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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Patricia Y. Miranda, MPH¹, Amy J. Schulz, PhD², Barbara Israel, DrPH², Graciela Mentz, PhD², Carmen A. Stokes, MSN, FNP³, and Srimathi Kannan, PhD⁴. (1) Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan, 1420 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, 734-763-0673, triciam@umich.edu, (2) Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan, 109 S Observatory, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, (3) Nursing Education, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, 4100 John R., Detroit, MI 48201-2013, (4) Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan, 109 S Observatory, Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Previous studies have shown that perceived unfair treatment has a significant association with psychosocial and mental health indicators after controlling for race, income and education. In this analysis we test the hypothesis that racial and ethnic differences in behavioral and biological risk factors for cardiovascular disease are mediated in part through racial and ethnic differences in exposure to unfair treatment and psychosocial distress in a sample of African American, white and Latino residents of Detroit, Michigan. We present findings from a community survey conducted by the Healthy Environments Partnership (HEP), a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project affiliated with the Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center. HEP's sample consists of 919 valid face-to-face interviews, has a mean age of 46 years, and is 56% African American, 18% white and 22% Latino. HEP engages community-based organizations, health service providers and academic institutions in examining and addressing racial disparities in health. We examine the extent to which racial and ethnic differences in psychosocial indicators and risk factors for cardiovascular disease are mediated by unfair treatment and psychological distress across respondents in the HEP community survey and the strength of the mediating relationships across these factors. Our findings suggest that exposure to unfair treatment is one of several pathways through which racial and ethnic disparities in risk factors for cardiovascular disease are produced. We discuss implications of our findings for CBPR interventions to promote the human right of racial equity in health.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to describe unfair treatment as one pathway mediating the relationship between race/ethnicity and risk factors for cardiovascular disease;
• Participants will be able to discuss implications for CBPR interventions to eliminate disparities.

Keywords: Community-Based Public Health, Urban Health

Related Web page: www.hepdetroit.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No