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Amani B, Cabral A, Sharif MZ, Baptista SA, Le C, Perez AI, Ford CL. Rapid Assessment of COVID Evidence (RACE): Continuing Health Equity Research Beyond the Series. Ethn Dis 2024; 34:19-24. [PMID: 38854785 PMCID: PMC11156162 DOI: 10.18865/ed.34.1.19] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Bita Amani
- Department of Urban Public Health, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA
- COVID-19 Task Force on Racism & Equity, Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice, and Health, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Alejandra Cabral
- COVID-19 Task Force on Racism & Equity, Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice, and Health, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
- Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Mienah Z. Sharif
- COVID-19 Task Force on Racism & Equity, Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice, and Health, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, School of Public Health, Seattle, WA
| | - Shelby A. Baptista
- Department of Urban Public Health, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Cindy Le
- COVID-19 Task Force on Racism & Equity, Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice, and Health, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
- Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Adriana I. Perez
- COVID-19 Task Force on Racism & Equity, Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice, and Health, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Chandra L. Ford
- COVID-19 Task Force on Racism & Equity, Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice, and Health, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
- Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
- Department of Behavioral, Social and Health Education Sciences, Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA
- Department of African American Studies, Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Atlanta, GA
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Sharif MZ, Cabral A, Alcalá HE, Hassan MA, Amani B. "They Don't Care If We Live or Die": A Qualitative Analysis Examining the US Immigration System's Treatment of Undocumented Communities during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Ethn Dis 2024; 34:8-18. [PMID: 38854789 PMCID: PMC11156163 DOI: 10.18865/ed.34.1.8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Historically, the US immigration system (ie, institutions, agencies, and laws) has served the goals and principles of white supremacy through its treatment of globally displaced people and this appears to have continued through the COVID pandemic. Yet, the implications for immigrant health are not routinely addressed in mainstream public health discourse, and especially so in regard to public health disasters. This study conducted a series of focus groups with participants from social justice organizations working with immigrants, migrants, undocumented persons, refugees, persons seeking asylum, and persons detained in immigration jails to collect stories on how the immigration system undermined efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 and exacerbated health inequity within immigrant jails and across related community contexts during the pandemic. Focus groups were conducted to explore issues related to immigrants and immigration detention during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a total of N=14 participants across the 4 focus groups with a dedicated focus group on perspectives of Black immigrants/from Black immigrant organizations only. Each focus group consisted of 3 to 4 participants. Five key themes emerged: 1) dehumanization of immigrants and migrants and devaluation of their lives; 2) inhumane conditions of confinement that propagate risk of disease; 3) denial of resources for COVID-19 prevention and mitigation; 4) expansion of intersecting oppressive systems; and 5) community-based resistance and mobilization against immigration policies and enforcement. Our findings highlight the harms from policing, criminalization, and exclusion that racialized communities face as a result of the (in)actions within the immigration system during a public health disaster including the COVID context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mienah Z. Sharif
- COVID-19 Task Force on Racism & Equity, Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice, and Health, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, School of Public Health, Seattle, WA
| | - Alejandra Cabral
- COVID-19 Task Force on Racism & Equity, Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice, and Health, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
- Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Héctor E. Alcalá
- Department of Behavioral and Community Health, University of Maryland, School of Public Health, College Park, MD
- Program in Oncology, University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD
| | - Muna A. Hassan
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, School of Public Health, Seattle, WA
- Division of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
| | - Bita Amani
- COVID-19 Task Force on Racism & Equity, Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice, and Health, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
- Department of Urban Public Health, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA
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Mayne G, Buckley A, Ghidei L. Why Causation Matters: Rethinking "Race" as a Risk Factor. Obstet Gynecol 2023; 142:766-771. [PMID: 37678936 PMCID: PMC10510830 DOI: 10.1097/aog.0000000000005332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 04/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
