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Dr Yin Paradies is an
Aboriginal-Anglo-Asian Australian from the Northern Territory. He
has worked in Indigenous health research since 1995 and is
currently a postdoctoral research fellow with the Menzies
School of Health Research, based at the Centre for Health and
Society, The University of Melbourne. His research interests
include the health effects of racism and stress, race and culture
in public health research and anti-racism policy and practice. He
has taught at the postgraduate level in epidemiology,
biostatistics, demography and multicultural competence for public
health practitioners. Yin has received a range of awards including
a Fulbright scholarship to study at the University of California,
Berkeley, and the Australia Day Council’s 2002 Young Achiever
of the Year for the Northern Territory.
Abstract
Yin Paradies and Joan Cunningham
Menzies School of Health Research, Charles Darwin University and
The University of Melbourne
There is emerging evidence of a detrimental
effect of self-reported racism on the health of minority
populations around the world, but little information about the
experiences of Indigenous populations.
This project undertakes the first epidemiological
assessment of the relationship between self-reported racism and
various health outcomes for Indigenous Australians. The 31-item
Measure of Indigenous Racism Experiences (MIRE) was developed and
administered to a subset of 312 Indigenous people aged 15 years and
over who participated in the DRUID Study, an investigation of
diabetes and related conditions among urban Indigenous people in
the Darwin region. This cross-sectional study included the
collection of blood and urine samples, clinical and anthropometric
measurements and administration of questionnaires relating to
health status and socio-demographic, psychosocial and behavioral
characteristics. The MIRE assessed self-reported inter-personal,
internalised and systemic racism, together with
cognitive/behavioral responses and affective/somatic reactions to
this racism.
Between 25% and 45% of participants reported
experiencing inter-personal racism in each of nine settings, with
70% reporting racism in at least one of these settings.
Psychometric assessment of the MIRE component scales indicated a
good fit with a priori theoretical constructs. Self-reported racism
as measured by the MIRE was found to be strongly related to
depressive symptoms (CES-D) and poor general mental health (SF-12
MCS). Further analyses suggested that this relationship may be
mediated by stress and by affective reactions to racism
experiences.
Conclusion: These results are largely consistent with previous
findings in other minority populations elsewhere. This study
highlights the impact that experiences of racism can have on
already disadvantaged populations, and the importance of minimising
exposure to this often-overlooked health risk factor.
Biography and abstract taken from the program of the
NT Top End Showcase held in
Darwin, June 2006
Related Links:
Racism
and Health: Setting the Research Agenda (2007-2008)
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