No abstract

Little is known about Black-White health inequalities in Canada or the applicability of competing explanations for them. To address this gap, we used nine cycles of the Canadian Community Health Survey to analyze multiple health outcomes in a sample of 3,127 Black women, 309,720 White women, 2,529 Black men and 250,511 White men. Adjusting for age, marital status, urban/rural residence and immigrant status, Black women and men were more likely than their White counterparts to report diabetes and hypertension, Black women were less likely than White women to report cancer and fair/poor mental health and Black men were less likely than White men to report heart disease. These health inequalities persisted after controlling for education, household income, smoking, physical activity and body-mass index. We conclude that high rates of diabetes and hypertension among Black Canadians may stem from experiences of racism in everyday life, low rates of heart disease and cancer among Black Canadians may reflect survival bias and low rates of fair/poor mental health among Black Canadian women represent a mental health paradox similar to the one that exists for African Americans in the United States.

Mental health challenges are the leading health issue facing youth globally. To better respond to this health challenge, experts advocate for a population health approach inclusive of mental health promotion; yet this area remains underdeveloped. Further, while there is growing emphasis on youth-engaged research and intervention design, evidence of the outcomes and impacts are lacking. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to addressing these gaps, presenting findings from the Social Networking Action for Resilience (SONAR) study, an exploration of youth-driven mental health promotion in a rural community in British Columbia, Canada. Mixed methods including pre- and post-intervention surveys (n = 175) and qualitative interviews (n = 10) captured the outcomes and impacts of the intervention on indicators of mental health, the relationship between level of engagement and benefit, and community perceptions of impact. Findings demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of youth engaged research and intervention at an individual and community-level.

Inspired by Bourdieu's theories on various forms of capital, conversions among them, and the fields (social spaces) delineated by possession of them, the authors investigate distinct and interconnected effects of cultural, economic, and social capitals on risk of mortality. Using 35 years of longitudinal data from the Alameda County Study (n = 6,157), they created discrete-time hazard models to predict all-cause mortality from educational attainment (institutionalized cultural capital), household income (economic capital), and different forms of personal ties (social capital). The results show that education, income, having three or more close friends, regularity of church attendance, and participation in social/recreational groups were all negatively and significantly associated with risk of mortality. Income mediated a significant portion of the education effect. None of the personal ties variables mediated the effects of education or income. Relative composition of the sum total of education and income did not have an effect. Lastly, examination of statistical interactions between capitals determined that protective effects of church attendance and participation in community betterment groups applied only to non-wealthy people. These findings speak to the structure of the U.S. social space within which health-delimiting relationally defined social classes may be made manifest.

Intersectional feminist scholars emphasize how overlapping systems of oppression structure gender inequality, but in focusing on the gendered, classed, and racialized bases of stratification, many often overlook disability as an important social category in determining economic outcomes. This is a significant omission given that disability severely limits opportunities and contributes to cumulative disadvantage. We draw from feminist disability and intersectional theories to account for how disability intersects with gender, race, and education to produce economic insecurity. The findings from our analyses of 2015 American Community Survey data provide strong empirical support for hierarchies of disadvantage, where women and racial minority groups with disabilities and less education experience the highest poverty levels, report the lowest total income, and have a greater reliance on sources outside the labor market for economic security. By taking disability into account, our study demonstrates how these multiple characteristics lead to overlapping oppressions that become embedded and reproduced within the larger social structure.