Place Is Power: Investing in Communities as a Systemic Leverage Point to Reduce Breast Cancer Disparities by Race

Matthew Jay Lyons, Senaida Fernandez Poole, Ross C. Brownson and Rodney Lyn
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Matthew Jay Lyons: WellStar College of Health and Human Services, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA 30144, USA
Senaida Fernandez Poole: Office of the President, California Breast Cancer Research Program, University of California, Oakland, CA 94607, USA
Ross C. Brownson: Prevention Research Center in St. Louis, Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
Rodney Lyn: School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 2, 1-13

Abstract: Racial disparities in breast cancer present a vexing and complex challenge for public health. A diverse array of factors contributes to disparities in breast cancer incidence and outcomes, and, thus far, efforts to improve racial equity have yielded mixed results. Systems theory offers a model that is well-suited to addressing complex issues. In particular, the concept of a systemic leverage point offers a clue that may assist researchers, policymakers, and interventionists in formulating innovative and comprehensive approaches to eliminating racial disparities in breast cancer. Naming systemic racism as a fundamental cause of disparities, we use systems theory to identify residential segregation as a key leverage point and a driver of racial inequities across the social, economic, and environmental determinants of health. We call on researchers, policymakers, and interventionists to use a systems-informed, community-based participatory approach, aimed at harnessing the power of place, to engage directly with community stakeholders in coordinating efforts to prevent breast cancer, and work toward eliminating disparities in communities of color.

Keywords: review paper; breast cancer; racism; health disparities; residential segregation; systems theory; community engagement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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