Kandyce Larson

Assistant Research Scientist

Kandyce Larson is a health services and policy researcher who conducts studies aimed at improving disparities in health and health care access for vulnerable populations. She has extensive experience working with national data sources to monitor trends and disparities in the health and well-being of US children and families. Publications have appeared in journals like Pediatrics, Academic Pediatrics, and Maternal and Child Health Journal and highlighted diverse trends like increasing youth mental health problems and reductions in racial/ethnic disparities in children’s access to health and dental care services. Past projects have also examined long-term associations of early social risk factors with future adult health, comorbidities of children’s physical and mental health conditions, and access to health care for children with special health care needs. She is currently working as an Assistant Research Scientist primarily involved in design, data analytics, and publications from surveys of adult Medicaid recipients for an evaluation of the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan. 

Kandyce completed PhD and MSW degrees in Social Welfare at the University of California, Los Angeles.  Prior to joining the University of Iowa in 2022, she worked in Senior Researcher and Assistant Research Scientist positions at the American Academy of Pediatrics and the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.