The COVID-19 crisis has compounded racial and class inequities in housing and health. One result of this involves childhood asthma, which has been linked to exposure to substandard housing and is a specific cause for concern: key asthma predictors such as housing insecurity and concentrated poverty have been exacerbated during the pandemic, as school closures and social distancing recommendations have resulted in kids spending more time inside the home. Incorporating social determinants of health into philanthropic decision making is an important and recognized component of improving health and reducing long-standing disparities in health and health care (Artiga and Hinton 2019). This brief examines the relationship between the incidence of childhood asthma and substandard housing. We focus on two southwestern states, Arizona and New Mexico, to address the research gap pertaining to the relationship between childhood asthma and substandard housing among Latine and Indigenous youth.1 The current federal, state, and tribal policy landscape demonstrates the political will to reduce disparities in asthma incidence at the state level in Arizona and New Mexico, and there is an opportunity for philanthropy to support community-led initiatives, build tenant support services, and leverage federal funding for local initiatives. Although there is substantial literature connecting substandard housing to asthma, and asthma to negative health outcomes, a better understanding of the welfare of Latine and Indigenous youth can inform a tailored philanthropic response in these and other similar states.
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