scholarly journals Will 'Deaths of Despair' among Whites Change How We Talk about Racial/Ethnic Health Disparities?

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Brown ◽  
Reginald Tucker-Seeley

<p>The recent trend of premature death among Whites in the United States has garnered attention in both the popular and academic literature. This attention has focused on the plight of low socioeconomic status Whites in non-urban areas. The population health lit­erature in general and the health disparities literature more specifically has struggled to describe differences in health when White groups present worse health outcomes or worsening trends compared with racial/ ethnic minority groups. There remain many open questions as population health/health disparities research attempts to explain the increasing mortality rates for low socioeco­nomic status Whites in non-urban areas in relationship to other racial/ethnic groups. As the conversation in the academic and popular literature continues to unfold, a key question for population health research and practice is how will the ‘deaths of despair’ phenomenon among Whites influence our measuring of, and reporting and interven­ing on, race/ethnic health disparities? <em></em></p><p><em>Ethn Dis. </em>2018;28(2):123-128; doi:10.18865/ ed.28.2.123.</p>

Author(s):  
Thomas E. Fuller-Rowell ◽  
David S. Curtis ◽  
Adrienne M. Duke

Conceptual frameworks for racial/ethnic health disparities are abundant, but many have received insufficient empirical attention. As a result, there are substantial gaps in scientific knowledge and a range of untested hypotheses. Particularly lacking is specificity in behavioral and biological mechanisms for such disparities and their underlying social determinants. Alongside lack of political will and public investment, insufficient clarity in mechanisms has stymied efforts to address racial health disparities. Capitalizing on emergent findings from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study and other longitudinal studies of aging, this chapter evaluates research on health disparities between black and white US adults. Attention is given to candidate behavioral and biological mechanisms as precursors to group differences in morbidity and mortality and to environmental and sociocultural factors that may underlie these mechanisms. Future research topics are discussed, emphasizing those that offer promise with respect to illuminating practical solutions to racial/ethnic health disparities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 215013272110183
Author(s):  
Azza Sarfraz ◽  
Zouina Sarfraz ◽  
Alanna Barrios ◽  
Kuchalambal Agadi ◽  
Sindhu Thevuthasan ◽  
...  

Background: Health disparities have become apparent since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. When observing racial discrimination in healthcare, self-reported incidences, and perceptions among minority groups in the United States suggest that, the most socioeconomically underrepresented groups will suffer disproportionately in COVID-19 due to synergistic mechanisms. This study reports racially-stratified data regarding the experiences and impacts of different groups availing the healthcare system to identify disparities in outcomes of minority and majority groups in the United States. Methods: Studies were identified utilizing PubMed, Embase, CINAHL Plus, and PsycINFO search engines without date and language restrictions. The following keywords were used: Healthcare, raci*, ethnic*, discriminant, hosti*, harass*, insur*, education, income, psychiat*, COVID-19, incidence, mortality, mechanical ventilation. Statistical analysis was conducted in Review Manager (RevMan V.5.4). Unadjusted Odds Ratios, P-values, and 95% confidence intervals were presented. Results: Discrimination in the United States is evident among racial groups regarding medical care portraying mental risk behaviors as having serious outcomes in the health of minority groups. The perceived health inequity had a low association to the majority group as compared to the minority group (OR = 0.41; 95% CI = 0.22 to 0.78; P = .007), and the association of mental health problems to the Caucasian-American majority group was low (OR = 0.51; 95% CI = 0.45 to 0.58; P < .001). Conclusion: As the pandemic continues into its next stage, efforts should be taken to address the gaps in clinical training and education, and medical practice to avoid the recurring patterns of racial health disparities that become especially prominent in community health emergencies. A standardized tool to assess racial discrimination and inequity will potentially improve pandemic healthcare delivery.


Author(s):  
Ruban Dhaliwal ◽  
Rocio I Pereira ◽  
Alicia M Diaz-Thomas ◽  
Camille E Powe ◽  
Licy L Yanes Cardozo ◽  
...  

Abstract The Endocrine Society recognizes racism as a root cause of the health disparities that affect racial/ethnic minority communities in the United States and throughout the world. In this policy perspective, we review the sources and impact of racism on endocrine health disparities and propose interventions aimed at promoting an equitable, diverse, and just healthcare system. Racism in the healthcare system perpetuates health disparities through unequal access and quality of health services, inadequate representation of health professionals from racial/ethnic minority groups, and the propagation of the erroneous belief that socially constructed racial/ethnic groups constitute genetically and biologically distinct populations. Unequal care, particularly for common endocrine diseases such as diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, and thyroid disease, results in high morbidity and mortality for individuals from racial/ethnic minority groups, leading to a high socioeconomic burden on minority communities and all members of our society. As health professionals, researchers, educators, and leaders, we have a responsibility to take action to eradicate racism from the healthcare system. Achieving this goal would result in high-quality health care services that are accessible to all, diverse workforces that are representative of the communities we serve, inclusive and equitable workplaces and educational settings that foster collaborative teamwork, and research systems that ensure that scientific advancements benefit all members of our society. The Endocrine Society will continue to prioritize and invest resources in a multifaceted approach to eradicate racism, focused on educating and engaging current and future health professionals, teachers, researchers, policy makers, and leaders.


Author(s):  
Carolyn Moxley Rouse

The United States Healthy People 2010 initiative, designed to focus nationally funded health research and care on achieving a set of nationwide goals, was directed toward the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities. While racial and ethnic disparities are complex (with the health of some minority groups surpassing the national average), the health of black Americans continues to fall short of the national average. By focusing on the presumptions embedded in the design of health disparities research, this chapter addresses why Healthy People 2010 largely failed to reduce racial health inequality. Importantly, in thinking about health inequalities, researchers initially failed to consider how race is socially constructed; how data collection is never value-neutral (see King, chapter 8, this volume); and, finally, the limits of randomized control trials (deductive methods) when it comes to making sense of complex behavioral and structural data. The chapter ends by describing how ethnographic insights can help complicate the assumptions and conclusions of health disparities research.


