Camara Phyllis Jones

Levels of Racism: A Theoretic Framework and a Gardener’s Tale

The author presents a theoretic framework for understanding racism on 3 levels: institutionalized, personally mediated, and internalized. This framework is useful for raising new hypotheses about the basis of race-associated differences in health outcomes, as well as for designing effective interventions to eliminate those differences. She then presents an allegory about a gardener with 2 flower boxes, rich and poor soil, and red and pink flowers. This allegory illustrates the relationship between the 3 levels of racism and may guide our thinking about how to intervene to mitigate the impacts of racism on health. It may also serve as a tool for starting a national conversation on racism.

‘‘It’s The Skin You’re In’’: African-American Women Talk About Their Experiences of Racism. An Exploratory Study to Develop Measures of Racism for Birth Outcome Studies

Objectives Stress due to experiences of racism could contribute to African-American women’s adverse birth outcomes, but systematic efforts to measure relevant experiences among childbearing women have been limited. We explored the racism experiences of childbearing African-American women to inform subsequent development of improved measures for birth outcomes research. Methods Six focus groups were conducted with a total of 40 socioeconomically diverse African-American women of childbearing age in four northern California cities. Results Women reported experiencing racism (1) throughout the lifecourse, with childhood experiences seeming particularly salient and to have especially enduring effects (2) directly and vicariously, particularly in relation to their children; (3) in interpersonal, institutional, and internalized forms; (4) across different life domains; (5) with active and passive responses; and (6) with pervasive vigilance, anticipating threats to themselves and their children. Conclusions This exploratory study’s findings support the need for measures reflecting the complexity of childbearing African-American women’s racism experiences. In addition to discrete, interpersonal experiences across multiple domains and active/passive responses, which have been measured, birth outcomes research should also measure women’s childhood experiences and their potentially enduring impact, perceptions of institutionalized racism and internalized negative stereotypes, vicarious experiences related to their children, vigilance in anticipating future racism events, as well as the pervasiveness and chronicity of racism exposure, all of which could be sources of ongoing stress with potentially serious implications for birth outcomes. Measures of racism addressing these issues should be developed and formally tested.

Addressing the Social Determinants of Children's Health: A Cliff Analogy

This paper presents a “Cliff Analogy” illustrating three dimensions of health intervention to help people who are falling off of the cliff of good health: providing health services, addressing the social determinants of health, and addressing the social determinants of equity. In the terms of the analogy, health services include an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, a net or trampoline halfway down, and a fence at the top of the cliff. Addressing the social determinants of health involves the deliberate movement of the population away from the edge of the cliff. Addressing the social determinants of equity acknowledges that the cliff is three-dimensional and involves interventions on the structures, policies, practices, norms, and values that differentially distribute resources and risks along the cliff face. The authors affirm that we need to address both the social determinants of health, including poverty, and the social determinants of equity, including racism, if we are to improve health outcomes and eliminate health disparities.

Programs to increase high school completion: a community guide systematic health equity review.

CONTEXT High school completion (HSC) is an established predictor of long-term morbidity and mortality. U.S. rates of HSC are substantially lower among students from low-income families and most racial/ethnic minority populations than students from high-income families and the non-Hispanic white population. This systematic review assesses the effectiveness of programs to increase HSC and the potential of these programs to improve lifelong health among at-risk students. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION A search located a meta-analysis (search period 1985-2010/2011) on the effects of programs to increase HSC or General Educational Development (GED) diploma receipt; the meta-analysis was concordant with Community Guide definitions and methodologic standards. Programs were assessed separately for the general student population (152 studies) and students who were parents or pregnant (15 studies). A search for studies published between 2010 and August 2012 located ten more recent studies, which were assessed for consistency with the meta-analysis. Analyses were conducted in 2013. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS The review focused on the meta-analysis. Program effectiveness was measured as the increased rate of HSC (or GED receipt) by the intervention group compared with controls. All assessed program types were effective in increasing HSC in the general student population: vocational training, alternative schooling, social-emotional skills training, college-oriented programming, mentoring and counseling, supplemental academic services, school and class restructuring, multiservice packages, attendance monitoring and contingencies, community service, and case management. For students who had children or were pregnant, attendance monitoring and multiservice packages were effective. Ten studies published after the search period for the meta-analysis were consistent with its findings. CONCLUSIONS There is strong evidence that a variety of HSC programs can improve high school or GED completion rates. Because many programs are targeted to high-risk students and communities, they are likely to advance health equity.

