How Racism Affects Women's Health

Although the majority of Caucasian women would see racism as a thing of the past, many African-American women know that blacks are still treated unfairly in American society; for instance, racial gaps in income are still present in the United States. Where a person lives, what resources are available to them, and how successfully they handle life challenges can all affect the health of individuals and populations. As we've learned in class, this is referred to as socioeconomic status—the position of a person in a hierarchical social system. Contributing factors that determine socioeconomic status are education, income, place of residence, occupation, heredity, and religion. Low socioeconomic status can lead to ill-health; high socioeconomic status normally predicts great health.

In many public health classes we watch episodes of Unnatural Causes, a 2008 PBS documentary highlighting how racial and socioeconomic differences affect the health of Americans. In one of the videos listed below, researchers analyzed a puzzling case–an African-American woman named Kim. Even though Kim had a high-paying job, health insurance, adequate prenatal care, and lived in an affluent neighborhood, she still delivered a baby girl who was pre-term and very low birth weight. Why would this woman with high socioeconomic status experience the same outcome that is typically seen with disadvantaged populations? Even though a woman comes from a high socioeconomic background, growing up as a black female puts her at risk for delivering pre-term babies and suffering from overall ill health as a result of lifetime chronic stress. This theory is called the life course perspective—the hypothesis that cumulative experiences over a woman’s entire life will affect her health, regardless of socioeconomic status. Being a member of a particular minority group is bad for your health. Minorities are considered vulnerable populations and more subject to chronic diseases such as alcoholism, accidents, violence, diabetes, and violence.

You can follow these links to watch two important clips from Unnatural Causes:

The Mystery of Black-White Differences in Infant Mortality (6 min)

How Racism Impacts Pregnancy Outcomes (4 min)

The Cherishing our Hearts and Souls Coalition (COHS) Anti-Racism Project is the perfect example of an organization that works to better the health of a minority population. In conjunction with the Harvard School of Public Health, this coalition develops and implements projects designed to help participants understand the relationship between racism and health. Despite the overall improvements in life expectancy in the United States, this program recognizes the impact racism has on health and how it related to ethnic disparities in health care. Their mission specifically targets cardiovascular disease (CVD) and other chronic conditions in African-Americans living in under-served neighborhoods. The programs to raise awareness to racism and CVD include a three-year social marketing campaign, community workshops, after-school anti-racism programs, meetings to discuss policy issues, and other methods for the reduction of CVD risk factors.

Jane Eyre