How are racism, power, and health connected? Learn more about how they are intertwined, and how others are working to begin, deepen, and sustain efforts to ensure that health and racial equity are essential elements of a fair and just society.
A listing of the cities, counties, and states that have named racism as a public health crisis or emergency. Links to these resolutions and declarations are available.
Health Affairs editor-in-chief shares insights into the social determinants of health (and death) and how racism and unequal power both exacerbate these social determinants and are enmeshed in the healthcare system. He highlights key questions about how, or whether, the healthcare system will use its power to fight racism.
The academic publication process, through authors, reviewers, and editors, has legitimized scholarship that obscures the role of racism in determining health and health care, and routinely fails to acknowledge racism in the health care field as a preventable cause of individual and population-level health inequities. The authors propose several standards for publishing on racial health inequities, intended for researchers, journals, and peer reviewers to address these shortcomings.
Extensive list of publicly available anti-racism educational resources including books, articles, videos, podcasts, and social media accounts to follow.
Excerpted statements from various National Academy of Medicine (NAM), Institute of Medicine (IOM), and National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine reports that support the conclusion that institutional bias and structural racism have affected the health of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) in the United States.
Milwaukee County, WI was the first jurisdiction to declare racism a public health crisis in May 2019, followed shortly after by the City of Milwaukee. This article highlights how these declarations have shaped policy-making in the community and led officials to view COVID-19 and the response through the lens of race.
This case study highlights how the Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute has incorporated six key principles for collaboration into its program design to address a lack of training among traditional public health practitioners in critical efforts to build sustained community-based partnerships. These community relationships and their role in shifting power imbalances are key to creating policy, systems, and environmental changes that can advance health and health equity.
- Resources from the RWJF Culture of Health Prize (UWPHI Resource):
The RWJF Culture of Health Prize honors and elevates U.S. communities working at the forefront of advancing health, opportunity, and equity for all, especially those facing the greatest challenges. Learn more about how Prize communities are advancing health and racial equity:
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- Past Prize winners participated in a panel on Communities Addressing Systemic Racism to discuss policy and systems strategies they are using to address racial disparities and racism in their communities.
- 2019 Prize Winners participated in a Courageous Conversation Panel to share how they are tackling issues such as racism, poverty, and trauma
- Broward County, Florida is actively addressing the structures that perpetuate inequities by openly acknowledging practices that historically exclude some groups
- Everett, Massachusetts has laid the foundation for new policies and improved communications between law enforcement and residents, especially youth and immigrants
- The Actions Toward Equity Report shares promising approaches and concrete examples from Prize communities striving to advance equity and reduce disparities
- Examples of the diverse approaches to advancing equity employed by Prize-winning communities are summarized in this helpful handout
The Wisconsin Medical Journal (WMJ) published a special issue on the impact of race and racism on health in Wisconsin. The issue features original research, editorial content and artwork from more than 60 Wisconsin health professionals, researchers, students and community members. Topics addressed include the effect of race on prenatal care, postpartum depression, vaccination rates, lead poisoning, incarceration and more, as well as educational efforts targeting some of these issues.