Enhancing Equity in Genomics

Incorporating Measures of Structural Racism, Discrimination, and Social Determinants of Health

Bibliographic Data

ID20338460
AuthorsRamya Rajagopalan (0000-0003-0065-1471), Ramya M Rajagopalan, Matteo D’Antonio (0000-0001-5844-6433), Joan H Fujimura
Year2024
Volume54
IssueS2
PagesS31-S40
Publication date2024-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Hastings Center Report (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0093-0334 • E-ISSN: 1552-146X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/hast.4927
PMID39707937
OpenAlexW4405659811
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited84

The everyday harms of structural racism and discrimination, perpetuated through institutions, laws, policies, and practices, constitute social determinants of health, but measures that account for their debilitating effects are largely missing in genetic studies of complex diseases. Drawing on insights from the social sciences and public health, we propose critical methodologies for incorporating tools that measure structural racism and discrimination within genetic analyses. We illustrate how including these measures may strengthen the accuracy and utility of findings for diverse communities, clarify elusive relationships between genetics and environment in a racialized society, and support greater equity within genomics and precision health research. This approach may also support efforts to build and sustain vital partnerships with communities and with other fields of research inquiry, centering community expertise and lived experiences and drawing on valuable knowledge from practitioners in the social sciences and public health to innovate biomedical and genomic study designs aimed at community health priorities

Equity (law) · Health equity · Political science · Public health · Public relations · Racism · Social determinants of health · Sociology · BRCA gene mutations in cancer · Genetic Associations and Epidemiology · Medicine · Race, Genetics, and Society