How racism plays out in contemporary public health practice (commentary)

Racism is highly detrimental to health and a key determinant of health inequities for Indigenous peoples and minoritized ethnic groups.As a system that affords power and privilege according to an established hierarchy, racism operates at a number of intersecting levels, including institutionalised racism, inter-personal racism, and internalised racism. An Indigenous conceptualisation5 positions racism and colonisation as the fundamental causes of Indigenous health inequities, driving the appropriation of resources, loss of political power, and cultural subjugation which impact on the more downstream socioeconomic factors, health behaviours and health outcomes.