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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Michael D. Byrd, PhD, MSW, MPH, Director, Bureau of Community Health and Chronic Disease Prevention, SC Department of Health and Environmental Control, 1777 St. Julian Place, Columbia, SC 29204, 803-545-4481, byrdmd@dhec.sc.gov, Khosrow Heidari, SC DHEC, 1777 St Julian Place, Columbia, SC 29204, and Jennifer Chiprich, PhD, PHSIS, SC DHEC, 2600 Bull St, Columbia, SC 29201.

We plan to examine the concept of “privilege” using the Behavior Risk Factors Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. The purpose is to study the health outcomes of those self-identified as black but who are identified by others as white (privileged). In 2004 BRFSS administered in South Carolina a racial identification item asked “How do other people usually classify you in this country?” Only 1.5 % of respondents self identified as white indicated that other people misclassified them, while 3.5 % of African Americans indicated that other people misclassified them.

We examined the CVD risk factors in South Carolina using the 2004 BRFSS data. We found the classic social gradient or the inverse relationship between risk factors or disease conditions and socioeconomic indicators even when we control for race. Lavist and others suggest that this might be interpreted that race is not the underlying determinant of racial disparities.

This study will improve our understanding of the effect of social class and social construct of race on health.

Learning Objectives: