Date of Award
1-1-2022
Embargo Period
4-22-2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Health Administration
College
College of Health Professions
First Advisor
Elizabeth Brown
Second Advisor
Jami Jones
Third Advisor
TaJuan Wilson
Abstract
Recent events bought to the forefront the need to address structural racism in the US, specifically within the institution of healthcare. Organizations such as the American Public Health Association (APHA, 2021), American Medical Association (AMA) (O’Reilly, 2020), Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Walensky, 2021) recognize racism as a fundamental driver of persistent health disparities in minority populations. Additionally, healthcare accreditation organizations such as National Council on Quality Assurance (NCQA, 2022) launched initiatives that strategically work to achieve health equity. More so, organizations across healthcare are creating roles such as Chief Health Equity Officer or Chief Diversity Officer to spearhead the internal work of addressing racism within healthcare. However, this work is slow-moving and disjointed. There is limited research on structural racism in healthcare, and there is not currently a widely accepted definition of the concept. It is often used interchangeably with closely related concepts of systemic institutional racism. Measurements of structural racism are in their infancy. This project posits that before we can research and measure the impact of structural racism in healthcare, we must have a shared understanding of the concept. This qualitative research project interviewed nine experts in the field of healthcare to develop a shared definition of structural racism, understand how it impacts healthcare, and gather recommendations for future work. Structural racism is a complex phenomenon that seeped into every US institution. Achieving health equity requires decision-makers with adequate resources to increase access to care and educate our healthcare workforce.
Recommended Citation
Butler, Deann, "Let’s Get R.E.A.L.: Developing a Shared Definition of Structural Racism is the First Step Towards Health Equity" (2022). MUSC Theses and Dissertations. 662.
https://medica-musc.researchcommons.org/theses/662
Rights
All rights reserved. Copyright is held by the author.