Mary T Bassett
Biographic Data
| ID | 110878 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mary T Bassett |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mary T |
| FAMILY NAME | Bassett |
| SIGNATURE | BASSETT M T |
| AFFILIATIONS | New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7810-4163 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 48 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 212 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 48 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1991 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
A plan for black American reparations
The frequent criticism of a programme of reparations for Black Americans is that, however justified, no feasible blueprint exists for its implementation. We provide a detailed outline of a viable plan for reparations for Black American descendants of persons enslaved in the USA. Central to the plan are monetary payments calculated to eliminate the racial wealth gap, the foremost economic indicator of the cumulative, intergenerational effects of W…
Threats to Democracy and the Right to Health
Structural racism and diminished health returns on education among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon
Infectious disease surveillance needs for the United States
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to upgrade systems for infectious disease surveillance and forecasting and modeling of the spread of infection, both of which inform evidence-based public health guidance and policies. Here, we discuss requirements for an effective surveillance system to support decision making during a pandemic, drawing on the lessons of COVID-19 in the U.S., while looking to jurisdictions in the U.S. and beyond to …
Are hospitals collateral damage? Assessing geospatial proximity of 2000 lb bomb detonations to hospital facilities in the Gaza Strip from October 7 to November 17, 2023
After attacks in Israel led by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023, Israel launched a major military campaign in the Gaza Strip that has featured an unprecedented scale of destruction. This has included the use of highly destructive weapons in a densely populated area. Mark-84 bombs (M-84s) are 2000 lb air-dropped explosive munitions with the capacity to damage infrastructure and kill or cause severe injury hundreds of meters away. This study exam…
Fairness and efficiency considerations in Covid-19 vaccine allocation strategies
The COVID-19 epidemic in the United States has been characterized by two stark disparities. COVID-19 burden has been unequally distributed among racial and ethnic groups and at the same time the mortality rates have been sharply higher among older age groups. These disparities have led some to suggest that inequalities could be reduced by vaccinating front-line workers before vaccinating older individuals, as older individuals in the US are dispr…
Associations between multiple indicators of discrimination and allostatic load among middle-aged adults
The objective of this paper is to examine associations between multiple measures of discrimination (i.e., everyday, lifetime, and appraised burden) and components of allostatic load (AL). We drew on pooled cross-sectional data from the Biomarker Project of the Midlife in the United States study (n = 2118). Ages ranged from 25 to 84 years and included mostly Black (n = 389) and white (n = 1598) adults. Quasi-Poisson models were fit to estimate pre…
Modern Capitalism as a Threat to Health
AffiliationsMary T. Bassett directs the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, Boston, MA
Sounding the Alarm for White America—and Maybe the Rest of Us
The rise in mortality Case and Deaton uncovered is extremely rare Since the 1918 flu pandemic, only the Soviet Union before its collapse and Africa in the midst of the HIV/AIDS epidemic have experienced declining life expectancy [ ]Woolf et al also showed that an increase in occurred for a wide range of causes, beyond deaths of despair [ ]it may be more useful to consider racism, and how it has shaped US capitalism and its inequalities, not despa…
Monitoring Deaths in Police Custody
Reparations for Black American descendants of persons enslaved in the U.S. and their potential impact on Sars-CoV-2 transmission
Variation in racial/ethnic disparities in Covid-19 mortality by age in the United States
BACKGROUND: In the United States, non-Hispanic Black (NHB), Hispanic, and non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native (NHAIAN) populations experience excess COVID-19 mortality, compared to the non-Hispanic White (NHW) population, but racial/ethnic differences in age at death are not known. The release of national COVID-19 death data by racial/ethnic group now permits analysis of age-specific mortality rates for these groups and the non-Hispanic As…
Structural Racism, Historical Redlining, and Risk of Preterm Birth in New York City, 2013–2017
