Special Interest Group Meeting VII: SPR Diversity Network Committee (DNC), Addressing structural and interpersonal racism to reduce health disparities

Reducing health disparities across racial/ethnic groups is a prominent goal in prevention science. Race predicts physical and behavioral health and health behaviors, even when controlling for income and education. Exposure to structural and interpersonal racism may partially explain this. However, there has been minimal documentation of efforts to address racism as a part of interventions designed to reduce health disparities. Unfortunately, existing approaches may fail to address the underlying causes of health disparities, weakening their ability to make sustainable change. There has been also little research on the effectiveness of policies designed to reduce health disparities by reducing structural racism (e.g., guidance to remove “zero tolerance” policies in schools). The goal of this special interest group will be to explore intervention strategies designed to reduce racism at the interpersonal and structural levels. The discussion will focus on gaps in prevention science and directions for future research.