home." "We need to look at guns as a consumer product that is dangerous, and when there's access to guns then there's a risk that someone will be injured, if not killed by that gun."

These statistics were among those presented at "Addressing Gun Violence as a Public Health Epidemic," a symposium held Feb. 13 by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. The half-day virtual symposium featured emerging research on various aspects of gun violence and discussions with leaders from national and local organizations advocating for policy change and public safety.

Ninez Ponce and colleagues at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research received $161,000 for a study to address the gap in data for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities through the construction of a new measure to better indicate the needs of the state's NHPI population.

Accessing health care, including mental health services, became much tougher for California's Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report published today by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.