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Racism and Health II: A Needed Research Agenda for Effective Interventions
No full textThis article reviews the empirical evidence that suggests that there is a solid foundation for more systematic research attention to the ways in which interventions that seek to reduce the multiple dimensions of racism can improve health and reduce disparities in health. First, research reveals that policies and procedures that seek to reduce institutional racism by improving neighborhood and educational quality and enhancing access to additional income, employment opportunities, and other desirable resources can improve health. Second, research is reviewed that shows that there is the potential to improve health through interventions that can reduce cultural racism at the societal and individual level. Finally, research is presented that suggests that the adverse consequences of racism on health can be reduced through policies that maximize the health-enhancing capacities of medical care, address the social factors that initiate and sustain risk behaviors, and empower individuals and communities to take control of their lives and health. Directions for future research are outlined
Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States: A Health Equity Perspective
Full text linkApproximately 13% of African American men are disqualified from voting
because of a felony conviction. I used ecosocial theory to identify how institutionalized
racism helps perpetuate health disparities and to explore pathways
through which felon disenfranchisement laws may contribute to racial
health disparities in the United States. From a literature review, I identified 2
potential pathways: (1) inability to alter inequitable public policies that differentially
allocate resources for health; and (2) inability to reintegrate into society
by voting, which contributes to allostatic load
Community Preventive Services Task Force 2013 Annual Report to Congress and to Agencies Related to the Work of the Task Force - FULL REPORT
No full textThe Ecology of Multilevel Interventions to Reduce Social Inequalities in Health
No full textHealth inequities persist and, in some cases, are increasing. Multilevel interventions involve efforts to change aspects of social contexts related to the creation and maintenance of health inequities among varied groups. Momentum for conducting multilevel interventions to achieve health equity is found across professional fields as well as scientific and funding organizations. This article discusses the rationale for multilevel interventions, briefly reviews their evolution over time with respect to health inequities, and provides an ecological “way of thinking” about some of the conceptual and pragmatic challenges they raise for social science. This perspective frames community interventions as multilevel, ecologically based, collaboratively conducted, culturally situated, and designed to increase community capacity. Implications of this perspective are drawn for the development, implementation, and evaluation of multilevel interventions
An Intersectional Approach to Social Determinants of Stress for African American Men: Men's and Women's Perspectives
No full textStress is a key factor that helps explain racial and gender differences in health, but few studies have examined gendered stressors that affect men. This study uses an intersectional approach to examine the sources of stress in African American men’s lives from the perspectives of African American men and important women in their lives. Phenomenological analysis was used to examine data from 18 exploratory focus groups with 150 African American men, ages 30 years and older, and eight groups with 77 African American women. The two primary sources of stress identified were seeking to fulfill socially and culturally important gender roles and being an African American man in a racially stratified society. A central focus of African American men’s daily lives was trying to navigate chronic stressors at home and at work and a lack of time to fulfill roles and responsibilities in different life domains that are traditionally the responsibility of men. Health was rarely mentioned by men as a source of stress, though women noted that men’s aging and weathering bodies were a source of stress for men. Because of the intersection of racism and economic and social stressors, men and women reported that the stress that African American men experienced was shaped by the intersection of race, ethnicity, age, marital status, and other factors that combined in unique ways. The intersection of these identities and characteristics led to stressors that were perceived to be of greater quantity and qualitatively different than the stress experienced by men of other races
