Discrimination and Population Health Disparities

Emerging research has for the first time pointed to the intersections of discrimination (including prejudice and stigma) as driving morbidity and mortality at a population level. Health-related spending tied to these disparities cost the U.S. more than one trillion dollars over a recent four-year span.

With new faculty with expertise in discrimination and health, along with developing initiatives at the Dell Medical School, Population Research Center (PRC), and other institutes and collaborations on campus, now is a critical time for UT to lead research in this field.

The Health Disparities Pop-Up Institute will launch an interdisciplinary network of UT and nationally and internationally known scholars who focus on discrimination and health. Members of the initiative include leading experts that study multiple intersecting aspects of discrimination. As such, the group is positioned to make substantial contributions to research on: discrimination in multiple settings, discrimination that is motivated by multiple forms of bias, and discrimination with influence in multiple domains of human health. The group also studies policies, programs, and practices intended to reduce discrimination or moderate its role in undermining health.

The Health Disparities Pop-Up Institute will be an intensive working group inviting a diverse and interdisciplinary team for focused dialogue and planning to coordinate research products and ongoing campus collaborations. The Institute’s goals include grant submissions; the development of an archive of datasets measuring discrimination and health that would be a resource for UT researchers for identifying common interests, potential preliminary data, and collaborative projects; and the development an integrative review article on the influence of discrimination on physiological, psychological, and social processes related to health.

Principal Team

Pop-Up Institute Leader:

Stephen Russell, Priscilla Pond Flawn Regents Professor in Child Development, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, School of Human Ecology

Principal Team:

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