Citation

Krieger N. Am. J. Public Health 2003; 93(2): 194-199.

Affiliation

Department of Health and Social Behavior and the Harvard Center for Society and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Mass 02115, USA. nkrieger@hsph.harvard.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, American Public Health Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12554569

PMCID

PMC1447716

Abstract

Research on racism as a harmful determinant of population health is in its infancy. Explicitly naming a long-standing problem long recognized by those affected, this work has the potential to galvanize inquiry and action, much as the 1962 publication of the Kempe et al. scientific article on the "battered child syndrome" dramatically increased attention to-and prompted new research on-the myriad consequences of child abuse, a known yet neglected social phenomenon. To further work on connections between racism and health, the author addresses 3 interrelated issues: (1) links between racism, biology, and health; (2) methodological controversies over how to study the impact of racism on health; and (3) debates over whether racism or class underlies racial/ethnic disparities in health.