ABSTRACT
The previous selection raised the issue of persistent public health problems related to racial/ethnic disparities in both disease patterns and medical treatment. This selection emphasizes the importance of thinking clearly about racism and framing research questions based on precise definitions and principles. Krieger makes an analogy between doing this for the emerging scientific field of study on the effects of racism and the way in which the naming of child abuse, through an influential article published in the early 1960s, rendered that preexisting health concern more concrete and tangible. It is not that the problem did not exist before it was named, or that people were unaware of it or did nothing to attempt to resolve it. Rather, the establishment of a comprehensive framework helped to unify diverse approaches so that further research could proceed.
