CDN racism

Clinical Directors Network, Inc. (CDN) is a not-for-profit network that supports community-based health centers, including their patients, practitioners and organizations. A community-based health care center is one that is committed to improving the overall health of individuals, families and communities by focusing on their primary medical, dental and/or behavioral well-being. We exist to advocate for meeting the health needs of underserved populations while providing access to high quality health care and greater social justice for all. more>

CLINICAL DIRECTORS NETWORK
&
ST. JOHN 'S UNIVERSITY

SOCIAL STRESS, ETHNIC DISCRIMINATION AND BLOOD PRESSURE PROJECT

Project Background and Goals:

This four-year project, funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), will examine the relationship between ethnic discrimination and ambulatory blood pressure (ABP). The study will also assess the potential mediating effects of anger coping and the potential moderating effects of socioeconomic status (SES) on the relationship of perceived discrimination to ABP.

The Project Aims are to test the following hypotheses:

• Perceived exposure to ethnic discrimination is positively associated with average ABP

• Anger-coping mediates the relationship of perceived ethnic discrimination to ABP

• Socioeconomic status (SES) moderates the relationship of perceived discrimination to anger-coping and ABP

A multi-site sample of 720 American-born Black and Latino men and women will be recruited from CDN-member Community Health Centers. Participants will wear an ambulatory blood pressure monitor for 24 hours, and questionnaires will be administered to participants in order to assess past exposure to ethnic/racial discrimination. Diaries completed at the time of each ABP reading will be used to identify negative and/or potentially discriminatory interactions occurring on the day of testing.

Different styles of coping, including characteristic styles of coping and episode-specific strategies for coping with discrimination, will be investigated. Demographic and personality variables that are likely to influence perceptions of discrimination will be examined and controlled. Relationships between perceived ethnic discrimination, coping and ABP will be assessed through the use of structural equation modeling. Further analysis will evaluate the association of gender, SES, and race/ethnicity to the use of various styles and strategies for coping with ethnic discrimination. The effects of these characteristics on the relationship between coping and ABP will also be examined. Results of the study will have implications for theoretical models regarding the relationship of psychosocial stress to risk for hypertension, as well as the development of behavioral interventions to reduce racial/ethnic disparities in health.

PROJECT TIME FRAME : June 1, 2003 – May 31, 2007

# OF PARTICIPATING CENTERS : Six (6)

FUNDING SOURCES: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

TCNY Tool | Webcast Production Services | Publication | CE Programs | eLearning