Out-of-School-Time Academic Programs to Improve School Achievement: A Community Guide Health Equity Systematic Review

CONTEXT Low-income and minority status in the United States are associated with poor educational outcomes, which, in turn, reduce the long-term health benefits of education. OBJECTIVE This systematic review assessed the extent to which out-of-school-time academic (OSTA) programs for at-risk students, most of whom are from low-income and racial/ethnic minority families, can improve academic achievement. Because most OSTA programs serve low-income and ethnic/racial minority students, programs may improve health equity. DESIGN Methods of the Guide to Community Preventive Services were used. An existing systematic review assessing the effects of OSTA programs on academic outcomes (Lauer et al 2006; search period 1985-2003) was supplemented with a Community Guide update (search period 2003-2011). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Standardized mean difference. RESULTS Thirty-two studies from the existing review and 25 studies from the update were combined and stratified by program focus (ie, reading-focused, math-focused, general academic programs, and programs with minimal academic focus). Focused programs were more effective than general or minimal academic programs. Reading-focused programs were effective only for students in grades K-3. There was insufficient evidence to determine effectiveness on behavioral outcomes and longer-term academic outcomes. CONCLUSIONS OSTA programs, particularly focused programs, are effective in increasing academic achievement for at-risk students. Ongoing school and social environments that support learning and development may be essential to ensure the longer-term benefits of OSTA programs.

Understanding the role of reactions to race-based treatment in breast and cervical cancer screening.

Racial and ethnic disparities in breast and cervical cancer mortality persist despite effective screening methods. We examined associations between race/ethnicity and Pap testing within three years or mammography within two years, controlling for a composite reactions-to-race-based-treatment variable created using data from the 2002 and 2004 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Reactions to Race module, which assessed respondents experiences based on ones race. We calculated prevalence of Pap testing (for women aged > or = 18) and mammography (for women aged > or = 40) by race, and fit logistic regression models to estimate the strength of association of reactions to race-based treatment with screening and race--before and after controlling for demographics, socioeconomic status, health status, smoking and healthcare access. In the reduced model, black women were more likely (2.03: 95% CI: 1.55-2.65) to be screened for cervical cancer than whites. Reactions to race-based treatment did not impact the odds of black women receiving Pap tests or mammograms. Given current racial and ethnic disparities in breast and cervical cancer mortality, we suggest that more attention needs to be focused on follow-up of abnormal results and state-of-the art treatment for black and Hispanic women.

Early Childhood Education to Promote Health Equity: A Community Guide Systematic Review.

CONTEXT Children in low-income and racial and ethnic minority families often experience delays in development by 3 years of age and may benefit from center-based early childhood education. DESIGN A meta-analysis on the effects of early childhood education by Kay and Pennucci best met Community Guide criteria and forms the basis of this review. RESULTS There were increases in intervention compared with control children in standardized test scores (median = 0.29 SD) and high school graduation (median = 0.20 SD) and decreases in grade retention (median = 0.23 SD) and special education assignment (median = 0.28 SD). There were decreases in crime (median = 0.23 SD) and teen births (median = 0.46 SD) and increases in emotional self-regulation (median = 0.21 SD) and emotional development (median = 0.04 SD). All effects were favorable, but not all were statistically significant. Effects were also long-lasting. CONCLUSIONS Because many programs are designed to increase enrollment for high-risk students and communities, they are likely to advance health equity.

Overcoming Helplessness, Overcoming Fear, Overcoming Inaction in the Face of Need

The article discusses the authors claim that she feels overwhelmed and sad in the wake of several police-related shooting deaths of Black men in America, and it mentions her views about how to overcome helplessness and inaction in the face of racial injustice in the U.S. The authors relationship with her 20-year-old Black son is examined, along with collective action and the claim that many White police officers fear for their lives in the presence of Black men.