Poverty, Racism, and the Public Health Crisis in America
The purpose of this article is to discuss poverty as a multidimensional factor influencing health. We will also explicate how racism contributes to and perpetuates the economic and financial inequality that diminishes prospects for population health improvement among marginalized racial and ethnic g...
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2021-09-01
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doaj-def14e904d38455a91ddc1e1366745722021-09-06T05:12:25ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652021-09-01910.3389/fpubh.2021.699049699049Poverty, Racism, and the Public Health Crisis in AmericaBettina M. Beech0Chandra Ford1Roland J. Thorpe2Marino A. Bruce3Keith C. Norris4Department of Health Systems and Population Health Science, University of Houston College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United StatesDepartment of Community Health Sciences, Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice and Health at the University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesDepartment of Health, Behavior, and Society, Program for Research on Men's Health, Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions, Johns Hopkins Alzheimer's Disease Resource Center for Minority Aging Research, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, United StatesProgram for Research on Faith, Justice, and Health, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Houston College of Medicine, Houston, TX, United StatesDepartment of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United StatesThe purpose of this article is to discuss poverty as a multidimensional factor influencing health. We will also explicate how racism contributes to and perpetuates the economic and financial inequality that diminishes prospects for population health improvement among marginalized racial and ethnic groups. Poverty is one of the most significant challenges for our society in this millennium. Over 40% of the world lives in poverty. The U.S. has one of the highest rates of poverty in the developed world, despite its collective wealth, and the burden falls disproportionately on communities of color. A common narrative for the relatively high prevalence of poverty among marginalized minority communities is predicated on racist notions of racial inferiority and frequent denial of the structural forms of racism and classism that have contributed to public health crises in the United States and across the globe. Importantly, poverty is much more than just a low-income household. It reflects economic well-being, the ability to negotiate society relative to education of an individual, socioeconomic or health status, as well as social exclusion based on institutional policies, practices, and behaviors. Until structural racism and economic injustice can be resolved, the use of evidence-based prevention and early intervention initiatives to mitigate untoward effects of socioeconomic deprivation in communities of color such as the use of social media/culturally concordant health education, social support, such as social networks, primary intervention strategies, and more will be critical to address the persistent racial/ethnic disparities in chronic diseases.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.699049/fullracismstructural inequitiespovertyracesocial determinants of health |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Bettina M. Beech Chandra Ford Roland J. Thorpe Marino A. Bruce Keith C. Norris |
spellingShingle |
Bettina M. Beech Chandra Ford Roland J. Thorpe Marino A. Bruce Keith C. Norris Poverty, Racism, and the Public Health Crisis in America Frontiers in Public Health racism structural inequities poverty race social determinants of health |
author_facet |
Bettina M. Beech Chandra Ford Roland J. Thorpe Marino A. Bruce Keith C. Norris |
author_sort |
Bettina M. Beech |
title |
Poverty, Racism, and the Public Health Crisis in America |
title_short |
Poverty, Racism, and the Public Health Crisis in America |
title_full |
Poverty, Racism, and the Public Health Crisis in America |
title_fullStr |
Poverty, Racism, and the Public Health Crisis in America |
title_full_unstemmed |
Poverty, Racism, and the Public Health Crisis in America |
title_sort |
poverty, racism, and the public health crisis in america |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Public Health |
issn |
2296-2565 |
publishDate |
2021-09-01 |
description |
The purpose of this article is to discuss poverty as a multidimensional factor influencing health. We will also explicate how racism contributes to and perpetuates the economic and financial inequality that diminishes prospects for population health improvement among marginalized racial and ethnic groups. Poverty is one of the most significant challenges for our society in this millennium. Over 40% of the world lives in poverty. The U.S. has one of the highest rates of poverty in the developed world, despite its collective wealth, and the burden falls disproportionately on communities of color. A common narrative for the relatively high prevalence of poverty among marginalized minority communities is predicated on racist notions of racial inferiority and frequent denial of the structural forms of racism and classism that have contributed to public health crises in the United States and across the globe. Importantly, poverty is much more than just a low-income household. It reflects economic well-being, the ability to negotiate society relative to education of an individual, socioeconomic or health status, as well as social exclusion based on institutional policies, practices, and behaviors. Until structural racism and economic injustice can be resolved, the use of evidence-based prevention and early intervention initiatives to mitigate untoward effects of socioeconomic deprivation in communities of color such as the use of social media/culturally concordant health education, social support, such as social networks, primary intervention strategies, and more will be critical to address the persistent racial/ethnic disparities in chronic diseases. |
topic |
racism structural inequities poverty race social determinants of health |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.699049/full |
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