IED Test 1

health disparities

health differences that raise questions about justice,

differences in prevalence, incidence, or severity of disease among different population groups are closely linked with social, economic, and enviornmental disadvantage

Hoffman vs. Dubois

Hoffman: hypothesize that lower life spans in Black people were based on 'race traits'

Dubois- white people in the South are sicker than Black people in the North (health not determined by race)

social structure

patterns of social life (social hierarchy, gender inequality)

polygenism

theory that different races were distinct species
Darwin pushed back: not enough evidence, natural selection could explain human variation

Health equity (3 parts)

everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible

required removing obstacles to health

reducing ultimately eliminating disparities in health and its determinants

health inequality

descriptive, no focus on social determinants

biopsychosocial approach

an integrated approach that incorporates biological, psychological, and social-cultural levels of analysis

common health measures

mortality (death), morbidity (illness), wellbeing, biological markers

upstream social structural factors

social structure and cultural factors that drive people to poor health

scientific racism theories (3)

biological determinism- behaviors are innate and unaffected by environmental factors

social darwinism- theory that principles of evolution apply to social classes (Herbert Spencer)

eugenics- study of improving human population by controlling hereditary qualities through reproduction and migration

social determinants

the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes.

3 types of upstream intervention

promote wellbeing of children
addressing residential segregation
reduce interpersonal and structural racism

race

refers to the classification of humans base on phenotype which are assumed to reflect inherent biological differences

racism

system of race-based power roots in notions of inherent group superiority that oppresses non-whites

racism rationales

natural human behavior (tribalism) and justification for domination

Early Western theories

Bible: Ham's children were cursed with black skin
Greeks and Romans: all non-Greeks were barbarians, little evidence of superiority of one group
Jews: early example of racism in Europe

the great chain of being

conception of the hierarchical structure of all things in the universe with God at the top

Carolus Linnaeus

developed binomial nomenclature
4 different taxa of homosapians

the white man's burden

responsibility of Europeans to civilize savage people of the world

Race in America

race embedded in law

persistence of biological determinism and social darwinism,

researchers tried to prove racism with science

ethno-racial pentagon

grouping of people into white, black, asian, latino/hispanic, Native American

fundmental cause theory

explanation to why relationship between social factors and health outcomes persist over time

1. social conditions impact multiple health outcomes

2. social conditions influence health through multiple mechanisms

3. link between social conditions and health is reliably replaced through new intervening mechanisms

4. fundamental social causes shapes access to ‘flexible resources’ like money, status, prestige, power, and social connections, that can be activated to prevent illness and delay death.

Geronimus

• studied black/white disparities in infant mortality

• hypothesized that black mothers were aging faster

age washing

view that individuals take personal responsibility for aging

allostasis

adaptive process that maintain homeostasis by sending chemical messengers that tell body what to do in response to stress

allostatic load

measurable physiological dysregulation due to the cumulative burden of chronic stress on body

structural violence

chronic stressors that members of socially stigmatized groups face daily

stress process model

stressors: major life events, chronic → mediators (different levels of resources) → mental health manifestations

comprehensive stress measure includes

chronic strains and traumas

mental health paradox

black and Latino people have equal or lower reported rates of psychological distress compared to whites

minority groups are additionally burdened

major discrimination events

day-to-day discrimination

stress proliferates over life

initial stressor gives rise to additional stressors

across generations

cumulative disadvantage

deficits and disadvantages compound over time

coping resources can buffer stress effects

mastery: self control over life

self-esteem: view self as good, valued person

social support: emotional, informational, practical assistence from others

Kimberle Crenshaw

introduced idea of intersectionality

black women are burdened by both race and gender

DeGraffenreid vs. General Motors: wasn’t hired because she was a black woman, court argues she couldn’t combine remedies that protect black people and women

2 main contributions of black feminist thought

reconceptualizes social relations of domination and resistence

addresses ongoing debate centering on voices and experiences of Black women

matrix of domination (BFT)

way to view intersectionality (spiderweb)

All groups possess varying amounts of penalty and privilege in one historically created system

Placing Black women and other excluded groups at the center opens up possibilities for new paradigms and understandings of social structures and oppressions that people face

multiple levels of domination (BTF)

personal biography (controlling images)

group or community level (social expectations)

systemic level of social institution (excluded from academic)

levels at which racism operates examples

structural, institutional, individual, geospatial, economic, community

gendered racism

a system of policies that cause and maintain racial inequalities between those who belong simultaneously to minoritized gender and race groups

compounding of multiple upstream social determinants of health, gendered and racialized cultural values and expectations influence health outcomes

role of controlling images

representations of women of color used to justify mistreatment and view them as outsiders

“strong black woman”

expectation that Black women should exude strength, suppress emotions, resist vulnerability, and help other to their own detriment

rooted in slavery, innately stronger, used to justify maltreatment

helps with personal and community survival

leads to greater depressive symptoms

health of native american women

suffer the worst health outcomes in US, chronic disease, substance use, psychiatric disorders

indian removal act 1830

forced to move west of Mississippi

indian appropriations act of 1851

forced Native people to settle in reservations

dawes act 1887

divide reservations into smaller plots, wanted to assimilate NA into European culture

reorganization 1934

ended dawes act and encouraged self-government

bureau of indian affairs

responsible for providing economic opportunities

Indian Health services

federal health program that provides comprehensive health care services

manhood

state of being a man

masculinity

set of ideals of what it means to be a man, standards by which men are judged

precarious, leads to more risk taking and dangerous behaviors

weathering

stress-related biological process that leaves some social groups vulnerable to dying of suffering chronic diseases before they are chronologically old