Black Health logo Black Health

Black Health

Trusted health journalism for Black patients and families, plus a verified directory of Black clinicians and community health centers. Reviewed by licensed Black physicians.

Reviewed by licensed Black clinicians · Editorial standards →

Citations in our reporting from   CDC · NIH · American Heart Association · ACOG · APA · NAACP · Kaiser Family Foundation · JAMA · NEJM · The Lancet

More stories

This week

Editor's note

This week, we are focusing on a question that affects millions of Black families: why does the American healthcare system consistently underestimate Black patients' pain? From obstetric complications dismissed as exaggerated to sickle cell crises undertreated in emergency rooms, the data on pain bias in medicine are now overwhelming. Our lead story this week reports the research in depth and speaks to the Black clinicians building the evidence base to change it. If this reporting matters to you, share it and sign up for our newsletter below.

From our editor, Simone Abara, May 20, 2026

About Black Health

Our mission

Black health journalism grounded in community, equity, and editorial independence.

How we report

Every article is fact-checked and reviewed by licensed Black clinicians.

Behind the byline

Black journalists, clinicians, and advocates behind every story.

More reading

View all →

Community

Upcoming Events

View all →

Education

Learn about…

Explore all topics →

Black LGBTQ+ Health

Black LGBTQ+ people face the sharpest within-Black health disparities in the United States. Black men who have sex with men …

Read

Black Women's Health

Black women in the United States face the widest maternal mortality gap in the high-income world. In 2023, the Black …

Read

Black Men's Health

Black men develop heart failure at a median age of 39, two decades before white peers, per the CARDIA cohort …

Read

Kids and Teens

Approximately 1 in 365 Black or African American babies is born with sickle cell disease, and about 1 in 13 …

Read

Seniors

Black seniors are Medicare-enrolled at similar rates to white seniors but receive less hospice, more intensive end-of-life procedures, and fewer …

Read

Data

Black health by the numbers

Explore all data →
Chronic Disease

1 in 365

Black American births inherit sickle cell disease, making it the most common genetic disease in the Black community

Updated April 1, 2026

View data Access & Coverage

2.4M

Black Americans fell into the Medicaid coverage gap in states that have not expanded, losing access to subsidized coverage

Updated March 30, 2026

View data Maternal & Reproductive

3.3×

Black women die from pregnancy-related causes at 3.3 times the rate of white women

Updated March 15, 2026

View data

Policy

Health Policy Watch

Full tracker →
Active Federal

H.R. 3888

PFAS Clean Water Act

Environmental justice research consistently shows Black and low-income communities bear disproportionate PFAS exposure. A 2021 Nature Communications study …

View analysis
Critical Federal

H.R. 567

Medicaid Work Requirements Bill

Black adults have lower rates of employer-sponsored insurance and higher Medicaid enrollment rates relative to white adults. In …

View analysis
Active Federal

H.R. 2234

Momnibus Act 2025

Black women die in childbirth at 3.3 times the rate of white women in the United States (CDC …

View analysis

View the full tracker →

Health Reference

Conditions A, Z

Browse all 20 →

Alzheimer's Disease

Neurology

2x

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive brain disorder that destroys memory, language, judgment, and the …

View guide

Anxiety Disorders

Mental Health

1 in 10

Anxiety disorders include generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, specific phobias, …

View guide

APOL1-Mediated Kidney Disease

Kidney / Renal

~13% of African Americans carry two high-risk APOL1 variants

APOL1-mediated kidney disease is a genetic kidney condition driven by two specific variants in …

View guide

Asthma

Respiratory

7.7x

In 2021 the asthma death rate among non-Hispanic Black children was 7.7 per million, …

View guide

Atopic Dermatitis on Black Skin

Dermatology

19.3%

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, relapsing inflammatory skin disease driven by skin-barrier dysfunction …

View guide

Atrial Fibrillation

Cardiovascular

~2x

A 63-year-old Black woman walks into a clinic with palpitations and gets told she's …

View guide

Find a Black health provider near you.

Verified directory. Filter by specialty, insurance, and location.

Weekly dispatch

Get the Black Health newsletter

One email a week. Essential health news, a featured provider, and one longread.

Written by Black journalists · reviewed by Black clinicians · editorially independent

No spam. Unsubscribe any time. We never sell your data.

Free tools

Built for the questions you ask most.

Try our tools

Medicaid eligibility pre-check

All 50 states. Household size, income, category results in 60 seconds.

Drug interaction checker

Check up to 4 medications, with CYP2C19 / CYP2D6 / VKORC1 flags for Black patients.

Due date calculator

LMP, conception, or IVF. State-specific maternal-health context and warning signs.

Job board

Healthcare jobs for Black professionals

Verified roles at hospitals, clinics, and public health orgs recruiting Black clinicians, nurses, doulas, therapists, pharmacists, and allied health workers. Filter by specialty, state, and remote.

Browse healthcare jobs

Join the directory

Are you a Black health provider?

List your practice in our directory. Connect with Black patients actively looking for you, filtered by insurance, language, and specialty.

For Providers

Recruiting

Want to contribute?

We're recruiting writers and medical reviewers. Help us build the most trustworthy Black health resource in the country.

Apply