Stanford Radio

The Future of Everything with Russ Altman: E176 | The impact of income gaps on children’s health A pediatrics professor explains how COVID-19 put a spotlight on how income disparities affect health — and how innovations in telehealth might help overcome some of the challenges. The world has made remarkable gains in pediatric medicine and public health over the past several generations. The average American child of the 21st century has access to clean water and milk, fully functioning sewage systems, and antibiotics, vaccines, and other medicines. Result: Child mortality rates have declined dramatically over the past century. At the same time, a widening income gap in the United States has led to vastly different prevalence rates for health conditions between low- and high-income families, says Stanford pediatrician Lisa Chamberlain. And COVID-19, she says, has put a spotlight on many of the health challenges associated with these wealth disparities. In this episode of Stanford Engineering’s The Future of E