Objectives. To assess if historical redlining, the US government’s 1930s racially discriminatory grading of neighborhoods’ mortgage credit-worthiness, implemented via the federally sponsored Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) color-coded maps, is associated with contemporary risk of preterm birth ( Methods. We analyzed 2013–2017 birth certificate data for all singleton births in New York City (n = 528 096) linked by maternal residence at time o…
Documenting and Addressing the Health Impacts of Carceral Systems
Public Health Addresses Police Violence
First Aids, Now Covid-19
First AIDS, Now COVID-19:Another Plague Shows Us Who We Are Mary T. Bassett (bio) the world is in the grip of a global pandemic on a scale that has not been seen in the century since the 1918 influenza pandemic took as many as 50 million lives. The first COVID-19 death in the United States was announced on February 29, 2020. Three and one-half months later, the number of deaths surged past 100,000. The United States, despite its wealth, advanced …
No Justice, No Health
The Black Panther Party (BPP) evolved from an organization focused on armed self-defense against police brutality to one that framed police violence as part of broader social violence. Protection meant advocating for a wide range of social and economic rights, including the right to health. In this view, the BPP aligned with a broader tradition of community health from the civil rights movement, women’s movement, and other progressive movements. …
The Legacy of 1987 Boreali v. Axelrod
We explore how a 1987 New York State court decision—Boreali v. Axelrod—affected public health rule-making nationally and, with considerable impact, locally in New York City (NYC). We discuss the history of the origin of the NYC Board of Health (BOH), and establish that legislatures can be challenging venues in which to enact public health–related laws. We describe how, as the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene began to tackle modern publ…
Punching above their weight
Further research using this framework has considerable potential to advance effective policies to advance health and equity
Uprooting Institutionalized Racism as Public Health Practice
AffiliationsBoth authors are with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, NY
Structural racism and health inequities in the USA
Public Health Meets the Problem of the Color Line
The article discusses public health in relation to racism and health equity in America as of 2017, and it mentions scientific objectivity, racial injustice, and the views of the late African American politician Shirley Chisholm. Racial oppression in the U.S. is addressed, along with the attitudes of public health practitioners in the country. Poverty and communities of color in the U.S. are assessed, as well as solidarity and health promotion in …
Beyond Berets
The article discusses health activism in America in relation to the history of the Black Panther Party which was founded by social activists Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California in the 1960s. The effort to restore the image of the Black Panther Party to reflect its full legacy is examined, along with police violence in American history. According to the article, Black Panther Party clinics were part of a movement to deliver communit…
Treating Our Way Out of Aids
Of Personal Choice and Level Playing Fields
In this article the author reflects on poor nutrition and high rates of obesity and overweight which are seen in many countries across the globe in 2012 and on the factors which have led to the high rates of obesity and overweight. In the article the author offers her opinions on the role that governments can play in educating consumers about nutrition and in helping to protect consumers from unhealthy food and on the efforts that New York City M…
Structural Racism, Historical Redlining, and Risk of Preterm Birth in New York City, 2013–2017
Objectives. To assess if historical redlining, the US government’s 1930s racially discriminatory grading of neighborhoods’ mortgage credit-worthiness, implemented via the federally sponsored Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) color-coded maps, is associated with contemporary risk of preterm birth ( Methods. We analyzed 2013–2017 birth certificate data for all singleton births in New York City (n = 528 096) linked by maternal residence at time o…
Purchasing Behavior and Calorie Information at Fast-Food Chains in New York City, 2007
We surveyed 7318 customers from 275 randomly selected restaurants of 11 fast food chains. Participants purchased a mean of 827 calories, with 34% purchasing 1000 calories or more. Unlike other chains, Subway posted calorie information at point of purchase and its patrons more often reported seeing calorie infomation than patrons of other chains (32% vs 4%; P
Assessing health impact assessment
Health impact assessment (HIA) seeks to expand evaluation of policy and programmes in all sectors, both private and public, to include their impact on population health. While the idea that the public’s health is affected by a broad array of social and economic policies is not new and dates back well over two centuries, what is new is the notion—increasingly adopted by major health institutions, such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the…
