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Racial and Ethnic Health Inequities: An Intersectional Approach

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Handbook of the Sociology of Racial and Ethnic Relations

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research ((HSSR))

Abstract

Nowhere is the severity and impact of racism on our nation and its people clearer and more profound than in the arena of health—where racism is literally a matter of life and death. Employing an intersectional lens, this essay addresses four aspects of the complex relationship between health and race, ethnicity, and other systems of inequality. First, we situate the national discourse on health care disparities in an historical and social movement context, followed by several ways that racial and ethnic differences in health are defined. Second, we provide an overview of data on differences in health and health care. Third, we examine dominant and critical models for explaining the differences, specifically comparing traditional biomedical approaches with intersectional social constructionist approaches. We conclude with proposed strategies to reduce and eliminate health inequities across race, ethnicity, gender, and social class.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For the purposes of this article and consistent with federal standards for racial and ethnic data collection, we use the terms Hispanic and Latino interchangeably, especially by staying true to direct quotes and/or health data, in which Hispanic is almost always used in the collection of empirical data. Hispanics can be of any race or national origin group and represent about 22 countries. Most of the national health data has been collected on Mexican-origin and Puerto Ricans, the two largest Hispanic subgroups, with Cubans and other Central and South Americans included when possible.

  2. 2.

    Latino population health encompasses the health of 17.1% of the U.S. population, projected to become almost 50% by 2050. Almost 64.6% Mexican American and close to 9.5% Puerto Rican, it is a heterogeneous group comprised of multiple races, cultures, and histories and is the youngest, fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the United States. Geographically, two-thirds of Hispanics live in just five states: California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois. As a result of residential segregation, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans and African Americans are the least likely to live in “neighborhoods of opportunity,” determined by availability of sustainable employment, healthy environments, access to high-quality health care, adequate transportation, high quality child care, high-performing schools, and neighborhood safety. Acevedo-Garcia (2000), Clark et al. (2014), USGAO (1983) They are also more likely to live in dense urban neighborhoods and, for Mexican Americans, on the 2000 mile border, resulting in a higher likelihood of living near landfills and having greater exposure to environmental pollutants which are linked to chronic conditions such as asthma in Puerto Rican youth and which may contribute to cancer.

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  1. Lynn Weber

    Present address: , 4 Black Gates Rd, 19803, Wilmington, DE, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Women’s and Gender Studies Program, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

    Lynn Weber

  2. Department of Women’s Studies, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Ruth Enid Zambrana

  3. Department of Community and Public Health, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID, USA

    M. Elizabeth Fore

  4. Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Deborah Parra-Medina

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  3. M. Elizabeth Fore
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  4. Deborah Parra-Medina
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Correspondence to Lynn Weber .

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  1. Department of Sociology, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, USA

    Pinar Batur

  2. Department of Sociology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

    Joe R. Feagin

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Weber, L., Zambrana, R.E., Fore, M.E., Parra-Medina, D. (2018). Racial and Ethnic Health Inequities: An Intersectional Approach. In: Batur, P., Feagin, J. (eds) Handbook of the Sociology of Racial and Ethnic Relations. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76757-4_8

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