Addressing Health Disparities and Health Equity Issues in Internal Medicine: Highlighting the intersection between environmental justice and health equity.

Introduction

In 2019, the American Public Health Association (APHA) released a policy brief titled “Addressing Environmental Justice to Achieve Health Equity,” highlighting the interplay between race, environmental toxins, and health disparities. However, opposing arguments have suggested that health disparities are solely a byproduct of individual behaviors or genetic differences. While the APHA brief addressed these counterpoints, a recent study illustrated that some physicians still hold these beliefs. Other physicians have argued that environmental racism should be regarded as a secondary diagnosis for populations disproportionately exposed to air pollution. This argument warrants further exploration because Black people are exposed to the highest levels of air pollution and have experienced the most air pollution-related deaths, according to a study by Stanford medicine researchers.

Discussion

Based on this evidence, the oral presentation will share interdisciplinary research from a dissertation project that analyzes the lived experience of Black residents who lived near U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works. Residents who live near this coke plant are exposed to the highest levels of air pollution within the Pittsburgh metropolitan area and the nation. Furthermore, the project illustrates how disproportionate exposure to air pollution impacts residents’ quality of life and exacerbates health inequity. Therefore, the presentation aims to emphasize the importance of environmental justice concerning health disparities and health equity issues in internal medicine. The presenter is a PhD Candidate in Africana Studies whose research focuses on the interplay between race, the environment, and health.