Racism-related factors contribute to poorer health and higher mortality rates among Blacks compared to other racial groups. However, methods to measure racism and monitor its associations with health at the population-level have remained elusive.
In this study, we investigated the utility of a previously developed Internet search-based proxy of area racism as a predictor of Black mortality rates. Area racism was the proportion of Google searches containing the “N-word” in 196 designated market areas (DMAs). Area racism remained significantly associated with the all-cause Black mortality rate. These findings are congruent with studies documenting the deleterious impact of racism on health among Blacks. Our study contributes to evidence that racism shapes patterns in mortality and generates racial disparities in health.
Results from our study indicate that living in an area characterized by a one standard deviation greater proportion of racist Google searches is associated with an 8.2% increase in the all-cause mortality rate among Blacks. This effect estimate amounts to over 30,000 deaths among Blacks annually nationwide. These findings indicate that area racism, as indexed by the proportion of Google searches containing the “N-word”, is significantly associated with not only the all-cause Black mortality rate, but also Black-White disparities in mortality.
Read More: National Center for Biotechnology Information
Racism-related factors contribute to poorer health and higher mortality rates among Blacks
