In response to growing health inequities driven by social determinants of health, such as food insecurity and housing instability, many pediatric and adult health systems have implemented interventions aimed at addressing patients’ and families’ social risks and needs.

For these interventions to be equitable and beneficial to patients, they must be grounded in an antiracist approach. An antiracist approach recognizes how policies and practices can promote or combat racism, and then deliberately designs and implements policies to create and sustain racial equity.

LDI Senior Fellows Aditi Vasan and George Dalembert, and colleague Arvin Garg, developed a useful framework to aid health systems in considering structural, institutional, interpersonal, and internalized racism in their social care programs and policies.

Racism at all levels must be identified as a root cause of social risk and a key factor in determining access to support; otherwise, social care interventions will fall short. Improving health outcomes for marginalized patients, families, and communities requires health systems to target the racist structures and policies driving inequities in health.


The study, “An Antiracist Approach to Social Care Integration,” was published in Pediatrics on December 7, 2023. Authors include Aditi Vasan, George Dalembert, and Arvin Garg.


Author

Kaday Kamara

Kaday Kamara

Policy Coordinator


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