Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Using the Race Model Inequality to Quantify Behavioral Multisensory Integration Effects
Published on: May 10, 2019
Racial discrimination & health: pathways & evidence
Ameena T Ahmed1, Selina A Mohammed, David R Williams
1Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, Oakland, CA, USA. ameena.T.Ahmed@kp.org
Discrimination, including institutional and internalized racism, negatively impacts health through socioeconomic limitations, stress, and reduced access to care. Understanding these pathways is crucial for improving health outcomes for marginalized groups.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Sociology
- Health Psychology
Background:
- Discrimination poses significant threats to health through various mechanisms.
- Societal structures and individual biases contribute to health disparities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review empirical research on how discrimination affects health.
- To explore institutional and individual pathways linking discrimination to adverse health outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of empirical studies on discrimination and health.
- Analysis of institutional factors, psychosocial stress, and internalized racism.
Main Results:
- Institutional discrimination limits socioeconomic status and environmental quality, impacting health.
- Psychosocial stress from discrimination and internalized racism are linked to poorer health.
- Subjective experiences of discrimination affect health and health behaviors.
Conclusions:
- Discrimination, encompassing systemic and personal forms, has profound negative health consequences.
- Further research is needed to refine discrimination assessment and elucidate biological/psychosocial pathways.
- Addressing discrimination is essential for health equity.
Related Concept Videos
Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Criteria for Causality: Bradford Hill Criteria - II
Bias in Epidemiological Studies
Causality in Epidemiology
Hazard Ratio
For example, in a clinical trial evaluating a...
Introduction to Epidemiology
