Media teleconference sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Health Equity in Real Time with COVID-19: 
Harvard’s David Williams On What Research Says About Race and Health And How COVID-19 Has Exacerbated Inequities

Every day, new data is emerging on how COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting communities of color no matter which state you live in. For researchers who have been studying the link between race and health, this is not news. COVID-19 didn’t create these problems. Research has consistently shown wide and persistent differences in health among racial and ethnic groups and the evidence is clear that racism, discrimination, poverty and other social and environmental factors such as access to healthy foods, good schools, affordable housing and clean air influence how well and long someone lives. 

To help journalists report on the science behind structural racism and health, David Williams, Ph.D., the country’s most cited social scientist whose research career has focused on this issue will be available to answer questions on Wednesday, April 15. Williams is professor of public health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and professor of African and African American Studies and of Sociology at Harvard University.

Williams can answer these questions:  

• What does the science tell us about the role that residential segregation and discrimination play in health and longevity? 
• What are the specific health impacts of discrimination and racism that increase vulnerability to diseases like COVID-19?
• How concentration of negative neighborhood conditions like poverty and violence can produce an environment that is detrimental to health, educational success and living the so-called American Dream. 

Speakers:

• David Williams, Ph.D., one of the country’s most cited social scientist who focuses on the link between race and health. He is a professor of public health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and professor of African and African American Studies and of Sociology at Harvard University.

Moderator: Nicole Bronzan, senior communications officer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation