Black parents' experiences of racial discrimination can negatively affect their children's psychological outcomes—but talking about these experiences and improving racial socialization competency could help prevent these negative outcomes, according to a new study by a University of Michigan researcher. Read more
In February 2021, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) tweeted, “No physician is racist, so how can there be structural racism in health care?” The tweet was designed to promote a podcast that was ostensibly focused on structural racism yet did not include experts on the topic. The subsequent uproar highlighted the harm caused by deep intentional ignorance of the term structural racism, defined in the American Journal of Public Health as “policies and practices…that confer advantages on people considered White and ideologies that maintain these advantages, while simultaneously oppressing other racialized groups.” Read more
The Michigan Public Service Commission is seeking input on how it can ensure utilities incorporate environmental justice as they transition to clean energy. Read more
As public health faculty passionate about health equity, Melissa Creary and Paul Fleming have spent their careers observing the ways in which racism creates barriers to health for communities. Now, the pair are laying plans to make an impact on public health education through anti-racist teaching, beginning in their own backyard. Read more
A new university-wide initiative to hire faculty with scholarly expertise in racial inequality and structural racism has approved its first round of proposals for funding, with a new faculty position for the University of Michigan School of Public Health included. Read more
With several vaccines approved and more people receiving them, our eyes now turn to vaccine acceptance. Vaccines give us the ability to prevent severe disease and reduce transmission. What questions do people have about the vaccines and the systems administering them? Read more