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Dissertation
Sundown towns and contemporary maternal-infant health: an interdisciplinary mixed-methods analysis of structural racism and its public health legacy in the Midwest
University of Iowa
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
Autumn 2023
DOI: 10.25820/etd.006840
Abstract
Structural racism is a determinant of health and a fundamental cause of racial disparities in health. This dissertation employs an interdisciplinary, mixed-methods approach to investigate the impact of historical structural racism, as exemplified by sundown towns, on contemporary health outcomes, with a particular focus on birth outcomes. The initial paper elucidates the utility of sundown towns as a metric for assessing structural racism, drawing parallels to the historical practice of Homeowners Loan Corporation (HOLC) redlining. Subsequently, an in-depth case study of sundown towns in the state of Iowa provides a nuanced exploration of this phenomenon in an understudied Midwestern context. The third paper in this series employs multilevel logistic regression to analyze the relationship between multiple measures of sundown town exposure on Black-white disparities in maternal morbidity, preterm birth and low birth weight for all birthing women racialized as Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, Asian, Native Hawaiian, and another race compared to white women in Iowa as well as an additional analysis only including birthing women racialized as Black. Collectively, these scholarly papers contribute significantly to the academic discourse on structural racism, offering a framework for researchers dedicated to understanding its long-term implications on health equity, with particularly emphasis on birth outcomes.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Sundown towns and contemporary maternal-infant health: an interdisciplinary mixed-methods analysis of structural racism and its public health legacy in the Midwest
- Creators
- Leia Danae Belt
- Contributors
- Shannon L Watkins (Advisor)Steven Hitlin (Advisor)Paris Adkins-Jackson (Committee Member)Whitney Zahnd (Committee Member)Nicole Novak (Committee Member)Margaret Carrel (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Interdisciplinary Studies
- Date degree season
- Autumn 2023
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- DOI
- 10.25820/etd.006840
- Number of pages
- x, 138 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2023 Leia Danae Belt
- Language
- English
- Date submitted
- 12/04/2023
- Description illustrations
- illustrations, tables, maps, portrait
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 123-138).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
- Structural racism has an impact on health. This dissertation uses a range of methods to analyze and apply the concept of sundown towns in assessing the impact of structural racism on health outcomes, focusing on birth outcomes. The first paper delves into how sundown towns can serve as a measure of structural racism, akin to Homeowners Loan Corporation (HOLC) redlining. The second paper presents a detailed case study of sundown towns in Iowa, offering insights into this phenomenon in a less-studied Midwestern context. In the third paper, I use multilevel logistic regression to examine the relationship between exposure to sundown towns and contemporary birth outcomes. Collectively, these papers aim to provide valuable resources for researchers interested in exploring the enduring effects of structural racism on health equity, with a specific emphasis on birth outcomes.
- Academic Unit
- Interdisciplinary Studies Program
- Record Identifier
- 9984546648202771
Metrics
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