Examining Declarations of Racism as a Public Health Crisis: A Content Analysis of US Public Health and Governmental Entities

Objectives: – The aim of this article is to investigate health equity commitments indicated in racism as a public health crisis (RPHC) declarations. The killing of George Floyd in May 2020 sparked widespread protests and renewed conversations about health equity, social determinants of health, and ongoing harms caused by racism, resulting in hundreds of RPHC declarations made by public health and governmental entities. Methods: – We conducted a content analysis of 237 RPHC declarations (publicly available). We identified and categorized actions and strategies related to health equity across public health and governmental entities. Results: – The top 5 health equity actions in declarations included providing diversity, equity, and inclusion training to staff (43%), participating in community engagement (35%), hiring, retention, and inclusion of diverse staff (31%), partnering with other organizations (31%), and advocating for policies (30%). The most common health equity strategies were Adopting a Health Equity Approach, Community Engagement, and Workforce Initiatives, while Policing and Funding are uncommon. Health equity actions and strategies varied by public health and governmental entities. Conclusions: – This study deepens our understanding of the health equity commitments made by public health and governmental entities in effort to reduce health disparities and improve health equity.