Professionalism, patient satisfaction and quality of health care
Reparations for Black American descendants of persons enslaved in the U.S. and their potential impact on Sars-CoV-2 transmission
Consumer Awareness of Fast-Food Calorie Information in New York City After Implementation of a Menu Labeling Regulation
Objectives. We assessed consumer awareness of menu calorie information at fast-food chains after the introduction of New York City's health code regulation requiring these chains to display food-item calories on menus and menu boards. Methods. At 45 restaurants representing the 15 largest fast-food chains in the city, we conducted cross-sectional surveys 3 months before and 3 months after enforcement began. At both time points, customers were ask…
Reproductive health and Aids prevention in sub-Saharan Africa
Reproduction is a dual commitment, but so often in much of the world, it is seen as wholly the woman's responsibility. She bears the burden not only of pregnancy and childbirth but also the threats from excessive child bearing, some responsibility for contraception, infertility investigation and often undiagnosed sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including AIDS. Failure to target men in reproductive health interventions has weakened the impact…
Associations between multiple indicators of discrimination and allostatic load among middle-aged adults
The objective of this paper is to examine associations between multiple measures of discrimination (i.e., everyday, lifetime, and appraised burden) and components of allostatic load (AL). We drew on pooled cross-sectional data from the Biomarker Project of the Midlife in the United States study (n = 2118). Ages ranged from 25 to 84 years and included mostly Black (n = 389) and white (n = 1598) adults. Quasi-Poisson models were fit to estimate pre…
Beyond Berets
The article discusses health activism in America in relation to the history of the Black Panther Party which was founded by social activists Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California in the 1960s. The effort to restore the image of the Black Panther Party to reflect its full legacy is examined, along with police violence in American history. According to the article, Black Panther Party clinics were part of a movement to deliver communit…
Lack of Oral Health Care for Adults in Harlem
Objectives. Profound and growing disparities exist in oral health among certain US populations. We sought here to determine the prevalence of oral health complaints among Harlem adults by measures of social class, as well as their access to oral health care. Methods. A population-based survey of adults in Central Harlem was conducted from 1992 to 1994. Two questions on oral health were included: whether participants had experienced problems with …
Uprooting Institutionalized Racism as Public Health Practice
AffiliationsBoth authors are with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, NY
Obesity
Prevalence and social correlates of cardiovascular disease risk factors in Harlem
OBJECTIVES: This study examined the prevalence, social correlates, and clustering of cardiovascular disease risk factors in a predominantly Black, poor, urban community. METHODS: Associations of risk factor prevalences with sociodemographic variables were examined in a population-based sample of 695 men and women aged 18 to 65 years living in Central Harlem. RESULTS: One third of the men and women were hypertensive, 48% of the men and 41% of the …
Documenting and Addressing the Health Impacts of Carceral Systems
Trends and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Gestational Diabetes Among Pregnant Women in New York City, 1990–2001
We analyzed gestational diabetes mellitus trends in New York City between 1990 and 2001 by using information obtained from birth certificates. Gestational diabetes diagnoses among women who delivered babies increased 46%, from 2.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]=2.5, 2.7) to 3.8% (95% CI=3.7, 3.9) of births. Prevalence was highest among South and Central Asian women (11%). Given risks for adverse fetal outcomes and maternal chronic diabetes, promp…
Public Health Advocacy
Practice Is the Purpose of Public Health
Bold Steps for the Health of Americans
The author expresses her opinion that more investment in public health agencies is needed to improve public health in the U.S. She explains the importance of taking an environmental approach to health. She offers suggestions to improve public health, including attention to school fitness programs to combat obesity and public works approaches such as construction of protected bicycle paths and walkways
Neighbourhood mortality inequalities in New York City, 1989–1991 and 1999–2001
