Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Race categorizations are worsening health inequities for the South West Asian North African (SWANA) communities

Guleer Shahab, MPH
Policy
March 16, 2023
Share
Tweet
Share

The Office of Management and Budget is requesting members of the public to provide feedback on a proposal from the Biden Administration to add Middle-Eastern North African (MENA) to the 2030 U.S. Census. If the reforms pass, it would be a major victory for Middle-eastern Americans who have long campaigned for their own checkbox.

For nearly 100 years, South West Asian North African (SWANA) Americans like myself, known as Middle-Eastern, have been told to self-identify as white across administrative data. Despite the growing SWANA community making up at least 4 percent of Americans, SWANA Americans remain mostly invisible in health care data systems.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in data and research as drivers of health inequities. While serving as a data analyst for my state’s Department of Health, this issue became particularly more alarming when pre-vaccine outbreaks would occur in SWANA communities. Little was known about the unique barriers to social determinants of health or how to contain COVID-19 best and protect the community.

In Canada, SWANA is identified as “Arab, Middle-Eastern, and West Asian,” and a recently published study indicated this group has higher rates of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations than their white counterparts. The findings further emphasize the importance of disaggregate and inclusive health data to include underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities systematically.

Public policy and government decisions use insights from large data sets to make pertinent and strategic decisions. How are inclusive and equitable decisions made if SWANA is not classified in secondary health data sources? Despite the aggregation of SWANA with White, there is growing research indicating SWANA have distinct health and social patterns, including higher prevalence of metabolic disorders and cardiovascular disease, lower birth weight, depressive symptoms, food insecurity, barriers to accessing health care, fear of deportation, and increased political discrimination and racism.

In its 2015 National Content Test, the U.S. Census Bureau included a MENA category as a separate category from white and found that a separate category was optimal and more representative for collecting data from this population. Including MENA significantly decreased the overall percentage of individuals reporting as white while significantly increasing the percentage of individuals reporting as Black and Hispanic.

Despite these findings, the Trump Administration failed to adopt MENA on the 2020 U.S. Census, meaning the Census continues to uphold systems of white supremacy and structural racism by discrediting the unique experiences of SWANA Americans. The Trump administration’s decision to overrule recommendations to add the MENA category to the Census resulted in the Office of Management and Budget ignoring over $7 million in research and advocacy.

The U.S. health care system is ignoring the needs of Middle-Eastern Americans while masking the true depth of health disparities experienced by all racial and ethnic minority groups compared to whites. To achieve health equity, the politicization of race and ethnicity categories should be challenged across all levels of government. As health professionals, researchers, policymakers, and community members, we must identify health inequities experienced by all communities in the U.S. Long-term solutions remain complex. Still, the first step is simple: Support the Biden Administration’s proposal to add MENA to the 2030 census by April 27, 2023.

Guleer Shahab is a post-graduate student.

Prev

Fixing the broken system: Improving clinical documentation in health care

March 16, 2023 Kevin 1
…
Next

Canada’s health workers are sounding the alarm. We must act, now.

March 16, 2023 Kevin 0
…

Tagged as: Public Health & Policy

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Fixing the broken system: Improving clinical documentation in health care
Next Post >
Canada’s health workers are sounding the alarm. We must act, now.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

  • Melting the iron triangle: Prioritizing health equity in dynamic, innovative health care landscapes

    Nina Cloven, MHA
  • A health economist acknowledges how financing experiments failed our health system

    James G. Kahn, MD, MPH
  • Are negative news cycles and social media injurious to our health?

    Rabia Jalal, MD
  • New proposals for universal health care in Oregon and Washington

    Roger Collier
  • Why the health care industry must prioritize health equity

    George T. Mathew, MD, MBA
  • How social media can help or hurt your health care career

    Health eCareers

More in Policy

  • U.S. health care leadership must prepare for policy-driven change

    Lee Scheinbart, MD
  • How locum tenens work helps physicians and APPs reclaim control

    Brian Sutter
  • Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor

    Ilan Shapiro, MD
  • Why physician voices matter in the fight against anti-LGBTQ+ laws

    BJ Ferguson
  • The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

    Carlin Lockwood
  • What Adam Smith would say about America’s for-profit health care

    M. Bennet Broner, PhD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • How community paramedicine impacts Indigenous elders

      Noah Weinberg | Conditions
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • How to speak the language of leadership to improve doctor wellness [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • How medical culture hides burnout in plain sight

      Marco Benítez | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Would The Pitts’ Dr. Robby Robinavitch welcome a new colleague? Yes. Especially if their initials were AI.

      Gabe Jones, MBA | Tech
    • Why medicine must stop worshipping burnout and start valuing humanity

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • Why screening for diseases you might have can backfire

      Andy Lazris, MD and Alan Roth, DO | Physician
    • How organizational culture drives top talent away [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why perinatal mental health is the top cause of maternal death in the U.S.

      Sheila Noon | Conditions

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • How community paramedicine impacts Indigenous elders

      Noah Weinberg | Conditions
    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • How to speak the language of leadership to improve doctor wellness [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients

      Hiba Fatima Hamid | Education
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • Here’s what providers really need in a modern EHR

      Laura Kohlhagen, MD, MBA | Tech
    • What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab

      Saba Qaiser, RN | Conditions
    • How medical culture hides burnout in plain sight

      Marco Benítez | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Why doctors are reclaiming control from burnout culture

      Maureen Gibbons, MD | Physician
    • Would The Pitts’ Dr. Robby Robinavitch welcome a new colleague? Yes. Especially if their initials were AI.

      Gabe Jones, MBA | Tech
    • Why medicine must stop worshipping burnout and start valuing humanity

      Sarah White, APRN | Conditions
    • Why screening for diseases you might have can backfire

      Andy Lazris, MD and Alan Roth, DO | Physician
    • How organizational culture drives top talent away [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Why perinatal mental health is the top cause of maternal death in the U.S.

      Sheila Noon | Conditions

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Race categorizations are worsening health inequities for the South West Asian North African (SWANA) communities
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...