Abstract
Racial disparities in infant mortality have persisted, despite the overall decline in the United States’ overall infant mortality rate (IMR). The overall IMR of the entire United States (5.58 per 1000 live births) population masks significant disparities by race and ethnicity: the non-Hispanic Black population experienced an IMR of 10.8 followed by people from Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander populations at 9.4 and American Indians at 8.2. The non-Hispanic White and Asian populations in the United States have the lowest IMR at 4.6 and 3.6, respectively, as of 2018. A variety of factors that characterize minority populations, including experiences of racial discrimination, low income and education levels, poor residential environments, lack of medical insurance, and treatment at low-quality hospitals, demonstrate strong correlations with high infant mortality rates. Identifying, acknowledging, and addressing these disparities must be performed before engaging in strategies to mitigate them. Social determinants of health play a major role in health disparities, including in infant mortality. The study and implementation of programs to address neighborhood factors, education, healthcare access and quality, economic stability, and other personal and societal contexts will help us work towards a common goal of achieving health equity, regardless of racial/ethnic background.
Highlights
One of the most significant discoveries of the Human Genome Project [1] was that the human nucleotide sequence is nearly identical (99.9%) between any individual regardless of race
Social determinants may be categorized into economic stability, education, healthcare access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context [24]
We examine some of the known features of these determinants in their contributions to racial disparities in infant mortality
Summary
One of the most significant discoveries of the Human Genome Project [1] was that the human nucleotide sequence is nearly identical (99.9%) between any individual regardless of race. Race has been used throughout history to oppress or discriminate against groups, despite stemming from social constructs rather than biological roots. It is a categorization in which detection of both long-standing and emerging healthcare disparities can occur. Newborn care and outcomes are no exception This is evident in a key measure of a society’s health—the infant mortality rate (IMR). The IMR in the United States has decreased over the past decade, racial disparities have persisted. It is a moral and healthcare imperative for society to address and discover solutions to eliminate disparities within newborn care
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