{"id":137030,"date":"2023-11-09T00:04:27","date_gmt":"2023-11-09T05:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=137030"},"modified":"2023-11-08T14:45:58","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T19:45:58","slug":"umich-funds-research-on-anti-racist-health-departments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/umich-funds-research-on-anti-racist-health-departments\/","title":{"rendered":"UMich funds research on ‘anti-racist’ health departments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Research office at Big Ten university gave out a total of $450K in \u2018systemic racism\u2019 grants<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

A project that examines a \u201cRacial Justice Impact Assessment tool\u201d for local health departments to become “anti-racist” received money from the University of Michigan\u2019s Office of the Vice President for Research.<\/p>\n

The grant money came from a $450,000 pot of funds, which was distributed to six other \u201csystemic racism\u201d research proposals, according to the university<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Director of Public Affairs Kim Broekhuizen did not address College Fix<\/em> questions about the grants and how they would fight racism, as well as questions about the other “diversity, equity, and inclusion” initiatives on campus. She deferred to the original university announcement.<\/p>\n

None of the three researchers on the health departments project responded to two requests for comment sent in the past month.<\/p>\n

The group of researchers also received money in 2021 from the research office to begin its study. They will now \u201cpilot and evaluate the co-created Racial Justice Impact Assessment tool and training created as a result of their research.\u201d<\/p>\n

“In the first phase of this project, funded by the 2021 cycle of OVPR anti-racism grants, researchers partnered with the Washtenaw County Health Department to identify key opportunities and limits on anti-racist institutional transformation within local health departments,” the summary stated. The tool comes from that research.<\/p>\n

The academics on the team have an interest in \u201canti-racism.\u201d<\/p>\n

Melissa Creary states in her university bio under a section titled \u201cBounded Justice\u201d that she would like to create \u201can anti-racist public health department.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI center anti-racism and health equity in my research, mentoring, and administrative duties\u201d wrote Creary further in her bio.<\/p>\n

Whitney Peoples, a researcher on the project, states in her university bio that she \u201cbrings over 20 years of experience in feminist and critical race research, activism, and teaching to her work at the School of Public Health.\u201d She also served as the school’s first DEI director.<\/p>\n

Paul Fleming, another researcher,\u00a0 \u201cexamines how to best integrate anti-racist principles into public health training and practice\u201d according to his university bio.<\/p>\n

The Fix<\/em> also reached out to multiple researchers working on the other projects mentioned in the article and only one responded to questions about why their subject was of interest, how they saw their research being used, and the goal of their research.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Bragg-Gresham, a researcher working on a study called \u201cUnraveling and Mitigating the Impact of Structural Racial (\u2018Redlining\u2019) on Chronic Disease Burden in Detroit using Geospatial and Mediation Analysis,\u201d responded that the interest in this area was \u201cunderstanding how the context of where people live affect their lives and health.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c[W]e hypothesize that because of redlining, residential racial segregation was de facto perpetuated in the neighborhoods so assigned,\u201d Bragg-Gresham told The Fix<\/em> via email.<\/p>\n

MORE:<\/strong> ‘Sexual racism’ skews dating apps, UMich professor says<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThis historical practice has likely led to continuous hazardous exposures and has caused lasting repercussions on health through adverse social and environmental determinants of health,” she said.<\/p>\n

She also gave specific examples such as food insecurity, barriers to quality healthcare, increased vulnerability to the effects of climate change, environmental toxins, and diseases.<\/p>\n

Bragg-Gresham said the goal of the study \u201cis to facilitate improvements in current modifiable [social and environmental determinants of health] factors, thought to stem from historical structural racism, to improve individual and community risk of poor health outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the current work, our objective is to identify these factors through geospatially linking current residents living in past redlining affected districts in the area around Detroit, MI,\u201d the professor said. Her also plans to \u201cemploy mediation analysis to make causal inferences to explain relationships between historic redlining districts and current health status.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bragg-Gresham said there are four ways the research could be used: First, to help \u201cfuture research can focus on areas with the largest potential impact.\u201d; second, to mitigate the effects of relining; third, inform and guide medical institutions; and fourth, to \u201cfurther the national conversation on this topic\u201d and affect public policy on the issue.<\/p>\n

This is not the only racism and \u201cdiversity, equity, and inclusion\u201d focused research the university is funding. In 2020 it spent<\/a> $260,000 on \u201ccombating racism\u201d and in late July of this year it announced plans to spend $80 million<\/a> together with the National Institutes of Health for \u201cDEI 2.0.”<\/p>\n

MORE:<\/strong> Despite massive DEI efforts, UMich students report feeling worse about themselves<\/a><\/p>\n

IMAGE: Hush Naidoo\/Unsplash<\/p>\n

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