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Yet another ridiculous study
5 Oct2006
First it was “Driving while Black”. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the “Living while Black Index”.
(BET.com) Being Black in America is enough to make you sick, two new studies suggest.
That’s what two Penn State University researchers found in developing their “Living While Black Index,†which measures Black quality of life.
Their report comes on the heels of an American Public Health Association study published last Thursday that found that people who experience racial discrimination report greater difficulty in achieving their goals and greater personal discomfort…
… “As you look at the factors, there is a social cost of being Black. The stressors have a lot to do with it. For instance, being exposed to the reality of discrimination impacts blood pressure. Our research makes it clear that the comprehensive ‘Living While Black’ stress factors pose a substantial public health issue.â€ÂÂ
The Penn State study dovetails with the American Public Health Association findings.
Of the 650 Blacks and Latinos surveyed, half reported that discrimination impeded their ability to achieve their goals; half reported that they felt discomfort in the way others treated them because of their race.
“The bottom line is that racial discrimination is a risk factor for mental health, and by extension, physical health,” said Gilbert Gee of the University of Michigan School of Public Health, who co-authored the study with colleagues at the University of New Hampshire and the New Hampshire Minority Health Coalition. (more…)
While I agree that racial discrimination does exist here in America, to suggest that it has reached levels hazardous to our health is simply ridiculous. For starters, “discrimination” is defined by whatever the subject says it is, based on this article (I would like to get my hands on the actual study). If a non-Black person is hired over a Black person automatically mean that racial discrimination has taken place? To some, yes. Or how about a Black person being denied a loan? Discrimination or bad credit? As for the homicide rate in the Black community, it was much LOWER in the pre-civil rights era than it is today. It doesn’t take a study to conclude that exposure to real discrimination could raise blood pressure, but so does obesity and a history of a poor diet which are much more common foes faced in the Black community.
I think I get so ticked off at these “studies” because they always make the assertion that Black folks are a bunch of weak and frail individuals who can barely walk down the street under our own power or think straight unless the government is right there holding our hand. At the same time, they ignore other races that have migrated to this country and experienced similar hurdles–starting with Africans and Caribbeans.
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No Responses to Yet another ridiculous study
DMG
October 5th, 2006 at 9:26 am
Although, I too believe the study might be a “little light”, you can see the health discrepancy everyday in any urban hospital. Lack of access to healthcare is a problem. Being discriminated against for a job for example, may lead to unemployment, loss of health insurance, etc. That’s an oversimplification, of course, but you get the point.
Saudia
October 5th, 2006 at 10:12 am
HOGWASH!!!! Duane I am with you on this one. The Good Doc (DMG) has had 1 to many of those daily bowel preps if he thinks that this study has any validity.
Duane
October 5th, 2006 at 10:19 am
But this all brings us back to how one defines discrimination. If a person does not have insurance in this country, discrimination is not the reason. I have yet to hear of any case where, let’s say Asians were “given” the same kind of healthcare that is denied to Blacks. If that has or is happening, then sure that would be discrimination.
DMG
October 5th, 2006 at 12:04 pm
Saudia, I see you are reading my blog, thanks for the shout out. I even started out my response with: “Although, I too believe…”, I still get jumped on. It’s well known that we have the poorest health in the United States. I’m not making that up. Saudia, you are here in Chicago. Go to Stroger, look around and tell me what you see. Ask yourself these questions: Does discrimination occur in hiring? Does lack of a well paying job put one at risk of not having health insurance? Lack of health insurance delays people from seeking regular medical treatment. All I’m saying is that it’s plausible. Poverty, infant mortality, etc are real and impact the black community. Duane none of us are debating the connection between discrimination and acquiring a job. I agree discrimination may not overtly occur in the hospital (although that might be a topic worth discussion, but I’ll have to pull up the paper I’m thinking of). Saudia, I think you are misunderstanding what I’m getting at.
DMG
October 5th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
Sure it sounds silly when you put together discrimination and poor health. I don’t think that’s what they were getting at…overt discrimination in the hospital (although there have been studies about disparities in treatment offerings). But as the study suggests, there may be a connection between discrimination. I think the BET article concentrated on that part of the study. I think the main point of the study is that even being black was risk factor for poor health. I couldn’t read the entire article but here is the abstract http://jbs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/37/1/83 I think we’d both have to critically read the article and look at the statistics before assessing its validity, Saudia. But I think that their hypothesis is plausible.
Saudia
October 5th, 2006 at 1:32 pm
Wouldn’t go to Stoger unless I was shot. lol. I don’t dispute anything that you say but this study says that being black is a health risk and I say BS.
DMG
October 5th, 2006 at 2:23 pm
Actually there are alot of good doctors at County. It’s the ancillary staff and the group of political cronies that makes county a poor hospital. Being black in the US means that your life expectancy is the lowest of any group, we die disproportionately from violent crime. It’s not something in our genes it’s something in the way that many of us live.
Duane
October 6th, 2006 at 12:07 am
It’s not something in our genes it’s something in the way that many of us live.
That sums it up completely!