Racism and Health: Evidence and Needed Research

2019/01/02 by David R. Williams, Jourdyn A. Lawrence, Brigette A. Davis · 13 citations
Health Professions · Social Sciences · #Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations #Health disparities and outcomes #Racial and Ethnic Identity Research

paper · pdf · doi:10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040218-043750

openalex publication_date 2019/01/02 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31

Abstract

In recent decades, there has been remarkable growth in scientific research examining the multiple ways in which racism can adversely affect health. This interest has been driven in part by the striking persistence of racial/ethnic inequities in health and the empirical evidence that indicates that socioeconomic factors alone do not account for racial/ethnic inequities in health. Racism is considered a fundamental cause of adverse health outcomes for racial/ethnic minorities and racial/ethnic inequities in health. This article provides an overview of the evidence linking the primary domains of racism-structural racism, cultural racism, and individual-level discrimination-to mental and physical health outcomes. For each mechanism, we describe key findings and identify priorities for future research. We also discuss evidence for interventions to reduce racism and describe research needed to advance knowledge in this area.

Citations

• The perseverative cognition hypothesis: A review of worry, prolonged stress-related physiological activation, and health
• A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory.
• The Race Discrimination System
• Discrimination and Health Inequities
• The Sociology of Discrimination: Racial Discrimination in Employment, Housing, Credit, and Consumer Markets
• Racism and Health I
• Social Conditions as Fundamental Causes of Health Inequalities: Theory, Evidence, and Policy Implications
• What is Internalized Racial Oppression and Why Don't We Study It? Acknowledging Racism's Hidden Injuries
• Racial residential segregation: A fundamental cause of racial disparities in health
• Social Conditions As Fundamental Causes of Disease

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• White by default: conceptual and methodological limits of binary white logic in global health equity research
• Spatial Analysis of Flood Risk, Neighborhood Characteristics, and Chronic Health Conditions in North Carolina
• Psychological Consequences of Chronic Ethnic Discrimination in Male Turkish Immigrants Living in Austria: A 30-Day Ambulatory Assessment Study
• Early Childhood Adversity, Toxic Stress, and the Impacts of Racism on the Foundations of Health
• The social determinants of mental health and disorder: evidence, prevention and recommendations
• An Evidence-Based Approach for Treating Stress and Trauma due to Racism
• “I can't breathe”: A call for antiracist nursing practice
• The Color of State Governance: Examining the Primacy of Race in Social Welfare and Criminal Justice Spending Across Multiple Levels of Government
• Social interventions in times of crisis: Community perceptions of integrating social determinants and equity into the COVID-19 response
• To race or not to race: A normative debate in the philosophy of race.
• Racism in the United States [wikipedia]

Related

• Racism and Health I
• Is Racism a Fundamental Cause of Inequalities in Health?
• Structural Racism and Health Stratification: Connecting Theory to Measurement
• Understanding how discrimination can affect health
• Understanding associations among race, socioeconomic status, and health: Patterns and prospects.