Debate: Exposing the most serious infirmity – racism’s impact on health in the era of COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic retells a story that other diseases like HIV, diabetes, and cancer have clearly internationally illustrated. Minorities in developed countries across the globe – especially those of African, Hispanic, and Native American descent – suffer a greater burden of disease than whites. The evidence of the cause and effect relationship of racism on mental and minority health outcomes is staggering. Racism and its influence on policy and important structural systems allow health inequities across racial and ethnic groups to persist. What’s more troubling is how systemic racism impacts children from all races and has been perpetuated across many generations dating back hundreds of years. The impact of racial oppression is seen through intergenerational trauma which impacts youth in varying ways. For this article, we offer three areas in which racism causes healthcare disparities, intergenerational trauma, social determinants, and cultural mistrust. Effective policy change and a greater level of accountability must be placed on major systems including health care, to most fully counter racism’s varied role in sustaining mental health inequities.