Abstract
The current national COVID-19 mortality rate for Black Americans is 2.1 times higher than that of Whites. In this commentary, we provide historical context on how structural racism undergirds multi-sector policies which contribute to racial health inequities such as those highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We offer a concrete, actionable path forward to address structural racism and advance health equity for Black Americans through anti-racism, implicit bias, and cultural competency training; capacity building; community-based participatory research (CBPR) initiatives; validated metrics for longitudinal monitoring of efforts to address health disparities and the evaluation of those interventions; and advocacy for and empowerment of vulnerable communities. This necessitates a multi-pronged, coordinated approach led by clinicians; public health professionals; researchers; social scientists; policy-makers at all governmental levels; and local community leaders and stakeholders across the education, legal, social service, and economic sectors to proactively and systematically advance health equity for Black Americans across the USA.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 52-58 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 2022 |
Keywords
- Advocacy
- COVID-19
- Health disparities
- Health inequality
- Structural racism
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health(social science)
- Anthropology
- Sociology and Political Science
- Health Policy
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health