Racism

Illustration of a policing situation

Systemic Racism, Policing, and Public Health Advocacy

Q&A with Payton Watt and Jamison Koeman

It can take a long time to develop new policy, and some advocacy roads lead to dead ends. But good advocacy work always makes a difference. As racism, policing, and police reform were becoming the national public health story of the summer, student leaders led a remote advocacy initiative to continue bringing public health insights to the discourse.

Health care worker taking a patient's blood pressure in a clinic

Should I take the COVID vaccine as a minority?

Anita Pandit, MS ’16

How are managing mental health and receiving a COVID vaccine similar? They both require minorities to have some level of trust in health sciences and the people administering their health care. Alum Anita Pandit walks us through the good and the bad reasons not getting a vaccine—and why she will be getting one.

Black patient checking blood oxygen levels with a pulse oximeter

Black People Are Three Times More Likely to Experience Pulse Oximeter Errors

Susan Dorr Goold, Michael Sjoding, and Thomas Valley

Pulse oximeters can noninvasively measure blood oxygen levels, a vital biomarker for many. But these devices are imperfect and provide inaccurate readings especially for Black patients. Why are these devices flawed, and how can we improve the technology?

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reflecting on Dr. King's Legacy and the Field of Public Health

Enrique W. Neblett Jr., PhD

To learn more about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s ongoing impact on human health, we asked Enrique Neblett, professor of Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, to share how Dr. King’s legacy informs and inspires his own work in the fields of public health and the social sciences.

A cardboard sign that says

Public Health's Role in Addressing Racism

DuBois Bowman

A new year represents an opportunity for change and growth. This is a critical moment in which our nation has turned its attention to racism and pledged to address long-standing inequities in our society. Those of us in the field of public health can and should be leaders in these efforts.

A black mother stands on a beach while holding her infant

Infant Mortality among Black Babies

Utibe Effiong, MPH ’14, Ekemini Hogan, and Obasi Okorie

It’s a painful statistical fact that Black babies die at higher rates than White babies—a fact all the more painful and tragic for those living with the realities of infant mortality. The difference in death rates is shared by developing and developed nations alike. But the trend can and must change.