Although it is tempting to construe the correlation between Black "race" and higher rates of preterm birth as causal, this logic is flawed. Worse, the continued use of Black "race" as a risk factor for preterm birth is actively harmful. Using Black "race" as a risk factor suggests a causal relationship that does not exist and, critically, obscures what actually causes Black patients to be more vulnerable to poorer maternal and infant outcomes: anti-Black racism. Failing to name anti-Black racism as the root cause of Black patients' vulnerability conceals key pathways and tempts us to construe Black "race" as immutably related to higher rates of preterm birth. The result is that we overlook two highly treatable pathways-chronic stress and implicit bias-through which anti-Black racism negatively contributes to birth. Thus, clinicians may underuse important tools to reduce stress from racism and discrimination while missing opportunities to address implicit bias within their practices and institutions. Fortunately, researchers, physicians, clinicians, and medical staff can positively affect Black maternal and infant health by shifting our causal paradigm. By eliminating the use of Black "race" as a risk factor and naming anti-Black racism as the root cause of Black patients' vulnerability, we can practice anti-racist maternity care and take a critical step toward achieving birth equity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriella Mayne
- Department of Health & Behavioral Sciences, University of Colorado, Denver, Colorado; the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Department of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York; and Reproductive Specialists of the Carolinas, Charlotte, North Carolina
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Tagorda-Kama MA, Patil U, Chung-Do JJ, Kehl L, Antonio MCK, Nelson-Hurwitz DC. Shaping undergraduate public health education through critical race theory: a case study. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1192771. [PMID: 37693710 PMCID: PMC10492502 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1192771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/12/2023] Open
Abstract
In 2020, the American Public Health Association declared structural racism a public health crisis acknowledging the long-lasting and harmful effects of prejudice, including relatively high rates of morbidity and mortality in many communities of color. Critical Race Theory (CRT) has become an essential lens to view and reconsider education's role in perpetuating racial and ethnic discrimination. Debates over integrating CRT in higher education with the intent to acknowledge and address racial equality and justice are more present than ever, and the discussions held in public health classrooms are no different. We present a case study of CRT integration into the Bachelor of Arts in Public Health (BAPH) program at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. In line with Solorzano's framework of CRT in education, initial goals of integrating CRT in instruction and advising included fostering discussions of race and racism, using a social justice framework to highlight opportunities to reduce health inequities, and validating the experiential knowledge of people of color. By engaging in active discussions with community leaders and participating in experiential learning throughout the program, students develop empathy and many underrepresented and marginalized students engage actively in their home communities. Specific examples of CRT integrated in the curriculum and examples of student projects that integrate a CRT lens are provided for educators and researchers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle A. Tagorda-Kama
- Office of Public Health Studies, Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, United States
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Ford CL, Walker V, Crear-Perry J, Gipson JD. Maternal and Infant Health Inequities, Reproductive Justice and COVID Addressed in RACE Series. Ethn Dis 2022; 32:351-356. [PMID: 36388862 PMCID: PMC9590602 DOI: 10.18865/ed.32.4.351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Ethn Dis. 2022;32(4):351-356; doi:10.18865/ed.32.4.351
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Affiliation(s)
- Chandra L. Ford
- Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice & Health, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
- Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Valencia Walker
- Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice & Health, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
- Nationwide Children’s Hospital, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
| | | | - Jessica D. Gipson
- UCLA Bixby Center on Population and Reproductive Health, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
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de la Rocha P, Sudhinaraset M, Jones NV, Kim C, Cabral A, Amani B. A Qualitative Analysis on Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs and Issues During COVID-19 Using a Reproductive Justice Framework. Ethn Dis 2022; 32:357-372. [PMID: 36388866 PMCID: PMC9590595 DOI: 10.18865/ed.32.4.357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing health inequities, further exposing the challenges in meeting the sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs, particularly for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). We interviewed 11 key informants through three focus groups to explore barriers and pathways to SRH care for BIPOC during COVID-19 in the United States. Reimagining reproductive health practices requires holistic practices and multisector pathways, a comprehensive reproductive justice approach. This includes interventions across the sexual and reproductive health continuum. Using a deductive-dominant approach grounded in reproductive justice values, we explore themes around SRH during COVID-19. Five themes for advancing reproductive justice were identified: "supremacy of birth"; police violence as a determinant of SR mental health; addressing quality of care outside of hospital settings; digital redlining; and centering joy, liberation, and humanity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patanjali de la Rocha
- Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, Address correspondence to Patanjali de la Rocha MSW, MPH; Charles Drew University & UCLA COVID-19 Task Force on Racism and Equity;
| | - May Sudhinaraset
- Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Nicole V. Jones
- Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Catherine Kim
- Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Alejandra Cabral
- Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
| | - Bita Amani
- Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA
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