Transfusion ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (7) ◽  
pp. 1644-1655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark H. Yazer ◽  
Ralph Vassallo ◽  
Meghan Delaney ◽  
Marc Germain ◽  
Matthew S. Karafin ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Christina Campbell ◽  
William Miller

Juvenile risk assessment instruments have provided juvenile courts with the opportunity to make standardized decisions concerning sentences and intervention needs. Risk assessments have replaced the reliance on professional decision-making practices in which court officials relied on their hunches or previous experience to determine what to do with youth once they became involved in corrections. A primary goal of juvenile risk assessment is to improve case management and help courts focus resources on juveniles who exhibit the greatest intervention needs. Further, juvenile risk assessments play a critical role in estimating which juveniles will likely reoffend by identifying factors that increase the propensity of future offending. Although some researchers believe that the implementation of standardized juvenile risk assessments is a good strategy for reducing biased decision-making for racial/ethnic minorities, other researchers have called into question the extent to which risk assessments overestimate risk for certain juveniles, especially those in minority groups who have a history of being marginalized due to their race, culture, or ethnicity. This article provides an overview of how well juvenile risk assessment instruments predict future delinquency across race and ethnicity. The review suggests that in general, risk assessments do a good job in predicting recidivism across racial/ethnic groups for diverse populations inside and outside the United States. However, there is still some room for improvement concerning the assessment of risk and needs for ethnic minorities. In addition, while there are some studies that do not report the predictive validity of risk assessment scores across race/ethnicity, risk assessments overall seem to be a promising effort to correctly classify and/or identify juveniles who are at greatest risk for future recidivism.


2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (02) ◽  
pp. 309-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Lavariega Monforti ◽  
Adam McGlynn

AbstractThe breadth of material covered in introductory U.S. government and politics survey courses creates a situation in which the textbooks used may serve as the primary source of information students receive about the country's political system. At the same time, their content represents a conscious choice by the authors, editors, and publishers of these textbooks regarding what topics and content are necessary and worthy of publication, which socializes students to accept particular viewpoints of the formation and operation of the U.S. government. Oftentimes, the information presented in textbooks across subdisciplines ignores the political experiences and influence of racial, ethnic, and other minority groups. We test this premise by engaging in a study of 29 introductory U.S. government and politics textbooks to assess the level of coverage and treatment of Latinos/as, the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the country. We find that the discussion of Latinos in these textbooks is incredibly brief and often limited to the civil rights chapters. Furthermore, Latinos are primarily mentioned in the discussion of immigration, while their overall contributions to the political development of the United States are largely ignored.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (36) ◽  
pp. e2105125118
Author(s):  
Yao Lu ◽  
Neeraj Kaushal ◽  
Xiaoning Huang ◽  
S. Michael Gaddis

Mounting reports in the media suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified prejudice and discrimination against racial/ethnic minorities, especially Asians. Existing research has focused on discrimination against Asians and is primarily based on self-reported incidents or nonrepresentative samples. We investigate the extent to which COVID-19 has fueled prejudice and discrimination against multiple racial/ethnic minority groups in the United States by examining nationally representative survey data with an embedded vignette experiment about roommate selection (collected in August 2020; n = 5,000). We find that priming COVID-19 salience has an immediate, statistically significant impact: compared to the control group, respondents in the treatment group exhibited increased prejudice and discriminatory intent against East Asian, South Asian, and Hispanic hypothetical room-seekers. The treatment effect is more pronounced in increasing extreme negative attitudes toward the three minority groups than decreasing extreme positive attitudes toward them. This is partly due to the treatment increasing the proportion of respondents who perceive these minority groups as extremely culturally incompatible (Asians and Hispanics) and extremely irresponsible (Asians). Sociopolitical factors did not moderate the treatment effects on attitudes toward Asians, but prior social contact with Hispanics mitigated prejudices against them. These findings suggest that COVID-19–fueled prejudice and discrimination have not been limited to East Asians but are part of a broader phenomenon that has affected Asians generally and Hispanics as well.


Author(s):  
Joelle Fathi

Tobacco use is at epidemic levels and a leading cause of disability and premature death in the United States, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations and minority groups. While cigarette consumption is at an all-time low, electronic cigarette use has soared, especially in teenagers, who are at the highest risk for lifelong tobacco dependence. This article first offers a brief history of tobacco use and discusses nicotine prevalence and pathogenesis of tobacco dependence. Following this information, the author discusses various tobacco concerns and the benefits of quitting tobacco use. Nurses are vital partners in the war against tobacco through proactive patient education, successful cessation treatment and counseling, and advocacy for policy change.


Author(s):  
Wendy E. Parmet

This chapter studies the social determinants of health in the United States, focusing on one important but often overlooked social determinant: law. It explains how law influences social determinants and why law should itself be viewed as an important social determinant, one that can both magnify or diminish health disparities. Law can affect population health in numerous ways. Most obviously, laws create, empower, and restrain state, local, and federal public health agencies; regulate the delivery of healthcare; and seek to promote population health by regulating unsafe practices and activities, such as smoking. Health laws, however, are not the only laws that affect health. Laws that affect employment, income inequality, housing, the built environment, and education may also impact health. The chapter then considers some defining features of US law that may play a role in creating or perpetuating health disparities both within the US and between the US and other nations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. It also reviews some recent initiatives in the US, many but not all undertaken via law, to address social determinants, and it looks at the barriers that remain to ameliorating social determinants through law, as well as some reasons for optimism.


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