Scholars often fail to connect racism directly to health outcomes, suggesting new standards for publishing on racial health inequities are needed, health equity researchers said in July.
Photo by Michele Late
Journals and researchers need to adopt new standards on the study of racial health inequities and explicitly consider racism as a contributing factor, urged researchers in July.
In an article published on the Health Affairs Blog, the authors noted that while many studies explore health issues by race, there is “no uniform practice regarding the use of race as a study variable” and few expectations that researchers consider the role of racism as a root cause of health inequities.
“Despite racism’s alarming impact on health and the wealth of scholarship that outlines its ill effects, preeminent scholars and the journals that publish them, including Health Affairs, routinely fail to interrogate racism as a critical driver of racial health inequities,” wrote the authors, who include Monica McLemore, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, chair-elect of APHA’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Section. “As a consequence, the bar to publish on racial health inequities has become exceedingly low.”
For example, a search of the Health Affairs archives, which span almost 40 years, generated just 114 pieces with the word “racism.” Other surveys have found similar results, such as a 2018 systematic review of public health literature published in Public Health Reports that found only 25 articles with the term “institutionalized racism” between 2002 and 2015. Without such inquiry, the authors wrote, assertions that racial differences in health outcomes are due to biological or genetic factors are “troublingly frequent.” In addition, race is often incorrectly singled out as a risk factor for disparate health outcomes, when the real factor is racism.
To address the gap, the authors recommended a number of new standards for publishing on racial health inequities. For example, they called on researchers to stop offering genetic interpretations of race, define race within a sociopolitical framework and name racism as a factor.
They called on journals to reject articles on racial health inequities that do not rigorously examine racism and work with reviewers experienced in racism and its health effects. Reviewers were urged to be critical of work that offers a genetic basis for racial differences in health and consult with experts.
“The academic publication process, through authors, reviewers and editors, has legitimized scholarship that obfuscates the role of racism in determining health and health care,” authors wrote. “This renders racism less visible and thus less accessible as a preventable etiology of inequity.”
To read “On Racism: A New Standard for Publishing on Racial Health Inequities,” visit www.healthaffairs.org/blog.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
