CHRISTINA "CHRIS" BIJOU
How Local and State Policies Perpetuate Health Disparities
Given the systemic nature of inequality in the United States, it is important to identify the structural factors that create and perpetuate the health disparities we to study to isolate potential solutions for rectification. This area of my research investigates the role that state and federal policies (or lack thereof) play in creating or perpetuating existing health disparities, particularly those based on race and gender.
Related Research
Ain't I a Woman?: Structural Influences on Black Women's Health*
In progress
Description: Due to the combined effects of racism and sexism, Black women in the U.S. have a unique health experience. Compared to white women, Black women have higher rates of mortality and disability, poorer physical health, and shorter life expectancies. Similarly, Black women have poorer physical health and more functional disabilities when compared to Black men. Previous research has established a link between state-level inequalities and gender- and race-based health disparities. However, the current literature on state-level inequalities and health disparities is limited because these studies: a) examine health differences based on either race or gender, rather than both race and gender; b) investigate health outcomes cross-sectionally, rather than longitudinally and; c) focus on health outcomes during young adulthood, among women of reproductive age, or at advanced ages. This project, Ain't I a Woman?: Structural Influences on Black Women’s Health, examines how state-level inequalities based on both race and gender influence Black women’s health outcomes at midlife. Midlife is a crucial period in the life course with important implications for health and wellbeing during later years. By focusing on Black women’s midlife health outcomes, this project seeks to identify how (and if) state-level racial and gender inequalities shape Black women’s health during midlife and into advanced ages.
*dissertation project