Health Disparities, Historical Trauma, and Minority Health Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering health disparities, social determinants, historical studies (Tuskegee, Henrietta Lacks, Native American Boarding Schools, Japanese Internment), clinical metrics, and epidemiologic models.

Tuskegee Syphilis Study

A study conducted from $1932$ to $1972$ in Macon County, Alabama, funded by the U.S. Public Health Service, that observed the progression of untreated syphilis in impoverished African American men aged approximately $25\text{–}60$ without their informed consent and with effective treatment (penicillin) withheld.

Julius Rosenwald Fund

The philanthropic fund that supported an initial investigation in $1928$ that preceded the Tuskegee syphilis study.

Dr. Taliaferro Clark

The physician who helped establish the Tuskegee syphilis study in $1932$ following a review of findings from an earlier $1928$ investigation.

Nurse Eunice Rivers

A nurse who acted as the primary link between research investigators and the local community throughout many years of the Tuskegee syphilis study.

Peter Buxtun

A former Public Health Service investigator who exposed the Tuskegee syphilis study to the public in $1972$, ultimately leading to its termination.

Henrietta Lacks

A poor Black tobacco farmer who died of cervical cancer in October $1951$ at age $31$; her tumor cells were collected without consent at Johns Hopkins to develop the first immortal human cell line (HeLa), which later supported early COVID-19 treatment research.

Civilization Fund Act of 1819

Federal legislation providing funds to religious societies to establish schools near Indigenous communities, marking the origin of federal involvement in Native American boarding schools.

Carlisle Indian Industrial School

The first federally run, off-reservation boarding school established in Pennsylvania in $1879$ by U.S. Army officer Richard Henry Pratt under the assimilationist motto "Kill the Indian, save the man."

1928 Meriam Report

An investigative report detailing severe poverty, malnutrition, and systemic physical and emotional abuse throughout federal Native American boarding schools, prompting policy reforms in the $1930\text{s}$.

Executive Order 9066

An executive order issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February $19$, $1942$, authorizing the forced removal of over $120{,}000$ individuals of Japanese ancestry from designated military areas to internment camps.

Camp Harmony

An assembly and internment center situated in Puyallup, Washington, where over $7{,}000$ Japanese Americans were forcibly transferred in May $1942$.

Mitsuye Endo (1944)

A landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling determining that the indefinite internment and detention of loyal American citizens without criminal charges was unconstitutional.

Social Determinants of Health (Five Domains)

The five foundational social drivers of health: Economic Stability, Education Access and Quality, Health Care Access and Quality, Neighborhood and Built Environment, and Social and Community Context.

Model Minority

A socio-political label applied to Asian Americans, originally coined by sociologist William Petersen, which has been utilized to justify excluding Asian Americans from public resources, academic research, and political participation.

Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965

Legislation passed in $1965$ that structured U.S. immigration entry around specialized occupational qualifications, family reunification, and refugee status.

Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

The first federal law restricting immigration targeted specifically at a single ethnic group; enacted in $1882$ and maintained until the $1960\text{s}$.

Leading Causes of Death by Group

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) for African Americans (second is cancer); Cancer for Latine individuals; Cancer for Asian Americans; and CVD/heart disease ("disease of aging") for Native Americans.

Latine / Latinx

Gender-inclusive terms adopted to de-emphasize patriarchal male linguistic dominance, acknowledge non-binary identities, and promote intersectional, justice-oriented healthcare and research practices.

Limited English Proficiency (LEP)

A term describing individuals who do not speak English as their primary language and have a restricted capacity to read, speak, write, or comprehend English, presenting a major barrier in healthcare delivery.

Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR / eGFR)

A clinical measure of kidney function discussed as an example of race-based medicine due to historical algorithmic adjustments based on race.

Indian Health Service (IHS) Funding Deficit

A federal health service funded through treaties, statutes, court decisions, and executive orders, which currently receives less than $40\%$ of equivalent U.S. per capita healthcare expenditures.

Comprehensive Model of U.S. Latinx Health and Health Services

A framework outlining how Social Determinants and Health Inequalities (such as ethnicity, mobility, language, poverty, and gender) combine with specific Risk Factors to generate Morbidity and Mortality, while interacting with Health Services across native-born, foreign-born, migrant worker, and undocumented populations.

Life's Essential 8™

The American Heart Association's key cardiovascular health metrics: Adequate Sleep ($7\text{–}9$ hours), Healthy Diet, Physical Activity ($\ge 150$ minutes moderate/week), Healthy Weight (BMI $< 25$), Blood Lipids (non-HDL $< 130\,\text{mg/dL}$), Blood Pressure ($< 120/80\,\text{mmHg}$), Blood Sugar (fasting glucose $< 100\,\text{mg/dL}$ or HbA1c $< 5.7$), and Not Smoking/Vaping.

Bimodal Distribution of Alcohol Consumption in Women

A consumption curve characterizing female drinking patterns exhibiting two contrasting peaks: a high tendency toward complete abstinence on one end and elevated rates of alcohol abuse on the other.

NYU Center for Asian American Health

A research center that investigates health disparities among Asian Americans, focusing on CVD and diabetes, infection-related cancers, mental health, healthy aging, and sexual/reproductive health.

Exclusive and Dual Cigarette and EVP Use (Article #3)

The outcome of interest in Article #3, categorized into four mutually exclusive groups: never/former use of either product (referent), exclusive cigarette use, exclusive electronic vaping product (EVP) use, and dual cigarette and EVP use.

Frequency of Daily Anxiety Symptoms (Article #3)

The primary independent predictor in Article #3, evaluated as a dichotomous variable comparing adults experiencing daily anxiety symptoms versus those experiencing symptoms less frequently or never.

Black Maternal and Women's Hypertension Disparity

The clinical statistic indicating that Black women are $68\%$ more likely to suffer from high blood pressure compared to non-Hispanic White women.

Asian American Demographic Growth Rate

The demographic trend in which Asian immigration expanded from $9\%$ to $45\%$, making Asian Americans the fastest-growing minority demographic in the United States.