Understanding COVID-19 risks and vulnerabilities among black communities in America: the lethal force of syndemics.
Black communities in the United States are bearing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic and the underlying conditions that exacerbate its negative consequences. Syndemic theory provides a useful framework for understanding how such interacting epidemics develop under conditions of health and social disparity. Multiple historical and present-day factors have created the syndemic conditions within which black Americans experience the lethal force of COVID-19. These factors include racism and its manifestations (e.g., chattel slavery, mortgage redlining, political gerrymandering, lack of Medicaid expansion, employment discrimination, and health care provider bias). Improving racial disparities in COVID-19 will require that we implement policies that address structural racism at the root of these disparities.
Duke Scholars
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- United States
- Syndemic
- Socioeconomic Factors
- SARS-CoV-2
- Racism
- Pneumonia, Viral
- Pandemics
- Humans
- Healthcare Disparities
- Health Status Disparities
Citation
Published In
DOI
EISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- United States
- Syndemic
- Socioeconomic Factors
- SARS-CoV-2
- Racism
- Pneumonia, Viral
- Pandemics
- Humans
- Healthcare Disparities
- Health Status Disparities