Generational Impacts of 1930s Housing Discrimination and the Imperative Need for the Healthy Start Initiative to Address Structural Racism

Authors

Brittney Butler, The Ohio State University, Division of EpidemiologyFollow
Michael Outrich, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity
Jessica Roach, Restoring Our Own Through Transformation
Arthur James

Keywords

Redlining; HOLC assessment; Infant Mortality; Healthy Start Initiative; Structural Racism; Maternal Morbidity; Maternal Mortality

Disciplines

Health Policy | Maternal and Child Health | Public Health

Abstract

For nearly three decades, Healthy Start Initiative(HSI) has served communities with high rates of adverse pregnancy outcomes--with the goal to lower them by 50%. Despite a large focus on social determinants of health, HSI has narrowly addressed racism. The effects of legal housing discrimination continue to be felt and have profound implications for pregnancy. To understand the historical context of racism in these communities, we geospatially evaluated the relationship between HSI service areas and Home-Owners Loan Corporation(HOLC) graded maps. Using data from John Snow Inc, National Healthy Start Association, and Mapping Inequality we found that 73 of 100 communities served by HSI were subject to anti-Black housing discrimination. For majority, over 60% of the HOLC-assessed areas in the service areas were red or yellow graded. Given this we propose three programmatic shifts that HSI can implement to address structural racism and broaden their policy and advocacy efforts in the communities they serve.

Recommended Citation

Butler, Brittney; Outrich, Michael; Roach, Jessica; and James, Arthur (2020) "Generational Impacts of 1930s Housing Discrimination and the Imperative Need for the Healthy Start Initiative to Address Structural Racism," Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice: Vol. 13: Iss. 3, Article 4.
Available at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/jhdrp/vol13/iss3/4