As a matter of fact, social determinants of health may be regarded as factors that have a highly significant impact on community members’ health, general well-being, and life quality. Social determinants traditionally include income, education, job opportunities, safe neighborhoods, housing, and transportation, access to physical activity opportunities and nutritious foods, the quality of water and air, literacy skills, and language. At the same time, discrimination, racism, and racialization as the processes by which a group of people is defined by their race substantially affect people’s physical and mental health as well. Unfortunately, the current pandemic caused by the spread of the coronavirus has highlighted deep problems related to racial inequity and injustice that still exist in American society.
Despite the fact that COVID-19 has affected multiple people from various socioeconomic classes all over the world, unequal morbidity and mortality rates on the basis of race and ethnicity may be observed. Thus, according to the majority of recent reports, Black people and the representatives of other racial minority groups are affected by the coronavirus at disproportionally high rates in comparison with the White population (Eligon et al. 2020). There are multiple reasons that have led to this situation, however, all of them are rooted in racialization that created specific social determinants of health that prevented minorities from receiving appropriate health care. According to Yee, minorities were constructed for the exploitation of particular groups and the establishment of dominance while the processes of racialization “are imposed on groups of people who are relegated to low-paying, low-status, and precarious jobs” (Blacker, June 28, 2021, PowerPoint slide 33). Thus, low income and disproportionate share of municipal, first responder, retail, and other essential jobs that presuppose close contact with people and exclude the possibility to work from home make minorities extremely vulnerable to the infection (Higgins-Dunn et al. 2020).
From a personal perspective, potential solutions in order to reduce racial disparities should imply a comprehensive approach that requires the involvement of almost all spheres of human activity. First of all, the members of minority groups should be provided with equal access to health care delivery. In this case, they will have fewer comorbidities, such as obesity, diabetes, or hypertension – these diseases typical for minorities currently contribute to disproportionate rates related to COVID-19. That is why solutions should imply the provision of medical insurance for minority members in need and employment.
At the same time, special attention should be attracted to inequities in education due to which the opportunities to receive proper education and find a good job in the future are highly limited for minority members. Moreover, society’s attitude to the representatives of other races or nationalities should be gradually changed to minimize the level of racism and discrimination. This approach may include common intolerance of any expression of racism and public education dedicated to the promotion of support and mutual help. In general, by improving the social determinants of health for minorities and eliminating racialization in all spheres of life, society creates a more fair and equal environment for its members.
References
Blacker, Sarah. 2021. “Class 1: Introduction to Course and Concepts of Race and Ethnicity.” Lecture in SOSC 3121, York University, Toronto, ON. PowerPoint slide #33.
Eligon, John, Audra D. S. Burch, Dionne Searcey, and Richard A. Oppel Jr. 2020. “Black Americans Face Alarming Rates of Coronavirus Infection in Some States.”The New York Times.
Higgins-Dunn, Noah, Will Feuer, Berkeley Lovelace Jr., and Jasmine Kim. 2020. “Coronavirus Pandemic and George Floyd Protests Highlight Health Disparities for Black People.”CNBC.