Journal
JAMA-JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
Volume 291, Issue 24, Pages 2985-2989Publisher
AMER MEDICAL ASSOC
DOI: 10.1001/jama.291.24.2985
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Funding
- NHGRI NIH HHS [R01 HG002191, K01 HG002299, R01 HG002207, R01-HG02207-01, K01 HG002883, 5R01HG002191-03, R01 HG002189-01, 5K01HG002299-04, R01 HG002189-03, R01 HG02189-03, 1K01HG002883-01, R01 HG002189-02] Funding Source: Medline
- NIDA NIH HHS [R01 DA014577, R01 DA014577-01A1] Funding Source: Medline
- NIEHS NIH HHS [5R01ES010830-03] Funding Source: Medline
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Alleviating health disparities in the United States is a goal with broad support. Medical research undertaken to achieve this goal typically adopts the well-established perspective that racial discrimination and poverty are the major contributors to unequal health status. However, the suggestion is increasingly made that genetic research also has a significant role to play in alleviating this problem, which likely overstates the importance of genetics as a factor in health disparities. Overemphasis on genetics as a major explanatory factor in health disparities could lead researchers to miss factors that contribute to disparities more substantially and may also reinforce racial stereotyping, which may contribute to disparities in the first place. Arguments that promote genetics research as a way to help alleviate health disparities are augmented by several factors, including research funding initiatives and the distinct demographic patterns of health disparities in the United States.
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