image by: Markus Spiske on Unsplash

HWN Suggests

Are Reparations an Answer to Black Health Disparities?

In the long debate over cash reparations—paying money to the descendants of enslaved people—very little has been written about their possible effects on health. That has changed in recent years. A modeling study published in 2021, for instance, argues that if reparations had been paid in Louisiana before the start of COVID-19, transmission in the spring of 2020 could have been reduced by between 31% and 68% in the state’s population at large.

With payments to address past injustices, the argument goes, the country’s Black-white wealth gap would have leveled out considerably. Fewer people would live in crowded, substandard housing, making it easier for them to adhere to social distancing…

read full article

Featured

 Being Black in America Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

Except in the case of a few specific ailments, such as nondiabetic kidney disease, scientists have largely failed to identify genetic differences that might explain racial health disparities. The major underlying causes, many scientists now believe, are social and environmental forces that affect African Americans more than most other groups.

 How to Fix the Health Gap Between Black and White America

The consensus among health and policy experts at the events is that Americans of color still experience the impact today of decades of discriminatory policies, from redlining to poor transportation planning. Some of the basic foundations of health—safe housing conditions, access to fresh, affordable food, and quality health care—remain elusive to many communities.

 Why We Need More Black Doctors—and How to Get There

Valerie Montgomery Rice, head of Morehouse School of Medicine, on training the next generation of physicians, and how to bring more Black men into the field.

Articles of Interest

'Under the Skin' shows how COVID exposed racial disparities in healthcare

Life expectancy in the U.S. has always been different for people of color. And since the pandemic, that gap has widened. In her new book, Under the Skin, journalist Linda Villarosa uncovers the hidden toll of racism in America and how racial disparities impact all aspects of healthcare.

A new tool tracks health disparities in the U.S. — and highlights major data gaps

The impact of Covid-19 on individual health will long outlive the public emergency, and the tracker will aim to highlight the disparities in those long-term outcomes.

Covid-19 has shone a light on racial disparities in health

Unpicking the causes of gaps in health outcomes requires better data than most countries currently collect.

Genes Don't Cause Racial-Health Disparities, Society Does

Researchers are looking in the wrong place: White people live longer not because of their DNA but because of inequality.

Health and wealth divides in UK worsening despite ‘levelling up’ drive, report finds

People in the UK are getting “sicker and poorer”, with a gaping health and wealth divide between regions that is only getting worse, research has found.

How Medical Jargon Can Make COVID Health Disparities Even Worse

Take for example, the common medical guidance that anyone who thinks they might have COVID-19 should call a doctor. "Translated incorrectly," Chandrashekar says, "this could be interpreted as 'Don't go to the emergency room until you call your doctor — even if you have symptoms of severe illness.' " And that could, in some cases, be a fatal mistake.

In Rural America, Covid Hits Black and Hispanic People Hardest

At the peak of the Omicron wave, Covid killed Black Americans in rural areas at a rate roughly 34 percent higher than it did white people.

Queer Women Are More Unhealthy Than Straight Women. This Is Why

Studies have pointed to LGBTQ women being at higher risk for cancer, type 2 diabetes and mental health issues. But the reasons are complicated.

The Impact of Disparities on Children’s Health

Differences in access to medical care and treatment contribute to conditions that disproportionately hurt minority children.

The Largest Health Disparity We Don’t Talk About

Americans with serious mental illnesses die 15 to 30 years earlier than those without.

The Richest Americans Live 10 Years Longer than the Poorest

Money may not buy you happiness, but it may help buy you health, and ultimately a longer life. Researchers analyzing data on income disparities and health outcomes in the U.S. found that health gaps between the rich and poor are widening, and that’s translating to bigger differences in how long people live.

What causes cancer disparities?

Systemic and historical inequities in the U.S. lead to worst outcomes when it comes to cancer.

What is the Difference Between Health Disparities, Equity?

Health disparities refer to the differences in outcomes or disease burden between disparate groups; lack of health equity is what caused those differences.

‘Health equity tourists’: How white scholars are colonizing research on health disparities

Fueled by the massive health disparities exposed by the coronavirus pandemic and the racial reckoning that followed the murder of George Floyd, health equity research is now in vogue.

Resources

6 Key Health Disparities Between Blacks and Whites

The Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust finds in a new report that blacks fare worse than whites on a range of health indicators.