Objectives: To examine whether inequalities in mortality across socioeconomically diverse neighbourhoods changed alongside the decline in mortality observed in New York City between 1990 and 2000. Design: Cross-sectional analysis of neighbourhood-level vital statistics. Setting: New York City, 1989–1991 and 1999–2001. Main results: In both poor and wealthy neighbourhoods, age-adjusted mortality for most causes declined between the time periods, a…
Diabetes is Epidemic
Ensuring a Public Health Impact of Programs to Reduce HIV Transmission From Mothers to Infants
Since 1999, many African governments have launched programs to offer short-course antiretroviral drug regimens to reduce mother-to child transmission of HIV. HIV testing in prenatal care is the gateway to these antiretroviral regimens. Pilot projects in Africa show an uptake of antiretroviral drugs in 8% to 50% of pregnant women presumed to be HIV infected; often, a minority of eligible women in care received these regimens. Use of lay counselors…
Socio-Economic Stress, Health and Child Nutritional Status in Zimbabwe at a Time of Economic Structural Adjustment
Leon A. Bijlmakers, Mary T. Bassett and David M. Sanders, Socio-economic Stress, Health and Child Nutritional Status in Zimbabwe at a Time of Economic Structural Adjustment: a three-year longitudinal study. Research report 105. Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, 1998, 127 pp., £6.95 (US 18.95), ISBN 91 7106 435 4. - Volume 71 Issue 3
Structural racism and diminished health returns on education among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon
Monitoring Deaths in Police Custody
Public Health Addresses Police Violence
Women and Aids in Zimbabwe
As the AIDS epidemic in Africa assumes major proportions, the need to understand the social context in which heterosexual transmission occurs takes on urgent importance. In this article we explore how the intersection of traditional culture with the colonial legacy and present-day political economy has influenced family structure and sexual relations, and particularly the social position of women. Drawing on Zimbabwe's historical experience, we s…
Acceptability of the female condom in Zimbabwe
An acceptability study of the female condom was carried out in Zimbabwe among sex workers (89), urban women attending a family planning clinic in Harare (84), and rural women (23). Their main reason for trying this new method was as protection from sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Over 50 per cent of the women in all three groups said that they and their partners liked the condom very much and preferred it to the male condom. Less …
Reproductive health and Aids prevention in sub-Saharan Africa
Reproduction is a dual commitment, but so often in much of the world, it is seen as wholly the woman's responsibility. She bears the burden not only of pregnancy and childbirth but also the threats from excessive child bearing, some responsibility for contraception, infertility investigation and often undiagnosed sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including AIDS. Failure to target men in reproductive health interventions has weakened the impact…
Professionalism, patient satisfaction and quality of health care
Prevalence and social correlates of cardiovascular disease risk factors in Harlem
OBJECTIVES: This study examined the prevalence, social correlates, and clustering of cardiovascular disease risk factors in a predominantly Black, poor, urban community. METHODS: Associations of risk factor prevalences with sociodemographic variables were examined in a population-based sample of 695 men and women aged 18 to 65 years living in Central Harlem. RESULTS: One third of the men and women were hypertensive, 48% of the men and 41% of the …
Correlates of HIV Test Results Seeking and Utilization of Partner Counseling Services in a Cohort of Male Factory Workers in Zimbabwe
Socio-Economic Stress, Health and Child Nutritional Status in Zimbabwe at a Time of Economic Structural Adjustment
Leon A. Bijlmakers, Mary T. Bassett and David M. Sanders, Socio-economic Stress, Health and Child Nutritional Status in Zimbabwe at a Time of Economic Structural Adjustment: a three-year longitudinal study. Research report 105. Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, 1998, 127 pp., £6.95 (US 18.95), ISBN 91 7106 435 4. - Volume 71 Issue 3
The Association Between Alcohol Use, Sexual Risk Behavior, and HIV Infection Among Men Attending Beerhalls in Harare, Zimbabwe
Ensuring a Public Health Impact of Programs to Reduce HIV Transmission From Mothers to Infants
Since 1999, many African governments have launched programs to offer short-course antiretroviral drug regimens to reduce mother-to child transmission of HIV. HIV testing in prenatal care is the gateway to these antiretroviral regimens. Pilot projects in Africa show an uptake of antiretroviral drugs in 8% to 50% of pregnant women presumed to be HIV infected; often, a minority of eligible women in care received these regimens. Use of lay counselors…
Lack of Oral Health Care for Adults in Harlem
