Evidence suggests that discrimination harms health through multiple pathways: violence, the long-term toll of stress, impeded access to resources such as safe neighborhoods, and interactions with the criminal justice system, according to a blog post by Brigette Davis, a PhD candidate at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholar.
The post was published online February 25, 2020 in Health Affairs as part of an ongoing series of health policy briefs.
Davis wrote, “The direct and indirect health impacts of discrimination are harmful not just to the targets but to their families, loved ones, and communities. Thus, the impact of discrimination on health is far-reaching, contributing to the multitude of health inequities many marginalized communities face.”
Read the Health Affairs blog post: Discrimination: A Social Determinant of Health Inequities
Learn more
Discrimination in America (Harvard Chan School polling series)
America is failing its black mothers (Harvard Public Health magazine)