Increasing school segregation linked to worsening health outcomes for Black Americans

A recent study published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities reveals a significant link between increasing school segregation and persistent racial health disparities in the United States. Researchers found that, while residential segregation has remained largely unchanged from 1991 to 2020, school segregation has increased. This rise in school segregation correlates with higher levels of racial health disparities. “While a number of papers have examined health effects of residential segregation and some have examined health effects of residential segregation, very few have simultaneously examined the effects of both types of segregation,” said study author Michael Siegel, a professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. “In addition, while there are many cross-sectional studies that have examined the relationship between racial segregation and health outcomes, very few have looked at changes in segregation and whether they affect subsequent health outcomes. These were the two main novel research questions that we asked in this study.” The researchers analyzed data from 1,051 U.S. counties over nearly three decades, from 1991 to 2020. They used data on racial composition from the U.S. Census to gather information on segregation. They measured segregation using the index of dissimilarity...