How racism and discrimination at personal, neighborhood, and policy levels affect family health over time
Multi-level predictors of structural racism and discrimination and associations with health and well-being across the life course in diverse families
This project looks at how experiences of racism and discrimination at many levels relate to physical, mental, and emotional health in diverse families from childhood through adulthood.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Minnesota NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Minneapolis, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11262261 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you join, researchers will follow diverse families over several years to see how racism and discrimination affect well-being across the life course. They will collect surveys, short real‑time reports on phones (ecological momentary assessment), biological samples, and neighborhood location data (GIS) to measure experiences at individual, neighborhood, institutional, and policy levels. The team will include participants from urban and rural sites and look at mental, physical, and behavioral health outcomes for children, teens, and adults. Findings will be used to identify mechanisms and points for interventions or policy changes to reduce harms from structural racism.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are people from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds (including Black/African American families) across ages—from children to adults—who live in participating urban or rural areas and are willing to complete surveys, short phone reports, and provide biological samples over time.
Not a fit: People who are not part of the sampled populations, are unwilling to provide follow‑up information or biological samples, or who need immediate clinical treatment are unlikely to receive direct benefit from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could point to specific targets for programs or policies that reduce health harms from racism and improve mental and physical health in affected communities.
How similar studies have performed: Prior research has linked discrimination to poorer health in adults, but most work is cross‑sectional; this multi‑level, longitudinal approach is more novel and less extensively tested.
Where this research is happening
Minneapolis, United States
- University of Minnesota — Minneapolis, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Fertig, Angela Rice — University of Minnesota
- Study coordinator: Fertig, Angela Rice
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.