The Impact of Discrimination as a Social Determinant of Health

Discrimination can harm both individual and communal health. This overview of current research shows the health impacts of discrimination against women, LGBT people, people of color, and more.

“Discrimination is a socially structured action that is unfair or unjustified and harms individuals and groups. Discrimination can be attributed to social interactions that occur to protect more powerful and privileged groups at the detriment of other groups. While not all stressful experiences negatively affect health, or occur because of discrimination, many do impact health and can be related to discrimination.”