Racism, and how it relates to health

Every Australian can help improve Indigenous health. Health equality for Indigenous Australians is achievable if healthcare services are improved AND racism is eradicated.

Racism has recently been recognised in a number of key reports as a threat to public health in Australia.

As a life stressor, racism directly and negatively:

• affects the cardiovascular system causing high blood pressure/hypertension and heart disease
• seriously affects mental health causing depression, anxiety and other psychological and psychiatric disorders
• contributes to low birth weight of newborns, as well as premature birth

Three out of four Indigenous Australians experience racism in their everyday lives.

One study in Western Australia found that 52% of urban residents and 69% of residents of a regional centre revealed prejudice against Aboriginal Australians. Nearly a quarter of the Indigenous children under 12 years surveyed had experienced racism in the previous 6 months. This was associated with increased cannabis and alcohol consumption in these under 12 year olds.

A key resource on racism and Indigenous health in Australia is a paper by the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health: Racism Report (PDF).

For some recent examples of racism in Australia go to Racism in Australia Facts.

Significant achievements in committing to change

Significant success has been achieved recently by the Close The Gap coalition in securing commitment from the Council of Australian Governments led by the Federal Government to set targets and work in partnership with Indigenous communities towards closing the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a generation. But closing the gap is not solely a responsibility for the government. It is a challenge for all Australians.

Institutionalised racism in Australia's health care system

Institutional racism is a form of racism that is present in political and social institutions.

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Report Card in 2007 found that Aboriginal people were worse off in a range of specific health areas. The AMA president said there are "still too many barriers" stopping Indigenous patients getting access to health care. Among the barriers were "institutionalised racism" - often unintentional, such as when doctors tried to target limited health resources at patients likely to get the most benefit from them, a policy that generally ensured Indigenous patients were left out.

For more information, read the AMA's comment on Institutionalised Inequity (PDF). We also recommend you read Beyond bandaids: exploring the underlying social determinants of Aboriginal health: papers from the Social Determinants of Aboriginal Health Workshop, July 2004.

Further information

If you are interested in reading research on the topic of racism and health, start with these resources:

• Racism undermines health (PDF 424k) - The Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health.
• Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health, The Impact of Racism on Indigenous Health in Australia and Aotearoa: Towards a Research Agenda (PDF).
• A systematic review of empirical research on self-reported racism and health - Paradies, Y. (2006b). International Journal of Epidemiology 35(4), 888–901.
• Birth Outcomes for Arabic-named Women in California Before and After September 11. - Lauderdale,D.S. (2006). Demography, 43(1), 185-201.
• Self-Reported Experiences of Racial Discrimination and Black-White Differences in Preterm and Low-Birthweight Deliveries: The CARDIA Study - Mustillo,S., Krieger,N., Gunderson,E.P., Sidney,S., McCreath,H., & Kiefe,C.I. (2004). Am J Public Health, 94(12), 2125-2131.
• Australian Medical Association Report Card 2007 - Institutionalised Inequity (PDF)
• It's enough to make you sick: the impact of racism on the health of Aboriginal Australians - Larson, Ann; Gillies, Marisa; Howard, Peter J. and Coffin, Juli. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, v.31, no.4, Aug 2007: 322-329
• Perceived racism and blood pressure: a review of the literature and conceptual and methodological critique - Brondolo,E., Rieppi,R., Kelly,K.P., & Gerin,W. (2003). Ann.Behav.Med, 25(1), 55-65.
• Physiological responses to racism and discrimination: an assessment of the evidence - Harrell, J. P., Hall, S. and Taliaferro, J. (2003). American Journal of Public Health 93(2), 243–248.
• Racial Discrimination and the Physical Health of Black Americans: A Review of the Literature on Community Studies of Race and Health - Hill,C.V., Njai,R.S., Neighbors,H., Williams-Flournoy,D.F., & Jackson,J.S. (2003). African American Research Perspectives, 9(1), 10-23.
• 2007 Achieving health equity: from root causes to fair outcomes, Interim Statement, Commission on Social Determinants of Health, World Health Organisation, Geneva, Switzerland.

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The Racism Makes Me Sick campaign is running in collaboration with The Body Shop, which is promoting the campaign from 21 April – 12 May 2008 as part of their commitment to defending human rights and promoting Reconciliation in Australia.