News by Subject Social & Behavior

A University of Tsukuba study examined a massive national claims dataset in search of regional and socioeconomic inequalities in the use of dental care services in Japan. This examination of millions of pieces of data found periodontal care and outreach services showed the widest regional inequalities. People in areas with lower education and income were more likely to seek treatment after dental diseases progress. More clinics and higher education and incomes correlated with earlier treatment.

Events of the past year have exposed the crisis of the nation's digital divide. To tackle this problem, Michigan State University researchers have developed a new tool to smooth the collection of federal broadband access data that helps pinpoint coverage gaps across the US.

When nature vanishes, people of color and low-income Americans disproportionally lose critical environmental and health benefits--including air quality, crop productivity and disease control--a new study in Nature Communications finds. The research is the first national study to explore the unequal impacts on American society--by race and income--of projected declines in nature and its benefits. Researchers find multiple natural benefits will drop for people of color by an average of 224%-111% between 2020-2100, as white communities see gains.

Researchers analysing skeletal remains in the city of Cambridge find a dramatic increase in 'hallux valgus' around the time that pointed shoes became de rigueur in the 1300s. They also uncover a link between this minor deformity and increased risk of fractures.