Whose Knowledge Heals? Transforming Teaching in the Struggle for Health Equity

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Equity
• Critical Race Theory

Background:

• Racial health inequities remain a persistent challenge despite numerous interventions.
• A lack of understanding regarding the pervasive nature of racism within public health institutions hinders progress.
• Conventional academic public health practices, rooted in Whiteness, fail to equip the workforce to tackle systemic issues underlying health disparities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To advocate for the integration of Critical Race Theory (CRT) into public health education, not just research and practice.
• To critique current pedagogical approaches in public health that perpetuate inequities.
• To propose a framework for training a public health workforce capable of addressing systemic racism and advancing health equity.

Main Methods:

• Critiquing the traditional methods of teaching public health, including assigned readings, theoretical frameworks, and andragogy.
• Analyzing how academic public health excludes scholars of color and overemphasizes individual behavior theories.
• Examining the role of Whiteness in shaping public health knowledge and practice.

Main Results:

• Current public health education often marginalizes perspectives of color and relies on outdated, individualistic approaches.
• Traditional teaching methods fail to adequately prepare students to understand and combat systemic racism.
• A critical examination of knowledge legitimation, solution prioritization, and change-driven insights is necessary.

Conclusions:

• Integrating CRT into public health curricula is crucial for fostering a deeper understanding of health equity.
• Rethinking pedagogical responsibilities—readings, theories, and teaching methods—is vital for dismantling systemic racism in public health.
• Training future public health professionals to critically analyze racial relations and systemic issues is essential for achieving durable health equity.