Black Women and Public Health: Strategies to Name, Locate, and Change Systems of Power (Suny in Black Women's Wellness)

__Black Women and Public Health__ creates an urgently needed interdisciplinary dialogue about issues of race, gender, and health. An enduring history of racism, sexism, and dehumanization of Black women's bodies has largely rendered the health needs of the Black community inaudible and invisible. Grounded in the lived experiences and expertise of Black women, this collection bridges gaps between researchers, practitioners, educators, and advocates. Black women's public health work is a regenerative practice--one that looks backward, inward, and forward to improve the quality of life for Black communities in the United States and beyond. The three dozen authors in this volume offer analysis, critique, and recommendations for overcoming longstanding and contemporary challenges to equity in public health practices. Contents 6 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction: Race, Gender, and Public Health: Social Justice and Wellness Work 12 Black Women’s Public Health Project: The Living Legacy of Byllye Avery 17 Editor Reflections: Collectively Defining the History, Practice, and Planning of Public Health 19 Sarita K. Davis: Framing Black Women and Public Health 20 The Public Health Crisis Among Black Women and Girls 22 The Origins of Public Health 23 Racism and the Public Health Agenda 24 The Link Between History and Black Women’s Contemporary Health Issues 26 Deanna J. Wathington: Social Constructs, Lived Experience, and Science 27 Leslie R. Hinkson: Ain’t I a Woman? 28 Stephanie Evans: Wellness as a Social Justice Issue 31 Conclusion: A Regenerative Framework for Building Community 34 References 36 Part I. Name Inequity 40 Chapter 1 Reversing the Dehumanization of Black Women 44 The Historical Timeline of Black Women as Less-Human Patients in Health Care 45 Societal Implications of Widespread Perceptions that Black Women Are Less Human 49 Conclusion: Leveraging Clinical Care as a Change Agent to Societal Perceptions of the Black Woman 53 References 55 Chapter 2 An Overview of the Past, Present, and Future of Black Women in Health Policy 62 Selection Criteria 63 Black Women in Health Policy: The Past 63 Black Women in Health Policy: The Present 66 Black Women in Health Policy: The Future 71 Conclusion 74 References 74 Chapter 3 The Maternal Mortality Crisis in the Black Community 78 Causes of Maternal Mortality—Biological, Medical, and Environmental 79 Biological Causes 79 Social Determinants of Health 81 Systemic Issues 82 Implicit Bias 83 Recommendations to Improve Care 85 Emerging Evidence 87 Conclusion 88 References 88 Chapter 4 Promoting Self-Care and Awareness of Stress, the Strong Black Woman Schema, and Mental Health among African American Women 92 Three Types of Stress and Related Impacts on African American Women 93 Impact of Gendered Racism and the Strong Black Woman Schema on African American Women’s Mental Health 95 Gendered Racism 95 Strong Black Woman Schema 96 Additional Strategies to Promote Self-Care and Awareness of Mental Health among African American Women 100 Conclusion 101 References 101 Part II. Locate Disparity 106 Practice among an Invisible Population 106 Note 110 Chapter 5 The Black Women’s Health Study: Working Together to Improve the Health of Black Women 112 Introduction 112 The Black Women’s Health Study 113 Design of the Study 113 Input from Black Women 115 Two Decades and Counting: A Selection of Research Findings from the Black Women’s Health Study1 115 Reproductive Health 115 Cancer 116 Obesity and Cardiometabolic Diseases 118 Autoimmune Diseases 120 Mortality 120 New Areas of Research in the Black Women’s Health Study 121 Mammographic Density 121 Cancer Risk Prediction 122 Cancer Survivorship 122 The Microbiome 122 Sleep 123 Aging 123 Issues of Ethics and Informed Consent 123 Summary 124 Coda 124 Note 125 References 125 Chapter 6 The Swelling Wave of Oppression: An Intersectional Study to Evaluate Health Challenges of Self-Identified Black Queer Women in the American South 136 The Necessity of Using an Intersectional Approach to Uncover the Health Challenges of Southern Black Queer Women 137 New Intersectional Framework: The Swelling Wave of Oppression 139 Complexities of Vacillating Black Queer Identity 142 Realities of Sexuality within the Christian Black Church in the American South 142 Limited Lessons from Maternal Figures 143 Limited Social Support Networks 144 Economic Strains to Queer Identity 145 Conclusion 146 References 148 Chapter 7 Rural Black Maternal Health in the Age of Digital Deserts 150 Understanding Black Maternal Health 152 Rural Maternal Health 154 Telehealth: A Tool to Improve Health Outcomes in Rural Communities 156 Broadband Access and Adoption in Rural Communities of Color 157 Proposed Solutions for Addressing Rural Black Maternal Health 161 Broadband Deployment and Affordability Policy Recommendations 164 Conclusion 167 References 167 Chapter 8 Pouring from a Leaking Cup: Informal Family Caregivers in the Black Community 174 Economic Value and Impact of Caregiver Support 175 Informal Family Caregivers across the Prostate Cancer Continuum of Care 176 Methodology 176 Reflexivity Statement 178 Findings 178 Population-Specific Programming 179 Support Preferences 