The national theme for Black History Month 2022, “Black Health and Wellness,” is a subject that USC researchers discuss year-round. Some of the largest public health and medical organizations in the country have declared racism itself a public health crisis, drawing attention to racism’s harm to health, including chronic inflammation and disease risk in the Black community. USC experts discuss their efforts to identify and dismantle racial inequities.
Contact: Leigh Hopper, lhopper@usc.edu or (310) 308-0405
‘Sojourner syndrome’ attests to ‘tremendous resilience’
“Of all major racial and ethnic groups in the country, African American women are more likely to deliver babies too early or too small, to bury them before their first birthday and to die in pregnancy, during delivery or in the postpartum year.
“African American women are not simply ‘wired’ this way. Rather, research into the social determinants of health indicates that the context of our lives matters. Long-standing health inequities are the physical consequence of pervasive and enduring social inequities.
“The ‘Sojourner syndrome’ concept refers to the constellation of class, race and gender oppression that Black women experience, which intensifies their risk for adverse health outcomes. Named for Sojourner Truth, the famous 19th-century former slave turned evangelist, abolitionist and activist, the Sojourner syndrome also recognizes the tremendous resilience of Black women who historically have had to make a way out of no way, to keep on keeping on as the heart and soul of their families and pivotal leaders in their communities.”
Tyan Parker Dominguez is a clinical professor at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. Her research focuses on racial disparities in adverse birth outcomes and infant mortality, with an emphasis on racism as a social determinant of health.
Contact: tyanpark@usc.edu
Residential segregation compounds health disparities
Black people comprise about 13% of the U.S. population, but they account for 39% of homeless individuals and represent approximately half of all homeless families with children.
“The disproportionate impact of homelessness on African Americans is due to systematic racism that excludes our populations from educational opportunities, employment opportunities, and housing opportunities. That’s been the case historically, and it continues to this day.
“We have a problem with our political economy, where large corporations suppress wages to keep them as low as possible. We are generating more unhoused people than we can build housing for and it’s because of these systems: structural racism, a political economy that keeps wages low, and high housing costs in places like Los Angeles.”
Ricky Bluthenthal is associate dean for social justice and a professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine and the Institute for Prevention Research at the Keck School of Medicine at USC. His research has documented how community conditions contribute to health disparities.
Contact: rbluthen@usc.edu
Giving Black pregnant patients a voice
“Growing up as a biracial little girl, I unfortunately experienced the health care disparities that exist among African American and Latinx patients with my own family members. I also witnessed the confusion my family members felt after going to see the doctor, especially my Spanish-speaking grandparents.
“Witnessing those disparities inspired me to become a physician. I wanted to be an expert of diseases and treatments so that I could help guide my family and ensure they received the best care. I wanted to use my privilege of being a physician to give a voice and platform to the unheard voices in the health care system — the menopausal woman who puts her own health to the side at times to care for her family or to the Black pregnant patient who doesn’t feel heard in the delivery room. I want to give my patients a voice so that they are heard and get the care they deserve.
“My research involves identifying, exploring and mitigating the disparities that exist among our African American and Latinx patients. Currently, my team and I are analyzing the severe maternal morbidity and mortality rate among mothers undergoing delivery.”
Evelyn Mitchell is an obstetrician and gynecologist at Keck Medicine of USC. She specializes in labor and delivery, family planning, infertility and women’s health. She notes that the Keck School of Medicine of USC’s Center for Gender Equity in Medicine and Science conducts implicit bias training to Keck departments to help eliminate disparities.
Contact: gabriella.robison@med.usc.edu
Representation matters in Alzheimer’s research
“Black adults in the United States are disproportionately affected by Alzheimer’s disease, and this is coupled with very limited representation in clinical trials (less than 5%) — an essential pathway for the testing and approval of medications.
“This can have unfortunate implications for Black community members who are two times at higher risk, less likely to be diagnosed and carry a significant proportion of the financial and caregiving burden. Black participation in Alzheimer’s research that aims to treat, slow, or prevent the disease is imperative to the preservation of the unique cultural richness of the Black community.
“Eliminating these disparities will take a concerted effort from all of us. Representation matters. Being represented is a fundamental way to change the landscape of Alzheimer’s disease for future generations of Black families. I’m hopeful for a future where no population is under-included, and we have treatments that can treat or even prevent this devastating disease for everyone.”
Doris Molina-Henry is an assistant professor of neurology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC focusing on recruitment at USC’s Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute in San Diego.
Contact: molinahe@usc.edu
A specialist’s attention to skin of color
“In 2018, I founded the USC Skin of Color and Pigmentary Disorders Program as a clinical and research program focused on the needs of those with skin of color and disorders of pigmentation.
“It is the only academic program of its kind in Southern California and one of less than 20 such programs in the country. Our program provides evidence-based, compassionate and culturally competent care to diverse populations and in so doing is working to improve health equity for all patients.”
Nada Elbuluk is a board-certified dermatologist and assistant professor at the Keck School of Medicine of USC where she also serves as the director of the Dermatology Diversity and Inclusion Program. Her research interests include ethnic skin conditions, and pigmentary disorders such as vitiligo, melasma, and post-inflammatory pigmentation.
Contact: cynthia.smith@med.usc.edu
Behind the ‘Black smoking paradox’
“Although the racial gap in lung cancer cases appears to be closing — likely due to the success of anti-smoking campaigns — Black men still have a higher risk of developing lung cancer compared to white men, even though they tend to smoke less — an effect referred to as the ‘Black smoking paradox.’ Black patients are also more likely than white patients to be diagnosed at later stages and to receive no treatment at all for their cancer.
“We all experience stress at different parts of our lives. Research shows that stress is one of the reasons why people smoke and have difficulty quitting. I’m leading a project focusing on how our bodies respond to stress and how these responses may make it difficult to quit smoking among African American and white men.
“With a better understanding of the role that stress plays in smoking behavior, we will be able to develop more precise and effective strategies for smoking cessation. Findings from this study could also lead to medications that reduce the burden of lung cancer in the African American community.”
Chanita Hughes-Halbert is associate director for cancer equity at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and a professor and vice chair of research in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
Contact: hughesha@usc.edu
Disrupting factors that lead to disease
“As a social scientist, I focus on the social, environmental and public health factors related to disease in older African Americans. First, you have to show that there’s a cause-and-effect relationship. Then, you have to figure out how to disrupt that relationship.
“As a critical sociologist and social worker, I’m interested in disrupting those factors that lead to disease. I think with respect to social determinants of health you can’t get a better perspective than from a social worker.
“There’s a science to engagement. It’s about how you approach people. I’m able to share that, as African Americans ourselves, we’re doing this work for personal reasons as well as scientific. That it’s for my family as well as theirs.”
Karen Lincoln is an associate professor, director of the USC Hartford Center of Excellence in Geriatric Social Work, senior scientist at the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging, and founder and chair of Advocates for African American Elders at USC.
Contact: klincoln@usc.edu
Black men’s brain health
“I’ve seen firsthand how many people fear the stigma that they believe comes with the disease and try to conceal their symptoms. Negative attitudes and beliefs towards people who live with mental health conditions is pervasive within the United States and can be particularly strong within the Black community.
“It’s for all these reasons we need to encourage conversations about brain health in the community and increase the representation of Black men in brain science research. It’s incumbent upon us to change the narrative.”
Maria Aranda, a social worker, researcher and executive director of the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging, helped organize the inaugural Black Men’s Brain Health Conference at USC during Super Bowl week. The conference will recur in 2023 and 2024 in the Super Bowl hosting cities.
Contact: aranda@usc.edu
