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Structural Racism and Population Health: The Role of Race, Socioeconomic Status and Context
Caryn Bell, African American Studies, examines the effects of macro-level structural racism on population health
Located in Resources / / Seed Grant Program / Seed Grants Awarded
Article Reference Troff document (with manpage macros)The Interrelationship between Race, Social Norms, and Dietary Behaviors among College-attending Women
Objective:  The association between social norms and dietary behaviors is well-documented, but few studies examine the role of race. The aim of this study was to determine the interrelationships among race, social norms, and dietary behaviors.  Methods:  We used data from the Healthy Friends Network Study (a pilot study of women attending a southern university). Dietary behaviors, social norms, and self-identified race were obtained.  Results:  African Americans had lower odds of daily vegetable (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.38-0.79) and fruit consumption (OR = 0.45, 95% CI = 0.30-0.67), but no race difference in frequent consumption of fatty/fried/salty/sugary foods was observed in fully adjusted models. Proximal descriptive norms were associated with all dietary behaviors, but distal injunctive social norms were associated with lower odds of frequent unhealthy food consumption (OR = 0.10, 95% CI = 0.05-0.21). Race differences in family descriptive norms were found to mediate race differences in vegetable and fruit consumption by 7%-9%. However, race differences in friend and family injunctive norms mediated 20%-50% of the effects of race on frequent unhealthy food consumption.  Conclusions:  Proximal injunctive norms account for race differences in unhealthy food consumption. Future studies should further explicate the mechanisms and seek to utilize social norms in behavior change interventions.
Located in Retired Persons / Caryn Bell, Ph.D. / Caryn Bell Publications
Article Reference Troff document (with manpage macros)The Role of Social Support in Moderating the Relationship between Race and Hypertension in a Low-Income, Urban, Racially Integrated Community
In the US, African Americans have a higher prevalence of hypertension than Whites. Previous studies show that social support contributes to the racial differences in hypertension but are limited in accounting for the social and environmental effects of racial residential segregation. We examined whether the association between race and hypertension varies by the level of social support among African Americans and Whites living in similar social and environmental conditions, specifically an urban, low-income, racially integrated community. Using data from the Exploring Health Disparities in Integrated Communities-Southwest Baltimore (EHDIC-SWB) sample, we hypothesized that social support moderates the relationship between race and hypertension and the racial difference in hypertension is smaller as the level of social support increases. Hypertension was defined as having systolic blood pressure greater than 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure greater than 90 mmHg, or the participant reports of taking antihypertensive medication(s). The study only included participants that self-reported as “Black/African American” or “White.” Social support was measured as functional social support and marital status. After adjusting for demographics and health-related characteristics, we found no interaction between social support and race (DUFSS score, prevalence ratio 1.00; 95% confidence interval 0.99, 1.01; marital status, prevalence ratio 1.02; 95% confidence interval 0.86, 1.21); thus the hypothesis was not supported. A plausible explanation is that the buffering factor of social support cannot overcome the social and environmental conditions which the participants live in. Further, these findings emphasize social and environmental conditions of participants in EHDIC-SWB may equally impact race and hypertension.
Located in Retired Persons / Caryn Bell, Ph.D. / Caryn Bell Publications
File Troff document (with manpage macros)The role of weight perception in race differences in body mass index by education among women
Caryn N. Bell University of Maryland: Loneke T. Blackman Carr Duke University: 2019-006
Located in Research / Working Papers / WP Documents