Conceptual and methodological challenges for health disparities research and their policy implications

This special issue of the Journal of Social Issues contributes to a growing body of research that illuminates the mechanisms through which racism and discrimination influence the health status of people of color. Importantly, this special issue attempts to connect research examining how racism operates at the interpersonal, internalized, institutional, and structural levels, and points to a number of policy strategies to mitigate the racism-health relationship. Going forward, a comprehensive model of the lived experience of race is needed that considers the cumulative, interactive effects of the different forms of racism and related risk factors on health as they operate over the lifespan. Such a model must facilitate an intersectional analysis to better understand the interaction of race with gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, geography, and other factors, and should also consider the negative consequences of racism for Whites (e.g., poorer health of a growing share of their neighbors, coworkers, customers, and congregants).