Multiple Factors in Racial Disparities in Disease Prevalence and Mortality
This paper invites you to consider how scientists address the role of multiple factors in racial disparities in disease prevalence and mortality.
Part 1: Write your responses to:
1) Choose two "determinants of health" as defined by the World Health Organization (see attachment). How do race and/or racism contribute to them? | Are biological differences between racial groups relevant to your answer?
2) Make a grid for considering Sickle-cell Anemia, Tay-Sachs Disease, Diabetes, and High Blood Pressure.
3) For each disease, we’ll ask the following:
a. Is there a known genetic factor that causes the disease?
b. Is the disease monogenic (based on a single genetic mutation)?
c. If not yet known, what genetic research strategy makes sense to isolate a genetic factor: a genome-wide search or an admixture-based search?
(notes: The questions b and c that ask about the authors/researchers' strategies or arguments are asking you to consider the arguments made by the original study, not the short critiques of it, though of course, you can use the ideas in the critiques to answer the question about the original study.)
d. Which research strategy should be prioritized most: seeking genetic causes? seeking environmental causes or, seeking behavioral causes?
Part 2:
Read two articles about Hypertension/CVD, as listed below. Answer the questions below.
4) Based on the above considerations, indicate whether you would prioritize genetic, environmental, or behavioral causes in research explaining racial disparities in this disease.
5) What strategy did the author(s) use to isolate or disentangle genetic factors involved in the health disparity? Was their choice of strategy convincing? Are there
6) Do the researchers conclude or assume that a genetic cause underlies the disparate prevalence of the disease?
7) Does your reading make you conclude that a genetic cause for the racial disparity is certain, likely, or unlikely? Explain.
Health Disparities Assignment
Student's Name
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Instructor's Name
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Health Disparities Assignment
Part 1
Income and social status have a significant impact on populations' health outcomes. According to World Health Organization (n.d.), the gap between people with higher income and social status is also reflected in health. Race and ethnicity are key determinants of income level and social status. In the United States, minority races, including African Americans and Hispanics, are low income and have poor social status. Discrimination, marginalization, and unequal access to resources are among the main factors undermining these groups' income and social status. Consequently, they are at higher risk of poor health and lack the necessary resources or education to promote their health outcomes. On the other hand, the whites enjoy access to resources, have higher incomes, and high social status. Whites record better health outcomes and less disease prevalence than other races. Biological differences have an insignificant effect on income and social status as determinants of health.
Education is another determinant of health. People with higher education levels better understand their health and make better health decisions. Education levels differ between various ethnic and racial groups. This difference in education level between different races explains the disparity in disease prevalence and mortality. Biological differences between racial groups are not relevant in the effects of education on the gap in health outcomes among different population groups.
Sickle-cell Anemia
Tay-Sachs Disease
Diabetes
High Blood Pressure
a). genetic factor
Caused by mutation of Hemoglobin-Beta gene.
Caused by a defective or mutation of HEXA gene
Various genes among different population groups trigger it; HLA-DR3 or HLA-DR4 among whites, HLA-DR7 among African Americans, and HLA-DR9 among Asians.
It is associated with various genetic factors.
b). Monogenic or not
Monogenic
Monogenic
The...