essay
liuchang
Class61.pdf
Racial Health Disparities
Social Determinants of Health • Environment: Air, Land, Water, Education, Food, Housing, Jobs, Racism,
Transport, Gender Discrimination, are always interacting, operating together • Individually and together they are more important than access to health care in
determining our health status
Racial Housing Segregation & Health
Racial Disparities in Health
• African Americans have higher death rates than Whites for 12 of the 15 leading causes of death.
• Blacks and American Indians have higher age-specific death rates than Whites from birth through the retirement years.
• Minorities get sick sooner, have more severe illness and die sooner than Whites
• Hispanics have higher death rates than whites for diabetes, hypertension, liver cirrhosis & homicide
40
60
80
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2006
L if
e E
xp ec
ta nc
y White Black
Life Expectancy Lags, 1950-2006
Murphy, NVSS 2000; Braveman et al. in Press, NLMS 1988-1998
63.6
70.6
60.8
69.1
74.4 76.1
69.168.2
71.7
64.1
71.4 73.2
78.277.6
SAT Scores by Income
Source: (ETS) Mantsios; N=898,596
Family Income Median Score More than $100,000 1129 $80,000 to $100,000 1085 $70,000 to $80,000 1064 $60,000 to $70,000 1049 $50,000 to $60,000 1034 $40,000 to $50,000 1016 $30,000 to $40,000 992 $20,000 to $30,000 964 $10,000 to $20,000 920 Less than $10,000 873
Percent of Job Applicants Receiving a Callback
Criminal Record White Black
No 34% 14%
Yes 17% 5%
Source: Devan Pager; NYT March 20, 2004
Segregation and Housing Quality
Crowding
Sub-standard housing
Noise levels
Environmental hazards (lead, pollutants, allergens)
Ability to regulate temperature
Segregation and Neighborhood Quality
Municipal services (transportation, police, fire, garbage)
Purchasing power of income (poorer quality, higher prices).
Access to Medical Care (primary care, hospitals, pharmacies)
Personal and property crime
Environmental toxins
Abandoned buildings, commercial and industrial facilities
