A Call for Papers: Systemic Racism and Health Security During COVID-19
The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has substantially damaged population health, social fabrics, economies, and health systems across the world. In the United States, many of these costs are overwhelmingly borne by racially marginalized populations. These groups report disproportionately higher levels of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality as a result of ineffective response efforts and decades-long failures to address longstanding inequities in access to healthcare and other social safety net programs. Peer-reviewed research that examines the root causes of racial inequities in COVID-19-associated morbidity and mortality—and the systems that perpetuate them—is urgently needed.
In its May/June 2021 issue, Health Security will be devoting an open access special feature to examining how systemic racism is manifested in the practice of health security in the United States and how it has affected preparedness for, responses to, and recovery from COVID-19. We seek original analyses of methods, programs and program implementation, research efforts, and systems approaches addressing systemic racism in US health security and epidemic response policymaking and practice. Narrative or conceptual reviews of specific policies related to systemic racism in health security are also welcome. Any racially marginalized population in the United States—including, but not limited to, Black, Latinx, Asian, American Indian, and Alaska Native populations—may be the focus of submitted manuscripts. Analyses of intersections between these groups and other dimensions of vulnerability—such as incarceration, statelessness, unemployment, or homelessness—as they relate to COVID-19 preparedness, detection, response, and recovery in the United States are also welcome. We especially encourage submissions from women, underrepresented minority scholars in health security, and scholars with disabilities.
Potential topics of interest include:
Health disparities
Surveillance and testing
Risk communication
Environmental injustice
Medical research
Public health and law enforcement
Harm reduction
Workforce
Social safety net measures