Objectives. Profound and growing disparities exist in oral health among certain US populations. We sought here to determine the prevalence of oral health complaints among Harlem adults by measures of social class, as well as their access to oral health care. Methods. A population-based survey of adults in Central Harlem was conducted from 1992 to 1994. Two questions on oral health were included: whether participants had experienced problems with …
Assessing health impact assessment
Health impact assessment (HIA) seeks to expand evaluation of policy and programmes in all sectors, both private and public, to include their impact on population health. While the idea that the public’s health is affected by a broad array of social and economic policies is not new and dates back well over two centuries, what is new is the notion—increasingly adopted by major health institutions, such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the…
Public Health Advocacy
Practice Is the Purpose of Public Health
Smoking Among Deprived Populations
Lawlor and colleagues remind us that the reduction in cigarette smoking has been most widespread among the privileged,1 an observation that extends to the adoption of healthier habits as a response to many modifiable risk factors.2 To attribute this difference to ignorance and addiction, they argue, neglects the fact that the poor make judgments, as do the rich. The “lay epidemiology” hypothesis posits that the poor know that they face generally …
Obesity
Diabetes is Epidemic
Trends and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Gestational Diabetes Among Pregnant Women in New York City, 1990–2001
We analyzed gestational diabetes mellitus trends in New York City between 1990 and 2001 by using information obtained from birth certificates. Gestational diabetes diagnoses among women who delivered babies increased 46%, from 2.6% (95% confidence interval [CI]=2.5, 2.7) to 3.8% (95% CI=3.7, 3.9) of births. Prevalence was highest among South and Central Asian women (11%). Given risks for adverse fetal outcomes and maternal chronic diabetes, promp…
Neighbourhood mortality inequalities in New York City, 1989–1991 and 1999–2001
Objectives: To examine whether inequalities in mortality across socioeconomically diverse neighbourhoods changed alongside the decline in mortality observed in New York City between 1990 and 2000. Design: Cross-sectional analysis of neighbourhood-level vital statistics. Setting: New York City, 1989–1991 and 1999–2001. Main results: In both poor and wealthy neighbourhoods, age-adjusted mortality for most causes declined between the time periods, a…
Health for All in the 21st Century
Purchasing Behavior and Calorie Information at Fast-Food Chains in New York City, 2007
We surveyed 7318 customers from 275 randomly selected restaurants of 11 fast food chains. Participants purchased a mean of 827 calories, with 34% purchasing 1000 calories or more. Unlike other chains, Subway posted calorie information at point of purchase and its patrons more often reported seeing calorie infomation than patrons of other chains (32% vs 4%; P
Bold Steps for the Health of Americans
The author expresses her opinion that more investment in public health agencies is needed to improve public health in the U.S. She explains the importance of taking an environmental approach to health. She offers suggestions to improve public health, including attention to school fitness programs to combat obesity and public works approaches such as construction of protected bicycle paths and walkways
Consumer Awareness of Fast-Food Calorie Information in New York City After Implementation of a Menu Labeling Regulation
Objectives. We assessed consumer awareness of menu calorie information at fast-food chains after the introduction of New York City's health code regulation requiring these chains to display food-item calories on menus and menu boards. Methods. At 45 restaurants representing the 15 largest fast-food chains in the city, we conducted cross-sectional surveys 3 months before and 3 months after enforcement began. At both time points, customers were ask…
Advocacy
The article introduces the theme of the issue, that being public health advocacy. The author discusses health disparities among Black Americans and the relevance of public health advocacy to ameliorating that problem. The author discusses historical disparities in Black American morbidity and mortality
Of Personal Choice and Level Playing Fields
In this article the author reflects on poor nutrition and high rates of obesity and overweight which are seen in many countries across the globe in 2012 and on the factors which have led to the high rates of obesity and overweight. In the article the author offers her opinions on the role that governments can play in educating consumers about nutrition and in helping to protect consumers from unhealthy food and on the efforts that New York City M…
Treating Our Way Out of Aids
Medicine (40 works) · Environmental health (27 works) · Political science (20 works) · Public health (18 works) · Nursing (16 works) · Gerontology (15 works) · Demography (13 works) · Population (13 works) · Sociology (13 works) · Gerontology (12 works)