Dismantling Institutional Racism: The Role of Behavioral Science

Abstract

Institutionalized racism embeds our systems of healthcare delivery and medical education. This produces racial healthcare disparities which have been shown to severely impact both physical and behavioral health outcomes. Efforts to address institutionalized racism often focus on individualized efforts directed towards the healthcare workforce. However, more effective system level approaches are emerging. The behavioral health sciences can play a role in dismantling institutionalized racism by providing the evidence needed to understand effects on individuals and develop targeted system level approaches.