Reactions to COVID-19: A Public Health Critical Race

ABSTRACT

Since the spring of 2020, the pandemic has dominated public discourse. Using a public health critical race praxis research approach, our team interviewed a diverse group of individuals to elicit stories about their knowledge, attitudes, and responses to COVID-19. We used health belief model constructs and critical race theory tenets to evaluate race and ethnicity's influence and implications in reactions to the pandemic. Findings include the ordinariness of racism and colorblindness in assessing the susceptibility and severity of COVID19 and its risk factors. Including social determinants of health in the core curriculum of cross-disciplinary education programs emphasizes the impact of public health disparities and may reduce colorblindness and ordinariness. [For the complete volume, "American Association for Adult and Continuing Education Inaugural 2020 Conference Proceedings (Online, October 27-30, 2020)," see ED611534.]