Understanding The Cumulative Impacts Of Inequalities In Environmental Health

Implications For Policy

Bibliographic Data

ID19599502
AuthorsRachel Morello‐frosch (0000-0003-1153-7287), Rachel Morello-Frosch (Rachel Morello-Frosch ( ) is an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management and in the School of Public Health at the University of California (UC), Berkeley.), Miriam Zuk (Miriam Zuk is a graduate student in city and regional planning at UC Berkeley.), Michael Jerrett (0000-0002-4121-0587, Michael Jerrett is an associate professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences at the School of Public Health, UC Berkeley.), Bhavna Shamasunder (0000-0003-0056-2399, Bhavna Shamasunder is a graduate student in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley.), Amy D Kyle (Amy D. Kyle is an associate adjunct professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, UC Berkeley.)
Year2011
Volume30
Issue5
Pages879-887
Publication date2011-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHealth Affairs (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0278-2715 • E-ISSN: 2694-233X
PublisherProject HOPE (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0153
PMID21555471
OpenAlexW2111544271
LanguageEN
Citations received121
References cited64

Racial or ethnic minority groups and low-income communities have poorer health outcomes than others. They are more frequently exposed to multiple environmental hazards and social stressors, including poverty, poor housing quality, and social inequality. Researchers are grappling with how best to characterize the cumulative effects of these hazards and stressors in order to help regulators and decision makers craft more-effective policies to address health and environmental disparities. In this article we synthesize the existing scientific evidence regarding the cumulative health implications of higher rates of exposure to environmental hazards, along with individual biological susceptibility and social vulnerability. We conclude that current environmental policy, which is focused narrowly on pollutants and their sources, should be broadened to take into account the cumulative impact of exposures and vulnerabilities encountered by people who live in neighborhoods consisting largely of racial or ethnic minorities or people of low socioeconomic status

Cumulative effects · Economic growth · Economics · Environmental health · Environmental justice · Ethnic group · Health care · Health equity · Inequality · Political science · Population · Poverty · Psychological resilience · Social determinants of health · Social vulnerability · Socioeconomic status · Socioeconomics · Stressor · Air Quality and Health Impacts · Climate Change and Health Impacts · Environmental Justice and Health Disparities · Medicine · Psychology · Social Psychology