179 Faith-Based Components 181 Age-Appropriate and Relationship-Specific Components 181 Accessible Support Services 181 Nonspiritual Counseling 181 Fatalism 182 Educational Resources 183 Discussion and Implications for Public Health Practice and Research 183 Conclusion 184 References 185 Part III. Act for Change 188 Note 190 Chapter 9 Black Women and Public Health in the UK 192 Introduction: The Development of Public Health Organizations in the UK 192 Relationship between Health Education and Health Promotion in the Mid-1980s 193 Relationship between Health Promotion and Public Health in the 1990s to 2000s 194 Black Women and Public Health in the UK 195 Nineteenth-Century Involvement of Black Women in Public Health: Mary Seacole 196 Postwar Migration of Caribbean Nurses 196 Health Promotion Specialists 197 Black Women Health Activists 198 Research Projects, Black Health Researchers, and Black Women Public Health Specialists 199 Conclusion: Recommendations for Future Work in Research, Policy, and Practice 201 References 202 Chapter 10 Enhancing Clinical Practice to Include Biomedical HIV Prevention for Black Women 206 History 207 HIV Incidence among Black Women 207 Strategies to Reduce HIV Incidence among Black Women 207 PrEP Efficacy to Date 208 Facilitators of and Barriers to PrEP Uptake for Black Women 209 Practice 211 The Practice of HIV Prevention through Behavioral Interventions 211 Changing HIV Prevention to Include PrEP 212 Salient Findings Demonstrating Feasibility of PrEP for Black Women 212 Planning 213 PrEP and Primary Care 213 Implementation Strategies for PrEP 214 PrEP Access in Diverse Settings 215 Conclusion 215 References 216 Chapter 11 Am I My Sister’s Mentor? Why Mentoring Underrepresented Minority Medical and Public Health Faculty Can Improve the Health of Black Women 224 Personal Reflection of Dr. Anderson 224 The State of Black Women 225 Economic 226 Health 227 A Closer Look at Public Health and Primary Care 229 The Current Numbers 230 Where Have All the Faculty Members Gone? 232 Why Mentoring Matters 235 Conclusion 237 References 240 Chapter 12 Stress and Black Women’s Health: Origins, Coping Strategies, and Implications for Policy and Practice 244 Stress: Definition and Physiology 244 Black Women and Stress: Cultural and Social Context 246 Frameworks Exploring Stress Coping in Black Women 247 Coping Strategies 248 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy 248 Mindfulness 249 Physical Activity 250 Healthy Eating 250 Implications for Policy and Practice 251 References 252 Chapter 13 Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda’s Yogic Journey: Creativity, Community, and Caretaking 258 Ashtanga: The Eight-Fold Path 259 Paschimottanasana: Stretch to the West 260 Tapasya: Through the Fire 260 Svasthya: Pathways to Health 262 Bhajans: The Power of Music 263 Sangha: The Beloved Community 264 Bhakti: For the Love of the Guru 264 Avatar: A Guide for the Future 266 Coda: The Fire This Time 267 References 268 Chapter 14 When Black Scholars Embrace Ourselves in Our Research, We Reclaim Our Power 272 Introduction 272 Public Health versus Other Disciplinary Methodologies 273 What We Know about the Treatment of the Black Female Body 278 The Effects of Stereotypes on the Sexual Health of Black Women 280 Respectability Politics and Stereotypes 281 My Research 284 Why Should the Personal Story and Professional Journey Be Told? 289 References 291 Afterword 296 Leading from the Black 298 Healing Doesn’t Have to Come through Validation from Those Who Hurt You 299 Contributors 304 Editors 304 Afterword 306 Authors 306 Artist Statement 322 Biography 323 Index 324 2022 CHOICE Outstanding Academic TitleBlack Women and Public Health creates an urgently needed interdisciplinary dialogue about issues of race, gender, and health. An enduring history of racism, sexism, and dehumanization of Black women's bodies has largely rendered the health needs of the Black community inaudible and invisible. Grounded in the lived experiences and expertise of Black women, this collection bridges gaps between researchers, practitioners, educators, and advocates. Black women's public health work is a regenerative practice—one that looks backward, inward, and forward to improve the quality of life for Black communities in the United States and beyond. The three dozen authors in this volume offer analysis, critique, and recommendations for overcoming longstanding and contemporary challenges to equity in public health practices. This volume creates an urgently needed interdisciplinary dialogue about issues of race, gender, and health. An enduring history of racism, sexism, and dehumanization of Black women's bodies has largely rendered the health needs of the Black community inaudible and invisible. Grounded in the lived experiences and expertise of Black women, this collection bridges gaps between researchers, practitioners, educators, and advocates. Black women's public health work is a regenerative practice--one that looks backward, inward, and forward to improve the quality of life for Black communities in the United States and beyond. The three dozen authors in this volume offer analysis, critique, and recommendations for overcoming longstanding and contemporary challenges to equity in public health practices. --From publisher description