Racism as a fundamental determinant of health for Black boys

A fundamental determinant of health is a factor that influences multiple risk factors and multiple disease outcomes and cannot be eliminated simply by addressing the mechanisms that appear to link them to a specific disease (Link & Phelan, 1995). Characterizing racism as a fundamental determinant of health highlights the political, social, and economic environments that influence access to resources necessary to prevent, manage, or overcome disease (Griffith & Johnson, 2013; Griffith, Johnson, Ellis, & Schulz, 2010; Williams & Mohammed, 2013). Fundamental determinants influence health directly through their shaping of environmental and institutional conditions and practices (Krieger, 2008) and through intermediate and proximate factors that impact health outcomes (Schulz, Williams, Israel, & Lempert, 2002).