Police Brutality and Black Health: Setting the Agenda for Public Health Scholars.
We investigated links between police brutality and poor health outcomes among Blacks and identified five intersecting pathways: (1) fatal injuries that increase population-specific mortality rates; (2) adverse physiological responses that increase morbidity; (3) racist public reactions that cause stress; (4) arrests, incarcerations, and legal, medical, and funeral bills that cause financial strain; and (5) integrated oppressive structures that cause systematic disempowerment. Public health scholars should champion efforts to implement surveillance of police brutality and press funders to support research to understand the experiences of people faced with police brutality. We must ask whether our own research, teaching, and service are intentionally antiracist and challenge the institutions we work in to ask the same. To reduce racial health inequities, public health scholars must rigorously explore the relationship between police brutality and health, and advocate policies that address racist oppression.
Sirry Alang is with the Program in Health, Medicine, and Society and the Department of Sociology, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA. Donna McAlpine and Rachel Hardeman are with the Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis. Ellen McCreedy is with the Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI.
Sirry
S
Alang
Sirry Alang is with the Program in Health, Medicine, and Society and the Department of Sociology, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA. Donna McAlpine and Rachel Hardeman are with the Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis. Ellen McCreedy is with the Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI.
Donna
D
McAlpine
Sirry Alang is with the Program in Health, Medicine, and Society and the Department of Sociology, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA. Donna McAlpine and Rachel Hardeman are with the Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis. Ellen McCreedy is with the Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI.
Ellen
E
McCreedy
Sirry Alang is with the Program in Health, Medicine, and Society and the Department of Sociology, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA. Donna McAlpine and Rachel Hardeman are with the Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis. Ellen McCreedy is with the Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI.
Rachel
R
Hardeman
D001741:Black or African American; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D035846:Law Enforcement; D008297:Male; D016495:Police / Q000941:ethics* / Q000523:psychology*; D011634:Public Health; D011639:Public Opinion; D063505:Racism; D012924:Social Conditions; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014741:Video Recording; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology