Racism As a Source of Health Disparity in Families with Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Although poverty and health are inextricably linked, one cannot assume that simple poverty and low socioeconomic status are the primary causes of health disparity among racial groups. Examining the roles of racism and discrimination in access to health care and in the health experiences of people of color is fundamental to the goal of eliminating health disparities by 2010. Data from ethnic minority groups on how race influences health and health care services are absent from much of the nursing research literature. This article explores racism as a source of health disparity and discusses methodological implications for research, using attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) research as an example.