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Disentangling race and socioeconomic status: A key to understanding health inequalities

  • Conceptual Foundations of Health Disparities Research
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Abstract

This article addresses one of the most vexing problems facing health disparities researchers, the confounding of race and socioeconomic status. This article does the following: (1) it outlines the magnitude of confounding between race and socioeconomic status; (2) it demonstrates problems caused by this confounding; (3) it examines the degree to which race disparities are a function of socioecomic status; and (4) it discusses considerations for advancing research on health disparities after accounting for the confounding of race and socioeconomic status.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Health Disparities Solutions, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 North Broadway, 441, 21205, Baltimore, MD

    Thomas A. LaVeist PhD

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  1. Thomas A. LaVeist PhD
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Correspondence to Thomas A. LaVeist PhD.

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LaVeist, T.A. Disentangling race and socioeconomic status: A key to understanding health inequalities. J Urban Health 82 (Suppl 3), iii26–iii34 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/jti061

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jurban/jti061

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