Environmental Justice in the American Public Health Context: Trends in the Scientific Literature at the Intersection Between Health, Environment, and Social Status

Smith, Audrey; Laribi, Ouahiba

doi:10.1007/s40615-020-00949-7

Cited by 18Environmental Justice and Health DisparitiesPublic Health and Environmental IssuesHealth disparities and outcomes

Environmental Justice in the American Public Health Context: Trends in the Scientific Literature at the Intersection Between Health, Environment, and Social Status

Smith, Audrey, Laribi, Ouahiba·2022·Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities

DOI 10.1007/s40615-020-00949-7

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Abstract

Although various governmental entities in the USA are required to consider environmental justice (EJ) impacts of their actions during decision-making, socially vulnerable groups continue to be disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards. Tools and programs to quantify and mitigate environmental injustices are limited by existing data, which may not capture the full range of health disparities exacerbated by the complex interactions between environmental exposures and social stressors. In this study, we analyzed how the scientific literature approaches EJ issues in the USA. We searched PubMed for journal articles discussing at least one sociodemographic or environmental variable in the context of cumulative impacts and analyzed the relative frequency with which various EJ topics were studied. Our findings indicate that demographic variables are commonly used in epidemiologic studies, though some areas (e.g., age) are better studied than others. Similarly, occupational exposure and ambient air pollution were more studied than other types of exposures. Word frequency analyses revealed which toxicants and health outcomes are the most frequently studied. In addition, temporality analyses showed that the rate of occupational publications rose rapidly in the 1970-1980s and has since plateaued, while other publication rates increased two decades later and are still on the rise. Cumulative impacts are considered in a relatively small portion of journal articles across all topics; nevertheless, they have seen an exponential climb in the last decade. A more equitable distribution of scientific efforts might be needed for a better distribution of funding, policy-making efforts, and other resources to socially and environmentally vulnerable communities.

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Environmental injustices could further contribute to higher rates of coccidioidomycosis among racial and ethnic groups.
“Moreover, environmental injustices, in which poor communities and communities of color are disproportionately exposed to environmental harms yet environmental protections are limited [146], could further contribute to higher rates of coccidioidomycosis among racial and ethnic groups.”
From Race and ethnicity: Risk factors for fungal infections? (2023) · cites this paper as [146]

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Authors: Smith, A., & Laribi, O.
Affiliations: California Environmental Protection Agency (US)
Corresponding author: Laribi, Ouahiba
ORCID: Smith, Audrey
Laribi, Ouahiba
Venue: Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published: 2021-01-08
Volume: 9
Issue: 1
Pages: 247-256
ISSN: 2196-8837 (ISSN-L)
2197-3792
DOI: 10.1007/s40615-020-00949-7
OpenAlex: W3121117319
Cited by: 18
References: 51
Citations by year: 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2
FWCI: 0.62
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
www.springer.com/tdm (vor)
Locations: Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Environmental Justice and Health Disparities
Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Public Health and Environmental Issues
Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
Keywords: environmental justice, health disparities, cumulative environmental exposure, social determinants of health, socially vulnerable populations, occupational exposure, ambient air pollution, toxicants, health outcomes, publication trends, research equity, sociodemographic factors
MeSH terms: Environmental Justice, Social Status, Environmental Exposure, Humans, Public Health, Social Justice, United States

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Environmental Justice in the American Public Health Context: Trends in the Scientific Literature at the Intersection Between Health, Environment, and Social Status

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