Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2011:32:399-416.
doi: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031210-101136.

Toward a fourth generation of disparities research to achieve health equity

Stephen B Thomas  1 , Sandra Crouse Quinn, James Butler, Craig S Fryer, Mary A Garza
Affiliations
Review

Toward a fourth generation of disparities research to achieve health equity

Stephen B Thomas et al. Annu Rev Public Health. 2011.

Abstract

Achieving health equity, driven by the elimination of health disparities, is a goal of Healthy People 2020. In recent decades, the improvement in health status has been remarkable for the U.S. population as a whole. However, racial and ethnic minority populations continue to lag behind whites with a quality of life diminished by illness from preventable chronic diseases and a life span cut short by premature death. We examine a conceptual framework of three generations of health disparities research to understand (a) data trends, (b) factors driving disparities, and (c) solutions for closing the gap. We propose a new, fourth generation of research grounded in public health critical race praxis, utilizing comprehensive interventions to address race, racism, and structural inequalities and advancing evaluation methods to foster our ability to eliminate disparities. This new generation demands that we address the researcher's own biases as part of the research process.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Action model to achieve Healthy People 2020 overarching goals.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Generations of health disparities research (36, 60).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Health equity action research trajectory.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Am. Assoc. Phys. Anthropol. (AAPA) Statement on biological aspects of race. Am J Phys Anthropol. 1996;101:569–70.
    1. Am. Cancer Soc. Cancer Facts and Figures for African Americans 2005–2006. Atlanta: Am. Cancer Soc; 2005.
    1. Anda RF, Croft JB, Felitti VJ, Nordenberg D, Giles WH, et al. Adverse childhood experiences and smoking during adolescence and adulthood. JAMA. 1999;282:1652–58. - PubMed
    1. Bandura A. Social Learning Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall; 1977.
    1. Black N. Why we need observational studies to evaluate the effectiveness of health care. Br Med J. 1996;312:1215–18. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types