One of the most recent examples of public health situations related to discrimination is obesity in connection to COVID-19. The news spreading information on obesity increasing risks of COVID-19 has also impacted Black and Brown populations promoting discrimination and racism (Bleich & Ard, 2021). Statistics show that Black, Latin, and Native people have a higher prevalence of obesity in the US and are less likely to survive from COVID-19 than the White population (Bleich & Ard, 2021). As people quickly jump to conclusions, the public tends to focus on obesity and race as reasons to mistreat someone as a virus carrier (Bleich & Ard, 2021).
While I understand that certain health conditions can worsen symptoms of COVID-19, I do not completely agree with how public health leaders handled the situation. In my opinion, authorities should have explained better why Black and Brown people are affected more by the virus and why they have higher rates of obesity before letting misinformation spread and causing social arguments.
Regardless of the situation, authorities should strive to build and maintain a culture of health within a community so there would not be room for discrimination. Culture of health can be defined as an environment that values and is conducive to one’s health which can be achieved by implementing an appropriate leadership style (Payne et al., 2018). For example, servant leadership builds a sense of social identity, prioritizing the followers’ well-being and with the leaders characterized as altruistic and ethical oriented (Eva et al., 2019).
At the same time, leaders of the democratic style, which is my personal leadership style, are supportive of their followers by accepting and making the most of unavoidable changes (John, 2020). While I correlate more with democratic leadership, I would address the situation described above by combining both democratic and servant leadership styles. Applying the tenets of servant leadership, I would focus on the importance of each and every person’s health and, as a democratic leader, strive to develop ways for people to overcome changes as one community.
References
Bleich, S. N., & Ard, J. D. (2021). COVID-19, obesity, and structural racism: Understanding the past and identifying solutions for the future. Cell Metabolism, 33(2), 234-241. Web.
Eva, N., Robin, M., Sendjaya, S., van Dierendonck, D., & Liden, R. C. (2019). Servant leadership: A systematic review and call for future research. The Leadership Quarterly, 30(1), 111-132. Web.
John, K. (2020). Adlerian theory and practice wisdom promote democratic leadership and organizational health. The Journal of Individual Psychology, 76(1), 84-98. Web.
Payne, J., Cluff, L., Lang, J., Matson-Koffman, D., & Morgan-Lopez, A. (2018). Elements of a workplace culture of health, perceived organizational support for health, and lifestyle risk. American Journal of Health Promotion, 32(7), 1555-1567. Web.