COVID-19 and Health Disparities: Structural Evil Unmasked

Background: Incidence and mortality from COVID-19 are starkly elevated in poor, minority and marginalized communities. These differences reflect longstanding disparities in income, housing, air quality, preexisting health status, legal protections, and access to health care. The COVID-19 pandemic an...

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Autores principales:	Philip J. Landrigan, Lilian Ferrer, James Keenan SJ
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Ubiquity Press 2021
Materias:	Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/ece3a9d42d73467bbf3ef631e4f3f416
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:ece3a9d42d73467bbf3ef631e4f3f4162021-12-02T15:36:52ZCOVID-19 and Health Disparities: Structural Evil Unmasked2214-999610.5334/aogh.3225https://doaj.org/article/ece3a9d42d73467bbf3ef631e4f3f4162021-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://annalsofglobalhealth.org/articles/3225https://doaj.org/toc/2214-9996Background: Incidence and mortality from COVID-19 are starkly elevated in poor, minority and marginalized communities. These differences reflect longstanding disparities in income, housing, air quality, preexisting health status, legal protections, and access to health care. The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences have made these ancient disparities plainly visible. Methodology: As scholars in Catholic research universities committed to advancing both scientific knowledge and social justice, we examined these disparities through the lenses of both epidemiology and ethics. Findings: We see these widening disparities as not only as threats to human health, societal stability, and planetary health, but also as moral wrongs - outward manifestations of unrecognized privilege and greed. They are the concrete consequences of policies that promote structural violence and institutionalize racism. Recommendations: We encourage governments to take the following three scientific and ethical justified actions to reduce disparities, prevent future pandemics, and advance the common good: (1) Invest in public health systems; (2) Reduce economic inequities by making health care affordable to all; providing education, including early education, to all children; strengthening environmental and occupational safeguards; and creating more just tax structures; and (3) Preserve our Common Home, the small blue planet on which we all live.Philip J. LandriganLilian FerrerJames Keenan SJUbiquity PressarticleInfectious and parasitic diseasesRC109-216Public aspects of medicineRA1-1270ENAnnals of Global Health, Vol 87, Iss 1 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270
spellingShingle	Infectious and parasitic diseases RC109-216 Public aspects of medicine RA1-1270 Philip J. Landrigan Lilian Ferrer James Keenan SJ COVID-19 and Health Disparities: Structural Evil Unmasked
description	Background: Incidence and mortality from COVID-19 are starkly elevated in poor, minority and marginalized communities. These differences reflect longstanding disparities in income, housing, air quality, preexisting health status, legal protections, and access to health care. The COVID-19 pandemic and its economic consequences have made these ancient disparities plainly visible. Methodology: As scholars in Catholic research universities committed to advancing both scientific knowledge and social justice, we examined these disparities through the lenses of both epidemiology and ethics. Findings: We see these widening disparities as not only as threats to human health, societal stability, and planetary health, but also as moral wrongs - outward manifestations of unrecognized privilege and greed. They are the concrete consequences of policies that promote structural violence and institutionalize racism. Recommendations: We encourage governments to take the following three scientific and ethical justified actions to reduce disparities, prevent future pandemics, and advance the common good: (1) Invest in public health systems; (2) Reduce economic inequities by making health care affordable to all; providing education, including early education, to all children; strengthening environmental and occupational safeguards; and creating more just tax structures; and (3) Preserve our Common Home, the small blue planet on which we all live.
format	article
author	Philip J. Landrigan Lilian Ferrer James Keenan SJ
author_facet	Philip J. Landrigan Lilian Ferrer James Keenan SJ
author_sort	Philip J. Landrigan
title	COVID-19 and Health Disparities: Structural Evil Unmasked
title_short	COVID-19 and Health Disparities: Structural Evil Unmasked
title_full	COVID-19 and Health Disparities: Structural Evil Unmasked
title_fullStr	COVID-19 and Health Disparities: Structural Evil Unmasked
title_full_unstemmed	COVID-19 and Health Disparities: Structural Evil Unmasked
title_sort	covid-19 and health disparities: structural evil unmasked
publisher	Ubiquity Press
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/ece3a9d42d73467bbf3ef631e4f3f416
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COVID-19 and Health Disparities: Structural Evil Unmasked

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