Full Citation
Title: The Structural Determinants of Health: How Systemic Racism Facilitates Community Violence in D.C.
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2023
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Abstract: Racism deeply affects the social determinants of health, resulting in racial health inequities in populations of color. Recently, measures have been taken to address this issue in Washington, DC. These measures include the 2020 Racial Equity Achieves Results (REACH) Amendment Act, which focuses on racial equity, social justice, and economic inclusion (The DC Line, 2020). To further these efforts, there is a need to understand the relationship between structural racism, unemployment, poverty, and violence. The research reported here explores the correlation between historic racism, social determinants of health, housing policies, and community violence in Washington, DC. The methods used include mapping racial covenants from 1940 to 2010, neighborhood displacement, and social determinants of health. Current mortgage lending in the neighborhoods across the city was used to measure the housing market and lending discrimination. The author also used demographic data from various sources to measure the social determinants of health across statistical neighborhoods. Findings indicate that Wards 5, 7 and 8, in Southern and Eastern parts of DC, have the highest rates of crime, unemployment and concentrated poverty and the lowest house lending rates. Between 1940-2010, these wards also experienced the most housing displacement. The district’s racial dissimilarity index of 70.9 indicates that Washington, DC is still highly segregated and that individual health and exposure to violence varies significantly by zip code. To achieve health equity, appropriate measures to dismantle structural racism must be taken. The needed measures must be linked to community-based participatory research and policies that incorporate the historical context of the problem along with the voices of community members.
Url: https://digitalcommons.providence.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1090&context=sbg
User Submitted?: No
Authors: Altaher, Nadia
Publisher: George Mason University
Data Collections: IPUMS NHGIS
Topics: Crime and Deviance, Health, Housing and Segregation, Race and Ethnicity
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