Twenty years ago, a report pointed out, “Racial and ethnic minorities experience a lower quality of health services, and are less likely to receive even routine medical procedures than are white Americans.” An article in STAT News notes that the words could have been written to describe the current state of he U.S. health system. In addition to the systemic problems with health care delvery, recent outcry against the teaching of critical race theory (CRT) is causing more concern about the underlying causes of the crisis.
“It’s honestly chilling me to the bone. I am so concerned about this movement,” Paula Lantz, James B. Hudak Professor of Health Policy, said, “There can be no progress toward health equity without the naming, framing, and dismantling of structural racism.”
Lantz has consistently denounced the movement against CRT, arguing that the scientific tenets that underlie CRT are crucial to understanding and addressing racial inequality in our health systems.
“It is incumbent upon those committed to health equity through population health science to publicly defend the tenets of CRT and their long-standing contributions to population health," she wrote in an op-ed for The Milbank Quarterly last year. "The stakes—the ability for education, research, community-based efforts, and policy reform to improve the health and well-being of all—are incredibly high.”
Read the article featuring Lantz and her op-ed:
- 20 years ago, a landmark report spotlighted systemic racism in medicine. Why has so little changed?, STAT News, February 23, 2022
- The Tenets of Critical Race Theory Have a Long-Standing and Important Role in Population Health Science, The Milbank Quarterly, July 15, 2021
