African Americans' Lives Today: Reflections from an RWJF Investigator
Jun 11, 2013, 4:12 PM, Posted by Ari Kramer
Recently, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Harvard School of Public Health and National Public Radio conducted a national survey which provides a snapshot of African-Americans’ views on a range of issues in their personal lives and communities, including and beyond health and health care. A majority of respondents reported being overall satisfied with their lives and communities. At the same time, many reported concerns about their economic stability and resources to pay for a major illness, and experiences of discrimination.
To get some historical perspective and insights into how the findings relate to existing research, we spoke with James S. Jackson, Ph.D., professor at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and director of its Institute for Social Research. For more than 40 years, Jackson has been studying the racial and ethnic influences on American personal, social and community life, and growing heterogeneity of the nation’s Black population. Also a RWJF Investigator in Health Policy Research, he is currently directing extensive surveys on the social and political behavior and mental and physical health of the African American and Black Caribbean populations.