Antiracism, Reader's Advisory, Tools & Resources

Resources on Race and Racism in Medicine

The COVID-19 pandemic has made health disparities in the United States starkly apparent. Age-adjusted deaths per 100,000 people among Black, Latino, and Pacific Islander populations are more than 1.5 times greater than those of the White population, and among Indigenous populations are more than 2 times greater than those of the White population, according to APM Research Lab’s analysis of CDC data in the Color of Coronavirus project.

Figure 1: APM Research Lab. 2022. The Color of Coronavirus: COVID-19 Deaths by Race and Ethnicity in the U.S. Retrieved 11 May 2022, from https://www.apmresearchlab.org/covid/deaths-by-race

Disparities in COVID-19 deaths are the latest evidence of the ways in which systemic racism has been manifested in the access to and provision of medical care, a topic explored in the websites and library research guides listed below. 

Of course, no list of resources can be comprehensive, but the hope is that this list may serve as a starting point for exploration. I also want to acknowledge that my own positionality as a White male has surely influenced my choice of resources; please feel free to highlight additional resources in the comments.

Web resources

Annual reports from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) which detail findings on disparities in the “quality of and access to healthcare, as well as disparities related to race and ethnicity, income, and other social determinants of health.”

“Racism is a driving force of the social determinants of health (like housing, education and employment) and is a barrier to health equity.” Includes links to APHA Policy Statements, relevant articles in the American Journal of Public Health and other sources, books and other publications, and webinars/videos.

A collection of articles, data, podcasts, video, and other resources on racism in health care, including AAMC policy statements and resources relating to  community engagement, patient care, the medical workforce, and research.

“[D]edicated to examining how and when racism affects health, providing tools to improve the rigor with which researchers study racism and health, and evaluating intervention strategies that most effectively address racism’s contributions to health inequities.” Includes resources on research, journal and book clubs, a blog and a newsletter.

Information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on social determinants affecting COVID-19 exposure, illness, hospitalization, and death, as well as other effects of the pandemic.

“The data show that racial and ethnic minority groups, throughout the United States, experience higher rates of illness and death across a wide range of health conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, obesity, asthma, and heart disease, when compared to their White counterparts…we must confront the systems and policies that have resulted in the generational injustice that has given rise to racial and ethnic health inequities.” Includes resources on the impact of racism, the CDC’s efforts, science and research, and expert perspectives.

Journal articles, blog posts, issue briefs, fund reports, podcasts, infographics, videos, and other information sources sponsored by the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund. Resources can be browsed or search by category, topic, author or date. 

Data, survey results, and other information from the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation on disparities in health care access, treatment and outcomes by race, ethnicity, and immigration status. Includes extensive coverage of COVID-19 racial disparities.

  • National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. n.d. Resources. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/resources/

Resources linked in the left-hand menu include the HD Pulse Data Portal, the Understanding Health Disparities series, and links to reports and data sources.

Summaries of recent research findings from NIMHD grantees with citations to the relevant publications.

“Within the biomedical research enterprise, structural and institutional racism has resulted in inequitable access to funding, training, and workforce opportunities.” This page links to NIH policies, programs, advisory groups, research, events, and publications addressing structural racism and promoting racial equity and inclusion.

A collection of funding opportunities, resources, research and perspectives from the nonprofit Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

A topic collection of research articles, special reports, and perspectives from The New England Journal of Medicine.

The 2021 issue 1 of Stanford Medicine is devoted to articles addressing racial inequity in medicine.

A five-session event series held at the UCSF School of Medicine discussing the origins of the use of racial categories in medicine, the controversies surrounding its current use and practice, and corrective future directions for clinical care, medical education, and research.

The February 2022 special issue of the journal Health Affairs is devoted to Open Access articles addressing racism and health inequity.

Library Research Guides

Some of the links in the following library research guides are institution-specific, but each also includes a variety of resources that will be helpful to anyone investigating the topic of health equity.

“Black Americans today suffer from high rates of cancer mortality and cardiovascular disease, and lower overall life expectancy, compared to other races in the United States. These poor health outcomes are the results of structural anti-Black racism across our society, including housing discrimination, limited opportunities to acquire wealth, and biases in medicine.” Includes articles, data, webinars and panel discussions; part of the Confronting Anti-Black Racism Project.

Includes resources on medical school curricula; the history of medicine; COVID-19 and health inequities; race and medicine, social Issues, and related topics; and institutional responses and initiatives.

Includes links to the 2019 special issue of Health Services Research on Experiences of Discrimination in America as well as other resources.

Includes anti-Black racism resources and resources on people of Asian origin and descent, Indigenous peoples, people of Latinx and Hispanic origin and descent, and xenophobia and COVID-19.

Includes books, videos, podcasts, websites, and journal articles as well as additional resources on anti-Asian racism and xenophobia.

Includes foundational resources, books, articles, organization websites, podcasts, webinars, and teaching materials.

Includes journal articles, books, guidelines, data sources, curricula and syllabi, web resources, podcasts and recorded lectures, and tips and tools for searching the literature.

Organized by physiological system, medical condition and discipline as well as resource type.

Includes resources on history and context, data and reports, contemporary analysis, action, and anti-racism.

Includes multidisciplinary resources; anti-racism resources for the health sciences; biographies and memoirs of Black healthcare practitioners; the history of racism in healthcare; racism, disparities, and activism in healthcare, medicine, pregnancy/prenatal care, and psychology; COVID-19 disparities and health equity; and additional resources on health disparities and healthy communities.

Elliott Smith, Emerging Technologies & Bioinformatics Librarian, University of California Berkeley

We welcome your comments and suggestions! If you have a resource that you would like to see highlighted, please leave us a comment.

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